Decimated by plague, the human population is now a minority. Robots—complex AIs almost indistinguishable from humans—are the ruling majority. Nine months ago, in a controversial move, the robot government opened a series of preserves, designated areas where humans can choose to live without robot interference. Now the preserves face their first challenge: someone has been murdered.
I am a big fan of sci-fi and this yarn is very well put together. In the beginning, I thought of plagues, earthquakes, etc., all the fitting ends of the world but was disappointed for a while with the overall direction of the story. How many ways does mankind get to a point when only robots have the wherewithal to rule the planet? According to the majority of robots herein, man is vicious, without morals, so why try to save them?
The metal giants take over small towns, farms, and the remnants of humanity and tell them to increase their numbers. With mankind’s record, it is only a matter of time before we finish the job. Then someone gets murdered and Chief of Police Jesse Laughton has a problem on his hands. Matthews is his sidekick and they set out to resolve the case.
It turns out that Laughton has a very good friend in his former partner, a robot named Kir, who works for the government. Before everything went south, they had been police officers together and while their relationship was strange, it was also warm. With human needs for drugs now gone, it is replaced with robotic plugs that can give a robot a high and then ends up killing them. Before the powers that be who don’t want humans on preserves, close everything down, author Ariel S. Winter takes you on a great ride.
You will revel in ‘The Preserve’ once you put everything in its proper place. It is a good story that leaves the ending wide open for a possible sequel. Enjoy!
Available in Bookstores November 3rd
