Service Model follows Charles (later UnCharles), a robotic valet, as he learns that he unexpectedly murdered his human without remembering it or having a reason to do so. This realization and its aftermath sets UnCharles on a journey to find a new purpose that provides the reader/listener with a border view of a dysfunctional and collapsing world and an eclectic and frequently amusing cast of characters.

The story manages to be both humorous while also providing biting commentary that will no doubt be familiar to fans of Tchaikovsky, especially his novellas. Tchaikovsky also does a great job of self-narrating the audio edition. Narration is a skill of its own that not every author can pull off; but Tchaikovsky does well both in terms of the performance of a full cast of interesting characters, and that extra something that a good author narration brings when the author is able to convey all the nuances of their story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an audio review copy of Service Model. Full review and discussion is available in episode #257 of Narrated podcast: https://narratedpodcast.com/episodes/257

I haven't read the Murderbot Diaries series yet. Based on my experience with Service Model, I have now moved that series to the top of my TBR list. As I did read—and greatly enjoy—John Scalzi's Redshirts, that comparison increased my interest in reading this book.

Service Model starts out mildly funny, and the humor continues in varying degrees throughout. There's an especially funny bit about a particular robot's vocalization. The dystopian nature of the story is revealed slowly . . . even sneakily. Along the way, Tchaikovsky adds in social and political commentary, eventually takes on religion and justice, and sprinkles in a splash of morality. There's even commentary on AI—certainly a current hot topic. As they should, librarians and librarianship get serious snaps.

The story drags for a while, making me of the opinion that it maybe could have been substantially shorter. However, there comes a point at which it becomes quite dark—and more tense, exciting, and active—leading up to the climax.

The author narrates, successfully. My longstanding belief is that authors should not narrate their own work unless they are actors (often comedians) or Neil Gaiman. I'm always pleasantly surprised when an author is a good narrator as well. [Some other authors that are exempt from my rule include Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jill Conner Browne, and Steven Rowley.]

My overall reaction upon finishing Service Model was “Wow!” I had already placed a library hold on the book, which I'm keeping for my partner's benefit. Too, upon finishing, I was quick to preorder a signed hardcover edition for my personal library.

This unbiased review is based on an audio ARC supplied by the publisher—Macmillan Audio. Publication is expected June 4. [3.66⭐]

While this book is compared with Murderbot, I would say the comparison lies in the fact that both characters ultimately want to find a purpose they agree on. Their way of thinking and navigating the world, especially when it comes to interacting with humans, is vastly different.

Service Model is sci-fi, but felt a bit like a horror too if you think about the social commentary that’s being discussed. It’s chalk full of dry and dark humor (I laughed more than I should have at some points!), social commentary, and warnings out the wazoo about where we as species may be headed with all this AI.

Overall, this book is perfect for those who enjoy the journey more than the destination (like me!) and would like to see how one logical robot can break the system. Also the author narrates the book himself and does an excellent job!

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
dark funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I received an advance audio copy thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Service Model follows the travels of a robot valet (Charles, a gentleman’s gentle robot) after the death of its master by its own hands. It doesn’t remember killing the Master, or know why it would have done so, but the evidence is clear. Now UnCharles leaves the manor with instructions to go to Diagnostics at Central Services. What he discovers along the way is a society in collapse with very few humans left and most of the robots falling into disrepair and decay.

I really liked this book. It was in turns funny, poignant, and topical without getting too preachy. The audiobook is read by the author and he does a fine job narrating. While the story telling is at time stilted, the POV character is a robot, so I believe this is intentional. UnCharles' quest for new employment allows us to see the remaining human society and a number of different robot groups. These are Asmovian robots, and as with Asimov, when they act contrary to their programming, there are reasons.

About 2/3 of the way in, I wondered if we were going to get answers about the murder that started things off, but it all came together in the end with a satisfying conclusion.

I’m always wary of an author narrating their own book but Adrian Tchaikovsky does an outstanding job in Service Model. Where can I find purpose is the question Charles/UnCharles asks. Charles is a sophisticated service model valet for humans but when his master is “murdered”, he goes on a quest to find another boss which proves quite difficult. Since he leaves his service, he’s stripped of his title and goes by the name UnCharles. Unfortunately humans are scarce as something caused the collapse of human civilization. It’s interesting to ponder the meaning of life and your own purpose in relation to this story. I enjoyed the narration and the story. ALC was provided by Macmillan Audio via NetGalley, I received an advance listening copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book takes logic programming and interpretation of human interaction via robot automation to the next level. It was a very clever and enjoyable read. After falling in love with books about robots again from the likes of Murderbot, this book and the main character Charles/Uncharlres is just what I needed! In the modern era, where AI is becoming a part of our lives, it's good to look at how programming and algorithmic logic can misinterpret reality in this dystopian sci-fi humorous and thought-provoking tale of murder by robotic/automation.

TLDNR: Robot who accidentally murders his master, avoids decommissioning, and embarks on several journeys to rediscover his purpose in life. 4 stars!

This sci-fi novel follows a robot servant in a dystopian future that has had its programming altered. What starts off as an average day turns into a murder investigation with Charles the robot valet being at the center of it.

I highly recommend the audio. It is read by the author who really brings out the overall mood and dry humor of the book. The audiobook is on the longer side at a little over 12 hours but it is a stand-alone.

It’s difficult to compare this to The Murderbot Diaries. There are some similarities but Service Model reads more like a satire piece. If you enjoy books like The Murderbot series but are looking for something with a bit more humor and not quite as in depth of a plot, Service Model may be a good fit for you.

This is the first book that I have read from this author but I genuinely liked it. I look forward to reading some more of his work in the future.

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the author’s narration and the distinctive personalities of each character. Adrian Tchaikovsky is a delightful storyteller, and I’m bumping up my rating a half-star purely for the narration.

🤖 ʀᴏʙᴏᴛꜱ ᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʀᴏʙᴏᴛꜱ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅʏꜱᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. 🤖

I know this book is smarter than me with social commentary woven throughout. What I did catch — I thoroughly enjoyed! Listeners can search for further analysis of the novel online to get a deep dive into Tchaikovsky’s philosophical treatises.

While I enjoyed this audiobook, it felt a bit long. If you enjoy dry humor and philosophical social commentary, I recommend listening. Tchaikovsky delivers a fascinating performance!
𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: 4⭐️

Service Model deals with issues of AI and humanity and where the line between the two is drawn. It does this in a humorous way that will please many science fiction readers.

In July, my post-apocalyptic book club sets its reading calendar for the the next 12 months so I start looking for new titles to recommend. That is how I came to learn of Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

While he has written several science fiction and fantasy novels, this is my first book by him. I'm kind of surprised that my book club hasn't read him before (perhaps they did before I joined 5 or 6 years ago). I really enjoyed this novel and want to explore his back catalog.

The audiobook is read by the author and he does a great job. There aren't too many characters and the story is pretty straightforward so it is an excellent story to listen to. If you are heading out on a road trip this summer, this book would definitely provide hours of entertainment without being overly distracting while driving.

I was intrigued by witnessing the post-apocalyptic world through the eyes of a robot. The service model valet Charles/Uncharles goes on a hero's journey of sorts, which I found very interesting as you would expect a robot to be a very unchanging character. But for a robot, he does have character growth throughout the novel.

I thought there was a point in the third act that got a little too drawn out only to rush through the explanation of what happened to the world in the final chapters.

It is well-written and there is plenty to make you think which will make this a great book club discussion book. But if you just want an entertaining novel that lets you go along for the ride, this novel is that too.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Tuesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2024/06/new-post-apocalyptic-novel-is-perfect.html

Charles is a valet robot serving his master in his beautiful manor. Every day he lays out traveling clothes, even though no travel has been arranged. He confirms his master's schedule against the schedule for the mistress of the house -- although there has been no mistress for quite some time. These actions are all in his task queue because his master hasn't cleaned up his orders.

But Charles has a larger problem. His master is dead. And Charles seems to be to blame. He leaves the manor to have this faulty programming fixed at Central Processing, but much bigger adventures await him.


Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of my favorite writers, and I screeched when I received this approval notice from NetGalley. I have long been impressed by Tchaikovsky's output, and I was floored to see that he was also narrating the book. Where does he find the time?

He was an excellent narrator. His voices for the different types of robots were wonderful.

I didn't love this book as much as I thought I might. The narrative feels a bit more like a Gulliver's Travels or Phantom Tollbooth -- the protagonists are on a quest and occasionally encounter satirical set pieces. It was all very humorous and the themes are certainly in line with some of Tchaikovsky's other recent works, but the hammer strikes were a bit too heavy at times.

All in all, a wonderfully funny robot romp through a dystopia that will remind readers of Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz. If you can listen to the audiobook, I think that will enhance your enjoyment.

This review will be posted to Instagram (@goodquietkitty) and Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/goodquietkitty) on June 2, 2024.

This story follows an endearing robot who so badly wants to do his job well. It’s a little sad seeing him try so hard when circumstances prevent him from completing his tasks. I think this book does a fantastic job displaying the dilemma of your “programming” going against the events apparent to you. The author also does a good job exploring the idea of human nature, even with a non-human protagonist. Kudos to the writer, the book is bound to pull people in!

A fascinating, humorous, and unnerving look into the future! As robotics become more prevalent, we often think they are bettering society. What if they find themselves faced with free thought or settings created by humans that do not make sense? The robot characters were endearing in their own way and I felt bad for those who were so lost. This book entertained me but still left me pondering.

The audiobook is read by the author and expertly voices the robotic and human natures of society. He is also understood at higher speeds.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Tor Publishing Group and author Adrian Tchaikovsky for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Great concept of a robot trying to find his way in a world. Trying to figure things out with any kind of guidance of someone to tell him what to do. Love this book and look forward to any future books.

I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

The author narrates the book, and he is wonderful. He does a ton of different character voices for all of the different robot characters. He really knocked this one out of the park with all of the different accents.

I loved Charles/UnCharles! I think fans of the Murderbot Diaries will really enjoy this, it has that same balance of humor and social commentary with a charming robot main character. It isn't exactly the same but it has some of the same concepts about finding one's purpose and self-awareness. UnCharles is no SecUnit, but I still think fans of one will enjoy the other.

This follows our quirky main character Charles, a valet robot who lives to serve his human master. When he finds his human master murdered his programming will not let him stop until he finds a new master to valet for. He embarks on a journey to determine if he is defective and meets with all manner of robot along the way. Now that he has no purpose he is known as UnCharles, until he is reassigned to a new position. His main companion is "The Wonk", a misunderstood character who is always encouraging UnCharles to be happy and go against his programming which is a major theme of the book. As UnCharles travels about the dystopian landscape looking for a suitable master, he discovers many different types of robots waiting for human intervention. This is filled with pop culture references from other popular movies and books that fans of the genre are sure to appreciate.

Overall, I loved this and UnCharles is a character I can see myself revisiting soon.

When a robot valet known as Charles attempts to go about its daily tasks within the wealthy manor that employs it, it receives an awful shock: the Master of the house is dead and Charles is the one who murdered him.

Departing the manor and venturing out into a world it has never experienced before in search of diagnostics to understand its…mishap and for potential employment, the robot-formerly-known-as-Charles encounters a post-apocalyptic dystopia where humans have lost their place at the top of the hierarchy and robots have either broken down or remain entrenched in carrying out their repetitive tasks.

Service Model is an intriguing and thought-provoking story that follows the charming robot-who is rechristened as UnCharles-and his rebellious companion The Wonk as they search for employment, meaning within and understanding of how the world has reached such a disastrous state.

Brimming with a dry and dark humor, Service Model presents scenarios that are both bleak and optimistic and offers biting social commentary pertaining to the consequences of capitalism and the dangers of blind dependence upon AI and technology.

UnCharles was very easy to become attached to and I was thoroughly invested in it and The Wonk’s journey; while also mentally echoing the latter’s exasperation when UnCharles found itself in dangerous situations with no inklings of self-preservation.

The narration by the author Adrian Tchaikovsky is also fabulous. He has an excellent voice and infuses his characters with unique intonations. None of his robot characters feel particularly wooden even despite their repetitive statements. This is the first time that I’ve read or listened to any of Tchaikovsky’s work and I will certainly look into his previous writing.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and to NetGalley for providing access to this wonderful ALC.

4.5 stars rounded up

This book was a genuinely fantastic journey! With a fun plot, amazing characters, incredible world building, and a murder mystery on top, this was such a great sci-fi book, even for someone who is fairly selective about the sci-fi genre!
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Summary:

Charles is a robot valet. He has a wonderful house shared with his robot colleagues, a daily to-do list full of tasks to keep him occupied, and a master to give him direction. Until the moment when Charles' master ends up dead and it seems like Charles is to blame.

Stripped of his house, his position, and even his name, the robot leaves the manor for the first time in years to attend diagnostics and discover what error in his system led him to commit such an unexpected and terrible act. However, the further he travels into the world, the more it seems that he might not be the only thing experiencing a malfunction.
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I really loved the feel and story of this book! It was so different from many other books I've read, and I really enjoyed getting the story of what happened to the world through UnCharles' endearingly naïve (and stubborn) perspective. I will say that it could have been much shorter, however. Because of the nature of robot dialogue some conversation scenes, especially in the audiobook seemed to drag on forever, and there was a chunk from about 70-80% that dragged a bit too much for my personal taste. That said, the rest of the book made up for it, and I really loved this story, and the audiobook narration was very well done and enjoyable to listen to!

What worked for me:
- Amazing world building! An early scene of UnCharles leaving the manor for the first time sticks with me as such an amazing way to clue the reader into the state of the story's world, and I just really enjoy the way the author worked in the world building in a way that we, the reader, could see what things were really like even as UnCharles remained oblivious to the meaning of what he saw.
- I really loved the characters in this! Most of the book is very focused on UnCharles, but there were still some wonderful supporting characters, and I even loved some of the characters that only showed up for one scene! (Little delivery bot, I'm talking about you.)
- The themes and messages of this book really worked for me, even though they were occasionally a bit heavy handed, it never got annoying for me.
- I really like the way Adrian Tchaikovsky read this book! It added so much to hear the voices of the characters the way they were intended!
- The humor in this book was so good!

What I struggled with:
- The length of this book was my main struggle. As much as I did enjoy it, it could have been way shorter and it might have been more enjoyable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend it!

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 373 / Genre: Sci-Fi
Audiobook Narrator: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Duration: 12 hours 21 minutes
Release Date: June 4, 2024

The premise of this book is a dystopian world where humans are dying out and totally reliant on robots. One day a robot named Charles kills his master and is then taken in to be dismantled. Along the way, he meets another robot named Wonk, who convinces him to run away, where he discovers a new world for robots where humans are no longer in charge.

Written with lots of typical dry British humor, very similar to my favorite authors Douglas Adams and Neil Gaiman, so I totally expected to love this one. But alas… SNOOZE FEST! The dialog between the robots just about killed me. They think in programming loops so each new thought went around and around and AROUND. And one robot trying to get the other robot to get out of the loop put me to sleep faster than reading an actual computer science textbook.

I received an advanced copy of the ebook and the audiobook but even the audiobook couldn’t save it. The author is the narrator, and he has a lovely British accent. Sometimes he changes his voice for different characters but sometimes he doesn’t. So when Wonk and Charles are having one of their excruciatingly long stuck-in-a-loop conversations it’s so tiring trying to figure out who is saying what until you just stop trying and fall asleep. The story itself was good but the repetitive dialogue just ruined it for me.

Thank you @NetGalley, @macmillan.audio, and @tordotcompub for my gifted copies.

4.5
I really enjoyed this new entry from Tchaikovsky. Like the rest of his catalog, it is a unique book within its genre.
My bullet point thoughts
-While "robots/finding purpose" is a familiar trope, I believe he brought some new pieces to the table.
-The main character, Charles, was engaging and fun to follow, despite literally having no agency (by design).
-The other main character, who we don't meet until a bit later, was also really fun, had great humor, and provided the reader a way to understand Charles and the surrounding world with a bit more clarity that would be possible otherwise.
-The humor in the book was done really well, in a dry sort of nonchalant way. I definitely smiled many times at certain turns of phrase and references.
-I enjoyed the commentary on society, free will, and purpose.
-The pacing was a little slow at times and I do think a few scenes could've been cut or shortened.
-The author did an excellent job narrating which was a nice surprise.

This is one of my new favorite Cozy dystopian sci-fi novels. I went into the story blind and was completely blown away. The main character is a Valet robot, who used to be called Charles, who is having his protagonist moment. He is trying to navigate life in a world that he can’t understand with the help of a robot who acts in very un-robotic ways. The two of them adventure through the waste lands for answers and on the way, they discover a multitude of strange characters and helpful robots. As they get closer to the answers they seek, they come to realize that they need each other more than they thought. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author and can’t imagine any other voice being appropriate for Uncharles. Adrian Tchaikovsky completely embodied his characters and brought his story to life with his telling. I feel like I have spent hours inside of his head and I loved it. The world he built was dark and gritty but also believable as a possible future outcome for humanity. The humor is intelligent and a bit dry, but it makes this book shine. I definitely laughed out loud and rooted for the underdog. This is one of my favorite new releases of 2024.