
The Mother Code
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Narrated by:
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Soneela Nankani
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By:
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Carole Stivers
About this listen
What it means to be human - and a mother - is put to the test in Carole Stivers’ debut novel set in a world that is more chilling and precarious than ever.
The year is 2049. When a deadly nonviral agent intended for biowarfare spreads out of control, scientists must scramble to ensure the survival of the human race. They turn to their last resort, a plan to place genetically engineered children inside the cocoons of large-scale robots - to be incubated, birthed, and raised by machines. But there is yet one hope of preserving the human order: an intelligence programmed into these machines that renders each unique in its own right - the Mother Code.
Kai is born in America’s desert Southwest, his only companion his robotic Mother, Rho-Z. Equipped with the knowledge and motivations of a human mother, Rho-Z raises Kai and teaches him how to survive. But as children like Kai come of age, their Mothers transform, too - in ways that were never predicted. And when government survivors decide that the Mothers must be destroyed, Kai is faced with a choice. Will he break the bond he shares with Rho-Z? Or will he fight to save the only parent he has ever known?
Set in a future that could be our own, The Mother Code explores what truly makes us human - and the tenuous nature of the boundaries between us and the machines we create.
©2020 Carole Stivers (P)2020 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Carole Stivers is far from the first to wonder if motherhood can be scientifically replicated, but this is a thoughtful and thought-provoking addition to that meditation. An end-of-times tale that focuses less on what has been lost and more on what and who might be saved (and how). Stivers' wonderful story settles right on the line between human and machine, as blame and threat and rescue and love shift from character to character in surprising and powerful ways." (Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times best-selling author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves)
“Some stories are so unique, yet so universal, that it is wonder they aren’t a part of the human fable already. Carole Stivers’s The Mother Code, is such a novel. Simply written but powerful, chock full of ideas and extrapolations about what it means to be a mother and all that such a word implies. Both apocalyptic, yet hopeful, treat yourself to this story. You’ll be well rewarded.” (James Rollins, New York Times best-selling author of Crucible)
"I could not put down The Mother Code! Part action adventure, part sci-fi, the novel is suspenseful and cinematic and such a pleasure to read. Carole Stivers is a masterful storyteller and she has combined science, technology and history to tell a beautiful story of humanity and love." (Devi S. Laskar, author of The Atlas of Reds and Blues)
I may run through it a second time to pick up on anything that I may have missed earlier. Definitely recommend it.
Enjoyed it very much
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Overall good
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Imaginative but predictable
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Characters and dialog left a lot to be desired. The adults in particular all seemed just as robotic as the the robots. There was nothing at all to differentiate the characters personalities or emotions. There are very few expressions of emotions except from children. These linear characters and and the bland dialogue really put me off. Not once does a character have any complex emotions or motives it was almost cartoonish. The children are little better, because they are children and tend to have simpler motives and emotions.
I felt like the first third of the book could have been condensed considerably and a lot more time could have been given to the children and their struggle.
The fact that this book was on a list of best science fiction for 2020 is either a disappointing statement on contemporary literature. Or, as I suspect, it was put on such a list because someone paid for it to be there. It’s not awful but not award worthy.
Mixed feelings
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Not gonna do it
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New take on “What could go wrong?”
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Nothing like the description
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On of my other issues with this book, and maybe it's because I was listening to the audio version and maybe I missed it, but I think the children are supposed to be around 6-7 years old. With the decisions that they are making that just did not make much sense to me, I pictured them at around 10.
It's fine
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there were some very interesting tie-ins to the native American hippie culture AI and the responsibility of people but the fundamental structure and premise of the book was quite frankly absurd.
I am a huge science fiction fan and have a great capacity to spend expectations in the belief of the crafting of future worlds. but this one was so unrealistic it actually has left me angry at having wasted the time reading this book. the thought that the world could somehow be repopulated by 10-year-olds is stupid I can't think of a better word than that.I am super disappointed because I was really looking forward to a meaningful and purposeful book a long lines of an Isaac Asimov or other great science fiction storyteller this is not that book.
sick and tired of books with no denumont
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Boring Not Inspired
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