Emergent Behavior

Pros: quick, easy read, engaging, thought-provoking

Cons: limited world-building

For Parents: some swearing, mentions of prostitution and sex slavery

Edmond West is inspired by a story of human cruelty to create a new form of slave - robots. But his single-minded focus has blinded him to the potential consequences of creating robots with fully human characteristics.

This is the first of a six book series. It's a quick read (only took me a few hours to whip through it) that introduces the protagonist and the plot scenario for the following books. There's a lot of character development as Edmond works on his project through the years, with some great thought-provoking moments as he confronts the realities of his magnum opus. The ending of this book is fast paced and leaves you wanting more.

Edmond is highly intelligent and often abrasive, though his social skills are good enough that he avoids being unpleasant. While I didn't love him as a character, I didn't hate him either. The author did a great job making him aware enough of his faults to redeem him.

The book is highly focused on Edmond and his purpose, so there's little world-building or other distractions. You get to know his co-worker well enough, and hear how Edward's work is utilized by his employers, but there's no in depth exploration of the process of building the robots or of the world in general of this future. Hart is the only other character who you really get a good feel for, and that's entirely through Edmond's eyes.

The moment Edmond brings his creation to life, and the epiphany he undergoes because of it, were wonderful to read.

It's a great start and I'm curious to see where the series goes.