Uncanny Valley poses an interesting question about the power and autonomy we give to robots and the consequences of such actions. It's a slippery slope, and one that could get out of control quickly. I enjoyed the distinctly drawn characters (I kept seeing Peter Dinklage as Francis for some reason) and especially enjoyed the interactions between Rebecca (the main character) and her personal companion bot Madeline. I wonder what that says about me? The setup to the second book is well conceived and the twist at the end I'll admit I did not see coming. I'm giving this book four stars although I really wanted to give it 3.5 stars because it really needs another copyediting pass. There are numerous spelling and grammatical errors that took me out of the story flow. But other than that, this is a solid story. Unfortunately the book is no longer listed on Kobo. ( )

The moment I saw that this audio book would go on tour, so to say, I volunteered. I love scifi, dystopies, fantasy etc, and the synopsis sounded promising.



Set in the not too far future, robots have taken over lots of work places, leaving those, whose places they fill in, poor and destitute.

As if this wasn’t enough, the world leader in robot technique, Halpert, challenges the intellectual elite to develop AI that can have emotions, and that can learn.

Data from Star Trek–The next Generation comes to mind. If you’ve followed this series, you’ll know that Data strives for getting the chip providing him with emotions, and ends up having to make a very difficult decision.

Here, the bots don’t have emotions, empathy or anything alike — yet — or have they?

Rebecca is about to find out. Is there actually a conspiracy going on? And what would be the consequences if Halpert & Co get their way?



The questions are answered within the book, although the ending promises a sequel.

It is not exactly an action story, lots of philosophical and ethical questions are raised and discussed, but there is some danger, and some action, too.

On the whole, it isn’t a predictable story, although I guessed who the ominous leader of the resistance was — and I guessed correctly.

I loved, that we have the pros and cons re: AI in general, and empathic AI in particular.

Is one worse than the other? More dangerous to humankind? About to take over the world?

In our day and time, A.I. and Industry 4.0 are being broadly discussed, so the topic of the book is a very current one which concerns us all.

So, OK, we are being steered in a specific direction, but then, it is important to be aware of the consequences.

We all want our data to be protected, yet here I am, having a blog, using social media sites, and doing online purchases, profiting from all the technology that makes life so much easier.

So, this is a great book about a subject that concerns us all.

Narrator Melissa Williams does a great job, although I didn’t enjoy the high-pitched voice she used for Rebecca a lot — but of course that is very subjective,since I generally prefer a deeper voice.

I recommend this book not just to young adults, but to everybody.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by C.A. Gray. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. ( )

This book was only so-so for me. It was more romance than science fiction, with a little touch of conspiracy theory stuff thrown in. Romance isn’t my cup of tea and I was left wanting more sci-fi. The conspiracy theory stuff kept the characters running around and provided most of the interesting parts.

Rebecca was hard for me to connect with. She’s working on an upper graduate degree but often she acts like a 15 year old. Her ridiculous attraction to Andy went on too long, becoming a little mind numbing. She’s usually a big ball of emotions simply reacting to events and people around her instead of being a force that drives the plot. She’s very needy, wanting to be all things to everyone around her. Initially, I saw this as a starting point for her character and expected her to grow throughout the story, but, alas, there is very little character growth for Rebecca.

I liked Liam well enough but felt that he was a bit too trusting, as is Rebecca. After all, if they truly believe some large corporate enemy is after them or at least monitoring their websites, then why do they communicate so freely via their electronic devices? I wish Francis, with his analytical mind and skeptical nature, had come on the scene earlier. I really enjoyed him, even with his often snide (but honest) remarks.

Madeline, Rebecca’s taboo companion bot, was fun. I like the conundrum she represents. How much of her caring nature is her programming versus an AI’s personality. Can Madeline have genuine feelings? This was the best part of the book.

The female characters were mostly fluff, even Madeline. When the ladies get together, they talk about the guys and romance… and not much else. I expected more from them.

The plot was straight forward and while some reveals were built into the storyline, none of them were a surprise. I would have liked a bit more complication to plot, since that’s what I look forward to in conspiracy theory stories. I wasn’t surprised about who sent the mystery messages, nor about Francis’s suspicions, and not about the identity of the government supporter of the Liam’s Resistance friends. The story leaves us on a cliff hanger. 3/5 stars.

The Narration: Melissa Williams gave a great performance on this narration. She had the perfect voice for Rebecca and distinct voices for all characters. I especially liked the slightly robotic voice she gave to Madeline. Her male voices were believable. While I didn’t like all of Rebecca’s emotional drama, Williams performed those emotions well. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by C.A. Gray. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. ( )