Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Evolved

AUTHOR:  N.R. Walker

NARRATOR:  Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH:  8 hours and 17 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  September 4, 2018

BLURB:  

In 2068, androids are an integrated part of human life. Big Brother no longer just watches from the shadows. It’s in every household.

Lloyd Salter has OCD issues with noise and mess, and he’s uncomfortable with human interaction. When his ex claimed the only thing perfect enough to live up to his standards was an android, Lloyd dismissed it. But two years later, after much self-assessment, he thinks he may have been right.

SATinc is the largest manufacturer of androids in Australia, including the Fully Compatible Units known as an A-Class 10. Their latest design is the Synthetic Human Android UNit, otherwise known as SHAUN. Shaun is compatible to Lloyd’s every need; the perfect fit on an intellectual and physical basis.

But Lloyd soon realizes Shaun’s not like other A-Class androids. He learns. He adapts. Sure that SATinc is aware Shaun functions outside of his programmed parameters, Lloyd must find a way to keep Shaun safe. No one can know how special Shaun is. No one can know he’s evolved.

Contains mature themes.

REVIEW:

The blurb covers really the plot of this story.  Lloyd Salter is a professor who has not been successful in love.  He’s got OCD and he likes things quiet and neat.  So when a new Android class becomes available that basically fulfills his every requirement of a partner, he decides to take the plunge.   He designs SHAUN to be his perfect man.

When Shaun is delivered, there is a small adjustment period.  But as Lloyd and Shaun settle in, they discover that they are more compatible than Lloyd could have ever imagined.  They enjoy watching movies and discussing books – especially Lloyd’s favorite, 19th century American novel Moby Dick – and of course the sex is off the charts.  However, it seems that there is a lot more to Shaun than meets the eye and his behavior is far beyond what is expected for a Class A Android.  He is able to process information in a completely different way than a normal android.  His ability to process and layer information allows him to become more than sentient, and therein lies the danger.

Strangely SATInc has continued to call Lloyd about how Shaun is working out.  This seems a bit overbearing and strange.  Luckily his work friend Jay is an IT guy who is really interested in Shaun and what might be going on.  When it becomes obvious that Shaun is indeed something special, Jay is a huge help to Lloyd in trying to keep Shaun’s special capabilities under wraps.  Of course, Shaun’s “special” abilities cannot stay under the radar forever, which leads to a much bigger can of worms than Lloyd could have ever imagined.  And this sets Lloyd up for a potentially devastating outcome.  But maybe, just maybe, there is another way.

Firstly, let me say I absolutely HATED reading Moby Dick in a 19th Century American Lit course in college. Didn’t hate it it quite as much as James Fennimore Cooper – but a close second. And I do mean hate. It was all I could do to slog through those books. Thank god for Poe and Hawthorne in the class or I would have seriously lost it!  But this book. Seriously. I mean. I MAY have to rethink my position on the great white whale.

Anyway back to the story. NR Walker continues to display her absolute genius.  She makes us love and cry over an Android in this one. Central to this story is the timeless question of what it means to be human.  How does compassion and empathy grow (something there seems to be dearth of in this “modern” world)?  Truly, is there nothing this woman cannot write? This book is so beautifully written. We completely fall for Shaun, just as Lloyd does. Plus there is a smartly timed Big Brother angle and some villains that we completely want to root against.

The audio narration of this book by the ubertalented Joel Leslie brings yet another level of humanity to this story.  He is able to give Lloyd and the developing Shaun life through his performance choices that leave us both triumphant and devastated as the story warrants.  His command of accents are again on strong display here.  So once again, Brava Ms. Walker and Mr. Leslie.  Highly recommended for a powerful and emotionally satisfying story.

RATING: 

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