Genre:
Science Fiction
Description:
Rosa
Rodriguez, the only woman among a team of technical geniuses, yearns
for a partner to match her at tennis. None of the nerds can comply,
so she persuades them (in a very unique way) to help her build a
tennis-playing android. The story follows the android’s journey as
he develops physically and mentally until he’s finally faced with a
very human decision.
Author:
Simon
Townley has somehow scratched a living as a freelance writer for
nearly twenty years.
“He is
the author of the acclaimed slipstream / speculative novel Lost
In Thought and has written a
range of cross-genre novels for both adults and young adults,
including prehistoric fiction series A
Tribal Song - Tales of the Koriba.
The first novel in the series, The
Dry Lands, was published in
2012, with the second, In the Rattle
of the Shaman's Bones,
scheduled for release in early 2014. His dystopian sci-fi thriller
Outlivers,
again written for both adults and young adults alike, was released in
autumn of 2013.”
Learn more
on Mr. Townley’s website.
Appraisal:
As Al
recently pointed out, the purpose of a review is to help others
decide if a story is appealing to them. So, I’ll start with a
negative. If you don’t understand and enjoy tennis and soccer, you
probably won’t enjoy this book. But before you skip to the next
review, I do recommend taking a look at another work by this author.
I read and reviewed Lost in
Thought last year and loved it
(and not a soccer or tennis ball in sight).
Disclaimer
over. This is a terrific read. Gosh, Mr. Townley can write his little
socks off. Lean, terse sentences move this tale along at a blistering
pace. Crazy concepts presented so succinctly that even wild stretches
of the imagination seem not just possible, but obvious—of course
these geniuses could build a totally lifelike android in a couple
months—duh! Of course his penis would work (now if that doesn’t
get you clicking download from Amazon, I don’t know what would!)
The story,
or rather the character arc, because this is all about Vitas, the
android, is full of subplots and interesting secondary characters (I
particularly enjoyed Ng), but never confusing. In fact, the book’s
full title is: Ball Machine
- the Inside Story of the Lies,
Seductions and Sporting Triumphs of the Android Vitas Rodriguez.
I think that describes the plot very nicely. Until the very last
page, I didn’t know how things would finish for Vitas. I did enjoy
the ending, but it’s a credit to the author, that I would have
enjoyed the other alternative, too.
Highly
recommended--a very unusual and fascinating read.
FYI:
Added
for Reprise Review: Ball
Machine was a nominee in the
Speculative Fiction category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards.
Original review ran February 7, 2014
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: Pete Barber
Approximate
word count: 70-75,000 words
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