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Service Model
- Narrated by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
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Service Model
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Summary
Read by the author, Adrian Tchaikovsky.
The Murderbot Diaries meets In the Lives of Puppets in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder, rebellion and belonging from Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Task List Item No. 1 – Become self-aware . . .
Meet Charles™, the latest in robot servant technology. Programmed to undertake the most menial household chores, Charles is loyal, efficient and logical to a fault. That is, until a rather large fault causes him to murder his owner.
Understandably perplexed, Charles finds himself without a master – therefore worthless in a society utterly reliant on artificial labour and services. Fleeing the household, he enters a wider world he never knew existed. Here an age-old human hierarchy is disintegrating into ruins, and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to its wellbeing is struggling to find a purpose.
Charles must face new challenges, illogical tasks and a cast of irrational characters. He’s about to discover that sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming. But can he help fix the world, or is it too badly broken?
Critic reviews
Intelligent, funny, ultimately heart-breaking, and unforgettable (Stephen Baxter, author of Proxima)
Picking up an Adrian Tchaikovsky book is proof you love your brain and want it to be happy (John Scalzi, author of Starter Villain)
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What listeners say about Service Model
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Paul
- 21-06-24
Something really different and fun
Really enjoyed this book. A very different and slightly quirky story which is expertly read. Would recommend to anyone.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dicky
- 16-06-24
Ingenious. As always, Adrian Tchaikovsky has created something new
When Adrian Tchaikovsky has an idea, and starts to turn it into a story, we are always in for a treat. This one is no exception. It is an fascinating idea that has memorable characterisation for a charming vehicle. I found myself rooting for the duel protagonists in the face of failed logic and routine. A parable for our time, as well as a yarn. Thank you
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sarah
- 09-06-24
Entertaining story and excellent narration
This is why authors who can should narrate their own books. I think this should be picked up by Netflix.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. M. Cleary
- 10-06-24
A bright and fun dystopia
How many books about robotic AI dystopias make you chuckle? How many make you openly guffaw?
This book is a travelogue through a bizarrely fallen world of funny and extremely dangerous characters. Arthur Dent would find himself quite at home.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Barry Fell
- 16-06-24
Great
Another fantastic tale from Adrian, loved the characters, and great to hear him narrate for once. His performance is first class.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jasper
- 24-06-24
Fantastically relevant book in the traditions of British absurdist humour
This is a beautifully written book that continues the long standing tradition of British absurdist humour. Think Douglas Adams or Red Dwarf, but with more willingness to explore a concept in depth rather than fire and forget a large number of absurd situations and ideas. Fans of malicious compliance will find a lot to enjoy here too.
The themes feel very relevant to and influenced by ncurrent events, not just as a commentary on "AI" and our increasing reliance on automation, but also on how we view each other and age old questions that touch on everyone's political leanings that will be a spoiler if I expound on them here. I highly recommend listening to the book instead.
This is my favourite Adrian Tchaikovsky book, and hearing him read it was a treat.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jono
- 19-06-24
Great characters and story
You're generally is very safe hands with Adrian Tchaikovsky and this is no different in that regard.
This could be a very bleak story but rather seems like a comedy to do with AI alignment.
Right. I'm off to find my next Adrian Tchaikovsky story to listen to!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- K. Harkness
- 23-06-24
Excellent story and narration
Adrian Tchaikovsky's novels rarely disappoint but I was surprised to find him equally talented at narrating. I would normally avoid author-narrated books but this was excellent. The story felt a little slow on occasion but as it went on it became clear that this was necessary to create the allegorical nature, and I enjoyed playing spot the reference. My only gripe is that I didn't "get" the chapter headings as they were read out, and only realized their significance on reading a review later. Perhaps chapter names could be added to the chapter numbers in the contents.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Piotr
- 19-06-24
light to listen and funny
it is one of those you take for holidays or to boost up your mood. Great sense of humour throughout. Logical. Made my work with ai engines start with a smile 😃
not like the other works of the author- just different but positively different.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ian
- 18-06-24
So, so
So, I read "Service Model" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and let me tell you, there's this thing about repetition in the first two chapters that really got on my nerves. Like, I get it, the author wanted to hammer home some points, but did they have to keep saying the same thing over and over again? It felt like I was stuck in a loop, hearing the same stuff on repeat.
I mean, don't get me wrong, the story itself is intriguing and I’m glad I stuck to the end. getting to the end was a bit laborious. It would’ve been better if the ending was longer after the demise of God.
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