The Crying Machine

I'll be honest, I was hesitant after the first chapter, wondering what I'd gotten myself into but I kept on and the other chapters were still a bit 'hmm' for me until about 30 pages in and then it all just clicked, Chivers had me hooked.

The premise was already right up my alley, Sci-Fi/Dystopia and I'm always a sucker for books about AI (or movies or anything else lol). 

Clementine is a nugget and I want to protect her with all my heart and hiss at anyone who gets near her.

But, not to go crazy and mention a whole bunch of names that will mean nothing to you all, let's start small.

The story switches between three characters, each chapter is told in the first person and not two chapters in a row are from the same perspective/character. The characters are Silas, Levi, and Clementine who I've already mentioned. It's fun to have the perspective go from one of the 'good guys' to the corrupt minister and I really enjoyed that. The story is set in Jerusalem and I like that the reason it is, is because the Mechanicals/Machines have taken over Europe and the US. This means that the people coming to Jerusalem from those people are mostly refugees and that's a pretty interesting take. As this is set in the future, Jerusalem's history is mentioned but nothing is in depth on it, which is pretty good for this particular book, I applaud Chivers on balancing that well enough. He doesn't try to write about what he doesn't know as far as setting the book in a different country goes and that's always a nice and refreshing thing, and his own take remains in our futuristic world he's built.

I would have enjoyed more of his world building for this dystopia setting and that was probably my biggest let down in this novel. But this is more character driven and not only that but the plot doesn't need you to know more than what he gives. 
Overall this book really touched on humanity, showing an AI hybrid what it means to be human, and along the way perhaps a few others learn the meaning too [such as our ambitious criminal] and though there is talk about religion it's not to shove it in your face, it's part of the ties to the past and I really LOVED that there is a religion based off worshipping machines, and not to mention God is referred to with she/her in this so, I'm already like 'damn straight' lol. 

The minor characters were interesting as well and I can say Yusuf and Amos were my favorites in that regard but I won't give away too many details.

Really loved this and was so satisfied when I finished, it was an unexpected favorite for me.

I started this book three times because I was a bit confused by the plot and 3 was the magic number.
Even if it's a bit confusing at the beginning, after the first part it becomes an enjoyable and entertaining read.
I liked the world building, even if some more details would be appreciated, the plot and the characters.
It's a character driven book and I appreciated how the characters were developed.
A good book that I recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

My thanks to Harper Collins U.K./HarperVoyager for an eARC via NetGalley of Greg Chivers’ ‘The Crying Machine’ in exchange for an honest review.

This is a complex, fiercely intelligent thriller set in a post-apocalyptic Jerusalem and involves themes of politics, science, religion and artificial intelligence. The narrative switches between its three main characters: Levi, Silas, and Clementine.

Levi is an ambitious young criminal, who is hired to steal a valuable religious artefact. Silas is the Minister of Antiquities, a title that he considers gives him “licence to divert a certain proportion of the city’s excessive historical wealth into private hands.” Finally, Clementine is a young refugee with unusual technological abilities, who is looking to disappear when her path crosses Levi’s.

I was very impressed with the characterisation throughout. There wasn’t a great deal of exposition about the wider world though enough to provide a sense of the historical context. Chivers’ focus on ideas linked to religion, philosophy, and AI put me in mind of Philip K. Dick’s writing.

I was only aware of this SF novel a few days before publication and when my request to HarperVoyager was approved I elected to buy its audiobook edition to allow me to combine listening with my reading. The audiobook has three narrators to voice the sections allocated to Levi, Silas, and Clementine.

Overall an engaging read that combined ideas with an exploration of what it means to be human. I look forward to his future projects.