What do you think?
Rate this book
Wild Concept
Lisa Burton is a new kind of robot. Built in the concept lab, she will be dismantled at the end of the experiment.
Lisa is a bit naive when she starts her new life, but soon learns to fit into modern society.
She gets assigned to the Hudson Police Department to study how she reacts to pressure, stress, and the everyday world. Hudson PD assigns her to a homicide case to catch the Escort Executioner.
When the escorts start showing up dismembered, she decides not to conclude her own experiment. She takes off on her own adventure to turn the tables on her creators.
Lisa is a bit naive when she starts her new life, but soon learns to fit into modern society.
She gets assigned to the Hudson Police Department to study how she reacts to pressure, stress, and the everyday world. Hudson PD assigns her to a homicide case to catch the Escort Executioner.
When the escorts start showing up dismembered, she decides not to conclude her own experiment. She takes off on her own adventure to turn the tables on her creators.
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 17, 2014
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 18, 2017
Loved this book! Lisa the Robot is such an engaging character and I connected with her immediately. Highly recommend!
My Rating: 5+ stars
My Rating: 5+ stars
May 8, 2016
One of the things I like best about Indie fiction is the fact that it isn't formulaic.
This is nothing against mainstream authors who have managed to land contracts with big publishing houses. God bless them for their good fortune. That said, it's pretty clear most of them are producing novels that are heavily influenced by market research commissioned by their publishers. Writing books according to the formulas dictated by that market research reduces the risk of publishing a novel that will not be at least moderately successful in the marketplace.
The result is a lot of books that are written by authors who follow the rules laid down by the industry.
And it shows.
The heroes and heroines - what few there are - fit certain comfortable stereotypes as do the villains. The plots tend to be predictable. That's not to say that they are "bad books," only to point out that they aren't terribly original.
That just isn't the case with Indies who are writing their stories their way. As a result, their books tend to be fresher in their approach to plot, narrative and characters. The plots, in fact, tend to be more complex, the motivations of the characters don't always fall predictably into place, and the result is an entirely different reading experience.
"Wild Concept" by C.S. Boyack is anything but formulaic.
To start with, his female protagonist Lisa Burton is beautiful, smart, loyal, strong in both mind and body, and tenacious.
She's also not human.
A highly advanced prototype robot, Lisa has been designed to look, act, and even feel emotions just like a human. As part of her field testing, she is assigned to a local police force as a detective, partnered with a veteran cop nearing retirement who is one of only two people in the Hudson P.D. that knows she is a robot. Together they investigate the murders of some upscale escorts. It's a challenging case because the killer leaves virtually no clues behind as to his/her identity and uses an exotic poison to dispatch the victims.
Lisa is, at the beginning of her stint as a police detective, a cross between Sgt. Joe Friday of "Dragnet" fame and Honey West, the private eye played so sensually by Anne Francis.
(Those of you too young to remember either character can Google them...)
Along the way, however, she begins to evolve into her own unique persona and that creates an interesting problem not only for her but also for the corporation that made her. I'm not going to spoil the fun by revealing what that problem is because that would be unfair to those who haven't read the book yet and to Boyack. Suffice it to say that this "problem" becomes the backbone of the novel, giving it shape and substance.
The narrative is straightforward, smoothly written, and contains some scenes that are filled with pathos, which are - in my opinion - some of the most effective in the novel.
In his narrative, Boyack doesn't spend a lot of time on description, giving the reader a sense of the places that Lisa and other characters inhabit without counting every nail in the floorboards. This is a plus, in my opinion, because it gives the reader an opportunity to use his or her own imagination to fill in those details. In essence, therefore, it allows us to interact with both the story and the characters and that makes the reading experience more enjoyable. Likewise, his secondary characters are finely drawn: They are not just cardboard cutouts whose sole purpose is to fill in some dialogue for Lisa, but are nicely fleshed out.
The verdict: An excellent story, well told, and a novel I highly recommend.
This is nothing against mainstream authors who have managed to land contracts with big publishing houses. God bless them for their good fortune. That said, it's pretty clear most of them are producing novels that are heavily influenced by market research commissioned by their publishers. Writing books according to the formulas dictated by that market research reduces the risk of publishing a novel that will not be at least moderately successful in the marketplace.
The result is a lot of books that are written by authors who follow the rules laid down by the industry.
And it shows.
The heroes and heroines - what few there are - fit certain comfortable stereotypes as do the villains. The plots tend to be predictable. That's not to say that they are "bad books," only to point out that they aren't terribly original.
That just isn't the case with Indies who are writing their stories their way. As a result, their books tend to be fresher in their approach to plot, narrative and characters. The plots, in fact, tend to be more complex, the motivations of the characters don't always fall predictably into place, and the result is an entirely different reading experience.
"Wild Concept" by C.S. Boyack is anything but formulaic.
To start with, his female protagonist Lisa Burton is beautiful, smart, loyal, strong in both mind and body, and tenacious.
She's also not human.
A highly advanced prototype robot, Lisa has been designed to look, act, and even feel emotions just like a human. As part of her field testing, she is assigned to a local police force as a detective, partnered with a veteran cop nearing retirement who is one of only two people in the Hudson P.D. that knows she is a robot. Together they investigate the murders of some upscale escorts. It's a challenging case because the killer leaves virtually no clues behind as to his/her identity and uses an exotic poison to dispatch the victims.
Lisa is, at the beginning of her stint as a police detective, a cross between Sgt. Joe Friday of "Dragnet" fame and Honey West, the private eye played so sensually by Anne Francis.
(Those of you too young to remember either character can Google them...)
Along the way, however, she begins to evolve into her own unique persona and that creates an interesting problem not only for her but also for the corporation that made her. I'm not going to spoil the fun by revealing what that problem is because that would be unfair to those who haven't read the book yet and to Boyack. Suffice it to say that this "problem" becomes the backbone of the novel, giving it shape and substance.
The narrative is straightforward, smoothly written, and contains some scenes that are filled with pathos, which are - in my opinion - some of the most effective in the novel.
In his narrative, Boyack doesn't spend a lot of time on description, giving the reader a sense of the places that Lisa and other characters inhabit without counting every nail in the floorboards. This is a plus, in my opinion, because it gives the reader an opportunity to use his or her own imagination to fill in those details. In essence, therefore, it allows us to interact with both the story and the characters and that makes the reading experience more enjoyable. Likewise, his secondary characters are finely drawn: They are not just cardboard cutouts whose sole purpose is to fill in some dialogue for Lisa, but are nicely fleshed out.
The verdict: An excellent story, well told, and a novel I highly recommend.
June 25, 2015
The first time I saw the cover for Wild Concept, I was reminded of the graphic novels I used to read as a teen. You know that saying “don’t judge a book by its cover?” Well, in this case there is much more going on in the story than a wild sci-fi, adventure ride. You get plenty of sci-fi and adventure in this fast-paced story, but more importantly you get a central character who is complex, endearing and so easy to cheer for. The emotional elements of the book are what stood out for me the most.
Lisa Burton is the prototype of a sophisticated robot who appears human in every way. Her creators place her with the local police department as a detective in order to see how she responds to the various situations she’s placed in. They fully intend to dissemble her in order to retrieve data from her parts after a period of time. The problem with that is the more Lisa interacts with humans, the more human she becomes.
Lisa is a wonderful character—intelligent, highly capable, but also with a childlike innocence and curiosity. She’s the kind of friend everyone would love to have—and she makes friends with a number of equally compelling and colorful characters. I especially loved the way she interacted with Bunny, the pet rabbit she rescues.
In addition to slick sci-fi and adrenaline-infused adventure, there’s also a crime to be solved. Throughout the whole novel I kept worrying how the author was going to wrap the ending in a satisfying manner. I never saw his solution coming, but loved it. A highly enjoyable read!
Lisa Burton is the prototype of a sophisticated robot who appears human in every way. Her creators place her with the local police department as a detective in order to see how she responds to the various situations she’s placed in. They fully intend to dissemble her in order to retrieve data from her parts after a period of time. The problem with that is the more Lisa interacts with humans, the more human she becomes.
Lisa is a wonderful character—intelligent, highly capable, but also with a childlike innocence and curiosity. She’s the kind of friend everyone would love to have—and she makes friends with a number of equally compelling and colorful characters. I especially loved the way she interacted with Bunny, the pet rabbit she rescues.
In addition to slick sci-fi and adrenaline-infused adventure, there’s also a crime to be solved. Throughout the whole novel I kept worrying how the author was going to wrap the ending in a satisfying manner. I never saw his solution coming, but loved it. A highly enjoyable read!
November 4, 2019
This is an excellent story, with a fantastic plot, and a wonderful main character who's easy to connect with and relate to (despite being a robot). I highly recommend this book.
March 20, 2017
Ignore the cover!
Covers are important. As readers, a good cover grabs our attention, and a bad one pushes us away. I took a chance on this book, and am very glad I did.
The automation X2, or Lisa Burton, is a prototype, or proof of concept. She has emotions, and is sentient. Placed in the homicide department of the local police, she experiences the best and worst of humanity while learning what it means to be human. This is not a deep book, but it explores true friendship, life and death, what really makes us human.
This book does not have the smooth flow that makes you lose your sense of time and space. There is heavy use of "it was," "she wore," "they went" phrasing. After a few chapters the storyline exerts itself, and the "noise" fades into the background.
Covers are important. As readers, a good cover grabs our attention, and a bad one pushes us away. I took a chance on this book, and am very glad I did.
The automation X2, or Lisa Burton, is a prototype, or proof of concept. She has emotions, and is sentient. Placed in the homicide department of the local police, she experiences the best and worst of humanity while learning what it means to be human. This is not a deep book, but it explores true friendship, life and death, what really makes us human.
This book does not have the smooth flow that makes you lose your sense of time and space. There is heavy use of "it was," "she wore," "they went" phrasing. After a few chapters the storyline exerts itself, and the "noise" fades into the background.
July 21, 2018
This story introduces you to Lisa Burton. She is a robot with a job – and with increasing sensitivity… I cannot tell you more about the story as it would spoil the fun of reading it yourself.
With Wild Concept, C. S. Boyack presents us with the incredible experiences Lisa Burton – an automation – makes during her job with Hudson PD and in her personal life. This story is cleverly elaborated, has a real good flow, a certain humorous streak, focuses on Lisa, her personal growth and her acquaintances. Except for Lisa, C. S. Boyack describes his characters’ looks in not too much detail, you can imagine them clearly nonetheless. I was drawn in, felt very close to the Lisa and the events. I could easily envision the characters and locations. I had a very good time reading Wild Concept. The flow changes at a certain point, underlining the required change in Lisa’s ‘life’. Enjoy and see how Lisa develops, roar with laughter, cry, shake your head, whenever it suits you. Lisa Burton is my favourite (book) character of the year 2014.
This is a book to read again.
With Wild Concept, C. S. Boyack presents us with the incredible experiences Lisa Burton – an automation – makes during her job with Hudson PD and in her personal life. This story is cleverly elaborated, has a real good flow, a certain humorous streak, focuses on Lisa, her personal growth and her acquaintances. Except for Lisa, C. S. Boyack describes his characters’ looks in not too much detail, you can imagine them clearly nonetheless. I was drawn in, felt very close to the Lisa and the events. I could easily envision the characters and locations. I had a very good time reading Wild Concept. The flow changes at a certain point, underlining the required change in Lisa’s ‘life’. Enjoy and see how Lisa develops, roar with laughter, cry, shake your head, whenever it suits you. Lisa Burton is my favourite (book) character of the year 2014.
This is a book to read again.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews