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robbbbin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
mathematicalcoffee's review against another edition
3.0
Ended too soon (all the interesting stuff unresolved) making it seem like the author sort of couldn't workout a realistic resolution so just left it to the reader. I know the plot wasn't really the point of the book so much as comments on humanity but even so, it felt quite incomplete. Not nearly as much of the whimsical charm as The Humans (I think part of why I loved that book was because I was expecting a fantasy action adventure and ended up with deep introspection on what it is to be human, but now I know that Matt Haig's style is like this the surprise element is not there).
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Dystopia channeling Blade Runner and A.I. for teens
What better way to spark an interest in sci-fi dystopia than a book that reminds you of the above? A murder, a family story, but most of all a treatise on humanity and technology.
Audrey's father is anti-Echo (a human-built machine that acts as an aide, a teacher, almost any role), in fact he's writing a book about the pitfalls. Her world is turned very suddenly upside down when the Echo they recently bought following his car accident kills both her parents. She escapes by the skin of her teeth and takes refuge with her uncle, himself an Echo designer and seller. Fearing the technology that killed her parents, one of her uncle's prototypes, Daniel, seems different from other Echoes... And he knows he's different too.
Told from Audrey and Daniel's perspectives, this is a thriller, a love story, an exciting chase in a world you have no trouble picturing from Haig's descriptions.
Audrey is realistic as a teenager, a girl caught between a world of books, music and art and the wider world around her that embraces new technologies. Daniel's voice is a good one, and even when he talks about parts of his existence in which he was less aware or humanlike, the past tense works.
I would like a second story about Audrey's world and what happens next though it wraps up nicely enough for a standalone novel.
It definitely has a feel of Blade Runner, the dark world, and the psychological 'who am I?' of Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
Will capture the imagination of teenage readers, and narrated by both genders shouldn't put off either.
I would love to see this recreated for the screen, as Haig's 'How to Stop Time' is shortly to be.
What better way to spark an interest in sci-fi dystopia than a book that reminds you of the above? A murder, a family story, but most of all a treatise on humanity and technology.
Audrey's father is anti-Echo (a human-built machine that acts as an aide, a teacher, almost any role), in fact he's writing a book about the pitfalls. Her world is turned very suddenly upside down when the Echo they recently bought following his car accident kills both her parents. She escapes by the skin of her teeth and takes refuge with her uncle, himself an Echo designer and seller. Fearing the technology that killed her parents, one of her uncle's prototypes, Daniel, seems different from other Echoes... And he knows he's different too.
Told from Audrey and Daniel's perspectives, this is a thriller, a love story, an exciting chase in a world you have no trouble picturing from Haig's descriptions.
Audrey is realistic as a teenager, a girl caught between a world of books, music and art and the wider world around her that embraces new technologies. Daniel's voice is a good one, and even when he talks about parts of his existence in which he was less aware or humanlike, the past tense works.
I would like a second story about Audrey's world and what happens next though it wraps up nicely enough for a standalone novel.
It definitely has a feel of Blade Runner, the dark world, and the psychological 'who am I?' of Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
Will capture the imagination of teenage readers, and narrated by both genders shouldn't put off either.
I would love to see this recreated for the screen, as Haig's 'How to Stop Time' is shortly to be.
shannybay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Matt Haig always gets it right. A very thought provoking and frankly frightening read - but in a nice way ....
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Death
grimfandaisy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
Audrey’s world is full of technology which is at the extremes of where we’re heading now. I can see where a lot of it has coming from logically, but there is so much change from now, it doesn’t feel like Earth. I did like how southern Europe has become arid and Spain was a blistering desert, with remote warehouses supporting the new industry but not much else. Also, the Resurrection Zone was somewhat relatable to London Zoo (it helps it’s in Regent’s Park). I felt the scenes in the zoo were some of the most thought-provoking and powerful.
For the most part, the narrative is Audrey’s but there are a few chapters from Daniel’s point of view, which felt a bit more contemplative. Audrey’s suffering from grief at the start of the book and uses patches to numb the pain. There is a fair amount of time devoted to this, which reflects Matt Haig’s experiences with depression. Even Daniel, could be described to have had depression at one point if you project his thoughts onto a human mind.
This might well be better received by those that haven’t read much robot science fiction. Somewhere in my head I was expecting another The Mad Scientist’s Daughter and emotionally this fell a bit short. Younger readers who can become enamoured with the future tech and action will undoubtedly enjoy it. But in a book about robots, I need some ethical dilemmas or moral ambiguity. The people who mistreated robots were horrible people and I think they enjoyed it no matter if they were sentient or not. We already anthropomorphise our technology and it doesn’t look like us (I feel I have to be polite to my boyfriend’s car otherwise the door won’t open). A robot that is nearly identical to us, would be a hard thing to act cruel towards, even if was an unfeeling machine. I think it needed more conflicted characters.
Actually I’m not sure what the Echoes really are. They are introduced as androids but seem to be mostly biological. I wanted a bit more on their history rather than the other tech in their world. There seemed a lot to fit in and the pace was a bit on the slow side because of this.
I think delayed instalove is becoming a thing. Just because it doesn’t happen at the start of the story, doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel like instalove when there’s no real emotional build up. There needs to be a believable like going on before love. It’s especially hard to believe when it’s an otherwise awkward coupling.
Review copy provided by publisher.
For the most part, the narrative is Audrey’s but there are a few chapters from Daniel’s point of view, which felt a bit more contemplative. Audrey’s suffering from grief at the start of the book and uses patches to numb the pain. There is a fair amount of time devoted to this, which reflects Matt Haig’s experiences with depression. Even Daniel, could be described to have had depression at one point if you project his thoughts onto a human mind.
This might well be better received by those that haven’t read much robot science fiction. Somewhere in my head I was expecting another The Mad Scientist’s Daughter and emotionally this fell a bit short. Younger readers who can become enamoured with the future tech and action will undoubtedly enjoy it. But in a book about robots, I need some ethical dilemmas or moral ambiguity. The people who mistreated robots were horrible people and I think they enjoyed it no matter if they were sentient or not. We already anthropomorphise our technology and it doesn’t look like us (I feel I have to be polite to my boyfriend’s car otherwise the door won’t open). A robot that is nearly identical to us, would be a hard thing to act cruel towards, even if was an unfeeling machine. I think it needed more conflicted characters.
Actually I’m not sure what the Echoes really are. They are introduced as androids but seem to be mostly biological. I wanted a bit more on their history rather than the other tech in their world. There seemed a lot to fit in and the pace was a bit on the slow side because of this.
I think delayed instalove is becoming a thing. Just because it doesn’t happen at the start of the story, doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel like instalove when there’s no real emotional build up. There needs to be a believable like going on before love. It’s especially hard to believe when it’s an otherwise awkward coupling.
Review copy provided by publisher.
cristinagerber's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
smolbean_reads's review against another edition
2.0
'The price of imagination is pain.'
Good, but not my cup of tea.
I know that the point of the book is to reflect upon what it is to be human but I found there was too much reflection (although some of it was good!) and it affected my suspense of disbelief a bit too much to get into the actual story. I didn't really feel a connection with it.
Good, but not my cup of tea.
I know that the point of the book is to reflect upon what it is to be human but I found there was too much reflection (although some of it was good!) and it affected my suspense of disbelief a bit too much to get into the actual story. I didn't really feel a connection with it.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
A YA sci-fi in a near future were Echoes exsist. Built to look like humans but sophisticated and emotionless and works for the humans. Daniel is an echo yet he has feelings he never designed to have and he tries to save Audrey a human girl. Enjoyable, entertaining and thought-provoking. I like books where it makes you think what makes us humans and if we are so unique as we think we are.