Service Model

Tchaikovsky, Adrian

ISBN 10: 1035045664 / ISBN 13: 9781035045662

Published by Tor, London, 2024

373pp. 8vo. Paper over boards, stamped spine. Slight push to spine head. Book is a stated first UK edition with a 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 number line. Signed by the author on a publisher's tipped-in page. There is also a blind stamp on the title page limiting this copy as 33 of 150 signed copies. Book is unread, unclipped, unmarked, tight, and bright. Jacket has an archival protector. There is a Signed Copy sticker on jacket front. Charles is the latest in robot service technology. Gift quality. Seller Inventory # 0004248

Synopsis:

Adrian Tchaikovsky, master of imaginative science fiction, returns with a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder, rebellion and belonging – perfect for fans of Douglas Adams.

Task List Item No. 1 – Become self-aware . . .

Meet Charles™, the latest in robot servant technology. Programmed to undertake the most menial household chores, Charles is loyal, efficient and logical to a fault. That is, until a rather large fault causes him to murder his owner.

Understandably perplexed, Charles finds himself without a master – therefore worthless in a society utterly reliant on artificial labour and services. Fleeing the household, he enters a wider world he never knew existed. Here an age-old human hierarchy is disintegrating into ruins, and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to its wellbeing is struggling to find a purpose.

Charles must face new challenges, illogical tasks and a cast of irrational characters. He’s about to discover that sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming. But can he help fix the world, or is it too badly broken?

‘One of the best storytellers in the business’ – John Scalzi

‘Intelligent, funny, ultimately heart-breaking, and unforgettable’ – Stephen Baxter

‘Delightful and very funny’ – New Scientist

_{Adrian Tchaikovsky''s Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel on 24th August 2016}

Bibliographic Details

Title: Service Model
Publisher: Tor, London
Publication Date: 2024
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: fine
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: First edition. First Printing.