Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is a relatively short read. The whole story harkens to the Asimov Laws of Robotics. Not a very deep read but enjoyable nevertheless.

I started reading this book and found that it was not for me. I didn't want to review a book that I didn't finish.

ALMOST HUMAN by HC Denham

A science-fiction book about AI (artificial intelligence) as personal home robots are being developed and deployed into the public's homes. Everyone seems to have a different idea about them, usually, they love them or hate them. Typical of people's mindset in today's society. All love or hate.

The book follows a test group that is employed by the robotics company to see if people can deal with the mental issues that arise having something living in your home.

Several of the men in the test group seemed to have an almost sexual type of relationship with their female robots. The machines were not anatomically correct, but the men seemed to rely heavily upon them.

Thank you to #netgalley for the complimentary copy of #almosthuman I was under no obligation to post a review.

While this one was a quick read, and dips into the premise of my favorite show Westworld, it didn’t have any of the twists and turns. Instead, it had a lot of superfluous details that got a bit annoying. Every plot point was reinforced at least two or three times through repetitive dialogue to the point that I almost dnf’d. But it was a short enough book to finish.

There seemed to be some disconnect between the first and second halves of the story. And so many underlying things that were hinted at were never uncovered in the end... so why mention them in a half-interested way?

In addition, the only female character constantly berates herself and calls herself neurotic and “a pain” for simply voicing thoughts (that I would also have in her situation) to the other characters that were 90% male.

I so wanted to like this one, but was pretty disappointed with how surface-level it ended up being.

Almost human

This story begins with a fascinating and terrifying mystery regarding a married couple’s trial period with two androids. Something goes massively wrong. At first, each android performs flawlessly and the couple seems extremely pleased. However, the wife ends up being committed to a mental hospital and the husband ends up taking his own life. Huh? Why?!? And then when the android company comes to retrieve their property, they discover more mysteries. It has been padlocked away in an unused ‘fridge with its face smashed in but in otherwise perfect condition. Wow!! What’s the story here?!?

Some time afterwards, the work assistant of the dead husband chats with the android’s programmer; she wants to get to the bottom of the mystery, too. In reply, he starts to confess something—something that really, really pissed me off. She’s not sure exactly how far the confession extends, and she describes some downright inexplicable behavior that she witnessed the androids doing, and he completely dismisses her observations.

As a result, she is so freaked out by everything, and she flees the country. Fast forward ten years, and we see her life has completely changed. Descriptions of the bucolic countryside, insights into her serious romance with her new boyfriend, and lots of interior monologues.

Although all of this is extremely readable, at times I found myself flipping over pages of descriptions to look for some action—especially some robot action. For example, at one point, her phone rings and we must wait through a page and a half of her thoughts before she answers it. So much reader torture!

Finally, an android shows up, and gad zooks, it will be her mother’s home health caretaker! I cannot spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag, or spoil the details of what happens next!

But fairly soon the book ends. And it is so abrupt I found myself flicking and flicking my reader’s interface, trying to get more pages to appear. More robots, please!

Even though I wanted more robots, I do think the author is a good writer, especially the mystery parts, which convey some excellent, heart thumping horror!

4-5 stars for the initial vignette, 1 star for the resolution, 3 stars for the quality of prose

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this preview and for listening to my feedback.

This is science fiction for those who do not usually read it. A wonderfully fast moving human and humane story informed by ideas from science fiction (for example, Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics) and science fact (notably Masahiro Mori's 'uncanny valley' hypothesis which suggests that humanising the behaviour and appearance of robots and their like will be regarded positively by human beings up to a point but beyond this will be seen in increasingly negative terms). On this some recent studies suggest that women are, as does Stella, the book's central and most beguiling character, more likely to respond in such a way then do men. Against this background 'Almost Human' is an involving, sometimes humorous, tale of the differing and evolving relationships of love and dependence and distrust and withdrawal as between its human characters both with each other and with the human like robots with whom they interact. I much enjoyed reading it and will read it again - what better test can there be? Like the best books in the genre it made me think in a novel way about the present and the future that we are all likely to face. It has a wonderfully enigmatic ending that makes me hope for a sequel - and perhaps also a film from the book. I will certainly be recommending it.

Don't let a dislike of science fiction put you off reading this highly unusual novel. This is a story about love, human relationships and the effect that sophisticated Artificial Intelligence could have on all our lives. In fact, the future it envisages is nearly upon us. If it does become possible to create robots who are like us but more perfect in every way, where will that leave ordinary, imperfect humans?
An experiment to introduce empathetic humanoid robots into domestic situations is taking place against the background of an environmental project in Africa. The outcome is catastrophic for one couple, but of the young singletons participating, only the woman, agronomist Stella Mayfield, feels uncomfortable at the intrusion of humanoid robots into her life.
When Stella returns to the UK, sophisticated AI is everywhere and to her dismay, a robot is caring for her elderly mother.
With moments of shock, wry comedy and evocative descriptions of both Kenya and North London, the novel also gives a unique insight into the differing attitudes of males and females to relationships and to the opposite sex and asks some important questions about where technology is leading us. The denouement raises serious questions about the future.

Though I'm not particularly interested in either discussing or reading about the use of robots and the idea of their 'taking over', these themes are so well explored in this book that I was fascinated. As the relationships between humans and humanoid robots are revealed there are several unexpected developments, which the writer cleverly leaves for the reader's own interpretation.
The differences between the male and female expectations of and reaction to the robots is also fascinating, as is the fact that it is Stella, the most dubious and reluctant, who chooses to employ one in the second part of the novel.
This, and the many other themes such as the 'power' of the robots or of their creators make it a very thought provoking novel.
The descriptions of an African desert landscape, Edinburgh and London help to make it very readable, as do the touches of humour, particularly in the portrayal of the all powerful Hod, the bright young 'techie' from Essex with the wannabe Californian accent!

Normally not a fan of science fiction I found the prospect of the infiltration of robots made human (almost) and their often surprising effects on the people supposedly controlling them really fascinating. These creatures are believable and creepy, too useful to dismiss. The descriptions of the settings are particularly evocative. I enjoyed the irony and alternative explanations in the ending. A gripping read.

Writing: 3/5 Plot: 3/5 Characters: 2/5
A cautionary tale of a future where AI based humanoid robots may be slowly taking over the planet while the human population they are intended to serve remains blissfully unaware. All but one — the utterly competent, perfectly empathic, friendly humanoid robots just give Stella Mayfield the creeps.

While the plot had potential, I really didn’t enjoy this book. The characters were extremely stereotyped (and really, although Stella was a Biologist with a PhD, she behaved like the stereotypical neurotic woman while the men behaved like stereotypical men — completely out of touch with their feelings blah blah blah. The techie robot engineer was the biggest stereotype of all (and spoke some weird dialect that didn’t match anything I’m familiar with and I live and work in Silicon Valley!). There is very little science and very little plot — instead it includes lots of filler encompassing a lot of clichéd relationship stuff that had little to do with the plot. Writing is decent enough that I finished the book, but nothing special, and the end was completely predictable. Could have made a decent short story with better characters and more philosophic depth.