LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff

Lifelike book 1. Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760295691
(Age: 15+) Recommended for adrenaline junkies. Themes: Dystopian fiction, Robots, Artificial intelligence, Memory, Extrasensory perception. This book grabbed me right from the first page where the reader meets Eve, a prisoner in a cell, who has to watch her family being killed one by one. From then on, the story takes the reader on a wild ride, with Eve fighting a in a robot gladiator that she has built herself, only to find that she can destroy electronics with the power of her mind, having the Brotherhood chasing her across the barren landscape for her weirdness and then finding an android named Ezekiel who claims to have known her from the past. With her best friend Lemon Fresh and a little robot called Cricket, she treks across irradiated glass trying to find her grandfather who has been taken away by androids.
Time just flew away as I followed Eve's journey. There is so much action, fighting and violence as well as some slight romance and heart breaking moments, that the book will hold the attention of all readers who like a fast paced sci-fi thriller. For those who have read Asimov's book "I, Robot", the whole idea of robots and artificial intelligence will be questioned as the androids in "LIFEL1K3", change the 3 laws of robotics and start questioning what they can do.
Kristoff brings his characters to life, especially Eve's friend Lemon Fresh, whose delightful wit brings much humour to the story. The robots' characters are so well developed that they seem like real people and this also makes that reader think about where artificial intelligence could lead the world.
With a totally unexpected twist at the end, readers will be sure to pick up the next in the series and I for one, will be reading some of Kristoff's previous award winning series, "The Lotus War" and the "Illuminae files" written with Amie Kaufman.
Pat Pledger