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Automaton
In the not too distant future, after the huge successes of role-playing games, virtual worlds and reality shows, it was only a matter of time before somebody took the next step.
A remote a population existing only to entertain. Their lives broadcast around the clock and around the globe. Their actions dictated by their owners. It’s the world’s biggest game played by thousands. Welcome to Gameworld.
Dean 3012 is a good guy living on the Island. He loves his girlfriend, Lily, to pieces. With their first baby on the way, life is perfect. But when things take a sinister turn, the couple are plunged into a world of darkness and despair. Dean must somehow find a way to take control and fight for all their lives.
Amelia watches the game, given the gift of a Gameworld Character when she was but a small child. However, when her character’s happiness is threatened, how far will Amelia go to protect her?
Cheryl Davies was born in England, in 1978. She moved with her family to the Isle of Man aged five. She obtained her degree in English Literature at the University of Hertfordshire. She returned to the Island and qualified as a teacher, and has taught in her local Primary School for almost six years. This is her debut novel.
A remote a population existing only to entertain. Their lives broadcast around the clock and around the globe. Their actions dictated by their owners. It’s the world’s biggest game played by thousands. Welcome to Gameworld.
Dean 3012 is a good guy living on the Island. He loves his girlfriend, Lily, to pieces. With their first baby on the way, life is perfect. But when things take a sinister turn, the couple are plunged into a world of darkness and despair. Dean must somehow find a way to take control and fight for all their lives.
Amelia watches the game, given the gift of a Gameworld Character when she was but a small child. However, when her character’s happiness is threatened, how far will Amelia go to protect her?
Cheryl Davies was born in England, in 1978. She moved with her family to the Isle of Man aged five. She obtained her degree in English Literature at the University of Hertfordshire. She returned to the Island and qualified as a teacher, and has taught in her local Primary School for almost six years. This is her debut novel.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2011
About the author
C.L. Davies
4 books155 followersBorn in Ashford in 1978, C.L. Davies moved with her family to the Isle of Man when aged five. She obtained her degree in English Lit at the University of Hertfordshire, and returned to the Island and qualified as a teacher. She has taught in a local primary school for nine years.
Davies loves the Manx countryside, and her small but gorgeous garden. She's a little obsessed with palm trees. As a demented but doting first-time mum, much of her time is spent caring for her new baby, who is the centre of her world.
Davies lives happily with baby beautiful, the spirit of their much-missed cat, Pudge, and fiance Dean.
She is the author of the acclaimed book 'Automaton' and upcoming novel 'Resonance.'
Unbelievably, Dean is yet to read the book ...
Davies loves the Manx countryside, and her small but gorgeous garden. She's a little obsessed with palm trees. As a demented but doting first-time mum, much of her time is spent caring for her new baby, who is the centre of her world.
Davies lives happily with baby beautiful, the spirit of their much-missed cat, Pudge, and fiance Dean.
She is the author of the acclaimed book 'Automaton' and upcoming novel 'Resonance.'
Unbelievably, Dean is yet to read the book ...
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 18, 2014
Automation is about a virtual world called Gameworld. It takes place on a remote island, where an android population exists to entertain. Their lives are broadcast 24/7 around the world and their actions are dictated by their owners. It’s highly expensive to buy a character, yet thousands of people are playing it. It is the biggest game in the world and everyone is watching.
The book concentrates on the island and the ‘real world’ where you get to meet the owners, the characters and the maker of the game. Dean and Lily are two characters who are together. They are in love and are expecting a baby together. They truly are a great couple, but Dean’s owner, whose own life is depressing him, has other plans for Dean, which doesn’t bode well with Amelia, who is Lily’s owner. Nope, not at all.
I really did like Amelia – the human gamer- at the beginning. She had grown up with her Character Lily from a young age and she simply loved her, thinking of her more as a best friend or sister, than a character. But then she become obsessed and in my opinion, a little bit psycho over Lily and her boyfriend, Dean, and what the gamer of Dean’s character was doing to the couple and to Lily’s feelings. She hates to witness Dean’s actions on her screen and feels anger towards Dean’s owner, wondering why he would try to destroy the couple.
Dean’s owner, Luke is a lawyer, currently trying to get a murderer off his charge. The only thing that he looks forward to is Gameworld when he comes home from work. But because his life is depressing, he feels that Dean should be a bit naughty in the game. Amelia doesn’t like this one bit and tracks down Luke. You really have to read the book to find out what happens between these two, but my god, it is clear to see how out of touch the owners become and how involved they are with the game they would do anything to see their characters happy. They literally immerse their own lives into the game. Which is completely unhealthy on so many levels.
Throughout the book, I actually felt that Lily and Dean were more than characters. It was easy to forget they were entertainment and a game and easy to believe they were human and not in a show such as The Truman show with all the mics and cameras in the game. They lived a normal life, apart from when their owners intruded and made them do things, but other than that, they literally had no idea they were a game. They actually though that was how they were meant to be living; with all these rules and regulations and ‘evil demons’ making them feel and do things they knew was wrong, yet they couldn’t be stopped.
I really felt for Dean and Lily. I just wanted everyone to stop meddling in their relationship. It certainly got to a point, near the end, where the heartbreak Dean felt was awful to read. What Amelia did was so horrible and then what Dean did…Dear god, you can see how easy it would to become too involved in a game such as this one. It really is terrifying to think that this game or one like it could happen in the future and how captivated we, as a nation, could become to it.
This book really does highlight the obsessions of online gaming with virtual worlds and it did remind me of games such as The Sims and Second Life. Amelia’s obsession with the game is something that can be seen around the world with many gamers in today’s society. With people spending hours a day confined to their computers or games consoles, playing all the new games and making new ‘worlds’ where they can control the characters to do whatever they want.
Cheryl Davies’ writing style flowed with ease. I was drawn in on every single page, desperate to know what was going to happen to each character, both real and in android form. The story is well written and captivated me. I started reading today and finished it a couple of hours ago. When I read a book that completely draws me in, I have this urge to finish it so I know how it ends. It becomes too hard to put the book down and when I spent 4 hours in work today, all I could think about was reading this book and continuing the story. There really are twists in this story that will have you shocked and the one that really did shock me was near the end with Dean and Lily. I’m not going to say what happens as I don’t want to spoil it, but you really need to read this book. Much like the Awaken series by Katie Kacvinsky, this scenario could very well happen someday in the future.
I definitely recommend this book. It will really get you thinking.
The book concentrates on the island and the ‘real world’ where you get to meet the owners, the characters and the maker of the game. Dean and Lily are two characters who are together. They are in love and are expecting a baby together. They truly are a great couple, but Dean’s owner, whose own life is depressing him, has other plans for Dean, which doesn’t bode well with Amelia, who is Lily’s owner. Nope, not at all.
I really did like Amelia – the human gamer- at the beginning. She had grown up with her Character Lily from a young age and she simply loved her, thinking of her more as a best friend or sister, than a character. But then she become obsessed and in my opinion, a little bit psycho over Lily and her boyfriend, Dean, and what the gamer of Dean’s character was doing to the couple and to Lily’s feelings. She hates to witness Dean’s actions on her screen and feels anger towards Dean’s owner, wondering why he would try to destroy the couple.
Dean’s owner, Luke is a lawyer, currently trying to get a murderer off his charge. The only thing that he looks forward to is Gameworld when he comes home from work. But because his life is depressing, he feels that Dean should be a bit naughty in the game. Amelia doesn’t like this one bit and tracks down Luke. You really have to read the book to find out what happens between these two, but my god, it is clear to see how out of touch the owners become and how involved they are with the game they would do anything to see their characters happy. They literally immerse their own lives into the game. Which is completely unhealthy on so many levels.
Throughout the book, I actually felt that Lily and Dean were more than characters. It was easy to forget they were entertainment and a game and easy to believe they were human and not in a show such as The Truman show with all the mics and cameras in the game. They lived a normal life, apart from when their owners intruded and made them do things, but other than that, they literally had no idea they were a game. They actually though that was how they were meant to be living; with all these rules and regulations and ‘evil demons’ making them feel and do things they knew was wrong, yet they couldn’t be stopped.
I really felt for Dean and Lily. I just wanted everyone to stop meddling in their relationship. It certainly got to a point, near the end, where the heartbreak Dean felt was awful to read. What Amelia did was so horrible and then what Dean did…Dear god, you can see how easy it would to become too involved in a game such as this one. It really is terrifying to think that this game or one like it could happen in the future and how captivated we, as a nation, could become to it.
This book really does highlight the obsessions of online gaming with virtual worlds and it did remind me of games such as The Sims and Second Life. Amelia’s obsession with the game is something that can be seen around the world with many gamers in today’s society. With people spending hours a day confined to their computers or games consoles, playing all the new games and making new ‘worlds’ where they can control the characters to do whatever they want.
Cheryl Davies’ writing style flowed with ease. I was drawn in on every single page, desperate to know what was going to happen to each character, both real and in android form. The story is well written and captivated me. I started reading today and finished it a couple of hours ago. When I read a book that completely draws me in, I have this urge to finish it so I know how it ends. It becomes too hard to put the book down and when I spent 4 hours in work today, all I could think about was reading this book and continuing the story. There really are twists in this story that will have you shocked and the one that really did shock me was near the end with Dean and Lily. I’m not going to say what happens as I don’t want to spoil it, but you really need to read this book. Much like the Awaken series by Katie Kacvinsky, this scenario could very well happen someday in the future.
I definitely recommend this book. It will really get you thinking.
July 5, 2012
Originally posted as a video review on the Curiosity Quills website so feel free to head there if you'd rather watch it than read it. I received my copy of Automaton as a free review copy at the London Book Fair. I am not paid / compensated for my reviews.
As a person who loathes the voyeuristic, lowest common denominator televisual slush that is reality TV, the premise of Automaton really appealed to me. In the near future, this dross has melded with role-playing games to produce a natural extreme – GameWorld, a real life, isolated island practically constructed out of cameras and microphones, where advanced AI who think they are real humans live out their lives in a citywide soap opera. These AI Characters are controlled by operators in the real world – super-rich or super-lucky individuals who ‘own’ a person in this goldfish bowl of a world – and watched by pretty much everyone else.
But these are not mindless SIMs. The inhabitants of the city are sentient, with true personalities, each with their own desires, thoughts and motivations, but commands can be given that override all of this. Give your Character no orders and she will continue with her life as normal; give her an order than feels natural to her and she will do it without really noticing, as if the idea just came to her; give her an order than goes against her own needs and morals, and she will kick and scream, wail and beg the gods ‘why must this happen to me’, while her limbs do your bidding regardless. An operator can instruct their Character to do pretty much anything that is not criminal, and as a whole, players use this to live out the kind of simple, happy, Pleasentville lives the real world doesn’t accommodate.
The novel follows the lives of two Characters, Lily and Dean, a deeply loving couple within GameWorld. Their love is idealised, almost too perfect, as you would expect from this fantasy world, but it is sensitively written, tender and genuine, making the couple easy to care about and easy to root for. When Dean’s operator, Luke, has a bad day, kicking off a bitter and vindictive mood, he programs Dean to have an affair. The emotional turmoil for Dean of being forced into a betrayal he finds loathsome, combined with the fury of Lily’s operator, Amelia, at the destruction of her beloved Character’s happiness, starts a chain of events that sends ripples through not only GameWorld, but the real world as well, and raises some fascinating moral questions.
Automaton is a short novel. Heck, at 186 pages, compared to some of the epic tomes that helped reduce my vertebrae to a series of rice crispy squares held together with garden twine on my journey back from the London Book Fair, it’s practically a pamphlet; it took a lot longer to produce this review than it did to read the book. But there is a lot of story in this slim novel. It is short not because the plot is sparse, but because the writing is very lean. Every page progresses the plot or provides important character or world information directly connected to the story. In speculative fiction, authors often give in to a temptation to wax lyrical on the details of their carefully crafted universe, wanting you to know its intricacies as well as they do, to the point where it becomes less a story and more a travel guide. Conversely, Automaton takes a need-to-know approach, with every cameo player to cross our stage present just long enough to flesh out their personality and motivations enough to not be a 2D archetype, and the world is described by the protagonists’ interactions with it, rather than through exposition dumps. But the protagonists are so much a product of their environment that you still find out enough through their experiences to get as real grip on the world. Davies has the fundamental writing principle of “show, don’t tell” down to a fine art.
From a production standpoint, Automaton clocks in at a pretty respectable 2.7 EPH – which is to say, errors per hundred (pages), with five errors total. Okay, to be fair it’s probably 2.2 EPH, given most people aren’t as picky about zoology mistakes as me and won’t care (extra points for anyone who spots the ‘error’ I’m referring to here!).
Overall, I would recommend Automaton to… pretty much everyone, actually. Sci-fi or romance fan or both, it does an excellent job of both genres. Go get your copy. Just sayin’.
As a person who loathes the voyeuristic, lowest common denominator televisual slush that is reality TV, the premise of Automaton really appealed to me. In the near future, this dross has melded with role-playing games to produce a natural extreme – GameWorld, a real life, isolated island practically constructed out of cameras and microphones, where advanced AI who think they are real humans live out their lives in a citywide soap opera. These AI Characters are controlled by operators in the real world – super-rich or super-lucky individuals who ‘own’ a person in this goldfish bowl of a world – and watched by pretty much everyone else.
But these are not mindless SIMs. The inhabitants of the city are sentient, with true personalities, each with their own desires, thoughts and motivations, but commands can be given that override all of this. Give your Character no orders and she will continue with her life as normal; give her an order than feels natural to her and she will do it without really noticing, as if the idea just came to her; give her an order than goes against her own needs and morals, and she will kick and scream, wail and beg the gods ‘why must this happen to me’, while her limbs do your bidding regardless. An operator can instruct their Character to do pretty much anything that is not criminal, and as a whole, players use this to live out the kind of simple, happy, Pleasentville lives the real world doesn’t accommodate.
The novel follows the lives of two Characters, Lily and Dean, a deeply loving couple within GameWorld. Their love is idealised, almost too perfect, as you would expect from this fantasy world, but it is sensitively written, tender and genuine, making the couple easy to care about and easy to root for. When Dean’s operator, Luke, has a bad day, kicking off a bitter and vindictive mood, he programs Dean to have an affair. The emotional turmoil for Dean of being forced into a betrayal he finds loathsome, combined with the fury of Lily’s operator, Amelia, at the destruction of her beloved Character’s happiness, starts a chain of events that sends ripples through not only GameWorld, but the real world as well, and raises some fascinating moral questions.
Automaton is a short novel. Heck, at 186 pages, compared to some of the epic tomes that helped reduce my vertebrae to a series of rice crispy squares held together with garden twine on my journey back from the London Book Fair, it’s practically a pamphlet; it took a lot longer to produce this review than it did to read the book. But there is a lot of story in this slim novel. It is short not because the plot is sparse, but because the writing is very lean. Every page progresses the plot or provides important character or world information directly connected to the story. In speculative fiction, authors often give in to a temptation to wax lyrical on the details of their carefully crafted universe, wanting you to know its intricacies as well as they do, to the point where it becomes less a story and more a travel guide. Conversely, Automaton takes a need-to-know approach, with every cameo player to cross our stage present just long enough to flesh out their personality and motivations enough to not be a 2D archetype, and the world is described by the protagonists’ interactions with it, rather than through exposition dumps. But the protagonists are so much a product of their environment that you still find out enough through their experiences to get as real grip on the world. Davies has the fundamental writing principle of “show, don’t tell” down to a fine art.
From a production standpoint, Automaton clocks in at a pretty respectable 2.7 EPH – which is to say, errors per hundred (pages), with five errors total. Okay, to be fair it’s probably 2.2 EPH, given most people aren’t as picky about zoology mistakes as me and won’t care (extra points for anyone who spots the ‘error’ I’m referring to here!).
Overall, I would recommend Automaton to… pretty much everyone, actually. Sci-fi or romance fan or both, it does an excellent job of both genres. Go get your copy. Just sayin’.
September 3, 2012
A manipulated soap opera, or a controlled reality show?
It’s GameWorld, located on a remote island, sometime in the future. It’s a place where no one has to lock their doors because nothing bad ever happens. As a matter of fact, everyone must wear a sleep- mask before falling asleep, to stop bad thoughts from entering their minds.
GameWorld is an extremely successful business. The CEO, Madison, is in control, and his employees take orders. The people, or androids, are purchased for entertainment by the wealthy. To receive a birthday gift of a Character for GameWorld, is the best gift ever. Amelia receives just such a gift from her father, her name is Lily.
Lily’s husband, Dean, is really a nice guy and a good husband. But his owner, Luke, has a bad day and decides to take his anger out on his Character, Dean. He types in for Dean to cheat on Lily. Sadly, Dean has no control over his programming. Amelia won’t have her Character, Lily, hurt in this way. She talks to Madison, and Amelia becomes the first game changer in GameWorld.
To protect Lily, she wants to replace Dean. She is willing to finance the cost of owning a second Character. Madison approves the deal. He feels guilty because GameWorld is a happy place, where people fulfill their fantasies and morals, through their Characters. Very rarely do people type in something bad for their Characters to do, and this is where we realize GameWorld isn’t perfect after all. But Amelia wants a perfect man for Lily, and Madison provides her with one. Again she controls Lily’s life and her destiny with this new Character, Archie, a perfect man.
What happens to Dean? You must read Automaton to find out! Is he terminated, is he swapped for a twin, is he forced to retire, is retirement a good thing in GameWorld?
I continued to be entertained throughout, Automaton, by Cheryl Davies. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t participate in role playing games or watch reality TV, but whatever the reason, I found the story captivating.
Cheryl Davies writes in a succinct writing style. She doesn’t waste words with fluff descriptions. I appreciated reading a well written book applying this style. It served as an example of ‘less is more’ well done. Every character and scene was flawless in description.
I recommend, Automaton, by Cheryl Davies, for readers of all ages. It will leave you pondering if a GameWorld is in our future!
It’s GameWorld, located on a remote island, sometime in the future. It’s a place where no one has to lock their doors because nothing bad ever happens. As a matter of fact, everyone must wear a sleep- mask before falling asleep, to stop bad thoughts from entering their minds.
GameWorld is an extremely successful business. The CEO, Madison, is in control, and his employees take orders. The people, or androids, are purchased for entertainment by the wealthy. To receive a birthday gift of a Character for GameWorld, is the best gift ever. Amelia receives just such a gift from her father, her name is Lily.
Lily’s husband, Dean, is really a nice guy and a good husband. But his owner, Luke, has a bad day and decides to take his anger out on his Character, Dean. He types in for Dean to cheat on Lily. Sadly, Dean has no control over his programming. Amelia won’t have her Character, Lily, hurt in this way. She talks to Madison, and Amelia becomes the first game changer in GameWorld.
To protect Lily, she wants to replace Dean. She is willing to finance the cost of owning a second Character. Madison approves the deal. He feels guilty because GameWorld is a happy place, where people fulfill their fantasies and morals, through their Characters. Very rarely do people type in something bad for their Characters to do, and this is where we realize GameWorld isn’t perfect after all. But Amelia wants a perfect man for Lily, and Madison provides her with one. Again she controls Lily’s life and her destiny with this new Character, Archie, a perfect man.
What happens to Dean? You must read Automaton to find out! Is he terminated, is he swapped for a twin, is he forced to retire, is retirement a good thing in GameWorld?
I continued to be entertained throughout, Automaton, by Cheryl Davies. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t participate in role playing games or watch reality TV, but whatever the reason, I found the story captivating.
Cheryl Davies writes in a succinct writing style. She doesn’t waste words with fluff descriptions. I appreciated reading a well written book applying this style. It served as an example of ‘less is more’ well done. Every character and scene was flawless in description.
I recommend, Automaton, by Cheryl Davies, for readers of all ages. It will leave you pondering if a GameWorld is in our future!
September 18, 2012
Automaton by Cheryl Davies where robots are celebs, and you hold the keyboard. It's a tale about how far our entertainment can go. A simulation video game and reality TV collide to make a bizarre futuristic obsession.
Madison is the creator of GameWorld. It's all the craze. But Madison is starting to feel guilty.
People will do anything for their Character. And I mean anything. Amelia is heart-stricken when her character, Lily, is the victim of an affair. Amelia plans to get revenge on the programmer responsible for messing up their relationship.
Sadly, Dean's affair on Lily leads to multiple tragic events within GameWorld and in real life. People within the game start to disappear. Secrets are found out. And Amelia makes the decision of her life. Will a pregnant Lily stay with Dean? Or will her programmer wipe her memory clean?
Oh, this story is bizarre. Mostly because it could actually happen. This is the next step in entertainment.
I enjoyed the plot of this story. It's well written. I liked all the characters. The pace was great. I think the idea behind the novel is current. It's a story to captivate all.
We all love characters, games and control. We all are subject to obsessiveness. That's why I don't plan Sims, because I know I'd play it all day. It's endless.
What if our celebs were robots? What if we could control them? Now, we're talking. See. You need to read this book!
September 28, 2012
An excellent thought provoking debut novel. It doesn’t happen to me very often, but this was one book I didn’t want to put down. The story takes Reality TV to the next and very scary level. James Madison creates a virtual and supposedly perfect world with Gameworld, where rich clients can buy characters in the game, and with a few simple taps on a keyboard, control their character’s life. The story continues, flicking from real life characters to Gameworld characters, which leaves the reader wondering what is actually real and what is not. Clients get so involved with their characters that their own lives become immersed in the game, they lose touch with reality, and in one case it leads to murder. What the clients don’t realise is that not all the characters are androids, some are human! With minds that fight against the brainwashing they have received.
People already create fantasy avatars for themselves and live out virtual lives. Does Automaton show us what the next stage could be? I sincerely hope not.
People already create fantasy avatars for themselves and live out virtual lives. Does Automaton show us what the next stage could be? I sincerely hope not.
August 24, 2012
This book is a brilliant read, I didn't realise until the phone rang that I'd been sitting still reading for 3 hours!! I wont give away the storyline but I'd say it's to do with reality TV gone too far, which I could see happening for real in the future!
I love this book, its gripping and exciting, and you really feel for the characters. I think this new author has an excellent style of writing that kept me so gripped, the story was excellent. It's nice to read a book that isn't full of waffle that's there just to fill pages, I really hope amazon brings more from this author asap as I need a new book to read and loved this one!
I was a bit wary before reading as I'd never heard of the author, but a friend recommended it and I'm so glad, I would definately recommend reading this book and would say this new author is one to watch!!
I love this book, its gripping and exciting, and you really feel for the characters. I think this new author has an excellent style of writing that kept me so gripped, the story was excellent. It's nice to read a book that isn't full of waffle that's there just to fill pages, I really hope amazon brings more from this author asap as I need a new book to read and loved this one!
I was a bit wary before reading as I'd never heard of the author, but a friend recommended it and I'm so glad, I would definately recommend reading this book and would say this new author is one to watch!!
April 8, 2012
I loved Automaton. It was so good to read a book without overly descriptive ramble. It just gets on with the story and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I really got into the characters and felt deeply for Dean and Lily – I even cried over them! Without spoiling the story for anyone, this book has murder, intrigue, depth and big twists. By far the best book I have read in a long time.
August 24, 2012
This is one of the best books I have read. The story grips you straightaway without any unnecessary pros as many writers do (I abandoned my last book because of this). Without giving too much away it has something for everyone. It is a real page turner with some shocks in store. I couldn't wait to see what happened. Can't wait for her next book!
February 25, 2015
I've never read quite anything like this book before. It's like an RPG of the film 'Truman', where various characters (both human and AI) in a reality TV show are owned and operated by people.
The plot is interesting but the world building isn't as deep as I would like and several characters are barely fleshed out. However, I commend writer C.L. Davies on her imaginative first effort.
The plot is interesting but the world building isn't as deep as I would like and several characters are barely fleshed out. However, I commend writer C.L. Davies on her imaginative first effort.
November 20, 2011
My Wife absolutely loved this and couldn't put it down. She read it in almost one go without stopping.
I can only describe it as Romeo and Juliet of the future.
I can only describe it as Romeo and Juliet of the future.
December 27, 2015
This book had so much potential. The plot synopsis makes it sound like a story about a guy who is an android in a game and discovers the truth about his life in order to fight for his family, along with being about a human girl who is addicted to the game. I would have been fine with a decent storyline about either of these things, but sadly, this book has neither. In fact, in lieu of good sci-fi, I would have happily taken decent contemporary fiction, romance, thriller, mystery, or frankly any other genre. Instead, I got a disaster of a book that didn't know what genre it was. Seriously, I've read better fan fictions for free.
TL;DR: This book is a bait-and-switch mullet: the front cover is romance, the back cover is sci-fi, the content is none of the above. The characters are boring, the ending is awful, and nothing changes. If all of the characters in this book had died at the end, it might have made a better book.
TL;DR: This book is a bait-and-switch mullet: the front cover is romance, the back cover is sci-fi, the content is none of the above. The characters are boring, the ending is awful, and nothing changes. If all of the characters in this book had died at the end, it might have made a better book.
May 28, 2013
This book was actually sent to me by Cheryl Davies herself for a review, I have to say I am so glad I said yes! Being the first ever Sci-Fi I have read, it has certainly made me want to read more of that genre. The book is about a virtual world called GameWorld, where players own their own characters and then control their every move without their characters knowing, even when they do things they really don’t want to. Their lives are then broadcasted around the world 24/7 for people to watch, just like Big Brother. The story concentrates on Dean and Lily, the two people who live in the GameWorld and are controlled by Amelia and Luke. Dean starts to have an affair, which Amelia (Lily’s owner) can see on the outside, she isn’t happy about it so she decides to sort it out with Deans owner Luke. I will stop there as I don’t want to ruin the story for other people! If you want to know the rest then I suggest you read this wonderful book. Although there will be spoilers throughout my review.
There are so many good things about this book starting with the way Davies makes us fall in love with the characters of Dean and Lily, even though Dean cheats on Lily (Against his own will of course) we still love him. They were such a lovable couple and so perfect. They are expecting a baby and getting ready for the rest of their lives together until Amelia decides to do the most awful heartbreaking thing ever and wipe Lilys memory! Which leaves Dean alone, sad and depressed. Its so heartbreaking to read but its amazing how Davies has wrote it so perfectly that we can feel the pain Dean is going through.
Another thing that I really loved about this book is how the story has so many twists and turns and it totally shocks you. I was expecting the happy ending and them ending up living happily ever after, but oh no not Automaton, I guess in a sense it is a happy ending for Amelia but for Dean and Lily, oh no. It is rare that a book actually makes me sit and cry to the point my mom has to comfort me but this book made it happen. It was so sad feeling the desperation Dean was experiencing to find Lily and get her to remember him and also him not being able to see his daughter or even get a chance to know her. Deans death got me sobbing the most, I totally did not expect it but I think it is what has made this book so different and good, rather than follow most authors and do the happy ending Davies had gone down the other road and gave it the happy-ish ending with a good twist.
The book really highlights the obsession with online gaming in virtual worlds and also people’s obsessions with reality tv. I must say after reading this book I went straight onto my laptop to play sims! Being an obsessed player of the Sims and also reality TV this book was just perfect to me. When I have characters on the sims I have sometimes got a little attached and felt sad when bad things happen to them, so I can totally understand Amelias anger when she found Dean cheating on Lily. Its scary to think that in the future this could actually happen! The other thing that is even scarier is the way these people are terminated, that creeped me out so much! If you stay out after curfew, don’t wear your sleep mask or try and run across the fields you are a goner.
There is probably only one thing about this book I would say I didn’t like and that was the way it kept jumping from character to character, at first it was really confusing to keep up with but after awhile I got used to it and got into the way it kept just hopping to another character. Infact one more tiny thing that could’ve made it better, is if the book was longer. Maybe this is just my sims addict coming out but I would have loved to read more about their lives and also Amelia’s life behind the screen.
I honestly loved this book so much and i’m not just saying this because the author sent me the book and will be reading the review. I have recomended this book to many of my friends I have spoke about it that much my sister has began to read the book too. This book is perfect for any sci-fi fan, sims fan, reality tv fans just anyone!
Like I said I had never read a sci-fi and now I can’t wait to read another. Its just one of those books that make you think wow what if… and yikes this could actually happen! I am going to give this book a 4.5 out of 5! Not only was the book amazing but Cheryl Davies is a wonderful and kind woman too. She motivated me to write more through the exchange of emails and also just made me more excited about reading and writing altogether.
There are so many good things about this book starting with the way Davies makes us fall in love with the characters of Dean and Lily, even though Dean cheats on Lily (Against his own will of course) we still love him. They were such a lovable couple and so perfect. They are expecting a baby and getting ready for the rest of their lives together until Amelia decides to do the most awful heartbreaking thing ever and wipe Lilys memory! Which leaves Dean alone, sad and depressed. Its so heartbreaking to read but its amazing how Davies has wrote it so perfectly that we can feel the pain Dean is going through.
Another thing that I really loved about this book is how the story has so many twists and turns and it totally shocks you. I was expecting the happy ending and them ending up living happily ever after, but oh no not Automaton, I guess in a sense it is a happy ending for Amelia but for Dean and Lily, oh no. It is rare that a book actually makes me sit and cry to the point my mom has to comfort me but this book made it happen. It was so sad feeling the desperation Dean was experiencing to find Lily and get her to remember him and also him not being able to see his daughter or even get a chance to know her. Deans death got me sobbing the most, I totally did not expect it but I think it is what has made this book so different and good, rather than follow most authors and do the happy ending Davies had gone down the other road and gave it the happy-ish ending with a good twist.
The book really highlights the obsession with online gaming in virtual worlds and also people’s obsessions with reality tv. I must say after reading this book I went straight onto my laptop to play sims! Being an obsessed player of the Sims and also reality TV this book was just perfect to me. When I have characters on the sims I have sometimes got a little attached and felt sad when bad things happen to them, so I can totally understand Amelias anger when she found Dean cheating on Lily. Its scary to think that in the future this could actually happen! The other thing that is even scarier is the way these people are terminated, that creeped me out so much! If you stay out after curfew, don’t wear your sleep mask or try and run across the fields you are a goner.
There is probably only one thing about this book I would say I didn’t like and that was the way it kept jumping from character to character, at first it was really confusing to keep up with but after awhile I got used to it and got into the way it kept just hopping to another character. Infact one more tiny thing that could’ve made it better, is if the book was longer. Maybe this is just my sims addict coming out but I would have loved to read more about their lives and also Amelia’s life behind the screen.
I honestly loved this book so much and i’m not just saying this because the author sent me the book and will be reading the review. I have recomended this book to many of my friends I have spoke about it that much my sister has began to read the book too. This book is perfect for any sci-fi fan, sims fan, reality tv fans just anyone!
Like I said I had never read a sci-fi and now I can’t wait to read another. Its just one of those books that make you think wow what if… and yikes this could actually happen! I am going to give this book a 4.5 out of 5! Not only was the book amazing but Cheryl Davies is a wonderful and kind woman too. She motivated me to write more through the exchange of emails and also just made me more excited about reading and writing altogether.
August 4, 2016
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
This is a very interesting story. I really enjoyed it.
Dean and Lily are interesting characters. They are characters who live in a virtual reality game, though they do not know this. In their world, they are living their own lives and are unaware of the outside world who watch them with close scrutiny. When Dean's owner sends a new instruction, it creates a ripple affect and lives are changed forever.
I have been wanting to read this book for some time. However, due to my rather large reading list, I have only recently been able to do so.
I started to read this book and was quickly hooked. In a way, this story reminded me of the computer game The Sims. It also reminded me of two movies: The Truman Show and Westworld. The author has taken a look at the "what if" scenario of what consists of virtual reality. If we lived in a game, would we know? And, if we did, what we do to survive? However, she has also explored the darker side of obsession, in this case Lily's 'owner', Amelia. Amelia is possessive and protective of Lily and when Dean's owner throws a spanner in the works by making him do something that threatens Dean's and Lily's relationship, Amelia becomes bent on revenge. What follows is a chilling tale that made me rather uncomfortable. So much so that I had to put the book down on more than one occasion. It has a very dark undertone that unsettled me. However, I had to keep reading in order to find out what was happening next.
This story is told through various points of view, which, although this gave the reader a broader understanding on what was going on, also caused confusion as I struggled to remember which characters were in the game and who was in the real world.
James Madison is the creator of Gameworld and the characters within it. Although he is only in a few scenes, I did like him even though I don't think he sees the characters he creates as real. He doesn't have an emotional connection to them and is a businessman through and through. However, the public love his Gameworld and have created an emotional bond with their characters. It is the modern equivalent of watching a television soap opera or Big Brother and the viewers developing feelings for the characters, though also having control of the characters' themselves. Scary!
My only complaint is that I struggled to form an emotional attachment to the majority of characters. The only one I felt anything for was Dean. This made it extremely difficult for me when I reached the end of the book, as I was left slightly disappointed in the way it concluded. However, other readers may have a different experience to myself.
C.L. Davies has written an interesting science fiction novel that takes a chilling look at virtual reality games and what can happen when it becomes all too real for those who live in them and for them. I enjoyed her fast paced writing style, though felt that the flow was somewhat compromised by having too many characters. Nevertheless, I would consider reading more of her books in the future.
Due to scenes of violence, I do not recommend this book for younger readers. However, I recommend this book if you love science fiction or horror genres. - Lynn Worton
This is a very interesting story. I really enjoyed it.
Dean and Lily are interesting characters. They are characters who live in a virtual reality game, though they do not know this. In their world, they are living their own lives and are unaware of the outside world who watch them with close scrutiny. When Dean's owner sends a new instruction, it creates a ripple affect and lives are changed forever.
I have been wanting to read this book for some time. However, due to my rather large reading list, I have only recently been able to do so.
I started to read this book and was quickly hooked. In a way, this story reminded me of the computer game The Sims. It also reminded me of two movies: The Truman Show and Westworld. The author has taken a look at the "what if" scenario of what consists of virtual reality. If we lived in a game, would we know? And, if we did, what we do to survive? However, she has also explored the darker side of obsession, in this case Lily's 'owner', Amelia. Amelia is possessive and protective of Lily and when Dean's owner throws a spanner in the works by making him do something that threatens Dean's and Lily's relationship, Amelia becomes bent on revenge. What follows is a chilling tale that made me rather uncomfortable. So much so that I had to put the book down on more than one occasion. It has a very dark undertone that unsettled me. However, I had to keep reading in order to find out what was happening next.
This story is told through various points of view, which, although this gave the reader a broader understanding on what was going on, also caused confusion as I struggled to remember which characters were in the game and who was in the real world.
James Madison is the creator of Gameworld and the characters within it. Although he is only in a few scenes, I did like him even though I don't think he sees the characters he creates as real. He doesn't have an emotional connection to them and is a businessman through and through. However, the public love his Gameworld and have created an emotional bond with their characters. It is the modern equivalent of watching a television soap opera or Big Brother and the viewers developing feelings for the characters, though also having control of the characters' themselves. Scary!
My only complaint is that I struggled to form an emotional attachment to the majority of characters. The only one I felt anything for was Dean. This made it extremely difficult for me when I reached the end of the book, as I was left slightly disappointed in the way it concluded. However, other readers may have a different experience to myself.
C.L. Davies has written an interesting science fiction novel that takes a chilling look at virtual reality games and what can happen when it becomes all too real for those who live in them and for them. I enjoyed her fast paced writing style, though felt that the flow was somewhat compromised by having too many characters. Nevertheless, I would consider reading more of her books in the future.
Due to scenes of violence, I do not recommend this book for younger readers. However, I recommend this book if you love science fiction or horror genres. - Lynn Worton
October 7, 2012
Computer games, we've all played them at some point in our lives... (at least: I did)! I could spend hours playing "The Sims", happy to give them the life I wanted for them. They didn't have a chance to choose what they'd eat that day, what time they'd get up, what job they'd want to do... I was the "god" in their universe and I enjoyed my power.
What if those little creatures in the game were "real"? That's what's going on in "Gameworld", a game created by businessman James Madison. A game played by lots and lots of people in the future, especially the wealthy ones. All they have to do is buy a character in the game and program its life. They can choose everything and they can watch their android "friends" on Wallvision. It's like a reality show and they can choose what happens.
The thing most people don't know is that these creatures are human beings from time to time. In Gameworld we find a "healthy" mixture of robotparts and humans. All of them have to wear sleepmasks at night so they can be programmed and controled. Don't worry, all of them have a great life without bad things. They live in the best of worlds until the human part of some creatures starts to be stronger. They start to ask questions and the safe bubble around Gameworld is starting to splash open.
Although Madison first thought he did a great thing by buying the unwanted human children from their parents and by putting them on this distant island where they would be property of somebody and controled BUT happy, he now starts to doubt it all. Is he ruining those children's life? Is Gameworld becoming a real dangerous place?
If you want to learn something more about the story and about our lovely main characters Dean and Lily, I'd suggest you just read the book. It's a must read and I truly recommand it to everybody. Young adults and adults can equally like and even love this book. It doesn't matter if you don't normally like this genre, you'll love the book no matter what!
The writing of Cheryl Davies is refreshing, straightforward, beautiful and captivating. I loved it that she told an intriguing and complete story without waisting space on redundant descriptions. Also there were lots of new characters introduced throughout the book, but she introduced them all in a way I could really connect with them. Even though they were bad sometimes, I understood their feelings and motives and that's what I find truly important in a book!
Besides the characters, the story and the writing, I also liked the concept so much! When I played the Sims in the past I already thought about the fact that maybe we ourselves are creatures like that in somebody's big game. Maybe we don't choose things but we ar programmed to choose them. I don't believe that anymore, but you know... what if... In Gameworld "Big Brother" is not only watching you, he's also directing you.
At the end I can only say I loved this book and praise writer Cheryl L. Davies for this debut! Great start of a big writing career I'd say. And if you still doubt whether buying the book or not, let me just add this... Cheryl is a very nice person (wink)! I already hoped I would like the book after her kind emails, so I'm glad I did :)
What if those little creatures in the game were "real"? That's what's going on in "Gameworld", a game created by businessman James Madison. A game played by lots and lots of people in the future, especially the wealthy ones. All they have to do is buy a character in the game and program its life. They can choose everything and they can watch their android "friends" on Wallvision. It's like a reality show and they can choose what happens.
The thing most people don't know is that these creatures are human beings from time to time. In Gameworld we find a "healthy" mixture of robotparts and humans. All of them have to wear sleepmasks at night so they can be programmed and controled. Don't worry, all of them have a great life without bad things. They live in the best of worlds until the human part of some creatures starts to be stronger. They start to ask questions and the safe bubble around Gameworld is starting to splash open.
Although Madison first thought he did a great thing by buying the unwanted human children from their parents and by putting them on this distant island where they would be property of somebody and controled BUT happy, he now starts to doubt it all. Is he ruining those children's life? Is Gameworld becoming a real dangerous place?
If you want to learn something more about the story and about our lovely main characters Dean and Lily, I'd suggest you just read the book. It's a must read and I truly recommand it to everybody. Young adults and adults can equally like and even love this book. It doesn't matter if you don't normally like this genre, you'll love the book no matter what!
The writing of Cheryl Davies is refreshing, straightforward, beautiful and captivating. I loved it that she told an intriguing and complete story without waisting space on redundant descriptions. Also there were lots of new characters introduced throughout the book, but she introduced them all in a way I could really connect with them. Even though they were bad sometimes, I understood their feelings and motives and that's what I find truly important in a book!
Besides the characters, the story and the writing, I also liked the concept so much! When I played the Sims in the past I already thought about the fact that maybe we ourselves are creatures like that in somebody's big game. Maybe we don't choose things but we ar programmed to choose them. I don't believe that anymore, but you know... what if... In Gameworld "Big Brother" is not only watching you, he's also directing you.
At the end I can only say I loved this book and praise writer Cheryl L. Davies for this debut! Great start of a big writing career I'd say. And if you still doubt whether buying the book or not, let me just add this... Cheryl is a very nice person (wink)! I already hoped I would like the book after her kind emails, so I'm glad I did :)
August 31, 2015
Major points for uniqueness on this novel. I've never read anything like this before. In a nutshell, it's the future and think Dungeons and Dragons taken to a whole 'nother level. Gamers get a character and tell it what to do and sometimes paths cross and shit happens. But...in this case, the gamers get to watch their characters live their lives and do the things they're told. Because it's real. It's a little island full of manipulated and brainwashed humans and robots. Imagine realizing you're just a game piece...in human form and someone elsewhere is controlling what you do, all your major life events, and if you break the rules...you get terminated.
We follow a couple of gamers and see how obsessed they are with the game and their characters. We follow the gamers' characters (Dean and Lily and Ross) too and see how they struggle with what their gamers tell them to do and what they really want to do. And the fear they live with...
There's a love story between two characters. There's infidelity, murder, secrets. I didn't like Lily much, mostly because she stayed with Dean, but on the other hand Dean was only a loser because his gamer told him to be. This raised a lot of emotional conflicts with me. I felt like a pendulum, leaning this way and that in what I felt for the characters. That's a compliment to the writer. They obviously became real to me.
Major points for uniqueness on this novel. I've never read anything like this before. In a nutshell, it's the future and think Dungeons and Dragons taken to a whole 'nother level. Gamers get a character and tell it what to do and sometimes paths cross and shit happens. But...in this case, the gamers get to watch their characters live their lives and do the things they're told. Because it's real. It's a little island full of manipulated and brainwashed humans and robots. Imagine realizing you're just a game piece...in human form and someone elsewhere is controlling what you do, all your major life events, and if you break the rules...you get terminated.
We follow a couple of gamers and see how obsessed they are with the game and their characters. We follow the gamers' characters (Dean and Lily and Ross) too and see how they struggle with what their gamers tell them to do and what they really want to do. And the fear they live with...
There's a love story between two characters. There's infidelity, murder, secrets. I didn't like Lily much, mostly because she stayed with Dean, but on the other hand Dean was only a loser because his gamer told him to be. This raised a lot of emotional conflicts with me. I felt like a pendulum, leaning this way and that in what I felt for the characters. That's a compliment to the writer. They obviously became real to me.
Find out what they are and read my favorite quote here: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2015/...
We follow a couple of gamers and see how obsessed they are with the game and their characters. We follow the gamers' characters (Dean and Lily and Ross) too and see how they struggle with what their gamers tell them to do and what they really want to do. And the fear they live with...
There's a love story between two characters. There's infidelity, murder, secrets. I didn't like Lily much, mostly because she stayed with Dean, but on the other hand Dean was only a loser because his gamer told him to be. This raised a lot of emotional conflicts with me. I felt like a pendulum, leaning this way and that in what I felt for the characters. That's a compliment to the writer. They obviously became real to me.
Major points for uniqueness on this novel. I've never read anything like this before. In a nutshell, it's the future and think Dungeons and Dragons taken to a whole 'nother level. Gamers get a character and tell it what to do and sometimes paths cross and shit happens. But...in this case, the gamers get to watch their characters live their lives and do the things they're told. Because it's real. It's a little island full of manipulated and brainwashed humans and robots. Imagine realizing you're just a game piece...in human form and someone elsewhere is controlling what you do, all your major life events, and if you break the rules...you get terminated.
We follow a couple of gamers and see how obsessed they are with the game and their characters. We follow the gamers' characters (Dean and Lily and Ross) too and see how they struggle with what their gamers tell them to do and what they really want to do. And the fear they live with...
There's a love story between two characters. There's infidelity, murder, secrets. I didn't like Lily much, mostly because she stayed with Dean, but on the other hand Dean was only a loser because his gamer told him to be. This raised a lot of emotional conflicts with me. I felt like a pendulum, leaning this way and that in what I felt for the characters. That's a compliment to the writer. They obviously became real to me.
Find out what they are and read my favorite quote here: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2015/...
March 6, 2013
From my blog www.mysuperbookblog.wordpress.com
I've really had to spend a lot of time thinking about this review. I'm not sure what to say, so I'm just going to say what I feel.
Automaton sounds really interesting to me. Gameworld is a virtual/real island where everyone is being controlled by their owner yet they have no clue they're being controlled, even when they do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. It's a mix of gaming and reality TV. In other words, there are very rich people controlling their character's every move and there is the rest of the world watching it like a TV show. The problem is the characters of Gameworld are able to think and love and live, but one careless owner and their lives can be destroyed almost instantly. Sounds great, right? I suppose it is, if you're into science fiction, which after reading this book, I realized I'm not. It has nothing to do with the book really. I should have known, as I'm not a fan of Science fiction movies, but the synopsis really intrigued me. Enough about my dislike for the genre and lets move on to the book.
The cast of characters were a bit hard for me to follow. Each chapter focused in on either one of the Gameworld characters, one of their owners, or the man in control. Because it jumped all over the place and from person to person, I had a hard time getting attached to any one character. They were all disposable to me. I realize it had to be done in order to properly tell the story, but I missed having a character connection. What I found most honest, for lack of a better word, is the obsession the owners had with their characters. It happens all the time in reality..... maybe not to the degree of this book..... at least not yet, anyway. These people were losing their real life lives, and some their minds, because they were too consumed with the game. This is a harsh, if not scary reality check. Lets be honest, so many of us are constantly checking our games (mine is my smurf village) and our kids are even worse. This book shows you just how far it can get. At what point do we say enough? What happens in this book can EASILY happen in real life, in the not too distant future.
Was this book for me? No. Do I have several friends who'd love it? Absolutely, because the book is a good, quick read, it just isn't my kind of book. I think it would make an excellent movie or even a TV show, however, science fiction, unfortunately, isn't my thing. Lesson learned. If it's your thing, buy the book. You'll enjoy it.
Did I like the book? Not really
Would I recommend the book? Absolutely
Overall Rating: Good (if you like science fiction)
Favorite Quote: It really wasn't that kind of book....
I've really had to spend a lot of time thinking about this review. I'm not sure what to say, so I'm just going to say what I feel.
Automaton sounds really interesting to me. Gameworld is a virtual/real island where everyone is being controlled by their owner yet they have no clue they're being controlled, even when they do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. It's a mix of gaming and reality TV. In other words, there are very rich people controlling their character's every move and there is the rest of the world watching it like a TV show. The problem is the characters of Gameworld are able to think and love and live, but one careless owner and their lives can be destroyed almost instantly. Sounds great, right? I suppose it is, if you're into science fiction, which after reading this book, I realized I'm not. It has nothing to do with the book really. I should have known, as I'm not a fan of Science fiction movies, but the synopsis really intrigued me. Enough about my dislike for the genre and lets move on to the book.
The cast of characters were a bit hard for me to follow. Each chapter focused in on either one of the Gameworld characters, one of their owners, or the man in control. Because it jumped all over the place and from person to person, I had a hard time getting attached to any one character. They were all disposable to me. I realize it had to be done in order to properly tell the story, but I missed having a character connection. What I found most honest, for lack of a better word, is the obsession the owners had with their characters. It happens all the time in reality..... maybe not to the degree of this book..... at least not yet, anyway. These people were losing their real life lives, and some their minds, because they were too consumed with the game. This is a harsh, if not scary reality check. Lets be honest, so many of us are constantly checking our games (mine is my smurf village) and our kids are even worse. This book shows you just how far it can get. At what point do we say enough? What happens in this book can EASILY happen in real life, in the not too distant future.
Was this book for me? No. Do I have several friends who'd love it? Absolutely, because the book is a good, quick read, it just isn't my kind of book. I think it would make an excellent movie or even a TV show, however, science fiction, unfortunately, isn't my thing. Lesson learned. If it's your thing, buy the book. You'll enjoy it.
Did I like the book? Not really
Would I recommend the book? Absolutely
Overall Rating: Good (if you like science fiction)
Favorite Quote: It really wasn't that kind of book....
September 8, 2012
Automaton by CL Davies is her debut futuristic novel with a unique twist. It begins as a novel with seemingly real people in the real world but gradually the plot unfolds and you begin to view two worlds, one real and one engineered. Welcome to GameWorld, where the characters are controlled by real people outside. Are you intrigued? Think of the Trueman Show (1998) –the movie which starred Jim Carey, who seemingly lived in a perfect world with a perfect life, until he discovered it was engineered that way and he was in fact living in a bubble. This is not the Trueman Show re-modelled in any way, but reading it sent me down the good old avenue of deja-vue.
GameWorld is not the perfect life in a perfect world. If you break the rules you are eliminated but I won’t spoil it and tell you how. One of the twists is that whilst many of the people there are in fact androids, some are human and have been ‘microchipped’ to respond to their controllers and to fit in and live in this engineered environment.
Lily and Dean are the protagonists here, a couple living a good life in the safe environment of GameWorld. That is until certain lives become unsettled in the real world and the human controllers begin to dabble and cause havoc in paradise.
The CEO, Madison, is in charge and it is in fact a business. Characters are bought and sold by those who can afford to do so. It is set on an isolated island and riddled with cameras and microphones. Some of the characters know that they are being monitored and observed. Controlled by their owners, their lives are televised to the public in the real world and it makes for dramatic viewing.
The thoughts and actions of the controllers and of the CEO and his staff are at times shocking and bring a multitude of social, moral and humane arguments to the fore. One of the most gripping twists is the connection between the real world, real people and GameWorld. I’m not in the habit of relating storylines and giving away plots so you really will have to wait until you read the book.
As for literary merit, Davies has an easy, flowing style with a concise narrative. It is well written with use of poetic language, imagery and vivid description. The dialogue is natural and the main characters and protagonists are well developed. You definitely want the best for them and I found myself willing a certain ending to happen. Did I get my wish? I can’t say just yet but not every story can have the ending of your desires, don't you agree?
GameWorld is not the perfect life in a perfect world. If you break the rules you are eliminated but I won’t spoil it and tell you how. One of the twists is that whilst many of the people there are in fact androids, some are human and have been ‘microchipped’ to respond to their controllers and to fit in and live in this engineered environment.
Lily and Dean are the protagonists here, a couple living a good life in the safe environment of GameWorld. That is until certain lives become unsettled in the real world and the human controllers begin to dabble and cause havoc in paradise.
The CEO, Madison, is in charge and it is in fact a business. Characters are bought and sold by those who can afford to do so. It is set on an isolated island and riddled with cameras and microphones. Some of the characters know that they are being monitored and observed. Controlled by their owners, their lives are televised to the public in the real world and it makes for dramatic viewing.
The thoughts and actions of the controllers and of the CEO and his staff are at times shocking and bring a multitude of social, moral and humane arguments to the fore. One of the most gripping twists is the connection between the real world, real people and GameWorld. I’m not in the habit of relating storylines and giving away plots so you really will have to wait until you read the book.
As for literary merit, Davies has an easy, flowing style with a concise narrative. It is well written with use of poetic language, imagery and vivid description. The dialogue is natural and the main characters and protagonists are well developed. You definitely want the best for them and I found myself willing a certain ending to happen. Did I get my wish? I can’t say just yet but not every story can have the ending of your desires, don't you agree?
April 18, 2013
Automaton is set in a not-too-distant future, where a particularly real reality show dominates everyday life. The plot line owes something to "The Truman Show", but is handled in an original manner by author Cheryl Davies. Unlike that film, there is much more equal focus on the lives of "outside" people as well as the "insiders", together with the ways in which these parallel worlds cross over. The nature of the show itself is also a little different, as becomes obvious as you read.
The story certainly got me thinking, and both the basic premise and the particular outworking were gripping. I liked the book, and would happily recommend it to anyone who likes to read speculative fiction about the near future. Like me, you will probably end up wondering who the automaton of the title is - a couple of characters are the obvious choice, but there are others too, and the inside-outside mirroring is part of the skill of the book.
That said, I had a few reservations. I would have liked the language style to be a bit richer. This is a purely personal thing and many would disagree with me, but I prefer a bit more ornament in the music of prose. Also, I wasn't convinced by the portrayal of the IT team members who appear part way through. I work day after day with people of many diverse IT skills, and I could not recognise any of them in the book. Unlike most of the other characters, these workers seemed to be drawn from rather stock geeky stereotypes - maybe they were supposed to be the automata!
Finally - and I suppose not unlike 'The Truman Show' - the reality show world is a very idealised happy place. Cruelty is present only as a very occasional interruption into a benign existence (other than the institutionalised cruelty of the whole show, arguably). The occupants seem to fear cruel and vicious deeds as basically irrational and demonic in origin, as well as extremely rare. However, the present-day soap operas with enduring popularity are often those with quite high levels of violence, intrigue, and betrayal (I'm thinking East Enders here, but there are others too). I strongly suspect that multi-player online games are rarely distinguished by such consistently generous acts of kindness! So I'm not quite convinced by the utopian qualities of the "insiders" life.
But these are relatively minor quibbles, and the story as a whole is well worth getting involved with. Four stars from me.
The story certainly got me thinking, and both the basic premise and the particular outworking were gripping. I liked the book, and would happily recommend it to anyone who likes to read speculative fiction about the near future. Like me, you will probably end up wondering who the automaton of the title is - a couple of characters are the obvious choice, but there are others too, and the inside-outside mirroring is part of the skill of the book.
That said, I had a few reservations. I would have liked the language style to be a bit richer. This is a purely personal thing and many would disagree with me, but I prefer a bit more ornament in the music of prose. Also, I wasn't convinced by the portrayal of the IT team members who appear part way through. I work day after day with people of many diverse IT skills, and I could not recognise any of them in the book. Unlike most of the other characters, these workers seemed to be drawn from rather stock geeky stereotypes - maybe they were supposed to be the automata!
Finally - and I suppose not unlike 'The Truman Show' - the reality show world is a very idealised happy place. Cruelty is present only as a very occasional interruption into a benign existence (other than the institutionalised cruelty of the whole show, arguably). The occupants seem to fear cruel and vicious deeds as basically irrational and demonic in origin, as well as extremely rare. However, the present-day soap operas with enduring popularity are often those with quite high levels of violence, intrigue, and betrayal (I'm thinking East Enders here, but there are others too). I strongly suspect that multi-player online games are rarely distinguished by such consistently generous acts of kindness! So I'm not quite convinced by the utopian qualities of the "insiders" life.
But these are relatively minor quibbles, and the story as a whole is well worth getting involved with. Four stars from me.
August 8, 2013
Sometime in the not so distance future a world has been created. A world in which its occupants think is real and they have no idea their every move is been watched, that they are providing entertainment to gamers in the real world. Gameworld is as popular as a soap opera today. The people in Gameworld owned, unknown to them by people in the real world, given them instructions on what to do and how to act when they are asleep with their sleep masks on.
Dean and Lily are a couple who live in the game, for them people getting eliminated for breaking the rules is quite normal to them. But when the gamer who owns Dean, Luke makes Dean do something which is completely out of character for Dean, Amelia Lily’s owner obsessed with Lily’s happiness she is prepared to go to great lengths to protect Lily.
Dean must search for the truth to find out why Lily and his perfect life is suddenly been disrupted, even if the truth could not be anything he could possibly ever imagine.
Once in a while a book falls into my hands that I consider special, very special and this is one of those great books. I loved it. I really like that the story is so different from my usual reads and I found this book to be a real page turner. I only hope there is going to be a sequel because I was left thinking, we can’t leave it there, and I need to know what is going to happen next! If I could give this book more than five stars I would a superb read from beginning to end.
Dean and Lily are a couple who live in the game, for them people getting eliminated for breaking the rules is quite normal to them. But when the gamer who owns Dean, Luke makes Dean do something which is completely out of character for Dean, Amelia Lily’s owner obsessed with Lily’s happiness she is prepared to go to great lengths to protect Lily.
Dean must search for the truth to find out why Lily and his perfect life is suddenly been disrupted, even if the truth could not be anything he could possibly ever imagine.
Once in a while a book falls into my hands that I consider special, very special and this is one of those great books. I loved it. I really like that the story is so different from my usual reads and I found this book to be a real page turner. I only hope there is going to be a sequel because I was left thinking, we can’t leave it there, and I need to know what is going to happen next! If I could give this book more than five stars I would a superb read from beginning to end.
April 15, 2013
Automaton has a great premise that takes reality television and virtual gaming to the next level. People's lives revolve around watching and participating in the real world lives of Gameworld. It's a very believable premise, but in execution it didn't feel very believable. The characters - from the Gameworld players to the ones who controlled them didn't feel life fully realized characters. And to have some of the Gameworld characters actually be real people seemed unlikely - there's no regulation for such a high profile game/show? The characters do forward the plot, and the story moves at a very good pace - this is a short and interesting read if you are willing to suspend disbelief.
Because the plot is fast-paced and the story moves to different characters point of view, the gradual unfolding of what goes on in Gameworld was interesting to read about, and some of the actions of the real characters made for exciting twists and turns. Though sometimes the motivations for their actions were unbelievable again. Although the story is thought-provoking, I didn't feel in the end that there was a real point or commentary to the narrative. Personally I felt unhappy with the ending, but it's a story that passes the time and for people who enjoy virtual worlds, it might be an entertaining read.
Because the plot is fast-paced and the story moves to different characters point of view, the gradual unfolding of what goes on in Gameworld was interesting to read about, and some of the actions of the real characters made for exciting twists and turns. Though sometimes the motivations for their actions were unbelievable again. Although the story is thought-provoking, I didn't feel in the end that there was a real point or commentary to the narrative. Personally I felt unhappy with the ending, but it's a story that passes the time and for people who enjoy virtual worlds, it might be an entertaining read.
February 18, 2012
I liked the premiss of the story. But it left me feeling flat and unhappy with the characters. Perhaps if it had been longer or delved into more doors about how Dean and Lily got to where they were and actually did something about Martin, I would have enjoyed it more. I really disliked when the author introduced another character towards the end of the book. I felt that was unnessicary and added confusion to the plot.
This is The Island meets Never Let Me Go meets 1984.
This is The Island meets Never Let Me Go meets 1984.
December 22, 2012
Review to come.
March 26, 2013
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