Skip to content

Comment

Annie Bot review: A sharp take on a sex robot that becomes human

In a smart, compassionate novel, Sierra Greer spins the tired trope of a robot challenging its fate into sci-fi gold

By Emily Wilson

13 March 2024

'Play With Me' series — Annie Bot is hard-coded to please her owner/partner
Niaz Maleknia

Annie Bot
Sierra Greer (The Borough Press (UK), available now; Mariner Books (US), on sale 19 March)

ANNIE BOT is the story of a robot who lives with her human owner, Doug, in a New York apartment. I opened the novel with low hopes, because the idea of a robot learning to be human, then chafing at its bonds, seemed a bit old hat. How wrong I was. Right from the first page, the book is coruscating, unexpected and subtle. I picked it up idly one evening and felt…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

Unlock this article

or

Existing subscribers

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

2JHN167 HUGH JACKMAN, THE PRESTIGE, 2006

Comment

The Prestige is just as clever and thrilling 30 years on

Culture

2JD8W56 ALICIA VIKANDER, EX MACHINA, 2014,

Comment

Fictional female robots have a long history, and it's often quite dark

Culture

The greatest robot of all time? The cooker on the moon, from A Grand Day Out

Comment

The 25 best fictional robots – according to New Scientist

Culture

JG9R47 Emoticons

Technology

New book is an illuminating but flawed look at the impact of emoji

Culture

1

How regrowing your own teeth could replace dentures and implants

2

Why Trump's order targeting 'woke' AI may be impossible to follow

3

Remarkable set of tracks suggests different dinosaurs herded together

4

Small, stocky dinosaur related to Velociraptor named as new species

5

Intensely grieving a loved one could shorten a mourner's life

6

Rapid bursts of ageing are causing a total rethink of how we grow old

7

What were ancient humans thinking when they began to bury their dead?

8

Our brain's mitochondria may play a crucial role in the onset of sleep

9

The 25 best fictional robots – according to New Scientist

10

Simple skincare routine could stop babies developing eczema