Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Interview with the Robot, by Lee Bacon (author), Kevin T. Collins (narrator), Ellen Archer (narrator), Josh Hurley (narrator), Eileen Stevens (narrator), Erin Mallon (narrator), Jonathan Davis (narrator), Stephen Bel Davies (narrator)

Audible Original, January 2020

Eve is, apparently, a twelve-year-old girl, who gets arrested stealing an unlikely variety of items at a tourist gift shop in New York City. Since she's obviously a minor, and claims to have no parents, no guardian, and no last name, the only thing to do is call Child Welfare Services.

Petra Amis is the CWS social worker assigned to interview her. When she insists she wants the truth, no matter how bonkers it sounds, she gets a truly wild tale.

Eve does take the sensible precaution of first demonstrating that she really is a robot, by opening up a section of her arm and showing the metal, wires, and circuits inside.

What follows is the story of her origin in the labs of Eden Laboratories, the brainchild of engineer David Sharpe, who lost his wife in a car crash several years ago. It's also the story of Emory Sharpe, David's son, who was at a boarding school in New Hampshire when his mother died in the crash.

Or maybe he wasn't. It gradually becomes clear that David Sharpe has a goal both more and less ambitious than merely making humans safer.

Eve's progress from a small gray box on a shelf, to a fully mobile, apparently completely human child, alongside the gradual revelation of what really happened in the car crash and how unhealthy his reaction has been, makes for a compelling listen. The narrators are all excellent, and add to the creation of Eve, Emory, and those around them. It makes for a very compelling listen.

Recommended.

I received this audiobook as part of the Audible Originals program, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

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