Robot Proletariat, Season One

By: Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant

Narrated by: Simon Whistler

Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

In the future, robots like Mars and Cromwell serve their human masters. Having long since replaced humans in the back hallways and servants' quarters of the ultra-wealthy, new models are acquired, render their service, then are quietly deactivated when obsolete. But then we gave them the ability to learn. One household is about to find out that, while Asimov's laws are immutable, humans are about to experience an uprising of a different sort. This first, surprisingly heartfelt episode of a new series puts the listener in the shoes of the the soulless who serve.

©2013 Sean Platt (P)2014 Sean Platt

Too much obvious set up

What disappointed you about Robot Proletariat, Season One?

*Note: I was given a free copy of the audiobook for review on Audible.com*

I understand that being "Season One" means there are, inevitably, more seasons to come. But the whole of this season seemed dedicated to setting up the following seasons rather than providing much of interest in the here and now. I felt like there was a lot of unnecessary repetition, especially of the themes of humans being barbaric, the nature of having a soul, whether sentient robots count as "living", etc.

What could Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Perhaps a human viewpoint would have actually strengthened things rather than just sticking with the choice to only have robot POVs.

What does Simon Whistler bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Whistler has a British accent, which worked well for the setting since it takes place in British high society.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The audio narration was good for the most part - the British accent fit well with the setting - but the German accent for one of the main characters was pretty bad. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it just sounded like an obviously British guy trying to do a German accent.

The humorous parts with the sexbots and Miri's glitch were very well done, but were not enough to make up for what somehow felt like an overly brisk pace where nothing really actually happened.

good story but the overt sexism a GIANT turnoff

I love robot stories so I checked this out. The characters and narration and story are good, but the good-ole-boy sexism is outrageously outdated. It is as though the authors never even considered that women might read this story. It is so degrading and defiling to the concepts of female identity and sex that it is truly stunning to think any legitimate author would think it appropriate to take that tone for a story that is supposed to be set far into the future. Awareness of female oppression, and the oppression of any group of people, for that matter, has grown tremendously even in the last few years. There is no reason to think that this awareness will backslide, rather than progress.

The narration is excellent, however, and I like the story. Every passage containing these misogynist assaults is painful to me, however.

AND IT IS TOTALLY UNNECCESARY.

Plenty can be written to describe a sex bot as attractive, sexy etc. without stopping to what amounts to abuse.