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A review by a_little_off_center
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book has more twists, turns, crosses, double crosses, and just generally fun chaos than a maze full of child spies who have eaten a bucket of candy! One of the least predictable books I’ve read in a long while! A sci-fi fairytale retelling mash up of Arabian Nights and Aladdin, but with a much more South East Asian flair! Told mainly from the POV of a “storybot” named Moku, who is designed to follow his user and record their life and actions. Moku ends up accepting as his user both Lina and Bador, who are a human and monkey bot pair of siblings, and the children of revolutions who were fighting social injustice and inequity.
Though the siblings love and care for each other they have of grown apart over issues of trust and secrecy in their family. Moku splits his time between them, as they each try to save the city of Shantiport and also work on their own goals. To save the city, the trio has to thwart a villainous oligarch to find a magical piece of alien tech in the form of a lamp with a jinn-bot who grants users wishes. The “be careful what you wish for” saying never has more truth than when dealing with a jinn in a lamp!
There is mass corruption of government, murderous bot fighters, crime lords, an alien adventure hero with self cleaning clothes, tragic loss of a parent, and a quest to save the the people and bots of the city from destruction and misery. The story does tend to be a lot of “tell” and less “show,” with a fairly omniscient narrator, and varies wildly between fast action packed scenes of our characters fighting for their lives and slower more philosophical discussions on bot rights, and how to improve the lives of the common people of Shantiport without causing more problems than they solve.
A super fun read for anyone that enjoys a good sci-fi retelling of old classics, with a lot of mayhem and just the right dash of humor!
Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for the e-arc.
Though the siblings love and care for each other they have of grown apart over issues of trust and secrecy in their family. Moku splits his time between them, as they each try to save the city of Shantiport and also work on their own goals. To save the city, the trio has to thwart a villainous oligarch to find a magical piece of alien tech in the form of a lamp with a jinn-bot who grants users wishes. The “be careful what you wish for” saying never has more truth than when dealing with a jinn in a lamp!
There is mass corruption of government, murderous bot fighters, crime lords, an alien adventure hero with self cleaning clothes, tragic loss of a parent, and a quest to save the the people and bots of the city from destruction and misery. The story does tend to be a lot of “tell” and less “show,” with a fairly omniscient narrator, and varies wildly between fast action packed scenes of our characters fighting for their lives and slower more philosophical discussions on bot rights, and how to improve the lives of the common people of Shantiport without causing more problems than they solve.
A super fun read for anyone that enjoys a good sci-fi retelling of old classics, with a lot of mayhem and just the right dash of humor!
Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for the e-arc.