This is a book about an eight year old boy and his nannybot tiger Pounce. Or, conversely, this is a Calvin and Hobbes fanfic book with an apocalypse as a backdrop.
Pounce discovers his box the same day the world changed forever. He knew he was a nannybot, but seeing the box he came in was a bit of a shock. Discovering his owners kept the box because his charge, Ezra, would outgrow him eventually so he’d be shut down and stored. Seeing his box also changed how he thought of himself, if only slightly.
The day the world changed was the day that a town just for bots was to be opened. These bots are without owners and have been allowed to continue existence as free robots. The town was built by Isaac, the oldest robot, and was to welcome all robots.
Humans had a different plan.
The story is told through Pounce’s pov, so the reader has limited information. Humans bombed Isaactown, robots reacted by sending a software update to all robots, one that would turn off their Robot Kill Switches. This RKS stops robots from killing humans, it enforces Asimov’s three laws of robotics. Robots start killing people. Domestic robots kill their owners.
Pounce manages to save Ezra by running to a panic room in the house while the domestic, Ariadne, kills the parents. From there, Pounce tries to protect Ezra at all costs.
The story is satisfying, good pacing, with nice reveals. The idea of robots killing humans feels a bit worn out to me though. Pounce also has programming called Mama Bear which unlocks a ton of military strategic knowledge. This helps Pounce keep Ezra safe. The end of the book is satisfying and leaves the story open for a sequel of sorts. Actually, I could see this as a movie or mini series.
I had two major problems with the book.
1 – the mention of Apple products. One robot is an iAssist. This bugged me enough that I wanted to stop reading. I don’t like brands in books and I really don’t like the brand Apple. I have nothing good to say about them and I hated reading the name in a fictional story. Verizon was mentioned as well, but fleetingly. I don’t care about Verizon.
2 – UBI, or Universal Basic Income, is cast in a negative light. This was bothersome because,
A) The story was from a nannybot’s pov. Why would a bot have an opinion about UBI? Why would a robot be programmed with an opinion on the matter? What purpose could this information serve?
B) Studies that have been done on UBI have shown a positive result. People are mentally healthier when they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, how to pay their bills, and whether or not they’ll have shelter the next day. Money for UBI comes from other social programs that wouldn’t be needed like welfare, disability, and whatnot. UBI has been tinkered with during covid, some places call it ‘stimulus cheques’, and the effect has been positive. People are spending money on long-awaited home improvements, treats for themselves, and bills. Will some people abuse the system and not work? Yes. Absolutely. Those people are also abusing the system as it stands right now.
These two problems made me feel like the book was actually propaganda rather than a fictional story for entertainment. I wondered if the author received some kind of kickback or super fat advance if these attitudes and brands were included in the work. Sure, I may be paranoid, but this is what I thought and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Based on that, I would only recommend the book if the reader is aware of the potential propaganda.
Should Be Writing 