LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike) (Lifel1k3, #1)

by Jay Kristoff

From the coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Illuminae Files comes the first book in a new series that's part Romeo and Juliet, part Terminator, and all adrenaline.

On an island junkyard beneath a sky that glows with radiation, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap. Seventeen-year-old Eve isn't looking for trouble--she's too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she spent months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, she's on the local gangster's wanted list, and the only thing keeping her grandpa alive is the money she just lost to the bookies. Worst of all, she's discovered she can somehow destroy machines with the power of her mind, and a bunch of puritanical fanatics are building a coffin her size because of it. If she's ever had a worse day, Eve can't remember it. The problem is, Eve has had a worse day--one that lingers in her nightmares and the cybernetic implant where her memories used to be. Her discovery of a handsome android named Ezekiel--called a "Lifelike" because they resemble humans--will bring her world crashing down and make her question whether her entire life is a lie. With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic sidekick Cricket in tow, Eve will trek across deserts of glass, battle unkillable bots, and infiltrate towering megacities to save the ones she loves...and learn the truth about the bloody secrets of her past.

• ISBN10: 1524713929
• ISBN13: 9781524713928
• Publish Date: 29 May 2018
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524713928

Reviews

[Kelly]

Dirty, gritty and loved every moment. Bravo Mr. Kristoff, Bravo.

Once known as Kalifornya, now a desolate wasteland of recycled technology and radiation, decimated by conflict. Scavenging among the ruins, Eve Carpenter continues to endure the loss of her family, incarcerated by the authorities and slain while the seventeen year old was extradited by her grandfather. In an emerging world evolved by technology, human life is a commodity within the dystopic environment inciting syndicate violence. Eve is an intelligent and tenacious young woman, now caring for her elderly grandfather amongst the destruction, a cancer patient exposed to radiation.

The Three Laws of Robotics once constrained artificially intelligent automations to perpetuate human lives, now rogue and resolute in achieving freedom from human oppression and servitude. Among the fragments lies a fractured Lifelike, a young male android and harbinger of truth. Accompanying Eve on her journey of identity and discovery is a multifarious contingent of reinforcements.

Stronger together. Together forever.

Fifteen year old Lemon Fresh is a valiant and tenacious orphan, abandoned as an infant, now colleagues within the gladiatorial amphitheatre creating an enduring friendship and familial alliance. Created with recycled fragments, Cricket is perceptive and conscious of his physical environment. Accompanied by blitzhund Kaiser, they make a formidable contingent and compelling aspect of the narrative. Eve is an anomaly accused of deactivating technology through technokenesis. Lifelike android Ezekiel is attractive but importantly, appreciates the gravity of their challenge. To evade the syndicate and a bounty hunter on behalf of The Brotherhood, idealists who demand the surrender of genetic deviates for purification

Atmospherically breathtaking, Kalifornya is a desolate frontier. The collapse of Gnosis and the Monrova family have preceded the rise of technology corporations Bio Maas and Daedalus, corporations elevated to authority and dominance. The post apocalyptic world is vividly and cinematically imagined, an oppressive and contaminated environment, radiation continuing to diminish the populous as the Gnosis tower erupted.

The essence of Lifelike is humanity and creation, capitalism and environment interlaced with an atmospheric and compelling narrative. Captivating characters and breathtaking revelations. Compulsive reading.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Jay Kristoff’s LIFEL1K3 joins a tradition of science fiction books that tackle the question of whether AI/androids “count” as human and should be afforded human rights like free will. While I was initially somewhat ambivalent to the question itself, having seen it elsewhere in various forms, the strong writing, vibrant characters, and surprise plot twists kept me engaged with LIFEL1K3.

I have some nit-picky issues with the book that had me on the fence about how much I liked it while I was in the process of reading it. (Actually, I listened to the first half on audiobook and read the last half in ebook form.) Kristoff does a good job worldbuilding, including having so much invented slang and names that it seemed over-the-top. The characters also vacillated between charmingly sassy and trying-too-hard sassy (something perhaps exacerbated by the audibook narrator, who read nearly everyone’s lines with uptalk and made protagonist BFFs Lemon and Eve both come across as almost stereotypically vapid). Maybe my overall issue (since “trying too hard” is a theme here) was just that I could “see the seams” of the book, the places where Kristoff decided “I need a futuristic cool slang term for X” and “I’m going to repeat these lines throughout the book for drama” and “I’m going stop at this part in the plot because it’s a good cliffhanger for the chapter.”

However, I ultimately prefer books with noticeable seams like this–places where the writer obviously put some thought into structure, characterization, worldbuilding, etc.– over books that don’t come together well. So this is both a plus and a con for me and kind of cancels itself out. And besides this, I liked a lot about the book.

Mostly, there were two major plot twists that genuinely took me by surprise. More importantly, in both cases, these twists made me reevaluate various questions about the book, including the nature of AI and what truly differentiates man from machine. Initially, the “lifelikes,” androids so realistic you can hardly tell they’re not human except for the fact they’re “too perfect,” were not interesting representations of AI to me. Basically, they are SO lifelife, that there barely seemed to be a real question of whether they “deserved” rights because of course they did. However, aspects in the second half of the book raised more questions about what differentiates humans from inventions that I found more compelling.

However, I also enjoyed the characters, even if their brand of sass and snark isn’t my own. Eve’s sidekick Cricket, her “bestest” Lemon, her faithful machine dog, and her grandfather Silas are all special–smart, loyal, brave. I admittedly found the love interest unremarkable, in the sense I didn’t really feel any chemistry between him and Eve, but that’s fine.

Overall, I do recommend this one. I didn’t like it quite as much as Illuminae, and I’m in the weird position where I don’t actually care that much about continuing to read the series, but I still think it’s a very good book.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Caffeinated Reasons to Read or Listen to LIFELIK3

• Wowzers! This story was intense and as I have come to find with this author, the world-building was amazing. The story centers around seventeen-year-old Eve, who survived a horrific event and lives with her ill grandfather. Eve has a cybernetic implant and builds and fights in gladiator type arenas against robotic machines. Cool right? Only Eve cannot remember all of her past and when she meets Ezekiel she begins to question everything. The tale that unfolds was blazingly fast-paced and completely addictive with intense action scenes, battles, dangerous missions and more.


• The world Kristoff has created reminded me of other worlds with its radiation, cyber-bots, big brother, gangs, corruption and secrets. Talk about feeding your inner nerd. This post-apocalyptic world is set in the United States where robots are enslaved and life-like androids are banned. Have you seen the talking human-like robotics being developed?   This story has a little of everything. Fans of Mad Max, Westwood, Fallout, Borderlands, and Terminator will want to grab this one! While this story is unique, it has a similar vibe to these stories and worlds.


•  The characters and their interaction, banner and teasing were delightful. Eve's sidekick Cricket, a tiny AI bot who made me laugh, but could be cruel. Eve herself is fearless and kickass. She is very protective of the people in her circle and will readily fight for them. Lemon is Eve's best friend and lives in the same home. Can I just say I adored Lemon? Hilarious! Ezekiel is a lifelike and a character I truly liked. Lifelikes have been banned for breaking the three laws.


• While this story is action-packed with plenty of twists it does feature a romance and this one pulled at my heartstrings. It is brilliantly done, swoon-worthy and made my heart flutter.


• Kristoff delivers a story of oppression, social ladders, and love. While it may be about robots it certainly felt relevant to today's headlines. While at times it can be dark it also focuses on love and not just the romantic kind.


• If you listen to the audio, you'll love it from the robot voices to Erin Spencer's pacing, tone, and fantastic vocals for these characters. She really captured the emotions, intensity, and reality of this tale which only enhanced my experience.

This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Well THAT was bloody fantastic.

What can I say? The characters were layered and interesting. The world was gritty and captivating. Even the slang was catchy and sensibly used. The future lies before us in the technological destruction that fuels the world of LIFEL1K3. The novel will make you despair for humanity and giggle like lovesick child within the same chapter.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s love and hope in every shade. There’s a strange and admirable beauty to the world that leaves you thirsty for the next chapter.

Jay Kristoff weaves exactly the type of AI driven dystopia I want to read. The influences of greats like Asimov are clear, while parallels to history and traditional science fiction keep the story grounded. Still, this story is fresh. Kristoff effortlessly takes elements we’ve seen before and churns up a story that still has the ability to surprise. LIFEL1K3 is just the tip of the iceberg to a great and glorious series, and I cannot wait to read more.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

LIFELiK3 is a clever mashup of Pinocchio and the Anastasia legend with kick-ass girls in mechs and robots!

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

There are parts of this book that I flat out adored, but then parts that really fell kind of flat for me. So, we shall break them down, as you do.

What I Liked:

• The characters, basically all of them really. They're quite well done and fleshed out. I might have even liked the side characters more than the main characters, but it still worked really well. The relationships that Eve had were fabulous too. Loved the loyalty that her friends and well, robots, but they were friends too, had for her. And it was obvious that the love was reciprocated.



• Romanov history for the win! I was kind of giddy excited when I realized what it was. I know there are other references (Cait @ Paper Fury described them more in depth) but... this was the only one I know-know, okay? Plus, the U.S. cover doesn't tell us about any of them, so I went in surprised, happily so, because the Romanov story is pretty compelling, right? Yes, and even though I kind of knew how that part would end up (actually we all learn really early on so it's not spoilery even), it was still really emotionally charged.



• Snark and banter and delightfulness. This probably ties into the character piece, but the dialogue was just perfect for me. I enjoyed it so much- maybe that is why the battles bugged me, I just wanted everyone to chat for several hundred pages!

What I Didn't:

• Pacing was hit or miss. I actually had a really hard time getting into the book. And then for awhile, I was pretty invested! But then, I felt more lulls, and it went on like this for most of the book for me.



• So. Many. Battles. This may be more of a personal qualm, but I just get bored with too many battle scenes. Like okay, I get it, things are rough out there. My eyes just start to glaze over after awhile.



• Quite predictable. Now, I will say that there was one pretty big twist I didn't see coming, and that was fun! But most of it... yeah, I kind of predicted. So when you add that in with me getting kind of bored of the fighting... well, it's a recipe for mild apathy.

Will I Read the Next Book? Possibly. I liked the characters and the ending a lot, so yeah.

Bottom Line: While sometimes slow and predictable, the characters and writing were ultimately enough to keep me reading.

[Beth C.]

Once upon a time, there was a family: a father, a mother, three sisters, and a brother. But once upon a time only leads to happily ever after in fairy tales…and this is no fairy tale. This is a Jay Kristoff novel. So instead, we have Eve, and a world that is nothing but heat and radiation now. Eve lives with her grandfather, trying to earn enough for his medicine in Dome battles with machina. When she bets it all on a battle that goes sideways, AND discovers she has the power to destroy the machine—which will get her killed—Eve thinks her day has gotten as bad as it’s going to get. Then she finds the broken automata…and she learns that the road to hell truly is paved with good intentions.

Click to vampirebookclub.net for the rest of the review!

[Amber]

Review to come!

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