Gamma Bots is the third book in the 'Womanoid Diaries Trilogy.' The first two books are Alpha Bots and Beta Bots. My review will contain short synopses of Alpha Bots and Beta Bots, but I'll try to avoid spoilers.
*****
Alpha bots takes place in a town called New Stepford, where all the women are AI androids, purchased by men to fulfill their needs. There are various kinds of androids, and Cookie Rifkin is a sex kitten, programmed for domestic chores and carnal relations.
Cookie and her kind are a cut above basic robots in that they can eat, drink, experience pleasure, feel pain, and most importantly, think for themselves. Cookie and other New Stepford 'wives', tired of being submissive mates, rebel with the help of two crafty androids: a robotics engineer called Wayne.....
.....and a cop called Maggie.
*****
As Beta Bots opens, Cookie has gained her freedom, and android Wayne is her boyfriend.
Cookie, Wayne, and a non-binary metallic shapeshifting AI called ANA (pronounced A-N-A) - who can morph into ANYTHING - set out on a mission to steal gold and palladium from a Russian bank.
Along the way, the trio meet - and are helped by - several new friends, including a female android called Tabby - who owns a luxury yacht called the Wonder Woman;
a trans man named Richie - who captains the Wonder Woman;
and Uno - a non-binary white Bengal tiger.
There's a lot of action in the story, during which the AIs, who have WiFi, communicate with each other, share data, and download useful programs - like how to use martial arts. AIs also contain 'recyclones' that they use to heal themselves, rebuild lost body parts, and basically make anything they want....weapons, clothes, whatever. Thus it's VERY hard, though not impossible, to 'kill' an AI.
Among other things, the AIs want to destroy the Stepford Corporation, which - in addition to manufacturing android women - has various underhanded schemes.
*****
At the beginning of Gamma Bots, Cookie and some of her friends are on the yacht Wonder Woman, engaging in water sports and waiting for Cookie's android boyfriend Wayne to fly in from London.
Cookie has a shifting set of goals that include: 1. destroy the Stepford Corporation; 2. rescue a 'child' android named Mateus, who's being held in the Stepford facility; 3. kill Maggie', a former AI friend of Cookie's who's gone bad; and more.
In the meantime, Cookie gets a WiFi signal from an AI called Paula, Cookie's erstwhile best pal, who was thought to be dead.
Cookie and her companions find Paula's parts in a garbage dump and reassemble her - but this isn't the same old Paula. This 'new' Paula is a killer who can change into almost any object, such as a car; a tank; a fighter jet, and on on. Moreover, Paula can make other AIs to assist her.
Evil Paula is determined to obliterate Cookie and her friends, and the villainous android follows Cookie everywhere. This leads to action scene after action scene as Cookie tries to destroy the Stepford Corporation while simultaneously battling Paula.
Here's an example of an action scene:
Cookie's non-binary AI friend ANA, who can transform into anything, has become a gray F-35 fighter jet. Cookie sees the gray F-35 zoom overhead, followed by three black F-35s in V-formation.
Cookie narrates: "Somehow, I knew Paula was the leader.....ANA pulled a barrel roll that spun into a deep nosedive, causing the three black jets to overshoot their target. Then, ANA climbed behind them, shot a single missile and took out one of Paula's wingwomen. With it's engine on fire, the black fighter spun into a corkscrew. A thick black trail of smoke spiraled across the indigo sky.....Then, the plane hit the deck.....ANA circled again, this time with two bogeys on their tail....." and so on.
The novel is chock full of scenarios like this, with AIs that can fly; can sprout weapons and tools from the ends of their limbs; can reassemble themselves after the most horrendous damage; and more.
In the course of the story, Cookie meets Dr. Jean Fluke, the original creator of the Stepford Corporation's womanoids. Dr. Fluke designed other AIs as well, including plant AIs and mushroom AIs, all of which are important to the tale.
Cookie also has to rescue her boyfriend Wayne at one point, and try to stop an AI called M@STER, which plans to start a nuclear holocaust that will destroy the planet. All this entails more pulse-pounding quests.
The book has lots of memorable scenes, such as Cookie being attacked by a nursery full of toddler androids; Cookie having a sexual adventure; Cookie teleporting across the country via mushroom AIs; Cookie camouflaging herself in a kitchen full of Cook-Es (Cookie clones that do nothing but cook banana recipes); and more.
This is a fine conclusion to the womanoid trilogy, and I'd even be curious to learn what happens with Cookie next.
The book has lots of 'Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll', and would probably appeal to any reader who likes sci-fi action and adventure.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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