Android Karenina (mash up)

[vodkafan]

Android Karenina

Leo Tolstoy and Ben H Winters

 

I had already read one mash-up book (P &P with Zombies) and although I enjoyed it, I didn't really want to read another one, so I looked at everything in this small genre before picking this book. I had not read the original which I hoped would be an advantage, I could just read it as it came with out any prejudgement.

There are not a huge number of characters, but even so their names became confusing at times because Russians have 3 names apparently which get used interchangably .

The book is set in an alternative Russia in the very early 20th century, (ie how it would have been before the communist revolution?) . A new miracle metal named Groznium has put Mother Russia at the very forefront of technological advancement . Space cruises, , magnetic super trains, anti-gravity dancing, a colony on the moon and robots for every conceivable purpose. There is no middle class , just peasants and the fashionable upper class.

Every person of worth has their own personal class 3 robot, which is attuned to their own personality and needs. The peasants do not have companion robots, but even so it is not too bad being a peasant in these days as robots have taken over all the hard dirty jobs.

Government control is stringent however (this is Russia after all) as the country is threatened from within by a terrorist organisation called UnConSciya (Union of Concerned Scientists).

Don't look for any explanation of how the robots and other stuff work- there isn't any. You just have to enjoy the idea.

There are also a cult of people who believe in the imminent arrival of benificient aliens (the so-called Honoured Guests, who when they arrive are anything but benign)

Anna Karanina is the beautiful wife of a high government official . Almost against her will she is sucked into a love affair with dashing Count Vronsky, which causes him to jilt Kitty, the young girl he has been seeing.

The descriptions of the emotional turmoil of all the characters are quite remarkable to me in their intensity and truth. I am guessing that this is the pure Tolstoy. It was worth reading.

So how about the mash up part?

Not having read the original novel, I at first I found the SF elements quite natural. It was like reading a 1940s or 50s novel from the golden age of pulp SF. Also quite humourous. For instance Anna's robot Android Karenina does not speak but is set to glow in complementary colours according to Anna's mood and clothing to make her look good. Kitty's robot is dressed in a tutu and leaps about doing ballet. Levin's serious robot Socrates has useful tools hanging from his chin like a beard.

After a while though, as the central love story developed , the SF side of the story didn't seem to be going anywhere. The motivations of UnConSciya remained mysterious. The various terrorist acts had no purpose. The appearance of the aliens seemed pointless.

But then, about 10 pages before the end, it all suddenly does have a point. And it is not bad. I have read many worse SF novels.