As a reader, I look for books which cover moral issues which arise from technological advances and particularly from the possibility of robots or androids becoming part of society due to advancements in artificial intelligence. ‘The Electric Detective’ takes place in a futuristic, highly technological society, Penelope, the protagonist, is an android which has been created specifically for the purpose of helping the police solve the murder of the CEO of DroidTec. Penelope must uncover clues to solve an impossible crime while overcoming societal bias against her based on her being an AI android. She must also decide which people and what information she can trust while navigating life as a newly created super-android.
My final impression after completing the book is that it had good pacing and an intriguing premise which was fun to explore—a seemingly unsolvable locked-room mystery which was taken on by an android detective and a human detective who are forced to work together. I would like to read another book by this author, but I would feel some reservations based on the following issues. This book could benefit from rewriting and stronger editing so these problems are addressed.- There is an information dump in the beginning. It would have been better to chop off the first 10-15 pages and begin with the action. Most of these initial details of Penelope’s construction were not important to the story or could have been slipped in throughout the story.
- Telling rather than showing, and giving too much information to the reader.
- POV errors such as the scene in which Penelope turns off her ability to hear to avoid listening to reporters, but we as readers are still able to hear everything that is said.
- Awkward dialogue which was meant to be bantering and natural but in some cases created mental speed-bumps for me. While I appreciated the conversations Penelope had with her operating system, the system seemed too flippant and this damaged the suspense of disbelief in my opinion.
- Melodramatic dialogue and character actions. I can’t go into more detail without providing spoilers, but melodrama dampened the story experience for me.
- Logistical problems such as the use of a 200-year-old traditional printing press for printing the magazine Manus. If almost every other publication is digital and paper is rare, how were they able to get the kind of paper and inks necessary for printing a magazine on a regular basis? Another example might be a large population being able to subsist on plant-based food while bees have become entirely extinct. I feel these extraneous details thrown in for the sake of making the society look futuristic, but weren’t thought through entirely as to the ramifications of them being the case.
- Wordiness and unnecessary adverbs, such as the use of “very.” One strong word would have been better to use than two weak words. The writing felt like a draft.
- There were errors which you wouldn’t expect in a fully edited, finished book.
