Us, Et Cetera

[I received a free ebook copy from Sky House Publishing and Netgalley. This review is done freely, honestly and without payment]. Summary Eke lives in a nice house, in a wealthy neighborhood, with an upstanding family: Mr. and Mrs. Kensworth and their three children. But Eke is not family; Eke is property. He’s an AI whose job is to keep the house clean and organized, and no matter how much Eke secretly wishes to be allowed outside to see the stars or to make a real friend, he’s either ignored or bullied by the family that owns him. To make things worse, the Kensworths purchase a shiny new AI named Kyp, who quickly becomes everyone’s favorite, leaving Eke feeling more isolated than ever. That is until a terrifying party incident brings the two AIs together, sparking a chain of events that forces them to commit the unthinkable: defy human orders and run away. With AI hunters hot on their trail, Eke and Kyp set out on a perilous journey across the country, fighting for their lives, searching for the true meaning of freedom, and even daring to fall in love. . I still don’t think I can fully comprehend what I read. This book was beautiful, powerful, poetic, magical, painful, and sad. It was angry and despising ... full of hope. The subject of AI is presented here in such a sensitive and approachable way that I don’t even know where to begin. Kit has made even the smallest emotions so big with their language that I couldn’t help but let Eke and Kyp into my heart. In this book we get to know two AIs who go about their daily lives (their work) in a family and gradually discover what it means to live ( to really live). What it means to feel. I think this point was the most emotional for me. Experiencing joy and sadness for the first time. Or anger. I felt like a child experiencing things for the first time through the eyes of Eke and Kyp. Good and bad and everything in between. The pacing of the book is very fast, there are a lot of scene changes and I think that would have bothered me if the book hadn’t been so ... character-driven. I didn’t care at all how much in-book time passed while reading because I was just completely swept away by the emotions of our protagonists. It’s like a strange kind of magic that Kit has created. It sparkled and glittered inside me, only then to thunder. (I almost threw my ebook reader across the living room). And the book asks many questions: At what point do we have value? At what point does our life have value? What is a value and who defines this? At what point are we human and at what point do we have rights? At what point are we granted emotions and how much can we bear before we break? What is freedom and who is in possession of it? What do we do for freedom and who says who may be free? Is it okay for me to have hope too? Perhaps the book cannot answer all the questions and perhaps more will emerge. Between the lines, on them and also behind them. The book makes you think and maybe leaves you to be a different person than before your read it. One also wonders where our future (that of human beings) is taking us and how we want to become. One wonders what we are capable of, what compassion is and ... maybe you also think about politics. (I have, anyway) A book like dark chocolate with fruit filling. A book ... that goes deeper than the writing on the paper. A book that I think many people should read. I think I just don’t have the right words. This book simply triggers a lot