Ever since reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a teenager, humorous sci-fi has been a favorite genre of mine. Many have tried to follow in Douglas Adams's footsteps, but none can match his brilliance and wit. I'm not sure if Chris McCrudden sees himself as carrying on Adams's literary mantle, but I would add Battlestar Suburbia to the list of sci-fi comedy efforts that fall short.
Millennia in the future, machines are self-aware and sentient, and humans are only tolerated as cleaners. Humans live in orbiting housing projects, commuting to earth for their daily cleaning jobs. A few humans more or less accidentally start a human revolt, with the assistance of bread maker who has developed compassion for the plight of humans.
It took me a while to wrap my mind around the sentient machines, and I never really did embrace them. If it's been millennia, why do these machines retain their human-serving forms? In the case of the bread maker, a human engineer transfers her consciousness into a motorcycle. Why wouldn't machines take initiative to develop more versatile bodies? It makes no sense.
The premise didn't grab me, and, while there were certainly some original and funny ideas, the story didn't engage me. I got bored and found myself skimming to the end. Good effort, but not that great.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
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