I have to admit to having read this some time ago but only now posting the review! I had been very eagerly anticipating this title, having previously read and loved Chisholm’s novel, Orion Lost, so had high expectations of his next futuristic adventure.

‘The robot Adam-2 has been locked in the basement of a lost building for over two hundred years – until one day he is discovered by two children, and emerges into a world ruined by a civil war between humans and advanced intelligence.

Hunted by both sides, Adam discovers that he holds the key to the war, and the power to end it – to destroy one side and save the other. But which side is right?

Surrounded by enemies who want to use him, and allies who mistrust him, Adam must decide who – and what – he really is.’

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This was just as thrilling as I’d hoped it would be. I absolutely loved the setting of a futuristic, dystopian Edinburgh, ravaged by fierce warring between two opposing forces. It was certainly a suitably imposing backdrop for the events which take place in the story.

Understandably, the ethical debate about to what extent robots with artificial intelligence should be considered human, and just what separates human intelligence from artificial intelligence was a key theme in this story. There were certainly moments when I found it hard to sympathise with the cruelty, discriminatory behaviour of some humans towards the robots, but the robot force also displayed similar behaviours. Who’s right and who’s wrong?

The lead character, Adam-2, is sure to capture readers’ hearts as he faces a terrible dilemma. But there’s a whole host of other characters with equally difficult decisions to make. It was good to see one of the characters preferring to use pronouns other than those traditionally assigned to a specific gender. It’s important for such characters to be be more widely represented in children’s literature.

Alastair Chisholm really is a fantastic writer of middle grade sci-Fi and fans will be pleased to know that he now has another title out – ‘The Consequence Girl,’ which I can confirm is equally as good as his other works.

Library Girl.

*Many thanks to Nosy Crow for sending me this title to review*