Blog Tour Review, Sunny

posted in: blog tour, Sherry | 0

Sunny
Colin O’Sullivan

288 pages
Mariner Books/Harper 360 UK
published December 5, 2023

Amazon | Goodreads

About the book

A riveting technological thriller following a woman whose life is upended when her husband and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash and she is left alone with an unnerving home robot, only to get caught up in an AI-related conspiracy.

In near-future Japan, Susie Sakamoto is mourning the loss of her husband and son to a plane crash.  Alone in her big modern house, which feels like more of a prison, Susie spends her days drinking heavily and taking her anger out at the only “sentient” thing left in her life: Sunny, the annoying home robot her husband designed. Susie despises Sunny, and sometimes even gets a sinking feeling that Sunny is out to hurt her.

To escape her paranoia and depression, Susie frequents the seedy, drug-fueled bars of the city, where she hears rumors of The Dark Manual, a set of guidelines that allow you to reprogram your robot for nefarious purposes. In the hopes of finding a way to turn off Sunny for good, Susie begins to search for the manual, only to learn it’s too late: the machines are becoming more sentient and dangerous. Thrust into the center of a dark, corporate war, Susie realizes there’s someone behind the code, pulling the strings. And they want her dead.

With a darkly humorous yet propulsive voice, O’Sullivan presents us with an unsettling look at a future that feels all too real. Gripping and thought-provoking, Sunny is a haunting character study of an anxious woman teetering in an anxious time.

My Review

What an interesting book.  A little bit sci fi and a little bit speculative, but as we are on the verge of AI creating everything, it feels a little real and close.

But first it starts out introducing the main character, Susie.  Having lost her son and husband in a plane crash and now living alone, she is grieving.  Did I say alone?  I meant with Sunny the robot.  The book starts out almost lyrical in style before hitting the main part of the plot.  I am usually one that picks up the mood of my read and while i knew she was grieving, it didn’t transfer.  I think this is because while Susie grieving is important, it isn’t the reason for the book.

It’s unique and quirky.  And it turns into quite the techno thriller.  I’m walking that line between being spoilerless and trying to describe what I read.  I am having a little trouble with that line on this one.  I can see why Netflix is making this into a streaming series.  It has that out of the box feel that is really different from what I normally read or even see being published.  Yet again, it feels like it could be reality.  It gave me vibes of Black Mirror and Orphan Black.

If you are looking for a different sci fi story as you wonder where this AI could take us, this is definitely a book you need to read.

About the Author

Colin O’Sullivan lives in the north of Japan with his family. He is the author of six novels, the first of which won the prestigious “Prix Mystère de la critique” in France.

 

 

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