Category: Science Fiction
Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
ISBN-13:9780765318343
Pub. Date: February 2008
Date Read: February 2009
"Name's Mack Megaton. I'm a bot. Or automated citizen, as the Learned Council liked to phrase it. There were three classes of robot in Empire. You had your drones: low sophistication models geared toward mundane tasks. Then there were the autos: humanoid models designed for more complex work. Then you had your bots: autos and drones that qualified for citizenship. I hadn't quite reached bot status yet, but so far my probation had been going smoothly, and I was only forty-six months, six days, four hours, and twenty-two minutes from crossing that objective."
Mack's desire to be a full citizen of Empire might be in jeopardy now that he's embroiled in finding his next door neighbors. After he's apartment is blown up, he recovers a drawing that April Bleaker gave him. On the back of the drawing two words: Find Us.
Mack is supposed to be a fierce machine without a conscience but a glitch in his system makes doesn't let him sit back and wonder about the little girl. Instead he goes out into Empire City to find April and the rest of her family.
But navagating Empire City to find the Bleakers will involve Mack dealing with biologicals, mutants and trying to keep one step ahead of Officer Sanchez. Lucky for Mack, he's got Lucia Napier, a beautiful girl who loves machines, on his side.
When Mack finally finds the Bleaker family he realizes that something much more sinister has been going on at Empire and it's up to him to save the day.
There is fast-paced action in this story of a zany world where biologicals in all shapes and forms and a bot are all trying to live together. I particularly enjoyed the beginning of the novel where the author creates this world and entertains the reader with a colorful cast of characters.
I did find that the novel got a bit more bogged down towards the middle perhaps with the introduction of the big reveal Mack discovers. Still, a book with some good humor and a great main character.