LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike)

By: Jay Kristoff

Narrated by: Erin Spencer

Publisher's summary

From the coauthor of the New York Times best-selling Illuminae Files comes the first book in a new series that's part Romeo and Juliet, part Terminator, and all adrenaline.

On an island junkyard beneath a sky that glows with radiation, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap. Seventeen-year-old Eve isn't looking for trouble - she's too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she spent months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, she's on the local gangster's wanted list, and the only thing keeping her grandpa alive is the money she just lost to the bookies. Worst of all, she's discovered she can somehow destroy machines with the power of her mind, and a bunch of puritanical fanatics are building a coffin her size because of it. If she's ever had a worse day, Eve can't remember it. The problem is, Eve has had a worse day - one that lingers in her nightmares and the cybernetic implant where her memories used to be. Her discovery of a handsome android named Ezekiel - called a "Lifelike" because they resemble humans - will bring her world crashing down and make her question whether her entire life is a lie.

With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic sidekick Cricket in tow, Eve will trek across deserts of glass, battle unkillable bots, and infiltrate towering megacities to save the ones she loves...and learn the truth about the bloody secrets of her past.

©2018 Jay Kristoff (P)2018 Listening Library

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Critic reviews

“A fast-paced adventure full of energy and verve that will leave readers breathless.” (School Library Journal)

“A solid, fast-paced adventure.” (Publishers Weekly)

“[An] action-packed thriller.... It’s the print love child of movies Mad Max and Tank Girl.” (Booklist)

“Inventive and unexpected.” (Kirkus Reviews)

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5 out of 5 stars

By Jonas Lee on 07-16-19

Sequel: Take My Money

Kristoff is a fantastic emerging storyteller in the realm of dark sci-fi. This is one that rings a fabulous tone that ricochets off some animé titles like Alita: Battle Angel, Full Metal Alchemist and a pinch of Appleseed. And apart from those mentions, it’s a unique blend all of its own. I highly recommend this and already am looking forward to the sequel

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3 out of 5 stars

By B. Jordan on 09-05-19

Post-apoc Jane Austen

Well written and executed, with good world building.

Unfortunately it's mostly a study of relationships rather than an adventure novel. If you want a telenovela set in a post-atomic wasteland, I guess this is for you.

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3 out of 5 stars

By Amazon Customer on 12-29-18

Fantastic book... except for the very end.

Loved every minute of the story except for the very end. Never before have I seen a worse final twist in any story ever. The entire story is so amazingly woven together, the pacing is great, and the action scenes are very vivid. Even the romance part was more realistic and managed to not make me cringe. The only thing I wasn't big on throughout the majority of the book was the length of the flashback sequences. They probably took up a good quarter of the book. It's mostly understandable considering how crucial they are to the story, but they really seemed to drag on at times. All of this goodness culminates in an ending that is so unreasonable that I can only describe it as pure trash. Garbage, detritus, sewage, excrement. This is how I feel about the "twist" ending. Makes absolutely zero sense in the context of the rest of the book, and it makes me wonder who greenlit this multiple times in the revision process. I pride myself on being able to trudge through a saga until the very end, just to give it a chance. I don't think, however, that I will be continuing with this series. This first book's ending was so bad, I don't want to read the other two entries in this godforsaken series when they come out. Honestly though, if you can put up with the defecate of an ending, it's a good book, otherwise I don't recommend it.

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