Service Model is promoted as part of the cozy science fiction camp, with many mentions of Murderbot in the buzz around this upcoming release. In my experience, this is a treatise disguised as science fiction because the main character is (technically) a robot.

The plot is an absurdist mishmash of events that draw heavily on references to Dante's Divine Comedy, Kafka's The Trial, Borges's The Library of Babel, and the Christian Bible. There's probably a fifth source that I'm missing, because there are five parts in the novel, and the parts are named after these references (in a semi-obscured way).

Honestly, I'm not one for absurdist humor, references to other books that never seem to end, or heavy dwelling on the author's worldview. There's a way to put a message in a book without it getting preachy. I don't think Service Model managed to do that successfully for me.

I expect this to become a love-it or hate-it book and hope that it finds the many readers who will appreciate its merits more than I could.

Charles is a robot valet. He spends every day following his normal routine to care for his human employers. This routine is thrown off one day when following his normal processes he finds he has murdered his master. As Charles sets out into the world to attempt to having his programming fixed and find a new work opportunity for himself we see what has happened to humanity in this world.

I adored this book. The audio narration was stellar. This story had so much heart and really spot on social commentary. I really loved Charles/Uncharles and the Wonk. I can see this being a book that I will reread multiple times in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

If Kafka wrote about robots. I've never felt this frustration or pity for a computer before.

Our protagonist is a valet robot, a butler for the rich. We see into his logic tree, and are introduced to the running joke that humans are inefficient; his Master told him to check for travel plans every morning, and though his Master hasn't traveled for over 700 days and checking for travel plans are the last thing done each night, the valet continues checking for travel plans after noting how inefficient this task is. This trend of cycles of illogic are funny for a particular kind of nerd, similar to how "The Martian" was appealing to a certain kind of engineer. I found the jokes repetitious but realistic and honestly funny at times. If you like xkcd.com, you'll like the logic of a robot trying his best with his built-in AI fails to predict the next decision tree.

The story follows the pattern of "The Odyssey", our robot must leave his Master's mansion and go into a world collapsed, moving from trial to hopeful solution to another soul-crushing trial. He looks for employment at neighboring estates, but overgrown gardens and boarded up windows force him to keep moving. Society has collapsed recently, everything is falling apart, imagine the world of Wall-E right before the rocket took some people to space and we get to see what's left behind. We meet some Mad Max survivors, a historical reenactment with conscripted service, and manage to recreate the Wizard of Oz from first principles.

Tchaikovsky continues to impress with excellent writing. His ability to instill feeling in the reader is impressive. I found myself pitying a robot with the saddest last words I've heard, and later scared of a Five Nights at Freddy babysitter that would murder your soul while reciting nursery rhymes. Tchaikovsky has a knack for the right amount and timing for creepy and darkness.

Lots of references and Easter eggs that kind of distract from the story. There's no date or year, but the technology feels a few decades from now, but references from Lord of the Rings, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, that "footprints in the sand" poem, make everything feel very close to today. I didn't mind them until a robot made a Hitchhiker's Guide reference that ruined the immersion in the story... that it happened in one of my favorite scenes in the story didn't help

The book ends with a heavy-handed criticism of capitalism that isn't easy to disagree with. We've AI'd and Chat GPT'd people out of work, but still value people for their output. What do we do with the people we've made obsolete? The secondary battle between Stoicism (This thing isn't good or bad, just a thing that happens) with humanism was there, I didn't notice it until reflecting on the story later... it's not subtle, but there's a lot going on near the end of the book.

Overall, highly recommend.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on audiobook through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: Strangely this is the first Tchaikovsky book I have read. I keep meaning to pick up one of his books to read, so when this showed to review I picked it up right away. I absolutely loved this book, it was creative and witty and thought-provoking all at once.

Charles is a butler service model robot. He goes through his routine day after day, much of his routine is non-sensical at this point...but his routines were never updated so he continues to follow his protocol. Then one day something happens, something that renders his master...well not his master anymore and Charles is left at loose ends without a purpose. As Charles wanders the post-apocalyptic landscape of the Earth trying to find a purpose, we get to see firsthand what a mess humanity has left particularly when it comes to the robots they made to assist them.

The beginning of this book is slightly repetitive as we live the repetitive nature of Charles' existence. Then things quickly get more exciting as Charles finds himself at looses ends and with unfulfilled tasks in his list.

I loved both Charles and the Wonk. I enjoyed getting to see this unraveled world through Charles' eyes and watching Charles make his way through it. I really enjoyed the way the story wraps up as well.

This was incredibly well-written and very entertaining. A lot of the story is very tongue-in-check and the mindless actions of the robots remind me of a lot of mindless actions you see employees doing in corporations. I loved that this was humorous, engaging, easy to read, and thought-provoking all at once.

I listened to this on audiobook which is narrated by Tchaikovsky himself. This was masterfully done and I really enjoyed listening to this. I would highly recommend listening to this if you enjoy listening to audiobooks.

My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an excellent read that I really loved. I loved the post-apocalyptic world that we explore here, the robots we spend time with and the humor and thought that was put into this story. This has definitely made me a Tchaikovsky fan and I plan on picking up more books by him.

“A humorous tale of robotic murder.”

Everytime I congratulate myself on being well-read, I come across a fantastic author with an extensive back-catalogue that everyone’s read but me.

Bookish FOMO.

If all his stuff is this good, I’ll be busy until 2047.

Like all good scifi, there were fantastic characters (The Wonk, Uncharles, God) a unique, yet eerily familiar setting, and enough social commentary to give philosophers front-bottom shivers until the fall of capitalism.

The only thing I didn’t love were the Great Librarians. Librarians should be the hero of every story.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing, and Macmillan Audio for this comically dark ARC.

Service Model is a dystopian story where humanity has crumbled. But did the robots cause the downfall? I enjoyed this story which makes the reader look at the relationship between humanity and AI as well as cause and effect. Our main character is a valet robot and the story plays out with him often reviewing his task list and determining if actions will help him complete his tasks. I personally found these logic streams enjoyable, but it does create a slower pacing to the story. Ultimately, the story became a quest. The author has presented a vivid and clear picture of what the society looks like. From robots stuck in decision loops to absent leaders, this world is in chaos. I found the story at times, both funny and heartfelt. The author has laid out a situation that I found interesting to explore.

I listened to the audiobook and the author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, has done an outstanding job with the narration. I think it added to my overall enjoyment of the story. He beautifully embodies the characters and I found the narrative to be clear and entertaining.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen in advance.

I'm always in awe with how this author writes sci-fi stories and this is no exception. The robot who wants to be a valet and be of service to a human after he killed his previous boss was funny and sassy and I loved how he talked to the other characters and his thoughts. The narrator was excellent, making the story even better to follow.

This sci-fi, post-apocalyptical novel explores what would happen if humans relied upon robots to do virtually every task for them. Charles, a valet robot is the central character and he meets The Wonk as he travels outside of his manor when his master has been unalived by...him. These characters probe what led to humanity going virtually extinct. This one was definitely a mind bender and leaves you questioning our ways of life. I absolutely enjoyed this novel, as well as the theoretical questions it posed on how humans may be our own worst enemy.

If you could have a robot for a task, what would you you want the robot to do? Now what do you think it will do after you die?

"Service Model" by Adrian Tchaikovsky (and narrated by, out June 4, 2024) shows us a world falling apart. Humanity is on the way out and the robots aren't exactly programed to handle that well. Now they are attempting to go about their command sequences when situations really don't warrant it. We follow a particular robot as it attempts to find purpose in a world that doesn't exactly need a valet for humans anymore. Well, after the whole murder thing.

Reasons to read:
-I laughed aloud several times
-The logic trains some of the programming leads to is wild
-When the reader notices the issues it's subtle and then a bat to the head
-Oh the military industrial complex would definitely make that

Cons:
-Stop giving corpos bad ideas to follow! They are going to get the wrong lesson out of this

I enjoyed this book very much.

This was my first title by Tchaikovsky, though I have been wanting to try this author for a while. The characters were interesting and complex, the pacing good, and the dialogue witty.

There was a similarity in feeling to the Monk & Robot books from Chambers, which I appreciate; although, this book was more exciting, with medium peril. The plotting was good, the story complete, and the denouement satisfying.

Great book!

ETA: my second time through this book, I listened to the audiobook version from Macmillan audio and it was fantastic! Tchaikovsky reads the book himself and his accent is perfect and his diction is sublime. His voice is perfect for the main character. An excellent audiobook experience!

I’ve only read one Tchaikovsky before, Elder Race, which is a favorite and was very profound in its impact. So I was quite excited to read this one, especially with the comparisons to Murderbot. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to those comps.

I think my mistake was trying this out on audio. The dispassionate, repetitive and robotic narration - both of the story and the audiobook - just made it very boring to get through, unnecessarily draggy, with nothing much interesting happening at all. While I had some hopes from the Wonk, it wasn’t enough to save me from the dreary characterization of Uncharles, who is not half as interesting as Murderbot. This slow pace and execution style really made me not want to try to understand the underlying themes of the story because my patience was over by the time I was half way through the book. Maybe if I had an ebook, I would have skim read it super fast, but going through an almost 12 hour audiobook felt like a slog.

Ultimately, this just wasn’t for me. While I like this kind of cozy quiet sci-fi, this book didn’t feel executed well. Maybe fans of Tchaikovsky will find it to their liking. I definitely don’t recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast paced or action adventure sci-fi.

A human-facing service model robot finds itself in need of a task list when the human it had been serving -- the last human occupant of the manor house -- dies. This book is very funny in different ways. At first, the robot's floundering and its interactions with the rest of the manor's robots are quite amusing. As the service model attempts to arrange another situation for itself, the book turns darkly humorous, slyly pointing out some of the computer programming issues and limitations that can cause misinterpretations and endless looping. This part reminded me of older Soviet sci-fi where a faceless, nameless bureaucracy stands in the way of progress. Fortunately for the service model, it meets another entity, The Wonk, who is also on a quest. The two join forces to find some answers. Their lengthy journey takes them to various places with and without humans as they piece together what happened and what will happen next. It got a little slow at times, but I attributed that to it being more about the journey than the destination.

The narration is excellent. This is a great read (or listen) for anyone interested in sci-fi, AI, Turing tests, programming glitches, robotics, end-of-world class struggles, and other speculative topics. I quite enjoyed it!

This book was a delight, I really enjoyed it. Having the author narrate it really added a layer of enjoyment to the text as well. My only note was that it felt a bit too long, but for Tchaikovsky, I feel like 12 hours/400 pages IS a novella. I loved the main character and seeing how his POV and his journey unfolded, as well as the very strange and interesting characters along the way. Part of the reason I requested this book was the comparison to Redshirts and Murderbot, and I felt that the comparison was well deserved. It had the irreverence of Redshirts and the character work with a nonhuman person that made me fall in love with Murderbot.

Thank you Macmillan audio for this advanced audiobook copy.

First I cannot stress enough how talented the author is at narrating this book. I had a fantastic time listening to him giving life to his characters.

Regarding the story itself it was heartfelt and funny and so kind. I loved how the personality developed slowly and it was a great exemple in my opinion of "show, don't tell".
The pacing was a little slow but never boring.
It's another great story from Adrian Tchaikovsky, thank you again.

A world where human civilization has crumbled and robots are trapped in terrible programming is the setting for this story.
Poor Uncharles makes his way through the world to find a job where he can help people.

The narration brought this story to life!

I just reviewed Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky. #NetGalley

I though that "Service Model" started off a little slow. I wasn't instantly enamored with Uncharles, the way I was with Murderbot (as this books has been compared to), but I was definitely intrigued. Why did this valet robot go against his programming? Why have no knowledge of the incident? Who was programming these other robots in such roundabout inefficient ways?
And so I kept going... and found Uncharles more and more interesting as he made his was through the dystopian world with his sometimes companion, The Wonk, as The Wonk kept trying to encourage UnCharles to embrace his ability to make decision for himself... despite his singular goal to find a human and return to valet service. Perhaps fewer mishaps with the razor this time around.

I don't think comparisons with Murderbot are entirely fair, as the humor in Service Model is a bit drier, and in some ways a bit sadder. The world UnCharles finds himself in is definitely sadder than that of Murderbot, and the robots themselves have very different goals. But they are both incredibly well written and well worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

With a dash of influence from The Wizard of Oz this book explores the idea of humanity and its failings.

Charles is a valet robot whose entire being is thrown off when he realizes he has terminated his employer and can’t understand why.

He sets off to be fixed as his services are no longer needed and ends up on an adventure discovering free will and having to choose if he wants it or not.

This was such a fun read! I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure. It is funny but a smart funny, something perfect for this type of story. The central idea of the story isn't unique, but the story itself, its main two characters, and the world are, and it makes this a unique read. I would highly recommend this for those who enjoy the Murderbot series. Audiobook was perfect and easy to follow even at an accelerated speed.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this opportunity! This book was incredibly interesting and different than my normal reads. It begins as a robot murder mystery and progresses into a critique on the human race, our rapidly accelerating dependence on AI, and even the existence of God. The unreliable narrator, UnCharles, made the story unique to follow as I tried to translate his perspective into reality. I will definitely be checking out more by this author.

Read this if you liked: Made For Love, Beautyland, The One

2.5 stars.

The audiobook is very well read.

This is my first book by this author, and I was honestly expecting more. At 1/3 of the way through the audiobook, I would have quit listening had I not been given an AudioARC to review. Truthfully, I was just so *B O R E D*.

I am not sure why this book has been compared to Murderbot, other than the main protangonist (unknowingly) unalives his owner, is a robot and runs away. It lacks all of the wit, suspense, fun, personal growth, self-deprication and fast-paced adventure that make Murderbot the delight that it is.

All THIS robot wants is to find another job as a valet to some human, and serve. Yes, there are myriad adventures and a seriously loveable side character (human disguised as another robot). But the bland, service-orientated viewpoint of the main robot is repeated <ad infinitum> for 12.5 hours, throughout the bleak dystopian end of human civilization.

The writing unto itself is great and there is some great world-building. This author obviously has an active, varied imagination.

The second half of the book does become a bit more engaging. Though, I suppose, that I just cannot abide a main character to undertake such diverse adventures without changing to any significant degree or growing as a person. His outlook and dialogue were just so plateau and I remained thoroughly disappointed throughout the vast majority of this very-slowly evolving story. Some may argue that there was *a little* personal growth ... but in such a tiny degree and without very many other redeeming attributes, I am just happy to be moving on to my next read.

Huge gratitude to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an AudioARC of this book, in exchange for my (probably WAY too) honest review.