Book of the week
LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin) $19 The title says it all. LIFEL1K3 is almost LIFELIKE. Almost.
The award-winning Jay Kristoff writes brilliant, imaginative crossover novels, which appeal to both adolescents and adults.
LIFEL1K3, the first volume of the Lifelike trilogy, is a great chance to get in on the ground floor.
The main character, Eve, is 17 and her description makes the reader aware there is more to find out. She has a black metal sphere where her right eye should have
been, six silicon chips behind her ear, and an implant in her head ‘‘just about the right shape for a nasty exit wound’’.
The time is shortly after ‘‘War 4.0’’ and the San Andreas earthquake, which is why the setting is Dregs, an ‘‘island of trash’’, a remnant of what was once California.
Eve first appears operating her personally modified Locust, a small, nimble fighting machine, in a cage-duel with an 80 tonne Goliath-class combat robot. This
Mad Max-type battle between the two robots is not only vividly described; it also makes the reader aware of the various types of
mechanisms operating in this future world. The robots must obey Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, but the ‘‘lifelikes’’ – the nearly human androids created by warring corporates – have their own intelligence and they can learn. ‘‘They learn to be like us. They learn to lie.’’ Most of the lifelikes have, therefore, been wiped out as a danger to humanity.
Eve almost dies in the robot duel but she also discovers that she has an unsuspected talent, which unfortunately also exposes her to great personal risk. While Eve and her human and robot sidekicks are fighting off violent bands of well-armed scavengers and religious fanatics, her memory chip is damaged. Eve becomes aware that her memories are not reliable and is forced to re-evaluate all she knows. Why does a salvaged lifelike seem to recognise her? Has the loveable old grandfather who saved Eve’s life been lying to her? Is he even her grandfather?
Kristoff has a powerful, fastmoving prose style that drags readers in and keeps them turning the pages. Embedded in the text there are neat references to other writers with a similar vision, including Stephen King, Anthony Burgess and William Gibson. There is even a sequence set in one of the stomachs of a kraken, a genetically engineered creature that filters metal particles from the ocean.
Best of all, Kristoff has a great sense of humour so this cyberpunk nightmare also has some witty jokes. And two more instalments to come.
–Trevor Agnew
Eve, is 17. She has a black metal sphere where her right eye should have been, six silicon chips behind her ear, and an implant in her head ‘‘just about the right shape for a nasty exit wound’’.