This is one of the most interesting books I've had the pleasure to read in the past two years. The story is quite a mess, you never really know what's real and what's not, and yet that's the brilliance of it all as the author has managed to create a main character with whom you can identify. We all have voices in our heads, after all.
It's science fiction with unbelievably good humour and a really well thought out, albeit strange, storyline.

This book is weird. Straight up odd. My review is going to be disjointed as that is how my thoughts are after reading this novel. The premise is interesting, there is a sentient blob and things start to go a little crazy, and not much more can be said, but the writing style was really difficult for me to read. It was very much all over the place and indicative of someone who's brain processes are very rapid, and intense. I understood what the author was trying to do, but personally, it was an uncomfortable read.

There were some sections which were written in a more traditional style which I found myself really enjoying, and those were the sections which allowed me to continue with the book. I also really liked how the plot developed as the book was reaching its end, but getting to that point was difficult and tedious. I read this book on the train and I feel like I wouldn't have gotten through it if I had been anywhere else. 

This sci-fi book definitely has promise, and I know that there are others out there who will love the writing style and really enjoy this book so if the synopsis sounds interesting to you then give it a go. However, it just wasn't for me. I am glad I tried something out of my usual comfort zone though!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book in return for an unbiased review.

A quirky and odd tale that is half mad scientist, half bow-down-and-worship-our-AI-overlords. The 'how' is never really explained apart from loud declarations of 'SCIENCE', 'AI' and 'ALGORITHMS' so as you're catapulted through the stream of consciousness of the ADHD narrator, you're constantly wondering what is real or if it is all in his head.

Recommended for readers who like transrealism and AI.

Some Assembly Required by Michael Strelow is a recommended humorous science fiction novel.

Jake James is a writer. He also has always heard voices and has learned to not tell people about it after that disastrous initial disclosure in grade school. His voices aren't bad. They don't tell him what to do. They might poetically describe a scene, or just say his name, and he's learned to co-exist with them. He doesn't talk about them to anyone, including his girlfriend, and life is good.

When Jake is on an assignment covering an A.I. convention he listens to the presentation of Dr. Sewall. While the presentation is without fanfare and barely audible, when Jake actually reads the paper presented, his interest is piqued. Jake sets off to visit Sewall at his office, located at the back of the Ag department at the university. It is there that Jake sees Rex. Rex is a sentient being that resembles a blob of gray-green oatmeal. Dr. Sewell apparently created Rex by inserting a form of AI he created using a mathematical algorithm into a bowl of oatmeal. Now the Dr. feeds him and Rex, while ravenous and growing, excretes a dust.

When Rex, or Rex II, reveals he has a voice, Jake begins to hear Rex's voice along with the other voices he already hears. Suddenly everything changes, including Jake's perception of the world. Or is Rex a symptom of Jake's undisclosed mental illness.

Some Assembly Required is a well-written sci-fi romp through the absurd. Jake is a likeable protagonist, with a quirky sense of humor and a self-effacing attitude. He's really an everyman - except for the voices. Once he starts talking to Rex, or Rex is altering reality, the story takes a turn. There were sections and descriptions in this novel that I liked very much and the writing is excellent. I loved it at the beginning and then, ultimately, the direction the plot took lost me. Other readers might enjoy it in entirety more than I did.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Roundfire Books.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/12/some-assembly-required.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2210271167
https://www.librarything.com/work/20451108/reviews/149002168
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This is a very interesting SF novel. A journalist, Jake parlays his lifelong affliction of hearing voices in his head into an intimate series of interviews with Dr. Sewall's oatmeal-like intellectual hybrid of computers and DNA replication. Jake, despite the voices he has denied since he was six years old to keep the psychiatrists at bay, has a fairly normal life prior to the advent of Rex. He has a girl, Marnie, whom he adores, and a life he is comfortable with most of the time. But Rex....

This is a laugh a minute - and there is also the niggling little finger of doubt that keeps you thinking right along with Jake. This is an artist I will follow.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Michael Strelow, and Roundfire Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. It was an interesting read. Strong characters and intriguing plot.

I really tried with this one - and I'm disappointed in myself that I cannot continue it, because I really really loved the beginning... But about half-way through, the narrative simply became too convoluted/non-traditional/stream of consciousness for me and I simply couldn't follow it. I have trouble with non-linear stories - my brain is exceedingly linear and that is how I like to read. I enjoy twists and turns, unexpected surprises, and unusual settings/characters/events, but I need the story to follow a path that, however meandering and branching, is still a defined path. This story clicks along for me (the characters - particularly Jake, who is fantastic as a protagonist because he's full of quirks yet also a great Everyman, and Marnie who is snarky and perfect as a foil, are very well-developed and interesting), then suddenly there is a paragraph or two that just goes off in a totally different, seemingly unrelated, direction. I have no doubt that they tie together eventually, and understand that the hearing voices component underlying Jake's character makes such seeming tangents not only relevant but realistic, but it makes for a type of reading experience that I don't do well with, and ultimately it lost me as a result... I have a VERY strong feeling that this is a result of me as a reader, not a fault of the story - I just couldn't hold all the bits in my mind enough to keep following it, even with the interest I had in the concept and characters - I mean come on, who doesn't love the idea of conscious oatmeal?? It explains SO MUCH...

This book continues my ongoing mission to read outside my usual crime fiction genre of choice. I mention this only to clarify that I am reviewing this book on its own merits rather than as a comparison to its genre peers. I am not sure how much difference this makes but I feel I should mention the fact.
Right. Where do I start. Our hero in this book is Jake. A rather interesting character to say the least. One that has, from an early age, heard voices. He goes on to explain that they are not the sort to compel him to do bad stuff, just voices. He also learned, from quite an early age, to keep this snippet of information to himself. He is a writer, mostly articles in magazines, mostly covering sciencey things. His attention is brought to one Dr Sewell when he covers an AI convention. Failing to hear much of what Sewell speaks about at the convention, he does a bit of research and his interest is very much piqued by what he subsequently reads. Determined to find out more and indeed meet the man, he tracks him down and finds his target in a rather unusual place in the university. What he discovers there surprises him in the form of "Rex", a bowl of what looks like oatmeal but who has a voice, a voice which mingles with those he already hears. What exactly is Rex? As Jake learns more from Sewell, it appears that "Rex" is evolving quite rapidly, and what happens next defies the logical, defies the credible, but nonetheless becomes swiftly possible, with somewhat devastating consequences for many.
I am not sure how I would describe this book. I personally found it totally satisfying albeit a bit bonkers. But then I am a big fan of bonkers! One thing I really did love in all that was going on was Jake himself. I see a lot of myself in him. His going off at tangents, the way he makes up whole narratives about stuff based on supposition, filling in gaps with fiction to suit the facts. I loved the humour involved in his musings; very entertaining. I sympathised with him when he lost his girlfriend, caught up in the whole sorry mess of things. I was impressed with his determination and tenacity to get to the crux of things when walking away was the easy option. Sewell on the other hand was caught up in things from a very different direction and he played the out of depth-ness very well as a character. One of my favourite parts of the book were the things that "Rex" became responsible for. Can't help reading between the lines here and seeing the political undertones that may or may not have been meant. There was definitely a lot for me to think about once I had finished the book.
All in all a well written read that kept my interest solidly throughout. I am fully aware that maybe I have missed some elements of the book not being an aficionado of the genre but for me it ticked most of the boxes I want from a good read and left me satisfied at the end. A job well done by the author.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.