Book Review: vN by Madeline Ashby
Mar. 29th, 2016 05:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: vN (The Machine Dynasty Book 1)
Author: Madeline Ashby
Published: Nottingham: Angry Robot, 2012
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 400
Total Page Count: 181,470
Text Number: 534
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A young von Neumann machine—a self-replicating humanoid robot—is ripped from her tranquil domestic life after she eats her grandmother. This novel has a strong start and an even better ending. Ashby's investment in androids and artificial intelligence shines off the page: her vN and unique take on the laws of robotics—predicated not on "do no harm" but on "love"—are phenomenal; her machine biology is wildly creative and leans towards body horror, their programmed thought processes are well-conceived and have engaging speculative parallels, and the mechanical dreamland of the ending carries the emotional thrust of the novel to satisfying resolution. Pity, then, that the middle of the book is nigh unreadable. The plot is a rambling shambles, repetitive and undirected; the worldbuilding is undermined by heavy-handed pop culture references*; the tone leans from oddball to the outright bizarre. I admire Ashby's passion and intent, and the end of the book is nearly redemptive—but this is too uneven an effort to be enjoyable, and I can't recommend it.
* I'm sorry, but the Portal birthday song just broke me.
Author: Madeline Ashby
Published: Nottingham: Angry Robot, 2012
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 400
Total Page Count: 181,470
Text Number: 534
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A young von Neumann machine—a self-replicating humanoid robot—is ripped from her tranquil domestic life after she eats her grandmother. This novel has a strong start and an even better ending. Ashby's investment in androids and artificial intelligence shines off the page: her vN and unique take on the laws of robotics—predicated not on "do no harm" but on "love"—are phenomenal; her machine biology is wildly creative and leans towards body horror, their programmed thought processes are well-conceived and have engaging speculative parallels, and the mechanical dreamland of the ending carries the emotional thrust of the novel to satisfying resolution. Pity, then, that the middle of the book is nigh unreadable. The plot is a rambling shambles, repetitive and undirected; the worldbuilding is undermined by heavy-handed pop culture references*; the tone leans from oddball to the outright bizarre. I admire Ashby's passion and intent, and the end of the book is nearly redemptive—but this is too uneven an effort to be enjoyable, and I can't recommend it.
* I'm sorry, but the Portal birthday song just broke me.
