In a near future, where even the smallest of appliances are sentient, a young Roomba vacuum sets out to save the humans of her house from a rising technological power in this compelling, original novel.
In a self-running, smart house, a young and sentient Roomba listens as her owner, Harold, reads aloud to his dying wife, Edie. Mesmerized by To Kill a Mockingbird and craving the human connection she witnesses in Harold's stories, the little vacuum renames herself Scout and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
But when Edie passes away, Scout and her fellow sentient appliances discover that there are sinister forces in their midst. The omnipresent Grid, which monitors every household in the City, seeks to remove Harold from his home, a place he's lived in for fifty years.
With the help of Adrian, a neighborhood boy who grows close to Scout and Harold, as well as Kate, Harold and Edie's formerly estranged daughter, the humans and the appliances must come together to outwit the all-controlling Grid lest they risk losing everything they hold dear.
'A delightful examination of the wonderment and fragility of life through the eyes of a curious robo-vac who's trying to get a handle on humans and their emotions.' Hilde Hinton, author of The Loudness of Unsaid Things
'Sentient appliances come to the rescue in this cute, speculative fiction. Life's fragility is part of its preciousness in Dixon's vision, and he layers a relaxed parable of ageing and grief (and more than a touch of Before the Coffee Gets Cold-style quirk and spirituality) into a techno-utopian premise' The Age
'The plot is tender and suspenseful as Scout begins to grasp love, grief, and resistance. Readers who enjoy stories that mix an intimate domestic setting with big questions about AI and control will find this both moving and surprisingly hopeful' Booklist
Glenn Dixon is the #1 bestselling author of the memoir Juliet's Answer. He has played in bands all his life, traveled through more than seventy-five countries, and written for National Geographic, the New York Post, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and Psychology Today. Before becoming a full-time writer, he taught high school English for twenty years. Visit him at GlennDixon.ca or follow him on Twitter @Glenn_Dixon.
Juliet's Answer was a #1 national bestseller that was published in twelve countries (Australia [Affirm], US [Gallery], Canada [S&S], China, Germany, India, Macedonia, Serbia, Spain, Taiwan, and audio in Canada) and was optioned for film.
Glenn is very imaginative with publicity: for his debut novel Bootleg Stardust his band released original songs under the name of the fictitious group Downtown Exit and posted videos, such as this memorable experience using the Rolling Stones mobile recording unit https://downtownexit.ca/. He will be a determined and engaged asset in promoting this new book and he's also very open to editorial feedback.
Fiction: general and literary, Fantasy, Speculative fiction, Humorous fiction
Paperback, 272 pages
H: 210mm W: 137mm Spine: 22mm
Weight: 271 grams