Teaser

Charles is a valet. A service model. A machine programmed to cater to his master’s needs. The last thing he wants is for harm to befall anyone. When he is swept up in events beyond his control, he must face just how deep that programming runs . . .

Review

Comedy is a funny thing. Sitcoms are some of my favourite shows, and I love a good stand-up routine or sketch show. Yet when it comes to the printed word, I rarely laugh. Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy had a few moments, but John Sladek’s Roderick was woeful, and I know better than to go anywhere near Discworld. Personal taste, getting lost in translation, who can say? Whatever the reason, if a book is labelled as a comedy, I tend to dive out the nearest window. If I’d known going in that Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Service Model was going to be written in such a strongly satirical vein, I may well have waited for the paperback.

And yet, Tchaikovsky is an author who has earned my trust, so I grab his books without reading into them beyond the basic premise. I came to Service Model expecting a story of robotic revolution. I was surprised to find a comedy. I was even more surprised by how much I loved it.

Service Model is the story of Charles, a robotic valet who wakes one morning to find that his owner is dead, and that Charles himself is the likely culprit. The opening chapters in which Charles attempts to surrender first to his House, and then to law enforcement set the tone for the next three hundred pages. This is one of those very rare books that had me laughing out loud, and every chapter raised at least a chuckle or two.

A crime novel, however, this is not. That is only the start of Charles’ journey. A journey that takes him through mansions, factories, laboratories, libraries, wastelands, and warzones. The comedy never lets up, but underlying it all – for all good satires are built on sturdy foundations – is an insightful examination of a world ruled by machines. A world that is not so far removed from our own.

Other than the comedy, the best thing about this book is its approach to artificial intelligence. As the old saying goes, ‘never attribute to malice, that which may be achieved by incompetence.’ Charles lives in a world where robots have risen up and overthrown humanity. or so it seems on the surface. This is no Terminator situation, however. The robots we see are simply following their programming. Thus there are great queues of robots awaiting their next instruction. Self-driving lorries still running errands that can never be completed. Killing machines forced to invent their own wars to fight. The only flaw in these machines is that the follow their programming so well that they can think of nothing else to do.

Charles himself is the embodiment of this passive mentality. He spend the entire book reacting to events around him, all while seeking new employment as a valet. Not out of personal desire, or commitment to his career, but because that is what a valet does. They serve. This can render him an infuriating protagonist, for he has no agency at all. he does not grow. He does not change. In that, he has a lot in common with a sitcom character. This is not a book about growth, but acceptance. About knowing what you are, and dealing with the fact.

If I were the type to pick holes in this book, I could point to the lack of character development, about the way it feels like a novella pushed into novel length, or the sometimes unclear timeline of the robot uprising. All of these things are valid reactions, but overwhelming all these minor faults is one simple fact: Service Model is downright hilarious. If there is one book to be named my book of the year, then this is it.

Book Stats

• A Standalone Novel
• Published 2024 by Tor
• 373 Pages