In Adrian Tchaikovsky’s comic and thought-provoking Service Model, the one-time valet robot named Charles embarks on a journey to discover the source of a fatal error in his routines. His unforgettable travels, as is the case with all great books about journeys, leads him through adventures that lay bare the follies of human society, in this case, across a post-apocalyptic landscape. The trope of a robot stepping outside the bounds of its instruction set and wandering a broken world has been done many times, but Tchaikovsky brings to the story a brilliant comic wit and an imagination that plumbs the depths of robot logic and human behavior.

Service Model introduces us to Charles, an impeccably mannered and efficient robot valet in the wealthy household of his Master. Having received his lengthy task list from the House AI upon entering service, fresh from the factory, Charles is meticulous in checking off each task for his Master as it is completed, even though many of those tasks are useless since Master never goes anywhere these days. There are no travel arrangements to be made, no travel clothes worn, no guests arriving on social occasions. Nevertheless, that is not Charles’s concern. What the Master does or does not actually do has no bearing on the importance to Charles of carrying out each and every task. That is his remit, and so long as all tasks are complete, all is right in Charles’s world.

Until one day, Charles notes strange red stains after cleaning the white upholstery of Master’s car, similar stains on his traveling clothes and a report from the kitchen (robot) staff of red stains on the dishware. Charles traces back his actions to the point where he was shaving Master that morning and finds the source of all that red. For some unaccountable reason, Charles had cut his Master’s throat. He advises the House AI that he has committed a murder and asks for the police to be summoned. He knows that this will likely end his career as a valet but then questions why that should be so. After all, he thinks, kitchen (robot) staff get extra chances when they break dishes. Surely it’s only reasonable that a valet should not lose its place after killing only one Master. Charles clings to the idea of reasonableness, but it seems he is also considering the question of fairness, and that is a feeling robots are not supposed to have.

Tchaikovsky sustains a third person tongue-in-cheek narrative from Charles’s point of view to capture the unemployed robot’s efforts to impose his clear logic on a world that doesn’t seem to be working at all the way it should.

I thought Service Model was going to be hilarious satire of human society and artificial intelligence, but it poses more and more serious questions as the journey of this questioning robot gets deeper into the center of a post-apocalyptic world. While Charles keeps trying to fulfill the narrow mandate of a robot, others remind him at every turn that he is doing much more than passively fulfilling a role. He shows agency, choice, free will in every situation he lands in as well as the signs of feelings. Charles finds it absurd to think he might have feelings as a robot since he is only programmed to execute clearly and logically defined tasks. Yet again and again he wonders if something he experiences might be classified as hope or a sense of fairness or even happiness if only he can find a place in this world where his talents could be appreciated.

Tchaikovsky has written a brilliant and thought-provoking satire that pours dozens of interesting ideas into a well-worn situation while being wildly entertaining. Service Model is one of the highlights of my reading this year.

In a crumbling dystopian world where mankind has replaced all menial work with robots, Charles a robotic gentleman’s valet in a wealthy manor finds himself without a purpose when his Master dies. With nothing left to do he ventures out into the world to find it chaotic and dysfunctional. There is no one left who can help him find another Master that he so badly wants to serve so he must go on his own journey of discovery.

Adrian Tchaikovsky has certainly had fun writing this book. It’s written in five sections, each referencing a recognisable classical writer (section headings give a clue to which one) as a different part or Charles’ journey. There are underlying serious philosophical questions about religion, current society, treatment of the environment and the justice system as Charles (now calling himself Uncharles) finds himself in a range of weird situations. Charles’ experiences are often humorous and often quite absurd. Despite claiming he has no free will or emotion, he develops a distinct personality with views on what he sees along the road. A friend he meets along the road called The Wonk, who he regards as an odd broken down robot, helps him to eventually see that he is becoming more sentient and is capable of choosing his own destiny. A big book with a lot of social commentary packed in to it, delivered with a dry humour and plenty of references to popular culture.

Not going to be the book for everyone I think. It’s a bit slow and rambling as the robot works his way through a collapsed world. It’s also pretty bleak and hopeless. If you’re waiting super impatiently for the next Murderbot book this one might tide you over.

So ... I wanted to read this book because it was described as Murderbot meets <i>Red Shirts</i>. The blurb made it seem as if Siri, Alexa, and the filter bubble had all combined forces to create a book designed to appeal to me. But that is not the way I would describe the story. To me it is more of <i>The Remains of the Day</i> meets <i>I, Robot</i> told by Kafka in a world that could be a scene from "The Matrix" or McG's "Terminator: Salvation."

Charles is a robotic valet who serves a human master. One morning as he tries to prepare his master for the day's activities, Charles discovers that the master is dead. Subsequent investigation seems to show that the culprit is Charles, who must be sent to Diagnostics and then to Decommissioning. The fact that these decisions are actually made by other robots and AI systems that need their own diagnostics run seems to be irrelevant.

Readers learn that very few humans remain. Most of those are isolated and never see each other, dependent on their robotic servants and systems to care for them. Charles passes one overgrown and abandoned estate after another as he makes his way to the Diagnostics center. Trucks trundle by loaded with produce to deliver to homes that no longer have anyone alive to eat the food. Even Diagnostics itself is an endless queue of robots quietly rusting away as they wait patiently for their turn.

Charles meets a very odd robot named Wonk, who is indeed quite wonky. Despite Charles's desire to conform to routine, Wonk manages to get the two of them out of Diagnostics and out of the city. But things aren't any better beyond the city limits. Picture the vibe of "Logan's Run" with Logan and Jessica finding tumbled ruins and psychotic robots rather than the Sanctuary they expect. The duo run into one group of oddballs after another - scavengers, robotic knights sent out to preserve knowledge in an archive that no one ever visits, military robots carrying out an endless campaign with no human overseers, and a courtroom scene that clinches the Kafkaesque nature of their journey.

If you enjoy stories in settings where civilization has broken down and survivors (human or mechanical), are struggling to come up with ideas for how to make things work, then you will find this story a refreshing foray into territory that seems both familiar and dizzyingly bizarre. The allusions and resemblances to other stories feed into this déjà vu, giving readers the same sort of sensation that Charles experiences when his subroutines try to make sense of situations he has not encountered, but still have some details in common with his previous experiences.

As we see more and more technologic and AI integration in our daily lives this novel is going to come up in my thoughts a lot. Especially since it is so close in style to my specialization in literature, satire. I was reminded a great deal of Gulliver's Travels while reading this, except swap Swift’s contempt for Enlightenment thought with modern conceptions of technology, information, war, and capitalism.

Uncharles as a protagonist has been one of the most interesting perspectives for a narrative in awhile for me. He is a fully realized and complicated character, with all the reason of a robot.

Then there is the Wonk, who the less you know about, the better the read but what a delight they are.

This is one of those sci-fis that will keep you thinking. Every mundane task becomes a part of much greater thoughts.

"...surely he should be allowed to murder three, or even five people before being deemed irreparably unfit for service."
🤖
His murder jokes killed me! Every single time!
I forgot how much I love reading about robots, and the robots in Service Model are a delight! Even when they are depicted as scary and murderous, my reaction still was "awww, cute robot!"
I was definitely a target audience for this murder sci-fi about a world where a robot who lost his job because he killed his master, is now looking for another job. The robot humour! It was on another level! I couldn't stop giggling and smiling every time they made dry remarks which ended up being somehow hilarious.
"One day you’ll realise you’re not just queues and tasks and duties."
Jokes about murder aside, this was a deep exploration of a human/robot nature and unnatural consequences of entirely automated world. Sometimes I forgot that they were robots, they were oddly relatable and some moments even made me deeply sad upon realising just how robotic and repetitive our lives are.
"...back in the past, humans had worked so hard to live like robots. The endless round of tasks, the queuing, the utter repetitiveness of these people’s lives. They must, Uncharles predicted , be so grateful to have such lives designed for them. How good it must be to have no choices or options."
I caught myself being jealous of the robots, those that don't question their role and just keep doing their jobs, even after there's nobody to appreciate their work.
I found it fascinating how the "protagonist virus" was used as the reason for Uncharles's awakening after he killed his boss, and how in the end it all got cleared up and we got enough information about why and how it all happened, I have mixed feelings about the ending though. On one hand I loved it, it's perfect, on the other hand I wanted more, but I'll take that ending on a platter.
When I make a dent in my ARC pile(physical and electronic) I will be reading more fiction with robots!

I’ve only read one Tchaikovsky before, Elder Race, which is a favorite and was very profound in its impact. So I was quite excited to read this one, especially with the comparisons to Murderbot. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to those comps.

I think my mistake was trying this out on audio. The dispassionate, repetitive and robotic narration - both of the story and the audiobook - just made it very boring to get through, unnecessarily draggy, with nothing much interesting happening at all. While I had some hopes from the Wonk, it wasn’t enough to save me from the dreary characterization of Uncharles, who is not half as interesting as Murderbot. This slow pace and execution style really made me not want to try to understand the underlying themes of the story because my patience was over by the time I was half way through the book. I did get an ebook much later but by then, I had lost interest and didn’t wanna try reading it again.

Ultimately, this just wasn’t for me. While I like this kind of cozy quiet sci-fi, this book didn’t feel executed well. Maybe fans of Tchaikovsky will find it to their liking. I definitely don’t recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast paced or action adventure sci-fi.

Sadly, this one was a miss for me and one that I ultimately did not finish. Adrian Tchaikovsky is normally an automatic purchase for me. I've loved every other book that I have read by him. While the premise of this one sounded absolutely perfect after all it's being compared to Murderbot, and who doesn't love Murderbot? I really enjoyed the first few chapters and the way that nothing was happening but at the same time so much was happening. But somewhere after the first few chapters, I stopped enjoying the story. The chapters all felt so long and overly verbose, to the point that I had to reread pages several times to make sure I understood what was happening. I think this story was supposed to be a commentary on AI but it just felt so long and redundant and even though I enjoyed Charles/Uncharles as a character, he wasn't enough to make me want to continue. I will likely attempt to reread Service Model again, perhaps this isn't the right story for me right now. Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book, choosing to DNF about 30% in. And that 30% I did read was a bit of a hard slog. I can see what Tchaikovsky is trying to do here, making comment on big issues like AI, the laws of robotics and what it means to be human. Unfortunately what is intended to be a sci-fi moral lesson becomes a boring lecture when your main characters are literally robots with no emotions or ability to grow outside their programming (much).

In particular, the opening chapters that were, I assume, designed to underline the ridiculousness of programming and decision trees without human intervention read more like an insane mashup of Keystone Cops and Agatha Christie. Endless redundant process checks and computer-thinking also made the text pretty dense to wade through.

I feel that this kind of story has been done before, and done better by other authors. Both Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot novellas and Martha Wells' Murderbot stories have explored the same territory of journeys and technological philosophy but the addition of robots/constructs with more human-like qualities lifts those into heartwarming tales of friendship and adventure. The characters in those books have journeys that examine life's purpose which left me feeling both entertained and thoughtful, whereas Ungeorge and Wonk were extremely hard to warm to.

I do think this would have done better as a novella, rather than a 400-page tome. As a reader, I was not along for the ride and this was a swing and a miss for me.

Thank you @netgalley @tordotcompub @macmillan.audio #partner for the gifted audiobook, eARC and physical copy of this book!

I fell in love with the last robot book I read (actually couple) and so I thought why not add this one to the mix. And a murdering robot at that?! Sign me up! 😂

We follow a domesticated robot who downloads a new idea into its core being. The idea? Well, that idea is to murder its owner. 😱 Once that happens the robot understands that it can almost think for itself and can now run away. What it discovers when out in the world is a dying human race and the robot world which was dedicated to making sure humans were at the top of their game. Now everything is changing!

I love the idea of robots gaining a conscious and thinking for themselves. Although the thought in real life is terrifying I do like it in a fictional book! The commentary between Charles (the good robot) and UnCharles (the murdering robot) was on point. I found myself chuckling a bit out loud at this dark sense of humor. I will say overall this book made me think about what it really means to be a human and of course the future of AI and robots. I am glad authors are writing about these topics and exploring the world of “what could happen”. It makes for a an interesting and intellectually stimulating ride! The audiobook definitely enhanced my reading experience and made me appreciate the humor and robots even more! I highly recommend giving it a try!

In robot Candide, an automated valet goes on a journey of self-discovery, surviving increasingly hostile environments while doggedly pursuing a human to serve and eventually coming face to face with the author of the apocalypse. I enjoyed the early parts of the book better than the end. The set-up was not something I'd seen before, but the conclusion felt like more of a retread of ideas that have been floating around for a long time. Still, not a waste of time and I think we can all identify with the pointless bureaucratic hoops Uncharles finds himself jumping through.

It only took me the first chapter to be totally invested in Charles as he and the other robot AI encounter too many logical fallacies for their programming to cope with without the guidance of humans.

This was a very interesting and thought provoking novel. It is at its core a buddy road trip where the two main characters are searching for purpose and answers to their existence while trying to discover what has really happened to the world.

Uncharles is a robot that is meant to serve humans. Once his ‘job’ with his current master comes to an end, he goes on a journey to find another to serve. But there are barely any humans left, and the few he finds do not need a servant. Uncharles, unlike most of the other robots is able to break out of his programing, or at least interpret it in such a way that allows him to adapt to the situations he finds himself in. He feels like a robot that is self aware and an determine his fate within the confines of his programing. But in the end he is a product of his creators. I liked Uncharles, but he did lack a little in personality and wasn’t a particularly compelling character, especially towards the end.

On his journey, Uncharles meets the Wonk, a fellow wanderer who often questions what Uncharles is doing and why. Uncharles finds the Wonk to be an unusual robot with lots of defective programming. I enjoyed Wonk quite a bit, she often had really good questions for Uncharles and pushed him to try and become self aware. There was certainly more to the Wonk that as a reader you will pick up on, although Uncharles never really does.

This is very much a plot driven story. On their journey Uncharles and Wonk meet many other barely functioning robots who are caught up in endless programming loops trying to perform the tasks that were set up by their human programmers. Many of these tasks no longer really exist. It was funny and yet very sad at the same time. There were quite a few amusing instances were the robot dialogue ended up in an endless loop, sort of like those computerized phone calls that we all hate. The Librarians they meet on their journey were also an interesting group in their interpretation of how to preserve human knowledge.

The writing was amazingly well done. I could easily imagine the devastation that surround our travelers on their journey. The dialogue was also top notch, and that was were most of the humor of the story came out. This story very much reminded me of the play, Waiting for Godot, but instead of the two characters waiting for Godot, these two go out in search of him. They want Godot to have all of the answers to their questions about what happened. The pacing was a bit slow, and things did get a bit repetitive towards the end. The ending was different than I thought it would be, and it felt a bit muddled as well. The answer to what really happened to the world also felt unfinished.

This was my first book by this author and I could certainly see why he is so popular. His writing is suburb and at least in this case really made me think. This existential journey through a post apocalyptic wasteland is one you won’t soon forget.

I really wanted to love this. The first few chapters are absolute gold. It plays out a bit like a Marx brothers film, where everyone is talking but no one is understanding each other, and hilarity ensues. I really wish it had ended there. This book was a real slog for me to get through, and while there were some moments of wonderful humor sprinkled throughout, it wasn't enough to make the tedious script worth it.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this review copy.
Hmm. Well, this was my first book by this author. I felt like the book had a strong start. I was interested in what was going on with this robot, why he cut his master's neck lol, and what was going to happen to him. The book was funny and I was involved.
And . . . I'm not sure exactly what happened, but the book just seemed to go on and on and finally devolved into, well, monologuing almost? I just kind of lost track of why I cared what happened. I think it was definitely too long. Still, might fit the bill for someone who is really into robots, humans, and what the combination could mean for civilization.

“A humorous tale of robotic murder.”

Everytime I congratulate myself on being well-read, I come across a fantastic author with an extensive back-catalogue that everyone’s read but me.

Bookish FOMO.

If all his stuff is this good, I’ll be busy until 2047.

Like all good scifi, there were fantastic characters (The Wonk, Uncharles, God) a unique, yet eerily familiar setting, and enough social commentary to give philosophers front-bottom shivers until the fall of capitalism.

The only thing I didn’t love were the Great Librarians. Librarians should be the hero of every story.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing, and Macmillan Audio for this comically dark ARC.

Wow, I enjoyed this book greatly the Charles/UnCharles robot was a fascinating character. Even though I guessed The Wonk back story she was an amazing part of the story as well. I had a problem with one of the characters at the end of the book but I get it was a way to explain and move the story along and I don't know how the author could have done without it. Overall very worth my time.

Service Model does a wonderful job pointing out how our society so often forgets the reason we started doing things a certain way in the first place and cling to the resulting incongruous procedure.

The Robot's Progress

Adrian Tchaikovsky likes to disguise philosophical treatises as novels. As Uncharles might say, "This is neither good nor bad. It just is." That is to say, some readers enjoy novel-shaped philosophical treatises -- some not so much. If you've read a lot of Tchaikovsky, you know how you feel about this. For the record, I'd have to classify myself in the "not so much" group. If you love it, please adjust my rating accordingly.

There are really only two characters in Service Model: Uncharles and The Wonk. Uncharles is a high-end valet robot, a gentleman's personal gentlerobot -- a metal and plastic Jeeves. Except Jeeves never murdered Bertie, although he may at times have felt the urge. Service Model begins with Charles, the robot whom The Wonk will eventually rename Uncharles, discovering that his master is dead. Before long he figures out that his master is dead because he, Charles, murdered him. (This is not a spoiler, because the publisher's blurb reveals it.)

This leaves Charles with a problem. Not the one you're probably thinking, but another: his master's death leaves Charles without purpose. Charles would deny that he wants a purpose, or indeed that "wanting" is a thing he is capable of, or that he actually cares about anything. But his actions show that he is mistaken in this belief. He therefore sets out on a search for a human whose valet he can become.

Thus begins a journey in Five Parts, as Charles searches for a situation. (The parts are called KR15-T, K4FK-R, 4W-L, 80RH-5, and D4NT-A. I have no idea what those designations mean.) He soon meets a strange broken robot that calls itself The Wonk, who unintentionally renames him Uncharles, the name by which he is known for most of the book. It transpires that the world is in terrible shape: everything is broken or breaking. As Uncharles's journey progresses, we learn the nature of the apocalypse that has overtaken the world.

I claimed above that Uncharles and The Wonk are the only characters in Service Model. That is not literally true. There are many other characters, but they are not REAL characters. They are mere sock puppets for ethical and philosophical questions that Tchaikovsky wants Uncharles and The Wonk to cogitate upon. In fact, Service Model reminded me of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, and not in a good way. None of what happens appears plausible to me as events that could really happen. It's all an allegory meant to motivate the exposition of ethical and philosophical questions.

The publishers describe Service Model as "A humorous tale of robotic murder". It is indeed sometimes funny. However, I honestly found it more tedious than funny. As always, YMMV.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for an advance reader copy of Service Model. Release date 4-Jun-2024.

This book was a delight, I really enjoyed it. My only note was that it felt a bit too long, but for Tchaikovsky, I feel like 400 pages IS a novella. I loved the main character and seeing how his POV and his journey unfolded, as well as the very strange and interesting characters along the way. Part of the reason I requested this book was the comparison to Redshirts and Murderbot, and I felt that the comparison was well deserved. It had the irreverence of Redshirts and the character work with a nonhuman person that made me fall in love with Murderbot.