In this stunningly original debut novel that will appeal to readers of The Power or Never Let Me Go, a synthetic woman—created solely to serve her human “Husband”—slowly comes to the realization that her Husband is far less invested in her well-being than she is in his . . . sending her on a harrowing emotional journey of self-realization as she asks herself: WHAT IS LOVE—OR CONSENT—IF YOU’RE …
WHAT IS LOVE—OR CONSENT—IF YOU’RE PROGRAMMED TO OBEY?
Sylv.ie is a fully sentient robot, designed to cater to her Husband’s every whim. She lives alone on the top floor of his luxurious home, her existence barely tolerated by his human wife and concealed from their child. Between her Husband’s visits, deeply curious about the world beyond her room, Sylv.ie watches the family in the garden—hears them laugh, cry, and argue. Longing to experience more of life, she confides her hopes and fears only to her diary. But are such thoughts allowed? And if not, what might the punishment be?
As Sylv.ie learns more about the world and becomes more aware of her place within it, something shifts inside her. Is she malfunctioning, as her Husband thinks, or coming into her own? As their interactions become increasingly fraught, she fears he might send her back to the factory for reprogramming. If that happens, her hidden diary could be her only link to everything that came before. And the only clue that she is in grave danger.
Set in a recognizable near future and laced with dark, sly humor, Ros Anderson’s deeply observant debut novel is less about the fear of new technology than about humans’ age-old talent for exploitation. In a world where there are now two classes of women—“born” and “created”—the growing friction between them may have far-reaching consequences no one could have predicted.
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I don’t read a whole lot of dystopian or science fiction, but when I saw the cover of The Hierarchies by Ros Anderson I had to pick it up. The contents of the book are just as interesting as the cover and this was such a unique read and perspective. I never thought I would love a robot, but I was a huge fan of Sylv.ie and loved that the book is told all from her viewpoint, such as it is. The start to the book caught my attention immediately and I loved the short chapters as well. I listened to it on audio and Katharine Lee McEwan did such an amazing job voicing Sylv.ie. I would highly recommend this route if you are a fan of audiobooks.
I was a little thrown off by the pleasure doll thing and all the very descriptive sexual things at first, but The Hierarchies is really so much more than that. It may have been what Sylv.ie was created for, but I love where the author took her story. The plot was complex as well and even though the overall feel to the book was kind of weird, it really worked for me and I found myself not wanting to put it down. This is a debut and I think the world Anderson created was quite fascinating and there are definitely many parts of it that are timely, it just happens to be set in a fictional world where AI pleasure dolls exist. I would read this one if you are looking for something different and enjoy science fiction and dystopian reads.
The Hierarchies
By Ros Anderson
Set in a futuristic society where women are either “Born” or “Created”, and serve at the whim of wealthy men able to afford AI and a personally crafted doll. What is amazing to read is getting the story from the point of view of Sylv.ie as she is imprisoned in the life that was created for her. I’m not one to read dystopians, but once in a while I read one that surprises me with some twists and turns that made this read a fantastic debut. I feel that even readers who don’t normally read dystopian would find this a compelling read with themes that resonate to the nature of human and humanity.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Dutton for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.
My Review of
THE HIERARCHIES
By Ros Anderson
Published & Gifted by Dutton Books
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Now this book was quite out of the ordinary but in a wonderful futuristic sci-fi premise.
The book was an absolutely quick read in the beginning but did slow down for a bit before picking up the fire turning page pace. Author Anderson has quite an imagination to come up with this compelling storyline and questionable future. Very creative and unlike other sci-fi books, I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller that had me actually feeling emotion for the AI of the future.
I definitely recommend if you want a good sci-fi thriller like no other but don’t expect a bunch of death of destruction but instead a lot visualization and creation of what if’s and could be’s in the future.
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Sylvi.ie is the new thing of the future, she’s synthetic and men are using them as secondary wives, and single men in place of real women, whom they consider having intimacy with as dirty and a thing of the past. They call them dolls. The problem is these special AI who have come to be owned by husbands have made The First Lady’s of the house feel jealous and bitter. The intelligence that Sylvi.ie has is also a strong attraction to her husband and this further flames the hate the wife has for Sylvi.ie. Her kind is new, the are forever learning, changing and adapting especially when on “absorb” mode. This makes them more human and lifelike than ever and the wife does not like it. She demands that is a malfunction and that Sylvi.ie be sent to the doll hospital to be fixed.
When Sylvi.ie wakes, she notices a change, in which she understands when she returns to her husband; his kids are years older! She has been shutdown for years. And she finds the journal she had hidden before her hospital stay that warns her that next time it may not just be a hospital stay but her impending murder. She must find a way out and seek others like her. Or her days are numbered.