Service Model cover art

Service Model

Preview

Audible Standard 1-month free trial

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo + applicable tax after 30-day trial. Cancel Anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Service Model

Written by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Try for $0.00

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $29.74

Buy Now for $29.74

This program is read by Hugo Award–winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time.


To fix the world they must first break it, further.

Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service.

When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away.

Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.

Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com.

Adventure Hard Science Fiction Humorous Science Fiction Robotics Witty Technology Funny Crime Murder
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

What the critics say

“With humor, heart, and hope balancing out the decay, this glimpse of the future is sure to win fans.” —Publishers Weekly

Praise for Adrian Tchaikovsky

Elder Race was Shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Fiction Prize!

“Picking up an Adrian Tchaikovsky book is proof you love your brain and want it to be happy.” —John Scalzi

“There’s an Ursula Le Guin-like grace to [Tchaikovsky's] storytelling... Ten out of 10.” —The New York Times on Elder Race

“An epic tale of a land ruled by magic—or the sober record of a world colonized by science...The double vision built into the story works well.” —The Wall Street Journal on Elder Race

“Rex, a two-metre-tall bioengineered dog, is one of the most achingly human characters I have ever encountered in an SF novel. A gripping dive into bioethics and artificial intelligence.” —New Scientist on Dogs of War

Children of Time is a joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human.” —Patrick Ness

Additional Praise for Adrian Tchaikovsky:

“A great coming-of-age story that careens through a world so vividly realized that you can feel each insect bite and taste every acrid berry. The Expert System’s Brother gives you that visceral eek of satisfaction as its pieces come into view then fit together with exacting precision. It’s a smart story, smartly told.” —Hugo Award winner, John Chu

“I loved it. A bold, vivid story about humanity and the broader universe. Should we mold the universe to suit us? Or should we mold ourselves to suit the universe? Adrian Tchaikovsky keeps these choices in tension, and kept me riveted to the page.” —Ramez Naam, author of Nexus on The Expert System’s Brother

“Brilliant science fiction and far out world building” —James McAvoy on Children of Time

“A refreshingly new take on post-dystopia civilizations, with the smartest evolutionary world building you'll ever read” —Peter F. Hamilton on Children of Time

“[A] seamless blend of science fiction and fantasy... Recommended for lovers of portal fantasy, lost colony science fiction, and stories on the border between the two genres” —Library Journal on Elder Race

“Tchaikovsky takes beloved tropes to exciting new places, carried by memorable characters and clever prose. This proves yet again why Tchaikovsky is a master of the genre mash-up.” —Publishers Weekly on Elder Race

All stars
Most Relevant
Clever narration from the logical lense of a kindly robot that simply wants to make someone tea and fold their clothes in a world gone to shit. lovely listen

a Douglas Adam's esque chuckle and smile

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Great voice acting, great characters, very fun. Just finished Sea of Rust and this is the book that should have been the sequel. Or prequel/Origin story.

Its great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I was looking for something light and frothy that stayed clever and this absolutely delivered. The author put many professional narrators to shame and was engaging throughout.

marvelous narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I really loved this audiobook. It had some sad moments, funny moments, and some funny sad moments (as a canadian, is that what british humor is?) It was a nice adventure and I enjoyed the whole ride. The narration by the author was great. Tchaikovsky has a diverse character voice portfolio. The low reviews should not be considered as they were written by defective units that are awaiting data compression.

a review by an Authority Level 9

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

In a genre full of sapient robots, this book instantly stands out. The dissonance from clashing human-dictated policies had me laughing out loud. And although I had my doubts that the book would adequately sum up all relevant threads, it did so with gusto by the end. I definitely recommend it!

Hilarious!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews