Okay, this book was just plain fun. The main character is Mack, a robot designed
to be an offensive weapon. However, Mack has developed the Free Will Glitch and
is driving a cab, hoping to qualify for citizenship in Empire City. He's got to
be careful and not squish any "biologicals" and knows that the police
are keeping an eye on him in case his original smash-and-destroy programming
runs amok. But when the human family that lives next door to him is kidnapped,
Mack swings into action to track them down and rescue them, for reasons that
are not clear to his logic processors.
The best parts of the story concern Mack's thoughts
on moving from cold robot logic to slippery human sentimentality, and Martinez
does a great job with this subtle philosophical theme. Meanwhile, the action is
fun and fast-moving, and fits perfectly within the pulpy world that Martinez
has created. But the novel is also a bit monochromatic as the retro-sci-fi
backdrop can't quite hold together an ambitious conspiracy among aliens,
mutants, norms, and robots; and there are a few plot holes here and there that
do some damage to the story line particularly regarding Mack's run-ins with the
cops. But readers who are willing to forgive a few lapses in focus will still
find a fun and very unique story with cool characters and a lot of rip-roaring
action.
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