Service Model

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Task List Item No.1 - Become self-aware . . . Meet CharlesTM, 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 Praise for Adrian Tchaikovsky 'A joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human' - Patrick Ness 'Dizzyingly inventive' - The Guardian 'Tchaikovsky's world-building is some of the best in modern sci-fi' - New Scientist

Reviews

Picking up an Adrian Tchaikovsky book is proof you love your brain and want it to be happy -- John Scalzi
Brilliant science-fiction and far-out world-building -- James McAvoy
One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction -- Christopher Paolini
[Adrian Tchaikovsky] writes incredibly enjoyable sci-fi, full of life and ideas -- Patrick Ness

Author Bio

Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, has practised law and now writes full time. He's also studied stagefighting, perpetrated amateur dramatics and has a keen interest in entomology and tabletop games. Adrian is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall series and other novels, novellas and short stories. Children of Time won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, Children of Ruin and Shards of Earth both won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel and The Tiger and the Wolf won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel.