Adam-2 - Alistair Chisholm
Having finished Scavenger: Zoid too quickly to use in the Reading Challenge, I needed another book featuring AI or robots, and got this one from the school library, knowing nothing about it except what I saw on the cover.
In a lot of ways, Adam-2 is similar to Scavenger: Zoid. It is set in the distant future, in a world where robots have turned on humanity and now pockets of humans try to resist against them. Like in Scavenger: Zoid, a more sophisticated robot is introduced who starts trying to help the humans. That robot develops a friendship with a main human, while other main humans remain suspicious. The difference here is that the robot - the titular Adam-2 - is the main character, whereas the robot in Scavenger: Zoid was a supporting character. Having the story be told primarily from Adam's viewpoint is an interesting touch, particularly as Adam learns about both sides in the conflict and begins to have doubts about the sincerity of either camp.
There is a nice message in this book about learning to see from another's point-of-view and overcoming prejudices. In order to strengthen this, author Chisholm also introduces another point-of-view character, Linden, a transgender human who goes by ze/hir pronouns. Linden hates robots, and includes Adam in that hate. Adam, of course, tries to draw parallels between himself and Linden, pointing out that he doesn't see himself as a robot in a similar way to Linden's own identity journey. It's all interesting, and very modern, but I will admit that reading "ze" and "hir" throughout a story was something that distracted me. I imagine this is something that will become more common in modern literature, but at this point "ze said" just doesn't sound as 'real' as "he said" or "she said."
Adam-2 was an interesting one off read, and some of the characters are interesting, but overall I preferred Scavenger: Zoid.
Completed 10 March 2025.
(2025 Book Challenge - "Robots/AI")
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