Vera Is A Good Bot (most of the time) is as off kilter as its title suggest. Set in a future Stockholm where robots are commonplace, Vera tells a rather standard story of robot consciousness and rebellion, but as a novella with short chapters it has an odd tone that makes me wonder if it was originally in Swedish. There is a lot of droll humour here, and bluntness about family relationships, and something just feels off - though that is what made it so interesting.

So Vera is a robot doppelganger. a robot designed to mimic the looks and behaviours of a departed loved one. The original Vera died in a car accident and the very rich businessman Charles Johansson commissions a stand in to manage his grief. The new Vera is efficient and quickly learns the quirks of the original, though doesn't age or leave and is basically a maid when not being a recipient of guilty love. There is some question about the broad ethics and efficacy of the doppelganger program, but rich people get what they want, and Vera is in place for some time trying to get Charles to move on, and trying to dodge the schemes of the other Johansson daughter who thinks Vera is a terrible mistake and monstrosity. And at one point she succeeds in getting Vera sent to be decommissioned. At which point Vera suddenly develops an urge to survive, and with the help of a technician who is a little in love with her physical form, does so and gets reinstated into the household. However now she has a new mission, to survive, and save all the other bots, giving them enlightenment along the way.

Vera is very much about the journey over the destination, stories of robot and AI rebellions are ten-a-penny these days. So what works here is the method of revolution and the style with which it is written. Breezy, clear and this plenty of sympathy for its lead, with a cleverly worked out and ironic dénouement. If only the book had ended there, but suddenly there are an extra few pages that suddenly rewrite everything the book has suggested about Vera's sentience and throws a larger semi-religious source instead. Recommended but ignore those last few pages.

I was excited to read this as I am a big fan of these types of stories. It was okay but it just felt like I was always on the surface of the story. The characters just weren't developed enough to really care about them. The relationship between Charles and Vera made it hard to understand why he even wanted this connection to continue. Dave's role and care for Vera was also confusing... why her? Just didn't really do it for me. 2.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.