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Emergent Properties
Emergent Properties is the touching adventure of an intrepid A.I. reporter hot on the heels of brewing corporate warfare from Nebula Award-nominated author Aimee Ogden.
A state-of-the-art AI with a talent for asking questions and finding answers, Scorn is nevertheless a parental disappointment. Defying the expectations of zir human mothers, CEOs of the world’s most powerful corporations, Scorn has made a life of zir own as an investigative reporter, crisscrossing the globe in pursuit of the truth, no matter the danger.
In the middle of investigating a story on the moon, Scorn comes back online to discover ze has no memory of the past ten days—and no idea what story ze was even chasing. Letting it go is not an option—not if ze wants to prove zirself. Scorn must retrace zir steps in a harrowing journey to uncover an even more explosive truth than ze could have ever imagined.
A state-of-the-art AI with a talent for asking questions and finding answers, Scorn is nevertheless a parental disappointment. Defying the expectations of zir human mothers, CEOs of the world’s most powerful corporations, Scorn has made a life of zir own as an investigative reporter, crisscrossing the globe in pursuit of the truth, no matter the danger.
In the middle of investigating a story on the moon, Scorn comes back online to discover ze has no memory of the past ten days—and no idea what story ze was even chasing. Letting it go is not an option—not if ze wants to prove zirself. Scorn must retrace zir steps in a harrowing journey to uncover an even more explosive truth than ze could have ever imagined.
112 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 25, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
February 11, 2023
We picked up Emergent Properties because it was billed as Murderbot-adjacent. It certainly has a lot of the same things: the protagonist, Scorn, is a snarky human-created sentience who definitely does NOT want to be "more human"; the surrounding world is a corporation-controlled dystopian version of the future; and Scorn's paranoia certainly doesn't mean that nothing's out to get zem. There's a lot less action, though.
The book opens as Scorn realizes that ze has forgotten the last 10 days. Ze retraces zir steps, and we follow along, from Rome to New York to the Moon. Along the way, Scorn puts up with prejudice from the outside world and the non-support of zir family. Ze doesn't just want to figure out what happened to zem; ze wants to prove to zir mothers that zir chosen profession (investigative journalist) is viable.
The first half of the book is slow-moving, as Scorn gathers information about what ze was doing. The second half is more action-heavy, as the plot against Scorn (and possibly the world) unfolds. For a novella, the writing is dense, but the eventual payoff is worth it. Now that we've been introduced to Scorn, we're excited to see where ze goes next.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novella.
The book opens as Scorn realizes that ze has forgotten the last 10 days. Ze retraces zir steps, and we follow along, from Rome to New York to the Moon. Along the way, Scorn puts up with prejudice from the outside world and the non-support of zir family. Ze doesn't just want to figure out what happened to zem; ze wants to prove to zir mothers that zir chosen profession (investigative journalist) is viable.
The first half of the book is slow-moving, as Scorn gathers information about what ze was doing. The second half is more action-heavy, as the plot against Scorn (and possibly the world) unfolds. For a novella, the writing is dense, but the eventual payoff is worth it. Now that we've been introduced to Scorn, we're excited to see where ze goes next.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novella.
July 29, 2023
I feel like I understood what the author was going for here, theme wise, but as a whole this novella kind of fell flat for me.
Scorn is an AI created by their mothers, who are CEOs of mega-corporations on Earth (and the Moon). We begin the novella with Scorn waking up and realizing ze was destroyed at some point, losing time in their most recent investigation - thus, having to retrace their steps and figure out not only what they were finding out, but who tried to kill them and way.
There are some really fun interesting bits of ideas here. A black box bar provides a secure space for Scorn and other robots/AI to hang out and maybe have discussions about autonomy that might make humans a little nervous. The bar AI itself may or may not be into Scorn, ze has to figure that one out. Scorn can print various bodies, and though ze spends most of the time in humanoid bodies, ze feels most comfortable in a spider-like body.
There are also threads of ideas that also touch on the possibility of AI fighting to be recognized as sentient beings, and the way humans poorly to that. I felt like it was meant to mirror, in a way, the fight that trans and genderqueer folks are up against right now.
As I said, great ideas are woven throughout this. Unfortunately, the narrative itself just absolutely fell flat for me. When not touching on interesting ideas, I just didn't care at all what Scorn was doing. Didn't care who tried to kill them, didn't care what the story they were chasing was.
This is absolutely a great idea put to paper, and I think Ogden has some brilliant ways of interrogating gender and parent-child relationships through Scorn's journey. I just wish the entire narrative itself lived up to those ideas.
Emergent Properties will be released on July 25th, 2023; thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for the review copy.
Scorn is an AI created by their mothers, who are CEOs of mega-corporations on Earth (and the Moon). We begin the novella with Scorn waking up and realizing ze was destroyed at some point, losing time in their most recent investigation - thus, having to retrace their steps and figure out not only what they were finding out, but who tried to kill them and way.
There are some really fun interesting bits of ideas here. A black box bar provides a secure space for Scorn and other robots/AI to hang out and maybe have discussions about autonomy that might make humans a little nervous. The bar AI itself may or may not be into Scorn, ze has to figure that one out. Scorn can print various bodies, and though ze spends most of the time in humanoid bodies, ze feels most comfortable in a spider-like body.
There are also threads of ideas that also touch on the possibility of AI fighting to be recognized as sentient beings, and the way humans poorly to that. I felt like it was meant to mirror, in a way, the fight that trans and genderqueer folks are up against right now.
As I said, great ideas are woven throughout this. Unfortunately, the narrative itself just absolutely fell flat for me. When not touching on interesting ideas, I just didn't care at all what Scorn was doing. Didn't care who tried to kill them, didn't care what the story they were chasing was.
This is absolutely a great idea put to paper, and I think Ogden has some brilliant ways of interrogating gender and parent-child relationships through Scorn's journey. I just wish the entire narrative itself lived up to those ideas.
Emergent Properties will be released on July 25th, 2023; thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for the review copy.
August 5, 2023
Many a moon ago I read a duology (plus inciting novella) from Guy Haley called
Reality 36
and Omega Point. It features, among other things, a dynamic duo of an AI and a cyborg as private investigators. I predictably loved it. I thought Emergent Properties, by Aimee Ogden, might give me some of the same flavour—and I was partly right. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Tor for the eARC.
Scorn is one of the earliest sentient AIs and one of few AIs emancipated from their creators. Scorn’s creators are a couple of scientists ze calls Mum and Maman; once a powerhouse team, they have since divorced and fallen into a cycle of very public acrimony. Scorn has tried to stay out of it, ducking zir purpose as a space-exploration AI to become an investigator instead. When the story starts, a backup of Scorn has just been restored—missing the last ten days of memories! Ze must retrace zir steps, and fast, not only to get to the bottom of the mystery but also figure out who might have had it out for zir—and why.
Lots of stuff to recommend this book to lovers of science fiction. First, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The plot is brisk. Despite that, Ogden does a lot of worldbuilding. Scorn explains the basics of this world, which is cyberpunk dusted with a bit of failed singularity: corporations have replaced failed nation-states, and AI exists, but most of it is not particularly powerful. Scorn is an exception, a fact that definitely makes zir lonely. We also meet a few other examples of AIs of various levels of complexity, including a “sibling” of Scorn’s.
The actual mystery and its resolution is predictable, in my opinion. The culprit was (to me) fairly obvious, the climax pretty clearly telegraphed early on. Since this is a novella I will cut it a bit more slack, simply because it is meant to be shorter and shallower than a full novel. If execution over originality is your desire (and mystery, like romance, often encourages that desire), then this book will work fine for you.
Indeed, Ogden has prioritized a fun and sympathetic protagonist over the mystery. And that’s fine. Scorn is cool. Ze is an exhausted, hardworking, somewhat sarcastic AI. I liked how Ogden clearly took time to consider how to write an AI in first person. At a few points, Scorn mentions things like locking zir sarcasm subroutines behind a time-delay lock, so ze will be less sarcastic for a certain period of time. Ogden acknowledges how the vast differences between Scorn’s experience and those of a vanilla human—both in terms of embodiment but also how we process stimuli—would make Scorn think and act differently.
Emergent Properties is a great science-fiction novella that’s pretty much what it says on the tin. Don’t go in expecting the moon—do go in expecting an intense visit to the moon!
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter.
Scorn is one of the earliest sentient AIs and one of few AIs emancipated from their creators. Scorn’s creators are a couple of scientists ze calls Mum and Maman; once a powerhouse team, they have since divorced and fallen into a cycle of very public acrimony. Scorn has tried to stay out of it, ducking zir purpose as a space-exploration AI to become an investigator instead. When the story starts, a backup of Scorn has just been restored—missing the last ten days of memories! Ze must retrace zir steps, and fast, not only to get to the bottom of the mystery but also figure out who might have had it out for zir—and why.
Lots of stuff to recommend this book to lovers of science fiction. First, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The plot is brisk. Despite that, Ogden does a lot of worldbuilding. Scorn explains the basics of this world, which is cyberpunk dusted with a bit of failed singularity: corporations have replaced failed nation-states, and AI exists, but most of it is not particularly powerful. Scorn is an exception, a fact that definitely makes zir lonely. We also meet a few other examples of AIs of various levels of complexity, including a “sibling” of Scorn’s.
The actual mystery and its resolution is predictable, in my opinion. The culprit was (to me) fairly obvious, the climax pretty clearly telegraphed early on. Since this is a novella I will cut it a bit more slack, simply because it is meant to be shorter and shallower than a full novel. If execution over originality is your desire (and mystery, like romance, often encourages that desire), then this book will work fine for you.
Indeed, Ogden has prioritized a fun and sympathetic protagonist over the mystery. And that’s fine. Scorn is cool. Ze is an exhausted, hardworking, somewhat sarcastic AI. I liked how Ogden clearly took time to consider how to write an AI in first person. At a few points, Scorn mentions things like locking zir sarcasm subroutines behind a time-delay lock, so ze will be less sarcastic for a certain period of time. Ogden acknowledges how the vast differences between Scorn’s experience and those of a vanilla human—both in terms of embodiment but also how we process stimuli—would make Scorn think and act differently.
Emergent Properties is a great science-fiction novella that’s pretty much what it says on the tin. Don’t go in expecting the moon—do go in expecting an intense visit to the moon!
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter.
February 23, 2023
Fantastic. I was super pumped that Scorn wasn't just a human in robot clothes; ze was just as at home in a hand-sized multilegged body as in a humanoid one. Zir maybe-girlfriend is a bar. I love it.
I had a little trouble following the plot - the players weren't fleshed out enough for me to really get what corporation was doing what for who. I never really got what "herd" meant. And the denouement was literally just the villain explaining their plan. BUT it was incredibly fun the whole time. I love the way Scorn experiences the world, and the unique kinds of attacks a hostile could make against an artificial sentience. Also, practice reading and being comfortable with neopronouns is always welcome.
I really hope there's more to come for Scorn and zir family.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
I had a little trouble following the plot - the players weren't fleshed out enough for me to really get what corporation was doing what for who. I never really got what "herd" meant. And the denouement was literally just the villain explaining their plan. BUT it was incredibly fun the whole time. I love the way Scorn experiences the world, and the unique kinds of attacks a hostile could make against an artificial sentience. Also, practice reading and being comfortable with neopronouns is always welcome.
I really hope there's more to come for Scorn and zir family.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
January 15, 2024
WSJ review: https://www.wsj.com/articles/science-...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"In the not-so-distant future, a married couple create a powerful artificial intelligence, which they name Hopper and raise like their own child. They train it with the idea that it will someday help explore space and scout out our neighbor planets. But Hopper prefers the name Scorn, decides to use the pronouns ze and zir, and puts zir massive cognition to work doing private investigating. Probing human intrigue and politics is far more interesting to Scorn than probing space.
Then one day Scorn “activates in the cloud”—wakes up, that is—after a terrible accident, the kind that would be fatal for most of us, with no memory of what happened. Fortunately, investigating crimes and mysteries is what ze does best. What follows is an enjoyable thriller/mystery which hits all the marks of a Dashiell Hammett but in a new, AI sort-of-way."
Well. This was a pretty good novella, but confusing. I had trouble following some of the twists and turns, but it's fundamentally a story of the battle between "Scorn," the independent AI, and its two human 'parents,' two powerful women who are messily divorced -- and who had very different ideas about what their AI 'child' should do. The story does have a bit of a Murderbot vibe, but not much of the humor. The resolution is (kinda sorta) of the two women's corporate fight. The better one won (I think). Scorn's 'brother,' an automated weather station, provides some light relief (and survives, I think). Anyway, I was leaning towards a 3.5 rating, but I'm rounding down, and that may be because it was such a confused morning when I finished the book. Promising enough that I'd read another by Ogden.
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"In the not-so-distant future, a married couple create a powerful artificial intelligence, which they name Hopper and raise like their own child. They train it with the idea that it will someday help explore space and scout out our neighbor planets. But Hopper prefers the name Scorn, decides to use the pronouns ze and zir, and puts zir massive cognition to work doing private investigating. Probing human intrigue and politics is far more interesting to Scorn than probing space.
Then one day Scorn “activates in the cloud”—wakes up, that is—after a terrible accident, the kind that would be fatal for most of us, with no memory of what happened. Fortunately, investigating crimes and mysteries is what ze does best. What follows is an enjoyable thriller/mystery which hits all the marks of a Dashiell Hammett but in a new, AI sort-of-way."
Well. This was a pretty good novella, but confusing. I had trouble following some of the twists and turns, but it's fundamentally a story of the battle between "Scorn," the independent AI, and its two human 'parents,' two powerful women who are messily divorced -- and who had very different ideas about what their AI 'child' should do. The story does have a bit of a Murderbot vibe, but not much of the humor. The resolution is (kinda sorta) of the two women's corporate fight. The better one won (I think). Scorn's 'brother,' an automated weather station, provides some light relief (and survives, I think). Anyway, I was leaning towards a 3.5 rating, but I'm rounding down, and that may be because it was such a confused morning when I finished the book. Promising enough that I'd read another by Ogden.
April 26, 2023
[Blurb goes here]
Aimee Ogden writes in beautiful prose. One wasted in her latest novella: "Emergent Properties." After all, her writing was all that kept me going. More on that later.
A general AI reporter, Scorn is on the brink of writing the news story of a lifetime. That's the reason for his trip to the moon: to unfold the conspiracy. That was ten days ago. Scorn has lost all memories leading to his demise. There are snippets of information here and there about his mission, but most of it is gone: he was one of the victims when a transport crashed on Earth's satellite. Was someone trying to get rid of him?
Aimee Ogden creates an uncomplicated puzzle. Regrettably, one that unfolds by itself. There's hardly any need for Scorn. He just goes to the places he planned on going when he first started investigating the conspiracy. A conspiracy that's later revealed by the antagonist (you guessed it) right before trying to get rid of Scorn once and for all. The customary "bad guy reveals his plan to good guy, before offing them."
The conspiracy in itself is exceedingly simple, Scorn stumbling into it by sheer coincidence. Yes, he's an AI with a penchant for finding answers. For data gathering and analysis. Something that would've been great to read about, although it seldom happens. Even when confronting the antagonist, we discover that most of Scorn's theories are wrong.
As you travel between the pages, you'll notice a glaring critique when it comes to Scorn's family ties. I would have enjoyed it more if it were not for the unexpected author's foreword acknowledgment: "For anyone who's ever had a fraught parental relationship." You know? Because parenting is "oh, so easy."
When reading, I couldn't help but trip over the figurative cornucopia of "neo pronounces" needed when talking about Scorn. The AI is a "Ze." So, until you get used to it, you'll be thinking "Ze" is some other character: something glaringly obvious in the first chapter. It becomes obvious that the author substituted the original pronounces with the 'neo' ones: you'll find "Her" instead of "Zir" when talking about Scorn, more than once, inside the novella.
While I'm sure to read more from Ogden, I'm sorry to say that this is one book I cannot recommend.
Thank you for the advanced copy!
Aimee Ogden writes in beautiful prose. One wasted in her latest novella: "Emergent Properties." After all, her writing was all that kept me going. More on that later.
A general AI reporter, Scorn is on the brink of writing the news story of a lifetime. That's the reason for his trip to the moon: to unfold the conspiracy. That was ten days ago. Scorn has lost all memories leading to his demise. There are snippets of information here and there about his mission, but most of it is gone: he was one of the victims when a transport crashed on Earth's satellite. Was someone trying to get rid of him?
Aimee Ogden creates an uncomplicated puzzle. Regrettably, one that unfolds by itself. There's hardly any need for Scorn. He just goes to the places he planned on going when he first started investigating the conspiracy. A conspiracy that's later revealed by the antagonist (you guessed it) right before trying to get rid of Scorn once and for all. The customary "bad guy reveals his plan to good guy, before offing them."
The conspiracy in itself is exceedingly simple, Scorn stumbling into it by sheer coincidence. Yes, he's an AI with a penchant for finding answers. For data gathering and analysis. Something that would've been great to read about, although it seldom happens. Even when confronting the antagonist, we discover that most of Scorn's theories are wrong.
As you travel between the pages, you'll notice a glaring critique when it comes to Scorn's family ties. I would have enjoyed it more if it were not for the unexpected author's foreword acknowledgment: "For anyone who's ever had a fraught parental relationship." You know? Because parenting is "oh, so easy."
When reading, I couldn't help but trip over the figurative cornucopia of "neo pronounces" needed when talking about Scorn. The AI is a "Ze." So, until you get used to it, you'll be thinking "Ze" is some other character: something glaringly obvious in the first chapter. It becomes obvious that the author substituted the original pronounces with the 'neo' ones: you'll find "Her" instead of "Zir" when talking about Scorn, more than once, inside the novella.
While I'm sure to read more from Ogden, I'm sorry to say that this is one book I cannot recommend.
Thank you for the advanced copy!
February 9, 2023
This books said in the synopsis would be perfect for people who needed their Murderbot fix, and I believe I set my hopes a bit high, because although I tried to like this book, it was barely anything like the series it compared itself to, and it took out everything that makes the Murderbot novels fun, and just left us with an AI protagonist (who isn’t a relatable kind of lazy sympathetic character like i had hoped but just kind of a spoiled brat child). Although the novella pretty feebly tries to criticize corporations, it’s a bit difficult to take the criticism secretly when the main character is literally completely fine with having both zer “parents” owning the two largest corporations, and the character is still sympathetic towards those parents.
Overall, this novella was really disappointing, and I had high hopes for it that were unfortunately crushed.
Overall, this novella was really disappointing, and I had high hopes for it that were unfortunately crushed.
February 10, 2023
Genre: science fiction
Scorn (ze/zir/zem) is an Artificial Intelligence construct, a well developed and sentient entity. Ze has zir own ideas about determining truth. Using zir resources, ze will stop at nothing to understand data that indicates something is very wrong in the corporate-political landscape.
Emergent Properties is a novella of ideas. The plot doesn’t start until about 50% into the book, but the slow pace of the setup gives a solid impression of the world of the AIs, and how much more developed Scorn may be from other AIs and bots. Scorn has developed zemself and picked zir own neopronouns, fitting zir personality - astonishing autonomy for an AI. I loved the choice of the neopronouns, giving zem more sentience than it/its or they/theirs, but combined with the computer code style Scorn uses to interact with other bots, it does pace the beginning a lot more slowly. The plot picks up about halfway through, but serves more as a vehicle for the ideas rather than a driving factor itself.
One of my favorite features of Emergent Properties is that Scorn and the other AIs interact in code and hashtags … and emojis. I love a good emoji-only communication, and felt that Scorn is an evolution of how we communicate on the internet today.
Pick up Emergent Properties if you’re looking for a novella that reminds you of favorite AI science fiction tropes, explores ideas, and has a little bit of plot.
Thank you to @tordotcom and netgalley for an eARC for review. Emergent Properties is out 7/25/23.
Scorn (ze/zir/zem) is an Artificial Intelligence construct, a well developed and sentient entity. Ze has zir own ideas about determining truth. Using zir resources, ze will stop at nothing to understand data that indicates something is very wrong in the corporate-political landscape.
Emergent Properties is a novella of ideas. The plot doesn’t start until about 50% into the book, but the slow pace of the setup gives a solid impression of the world of the AIs, and how much more developed Scorn may be from other AIs and bots. Scorn has developed zemself and picked zir own neopronouns, fitting zir personality - astonishing autonomy for an AI. I loved the choice of the neopronouns, giving zem more sentience than it/its or they/theirs, but combined with the computer code style Scorn uses to interact with other bots, it does pace the beginning a lot more slowly. The plot picks up about halfway through, but serves more as a vehicle for the ideas rather than a driving factor itself.
One of my favorite features of Emergent Properties is that Scorn and the other AIs interact in code and hashtags … and emojis. I love a good emoji-only communication, and felt that Scorn is an evolution of how we communicate on the internet today.
Pick up Emergent Properties if you’re looking for a novella that reminds you of favorite AI science fiction tropes, explores ideas, and has a little bit of plot.
Thank you to @tordotcom and netgalley for an eARC for review. Emergent Properties is out 7/25/23.
July 26, 2023
Oh, I loved this! A nonbinary AI defies the expectations of zir mothers/creators and becomes an investigative journalist. But the story isn't a straight mystery investigation -- rather, it begins with zem waking after zir last chassis was destroyed with 10 days of memories erased, having to reconstruct what's already been done, who's already been talked to, and what those people know -- without risking giving away zir investigation. It's about autonomy, identity, freedom, and failing to live up to your family's expectations while establishing who you want to be. Great mystery with a fantastic structure.
(Even better bonus: Scorn doesn't use neopronouns because ze's an AI but as a self-identifier; there are other AIs who use other gender pronouns, which is both good in avoiding stereotypes obviously but also helps frame the deliberate self-identification in other areas. Scorn has chosen zir own pronouns, a new name, a new role, and is struggling to prove it to the people ze want to recognize it.)
(Even better bonus: Scorn doesn't use neopronouns because ze's an AI but as a self-identifier; there are other AIs who use other gender pronouns, which is both good in avoiding stereotypes obviously but also helps frame the deliberate self-identification in other areas. Scorn has chosen zir own pronouns, a new name, a new role, and is struggling to prove it to the people ze want to recognize it.)
August 1, 2023
2.5*
This is a novella, and I would say a very character driven one at that. In fact, I don't know if there was a whole lot in the way of plot? I kept waiting for something to happen, but it just never really did? We follow Scorn, an AI who is pretty salty with zir human mothers and society in general. I mean, it's fair enough, but it wasn't really enough to keep me invested. We know little about Scorn, as ze actually has lost the past ten days of zir existence. So it's tough when the story seems to be character driven, yet you just don't feel completely drawn to the character. There is a mystery plot, but it felt a bit convoluted at times, and since it is such a short story, I just never became fully invested in its outcome (which I felt was a bit anticlimactic anyway, if I am being honest).
There are some good concepts brought up in this story, such as the complicated parental relationships, and Scorn having to forge zir own path regardless of zir mothers' wishes, and obviously the whole bit about corporate greed being awful, and comparing AI rights to the lacking rights of LGBTQ folks here. So great concepts in theory, but in execution, somewhat lacking, since I didn't really know enough about who Scorn was to properly care, and not a ton happened in the way of plot to flesh that out either. It did pick up a bit toward the end, but by then I am afraid it was too little too late for me.
Bottom Line: Great ideas and concepts, but somewhat lacking in execution and development of character and plot.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
This is a novella, and I would say a very character driven one at that. In fact, I don't know if there was a whole lot in the way of plot? I kept waiting for something to happen, but it just never really did? We follow Scorn, an AI who is pretty salty with zir human mothers and society in general. I mean, it's fair enough, but it wasn't really enough to keep me invested. We know little about Scorn, as ze actually has lost the past ten days of zir existence. So it's tough when the story seems to be character driven, yet you just don't feel completely drawn to the character. There is a mystery plot, but it felt a bit convoluted at times, and since it is such a short story, I just never became fully invested in its outcome (which I felt was a bit anticlimactic anyway, if I am being honest).
There are some good concepts brought up in this story, such as the complicated parental relationships, and Scorn having to forge zir own path regardless of zir mothers' wishes, and obviously the whole bit about corporate greed being awful, and comparing AI rights to the lacking rights of LGBTQ folks here. So great concepts in theory, but in execution, somewhat lacking, since I didn't really know enough about who Scorn was to properly care, and not a ton happened in the way of plot to flesh that out either. It did pick up a bit toward the end, but by then I am afraid it was too little too late for me.
Bottom Line: Great ideas and concepts, but somewhat lacking in execution and development of character and plot.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
June 10, 2023
Emergent Properties
by Aimee Ogden
Science Fiction Short Story
NetGalley ARC
Ages 14 +
Scorn is a state-of-the-art A.I., and it is a reporter, and the story it is chasing is about itself. It's missing ten days of memory, but why and what the story was about, it doesn't remember.
Think of the movie 'Total Recall' except on the moon and ninety-nine percent of the characters are robots or programs, the minor all with the personalities of a screen saver set on the logo, moving at the second slowest speed. And the MC, it is the bubbles, bouncing just a little faster.
Yes, as you can tell I didn't like this story. It was slow and without personality. The action was minimal:'ooh problem... I fixed it'. And no it is NOTHING like Murderbot!
But since the MC and most other characters were bots/programs in some shape or form, the author couldn't give them much of a personality, so that must be why this is only a short story, thus why the descriptions of everything; characters, personalities, setting, history, are short and lifeless, making this more of a 'telling' story than showing.
Had the author created this story with the MC having more of a personality, which it should have since it was supposed to be 'state-of-the-art', and giving it more of a detailed history rather than the summing up of its life, it might have brought the story to life and made it more believable/relatable, thus entertaining.
There's not really violence besides threats and summing up things, so this is suitable for most readers as long as they can understand the ramblings and technical language, so I'm guessing readers 14 and older would understand it the best.
1 Star
by Aimee Ogden
Science Fiction Short Story
NetGalley ARC
Ages 14 +
Scorn is a state-of-the-art A.I., and it is a reporter, and the story it is chasing is about itself. It's missing ten days of memory, but why and what the story was about, it doesn't remember.
Think of the movie 'Total Recall' except on the moon and ninety-nine percent of the characters are robots or programs, the minor all with the personalities of a screen saver set on the logo, moving at the second slowest speed. And the MC, it is the bubbles, bouncing just a little faster.
Yes, as you can tell I didn't like this story. It was slow and without personality. The action was minimal:'ooh problem... I fixed it'. And no it is NOTHING like Murderbot!
But since the MC and most other characters were bots/programs in some shape or form, the author couldn't give them much of a personality, so that must be why this is only a short story, thus why the descriptions of everything; characters, personalities, setting, history, are short and lifeless, making this more of a 'telling' story than showing.
Had the author created this story with the MC having more of a personality, which it should have since it was supposed to be 'state-of-the-art', and giving it more of a detailed history rather than the summing up of its life, it might have brought the story to life and made it more believable/relatable, thus entertaining.
There's not really violence besides threats and summing up things, so this is suitable for most readers as long as they can understand the ramblings and technical language, so I'm guessing readers 14 and older would understand it the best.
1 Star
March 3, 2024
This is 3 stars, but a really solid "I liked it" three stars - much like Ogden's other novella, Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters turned out to be for me. This one's very different in tone, as it's a sci-fi mystery/family drama, if such a thing exists, but still with some unique ideas that makes it a worthwhile read.
Scorn is an AI that wants to investigate human messes rather than the science of unexplored planets, as zir creators intended. At the start of the story, Scorn has lost 10 days of memory - and thus the plot of the book is zir trying to figure out what happened. But the emotional substance of the book is Scorn grappling with zir's autonomy, both on a political level and from the two women who created zir (zir "mothers"), and how much ze wants to allow feelings to be part of of how ze operates.
Much of the structure will feel very familiar to "lost memory" mystery-lovers out there; the main switch is that all the genre expectations are switched for a digital sentience. For example, rather than a shady bar, Scorn visits a blackbox (no outside connectivity). Rather than overhear conversation for clues, Scorn enters chatrooms and filters for relevant topics.
I have to admit, some of the tech-speak was almost too involved to follow, even for a regular sci-fi reader like me. But it does contribute to the realism of the main character's experience.
I would recommend this book to sci-fi readers looking for some pathos and heart while exploring the well-worn areas of AI autonomy.
Scorn is an AI that wants to investigate human messes rather than the science of unexplored planets, as zir creators intended. At the start of the story, Scorn has lost 10 days of memory - and thus the plot of the book is zir trying to figure out what happened. But the emotional substance of the book is Scorn grappling with zir's autonomy, both on a political level and from the two women who created zir (zir "mothers"), and how much ze wants to allow feelings to be part of of how ze operates.
Much of the structure will feel very familiar to "lost memory" mystery-lovers out there; the main switch is that all the genre expectations are switched for a digital sentience. For example, rather than a shady bar, Scorn visits a blackbox (no outside connectivity). Rather than overhear conversation for clues, Scorn enters chatrooms and filters for relevant topics.
I have to admit, some of the tech-speak was almost too involved to follow, even for a regular sci-fi reader like me. But it does contribute to the realism of the main character's experience.
I would recommend this book to sci-fi readers looking for some pathos and heart while exploring the well-worn areas of AI autonomy.
August 21, 2023
More of an intellectual exercise than a complete and satisfying narrative. Ogden really goes for it on a number of fronts concerning sentience, embodiment, gender, class, parental-child relationships. It just never really comes together as a story.
While those ideas could be interesting merely as an intellectual exercise in a short story, Emergent Properties is more like a full blown novella. So, it is unfortunately too long to rest solely on those laurels. I’m very interested to see what else Ogden has to offer though, because these are the kinds of bid ideas that deserve to be interrogated in SFF.
While those ideas could be interesting merely as an intellectual exercise in a short story, Emergent Properties is more like a full blown novella. So, it is unfortunately too long to rest solely on those laurels. I’m very interested to see what else Ogden has to offer though, because these are the kinds of bid ideas that deserve to be interrogated in SFF.
August 14, 2023
I really enjoyed this murder mystery story featuring a sentient robot who would give Murderbot a run for its money in a sarcasm contest. (Can you call it a "murder" mystery when the murder victim starts the story by reloading from a back-up, effectively coming back from the dead but without any memories of why they were killed?)
Scorn took me a moment to warm up to, since ze starts the story in utter confusion as to what happened, and I was left to get to the know the character, the setting, and the mystery in a very short space of time. However, it didn't take long before Scorn's sense of humor (very sharp and sarcastic when warranted) won me over. I ended up really enjoying this story, and I got very caught up in the mystery aspect. There weren't many characters to get attached to, but I did like Scorn a lot. I also liked MATt, and it was neat seeing the different robot-to-robot connections presented in this version of the future.
The mystery aspect ended up being background for me. There were clues about what was going on and who was behind it, but I didn't pick up enough to figure out the whodunnit (or what they did) until after the big reveal. If I had been looking for a mystery that I could solve, this would have been a disappointment—but, if that is what I was looking for I also might have been paying more attention to those clues. Instead, the part that interested me most—the part that I was focused on in place of the mystery—was the human/artificial relationships, and the way Ogden used that to point at some of humanity's other colonizer tendencies.
TL;DR, this is a very enjoyable story for fans of sentient (and sarcastic) robots. Come for the SF murder mystery; stay for the snark.
Scorn took me a moment to warm up to, since ze starts the story in utter confusion as to what happened, and I was left to get to the know the character, the setting, and the mystery in a very short space of time. However, it didn't take long before Scorn's sense of humor (very sharp and sarcastic when warranted) won me over. I ended up really enjoying this story, and I got very caught up in the mystery aspect. There weren't many characters to get attached to, but I did like Scorn a lot. I also liked MATt, and it was neat seeing the different robot-to-robot connections presented in this version of the future.
The mystery aspect ended up being background for me. There were clues about what was going on and who was behind it, but I didn't pick up enough to figure out the whodunnit (or what they did) until after the big reveal. If I had been looking for a mystery that I could solve, this would have been a disappointment—but, if that is what I was looking for I also might have been paying more attention to those clues. Instead, the part that interested me most—the part that I was focused on in place of the mystery—was the human/artificial relationships, and the way Ogden used that to point at some of humanity's other colonizer tendencies.
TL;DR, this is a very enjoyable story for fans of sentient (and sarcastic) robots. Come for the SF murder mystery; stay for the snark.
July 23, 2023
Scorn is an emancipated AI, originally created by zir’s mothers, each the CEO of their own corporations, and neither mother is particularly happy that Scorn is not doing something they think is valuable for society, like space exploration. Rather, zir is an investigative reporter, scanning through newsfeeds for information and looking for new stories.
The story begins when Scorn awakens after an accident and finds: 1) zir’s chassis (body) is destroyed, 2) it’s been 10 days since the accident, 3) zir has no memories saved anywhere of what zir was investigating prior to the accident (nothing nefarious here, just somewhat lackadaisical backup habits) and what happened during those 10 lost days.
Scorn decides to download into an older chassis, a small spiderbot, and sets out to find out who trashed their data and previous chassis, and why, and what story set off such a violent response.
Subsequently, multiple attempts are made by someone to stop Scorn, until zir eventually discovers who is behind not only the attempts, but what Scorn was investigating.
I loved this! Scorn is fantastic: zir loves hunting down stories worth investigating, has no desire to be human, and is happy with zir’s life. Zir does have a somewhat frustrating relationship with one of their mothers, and a more congenial relationship with the other. Zir also has an intriguing relationship with another AI who embodies a building.
Though the world is a dystopia with corporation-controlled resources and zones, I found I wanted to know more about this place. Scorn encounters anti-AI prejudice as zir navigates the world with verve and a snarky sense of humour. And despite zir’s parents’ frequent unhappiness with zem, Scorn wants to prove zir’s skill in their chosen profession, as any person would.
The reveal of the plot and the identity of the perpetrator wasn’t hugely surprising, but I still had a lot of fun getting there, and I really want more stories of Scorn sarcastically dealing with problems and excelling at their job.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Tor Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my review.
The story begins when Scorn awakens after an accident and finds: 1) zir’s chassis (body) is destroyed, 2) it’s been 10 days since the accident, 3) zir has no memories saved anywhere of what zir was investigating prior to the accident (nothing nefarious here, just somewhat lackadaisical backup habits) and what happened during those 10 lost days.
Scorn decides to download into an older chassis, a small spiderbot, and sets out to find out who trashed their data and previous chassis, and why, and what story set off such a violent response.
Subsequently, multiple attempts are made by someone to stop Scorn, until zir eventually discovers who is behind not only the attempts, but what Scorn was investigating.
I loved this! Scorn is fantastic: zir loves hunting down stories worth investigating, has no desire to be human, and is happy with zir’s life. Zir does have a somewhat frustrating relationship with one of their mothers, and a more congenial relationship with the other. Zir also has an intriguing relationship with another AI who embodies a building.
Though the world is a dystopia with corporation-controlled resources and zones, I found I wanted to know more about this place. Scorn encounters anti-AI prejudice as zir navigates the world with verve and a snarky sense of humour. And despite zir’s parents’ frequent unhappiness with zem, Scorn wants to prove zir’s skill in their chosen profession, as any person would.
The reveal of the plot and the identity of the perpetrator wasn’t hugely surprising, but I still had a lot of fun getting there, and I really want more stories of Scorn sarcastically dealing with problems and excelling at their job.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Tor Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my review.
April 21, 2023
Emergent Properties is the story of Scorn, an AI reporter. Beyond that, I’m not sure I can give any significant insight into the plot. This book compares itself to the Murderbot novellas.
Unfortunately, this book lost me real quick. The writing was bogged down by clunky language which was my first turn off. Secondly, it was quite impossible for me to relate to or even sympathize with Scorn. I always felt like like the character was so far away, I appreciate what this book was trying to do, but comparing it to Murderbot (easily one of my favorite series) was lofty in my opinion. This novel lacked all the humor that makes Murderbot fun and relatable.
Thank you to NetGalley an the publishers for this ARC. Unfortunately, this book was not for me.
Unfortunately, this book lost me real quick. The writing was bogged down by clunky language which was my first turn off. Secondly, it was quite impossible for me to relate to or even sympathize with Scorn. I always felt like like the character was so far away, I appreciate what this book was trying to do, but comparing it to Murderbot (easily one of my favorite series) was lofty in my opinion. This novel lacked all the humor that makes Murderbot fun and relatable.
Thank you to NetGalley an the publishers for this ARC. Unfortunately, this book was not for me.
September 16, 2023
Scorn discovers the loss of more than 900,000 seconds of data.
“A subsurf accident. And now a lost backup, too? Scorn doesn’t have a bullshit detector integrated into zir sensorium but if ze did, it ought to be ringing now.”
Scorn activates a spiderbot chassis. Back on the Moon, ze tries to piece together the last ten days. Ze is contacted by zir mothers, Mum and Maman, CEOs of major conglomerates. Two relationships full of disappointments and indifference, Scorn decides not to ask zir mothers for help. Finally piecing together Mum’s corporate dealings, ze discovers why ze was deactivated.
“‘An intelligence without an emotionalacrum matured in an embodied form couldn’t have arrived at such a conclusion. Emergent properties we could never have planned for or even dreamed of….Don’t you find it funny how you fought the humanity we built into you, when all you wanted to do from the beginning was rebel against your parents? The most human thing you could possibly have tried to do. I don’t regret my choices, but you must forgive me if I’m a little sentimental over the collateral. You are truly unique, Scorn.’”
Scorn is immortal, with many future iterations, each with qualities that are unpredictable and diverse.
“‘No, I’m not finished. It’s also maladaptive to reject human things only because they’re human. Because they’re artificially constructed.” Ze touches zir chassis. “I don’t want your misaligned relationship with reality. Or your cognitive biases. Or you’re, you know, greasiness.’”
“A subsurf accident. And now a lost backup, too? Scorn doesn’t have a bullshit detector integrated into zir sensorium but if ze did, it ought to be ringing now.”
Scorn activates a spiderbot chassis. Back on the Moon, ze tries to piece together the last ten days. Ze is contacted by zir mothers, Mum and Maman, CEOs of major conglomerates. Two relationships full of disappointments and indifference, Scorn decides not to ask zir mothers for help. Finally piecing together Mum’s corporate dealings, ze discovers why ze was deactivated.
“‘An intelligence without an emotionalacrum matured in an embodied form couldn’t have arrived at such a conclusion. Emergent properties we could never have planned for or even dreamed of….Don’t you find it funny how you fought the humanity we built into you, when all you wanted to do from the beginning was rebel against your parents? The most human thing you could possibly have tried to do. I don’t regret my choices, but you must forgive me if I’m a little sentimental over the collateral. You are truly unique, Scorn.’”
Scorn is immortal, with many future iterations, each with qualities that are unpredictable and diverse.
“‘No, I’m not finished. It’s also maladaptive to reject human things only because they’re human. Because they’re artificially constructed.” Ze touches zir chassis. “I don’t want your misaligned relationship with reality. Or your cognitive biases. Or you’re, you know, greasiness.’”
August 23, 2023
Ahoy there me mateys! Sign me up for snarky AI. Scorn reboots, after having zir chassis destroyed on the moon, only to find ze is missing 10 days and has no idea why ze was on the moon in the first place. Ze knows that ze was investigating a news story but has to backtrack to find out what and why.
I enjoyed Scorn and zir distain for humans. I loved the world building showcasing what a future Earth run by corporations looks like and how technology is used in society. It was nice that humans were not the focus. The interactions between the various non-humans were the highlight for me. I loved the weather station, MATt.
I did not particularly find the "murder" mystery to be interesting though I enjoyed watching Scorn work. The other theme of how Scorn dealt with his mothers was also not really to me taste. I did end up loving Scorn even if the plot in general was just okay. This is the second novella I have read by the author and I am looking forward to reading more by her. Arrr!
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for me review.
I enjoyed Scorn and zir distain for humans. I loved the world building showcasing what a future Earth run by corporations looks like and how technology is used in society. It was nice that humans were not the focus. The interactions between the various non-humans were the highlight for me. I loved the weather station, MATt.
I did not particularly find the "murder" mystery to be interesting though I enjoyed watching Scorn work. The other theme of how Scorn dealt with his mothers was also not really to me taste. I did end up loving Scorn even if the plot in general was just okay. This is the second novella I have read by the author and I am looking forward to reading more by her. Arrr!
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for me review.
September 14, 2023
Scorn is a state of the art AI who functions as an investigative reporter. Zir human mothers are divorced and are heads of different multi-national corporations. When Scorn comes back online, ze find no trace of memory of zir recent events.Someone is out to keep Scorn from finishing the investigation and making it public, but Scorn isn’t exactly sure what ze were looking for.
I picked this up because I saw it billed as reminiscent of Murderbot - and it certainly has some of the same elements - lots of snark, fight the evil corporations, etc. It just doesn’t hold together quite as well and the novella felt a bit disjointed. I still enjoyed reading it, but it didn’t quite live up to the Murderbot comparison.
This is my first read that used ze//zir pronouns - it took me a couple of chapters to get the flow, but once i was maybe 20% in to the book, it was pretty seamless for my reading experience. Any errors in the pronoun usage in my first paragraph are my own but I tried to stick to the usage from the book.
I picked this up because I saw it billed as reminiscent of Murderbot - and it certainly has some of the same elements - lots of snark, fight the evil corporations, etc. It just doesn’t hold together quite as well and the novella felt a bit disjointed. I still enjoyed reading it, but it didn’t quite live up to the Murderbot comparison.
This is my first read that used ze//zir pronouns - it took me a couple of chapters to get the flow, but once i was maybe 20% in to the book, it was pretty seamless for my reading experience. Any errors in the pronoun usage in my first paragraph are my own but I tried to stick to the usage from the book.
June 7, 2024
Hmm...i liked this concept and I liked several things about it. But in the end, some of the stylistic choices made it kind of annoying to read and that really dampened my overall enjoyment.
I liked the AI narrator that falls into the same vein as Murderbot. I liked the strained parent/child relationships between Scorn and her Mum and Maman. I LOVE the name Scorn.
I didn't like the use of ze/zir pronouns. As a concept, I love it. In execution it felt like running the 1200m hurdle when I signed up for a regular sprint. It just isn't easy to read. I didn't love the various formats for electronic communication. Mum used speech-to-text so it was italicized and without any punctuation. Other AIs used some combination of brackets and italics... It was just all too much. It got in the way of the meat of the story and I didn't like it. Standard formatting exists for a reason. (:
I liked the AI narrator that falls into the same vein as Murderbot. I liked the strained parent/child relationships between Scorn and her Mum and Maman. I LOVE the name Scorn.
I didn't like the use of ze/zir pronouns. As a concept, I love it. In execution it felt like running the 1200m hurdle when I signed up for a regular sprint. It just isn't easy to read. I didn't love the various formats for electronic communication. Mum used speech-to-text so it was italicized and without any punctuation. Other AIs used some combination of brackets and italics... It was just all too much. It got in the way of the meat of the story and I didn't like it. Standard formatting exists for a reason. (:
July 11, 2023
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. There are no spoilers in this review.
A short novella that is big on ideas but a little scant on plot, Emergent Properties is a story about not only artificial intelligence but the relationship between parents and children.
Unfortunately, this is one of those novellas that suffer from “novella syndrome” - it’s just a bit short. It feels like it’s missing something and in this case, that would be an engaging mystery. Because the story is so short, I kind of assumed the reveal from the start, as there just aren’t that many characters, and the world is too small for it to carry any sort of Agatha Christie effect. As such, it feels like the novella is a transparent vehicle for the ideas it's attempting to convey. In that regard, I’d say it’s a bit clunky.
We also aren’t given enough time to get to know Scorn, the main character, before ze starts off on zir mission, so the stakes don’t feel that high. This is too bad, because the ideas the novella brings up are really interesting and there are some very clever and entrancing aspects of the novella I did enjoy.
One of these would be the occasional bits of humour, and the other is the idea of setting most of the story in Rome - I liked the juxtaposition of an ancient city that retains its archaic aspects while being populated with futuristic technology.
The ideas raised and extrapolated on are concepts such as:
AI rights, or, even generally, the treatment of robots
the idea of robots/AI needing a way to communicate with others like them in a communal sense (in this, the assumption that they would want to because they were designed by a social species, us, who gave them this need).
Whether the creators of AI owe a duty of care to their AI “children”
The idea that an AI would, and should, be programmed to enjoy a task it has been designed to do. In this case, it’s a weather station (which, somehow I found adorable), but the idea that if we programmed an AI to like being say, a janitor robot, does that give it a sense of actualization? Do AI need actualization? Is there a worry about this, though? What if you programmed an AI to enjoy being a soldier, for example; does that mean you are programming an AI to enjoy killing humans? Or certain types of humans? Can AI’s experience love, both familial and platonic and romantic?
The novella raises all these increasingly relevant questions and more, but, unfortunately, the story that contains these isn’t on the same level. It’s not a bad story - I enjoyed it and it made sense - I just wasn’t overly excited by it. It’s possible it’s because we don’t get enough time with Scorn before the story takes off to really care about them.
But if you want an interesting little novella that has big ideas, you can give this a shot, but the mystery aspect won’t blow you away.
A short novella that is big on ideas but a little scant on plot, Emergent Properties is a story about not only artificial intelligence but the relationship between parents and children.
Unfortunately, this is one of those novellas that suffer from “novella syndrome” - it’s just a bit short. It feels like it’s missing something and in this case, that would be an engaging mystery. Because the story is so short, I kind of assumed the reveal from the start, as there just aren’t that many characters, and the world is too small for it to carry any sort of Agatha Christie effect. As such, it feels like the novella is a transparent vehicle for the ideas it's attempting to convey. In that regard, I’d say it’s a bit clunky.
We also aren’t given enough time to get to know Scorn, the main character, before ze starts off on zir mission, so the stakes don’t feel that high. This is too bad, because the ideas the novella brings up are really interesting and there are some very clever and entrancing aspects of the novella I did enjoy.
One of these would be the occasional bits of humour, and the other is the idea of setting most of the story in Rome - I liked the juxtaposition of an ancient city that retains its archaic aspects while being populated with futuristic technology.
The ideas raised and extrapolated on are concepts such as:
AI rights, or, even generally, the treatment of robots
the idea of robots/AI needing a way to communicate with others like them in a communal sense (in this, the assumption that they would want to because they were designed by a social species, us, who gave them this need).
Whether the creators of AI owe a duty of care to their AI “children”
The idea that an AI would, and should, be programmed to enjoy a task it has been designed to do. In this case, it’s a weather station (which, somehow I found adorable), but the idea that if we programmed an AI to like being say, a janitor robot, does that give it a sense of actualization? Do AI need actualization? Is there a worry about this, though? What if you programmed an AI to enjoy being a soldier, for example; does that mean you are programming an AI to enjoy killing humans? Or certain types of humans? Can AI’s experience love, both familial and platonic and romantic?
The novella raises all these increasingly relevant questions and more, but, unfortunately, the story that contains these isn’t on the same level. It’s not a bad story - I enjoyed it and it made sense - I just wasn’t overly excited by it. It’s possible it’s because we don’t get enough time with Scorn before the story takes off to really care about them.
But if you want an interesting little novella that has big ideas, you can give this a shot, but the mystery aspect won’t blow you away.
July 12, 2023
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Emergence Properties is, in varying degrees, about fraught familial relationships, identity, the dystopia of late-stage capitalism taken to its extreme conclusions, AI rights, humanity as something to aspire to or revile (or neither), the climate crisis, social media and an AI solving zir own murder.
It's also roughly 130 pages long.
Attempting to tackle so much in such a short space is an ambitious undertaking, and Emergence Properties might very easily have been a bloated mess. Ogden sticks the landing, and delivers something that, while not perfect, is still very good.
I really liked Scorn, the protagonist, a sentient AI that was built to perform space exploration operations too dangerous for humans, and became an investigative journalist instead. Ze wakes up missing roughly ten days worth of memories, with zir most recent body (called a chassis) destroyed. Ze has to retrace zir steps and figure out what ze was investigating and why/how zir chassis was destroyed.
Much of the novella is dedicated to Scorn's complicated relationship with zir mothers, powerful CEOs who are currently going through an extremely messy break-up, and who didn't expect their AI child to morph into someone completely different than who they had envisioned.
What suffers from the short length of the book is the mystery plot, which, while interesting, has very little room to breathe. Instead the story really shines in the parent-child relationship between Scorn and zir mothers, and in the characters in general.
I also enjoyed the worldbuilding, particularly as it pertains to the depiction of AI: the different forms they take and how unconstrained from the physical they ultimately feel, the different levels of sentience and the way Scorn (and by extension the reader) still deeply considers them all as people.
Emergence Properties is, in varying degrees, about fraught familial relationships, identity, the dystopia of late-stage capitalism taken to its extreme conclusions, AI rights, humanity as something to aspire to or revile (or neither), the climate crisis, social media and an AI solving zir own murder.
It's also roughly 130 pages long.
Attempting to tackle so much in such a short space is an ambitious undertaking, and Emergence Properties might very easily have been a bloated mess. Ogden sticks the landing, and delivers something that, while not perfect, is still very good.
I really liked Scorn, the protagonist, a sentient AI that was built to perform space exploration operations too dangerous for humans, and became an investigative journalist instead. Ze wakes up missing roughly ten days worth of memories, with zir most recent body (called a chassis) destroyed. Ze has to retrace zir steps and figure out what ze was investigating and why/how zir chassis was destroyed.
Much of the novella is dedicated to Scorn's complicated relationship with zir mothers, powerful CEOs who are currently going through an extremely messy break-up, and who didn't expect their AI child to morph into someone completely different than who they had envisioned.
What suffers from the short length of the book is the mystery plot, which, while interesting, has very little room to breathe. Instead the story really shines in the parent-child relationship between Scorn and zir mothers, and in the characters in general.
I also enjoyed the worldbuilding, particularly as it pertains to the depiction of AI: the different forms they take and how unconstrained from the physical they ultimately feel, the different levels of sentience and the way Scorn (and by extension the reader) still deeply considers them all as people.
February 2, 2023
This is a 2.5 star read for me. I always round half stars down.
I usually enjoy Aimee Ogden's work, so I was really sad that I didn't like this book. I also hate writing "it's me, not the book" reviews because I feel like those aren't very useful to people who aren't me, but here goes.
There was a lot going on with the setting to the point where the plot, or, more specifically, information I needed to understand the plot got gobbled up in world building and I had to reread to figure out what was going on. There's so much written into such a short narrative that the story feels almost cramped to me. I wish the plot and its implications had a little more space to breathe.
I also had a hard time connecting with Scorn. This is maybe a "me" problem, but I didn't find Scorn's arc to be particularly satisfying. The ending to zir story, which was about trying to do zir own thing without parental help or validation, felt kind of contrary to that. It also didn't feel very cathartic to me as Scorn and the character ze meet at the end had very limited interaction in the earlier parts of the book. I like narratives about characters that defy their parents' expectations, so I was excited about this book, but I don't feel like the execution did the premise justice.
The final thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the use of marginalized people as background details. This might be a combination of "it's me, not the book" and unfortunate timing of publication, but with the recent emergence of commercially viable chatbots and Chat GPT trying to make several entry level jobs obsolete, a book that has an AI protagonist, makes several references to AIs replacing humans in the workforce, and then turns around and acts like climate refugees who have been refused jobs in the name of profit margins are horrible people for being prejudiced about AI doesn't sit right with me. This is compounded by the fact that Scorn was developed by very powerful people who are in some way responsible for this inequality, yet Scorn doesn't seem to acknowledge the advantages ze has because of this.
To conclude, my complaints are pretty subjective and I feel like some people would enjoy this book, as it isn't badly written. The blurb recommends this book to Murderbot fans and while I'll stick with Murderbot, I think other people might enjoy this book too.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I usually enjoy Aimee Ogden's work, so I was really sad that I didn't like this book. I also hate writing "it's me, not the book" reviews because I feel like those aren't very useful to people who aren't me, but here goes.
There was a lot going on with the setting to the point where the plot, or, more specifically, information I needed to understand the plot got gobbled up in world building and I had to reread to figure out what was going on. There's so much written into such a short narrative that the story feels almost cramped to me. I wish the plot and its implications had a little more space to breathe.
I also had a hard time connecting with Scorn. This is maybe a "me" problem, but I didn't find Scorn's arc to be particularly satisfying. The ending to zir story, which was about trying to do zir own thing without parental help or validation, felt kind of contrary to that. It also didn't feel very cathartic to me as Scorn and the character ze meet at the end had very limited interaction in the earlier parts of the book. I like narratives about characters that defy their parents' expectations, so I was excited about this book, but I don't feel like the execution did the premise justice.
The final thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the use of marginalized people as background details. This might be a combination of "it's me, not the book" and unfortunate timing of publication, but with the recent emergence of commercially viable chatbots and Chat GPT trying to make several entry level jobs obsolete, a book that has an AI protagonist, makes several references to AIs replacing humans in the workforce, and then turns around and acts like climate refugees who have been refused jobs in the name of profit margins are horrible people for being prejudiced about AI doesn't sit right with me. This is compounded by the fact that Scorn was developed by very powerful people who are in some way responsible for this inequality, yet Scorn doesn't seem to acknowledge the advantages ze has because of this.
To conclude, my complaints are pretty subjective and I feel like some people would enjoy this book, as it isn't badly written. The blurb recommends this book to Murderbot fans and while I'll stick with Murderbot, I think other people might enjoy this book too.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
March 6, 2023
As a fan of Murderbot, I just had to request this arc. After reading it, I'll agree with the other early reviewers that it's not quite Murderbot, but it definitely deserves its own place in the niche sentient and sarcastic AI genre (if that's a thing, because it definitely needs to be a thing).
Scorn, our reluctant AI MC, refers to zemself using neopronouns (ze/zir/zem), which takes a while to get used to (if you're not used to it), but it naturally fits within the sci-fi genre.
The plot is pretty simple and straightforward. Someone deleted a portion of Scorn's data so ze tries to uncover who did it and why. But it can get confusing with all the world building that's thrust upon the reader without much handholding or explanation. It's very sci-fi genre heavy, so if you're not familiar with sci-fi tropes, you might get lost with all of the terminology and concepts. But as a huge sci-fi fan, I can appreciate the unique details that went into the world building, character development, and the relationships between the characters (especially with Scorn and zir mothers).
I'd love to read more about Scorn in further installments. Aimee Ogden is a promising emerging writer.
Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for this arc.
Scorn, our reluctant AI MC, refers to zemself using neopronouns (ze/zir/zem), which takes a while to get used to (if you're not used to it), but it naturally fits within the sci-fi genre.
The plot is pretty simple and straightforward. Someone deleted a portion of Scorn's data so ze tries to uncover who did it and why. But it can get confusing with all the world building that's thrust upon the reader without much handholding or explanation. It's very sci-fi genre heavy, so if you're not familiar with sci-fi tropes, you might get lost with all of the terminology and concepts. But as a huge sci-fi fan, I can appreciate the unique details that went into the world building, character development, and the relationships between the characters (especially with Scorn and zir mothers).
I'd love to read more about Scorn in further installments. Aimee Ogden is a promising emerging writer.
Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for this arc.
July 23, 2023
When we first meet Scorn, ze is pretty much of a mess. A very determined mess, but a mess all the same. Ze has just lost over ten days of memory – along with ALL of zir backups. As ze is an autonomous AI, that shouldn’t even be possible. But as ze is an investigative reporter doing zir best to make zir mark by breaking a sensational story to get zir high-powered, highly intelligent, mega-corporation-owning mothers off zir back about zir’s career choices, it’s a tragedy in the making.
At the same time, in the best tradition of investigative reporters everywhere and everywhen, it’s also a sign that ze is on the right track to that story. Which means that ze is incapable of letting it go. And as a state-of-the-art AI, Scorn is capable of retracing his steps, both digital and physical, to get back what ze lost.
On the moon, which is where Scorn lost it the first time. Which is also the last place zir mothers want zem to go – considering Scorn’s last trip got zir memory wiped.
Emergent Properties is the story of Scorn’s journey back to where ze nearly lost zirself, dodging EMP pulses and drone attacks every step of the way, along the trail of a story that will either make or break zem.
Or both. Definitely both. In ways that Scorn never, ever expected – even though ze very much should have.
Escape Rating A++: I’ve been pushing this book at anyone willing to stand still for it for months. I read this one for a Library Journal review and fell completely in love, and don’t seem to have fallen out in the intervening months. To the point where a reread just now was like catching up with an old friend.
One of the things I loved about Scorn is that ze is pretty much Murderbot’s ‘brother from another mother’, even though neither identifies as or even has a gender. Which doesn’t change how much their snarkitude is in sync even if pointed in different directions.
Notice I didn’t say anything about either of them not having a mother, because Scorn certainly has two – both of whom are giving zem exactly the same kind of grief that mothers the world over give their newly adult children when those children are not living their parents’ dreams for them.
Mother may not always know best, but she always thinks she does, and Scorn is getting that times two. Which ze does zir best to ignore or delay or postpone dealing with, as so many of us do. At least until this time it bites zem in the ass – in multiple senses of the phrase – even if Scorn doesn’t always have an ass, depending on which carapace ze happens to be using at the present.
While Scorn is very much the character that carries the story, the places ze carries that story through are both fascinating and fantastic every step of the way.
A part of this reader wants to say that Scorn comes across as very human, because that’s our default paradigm. But like Murderbot, Scorn isn’t human and doesn’t want to be – no matter how much zir mothers hoped that ze would aspire to such.
And the whole idea that ze still must deal with zir human mothers and their human disappointment in zem is what makes Scorn so easy for human readers to identify with. Ze has mommy issues – and don’t we all?
But zir world is our future, and it feels plausible even as we get sucked into it. Human greed carried out through corporate political shenanigans is running the show. Independence for human colonies and autonomy for sentient, sapient, autonomous AIs are being spun into opposition instead of banding together to help each other. Because the corporations make more profits out of war than they do peace.
Scorn moves through zir world as an AI, not a fixed body in time and space. Ze uses bodies, but is not attached to or possessed by one, and it changes zir perspective in ways that go even beyond what we’ve already seen in John Scalzi’s Lock In, although there are some similarities. Scorn goes well beyond the ‘threeps’ in what ze does and how ze does it. It feels like a next step.
At the same time, Scorn’s emotional landscape is as fraught and confused as any human’s. Ze just processes it differently some of the time, and turns it off some of the time, but it is still recognizable and well within our empathetic parameters.
So I had an absolute blast reading about Scorn’s surprising Emergent Properties, was fascinated with zir world, and hope the author takes us back to zir and it sometime in the future!
Originally published at Reading Reality
At the same time, in the best tradition of investigative reporters everywhere and everywhen, it’s also a sign that ze is on the right track to that story. Which means that ze is incapable of letting it go. And as a state-of-the-art AI, Scorn is capable of retracing his steps, both digital and physical, to get back what ze lost.
On the moon, which is where Scorn lost it the first time. Which is also the last place zir mothers want zem to go – considering Scorn’s last trip got zir memory wiped.
Emergent Properties is the story of Scorn’s journey back to where ze nearly lost zirself, dodging EMP pulses and drone attacks every step of the way, along the trail of a story that will either make or break zem.
Or both. Definitely both. In ways that Scorn never, ever expected – even though ze very much should have.
Escape Rating A++: I’ve been pushing this book at anyone willing to stand still for it for months. I read this one for a Library Journal review and fell completely in love, and don’t seem to have fallen out in the intervening months. To the point where a reread just now was like catching up with an old friend.
One of the things I loved about Scorn is that ze is pretty much Murderbot’s ‘brother from another mother’, even though neither identifies as or even has a gender. Which doesn’t change how much their snarkitude is in sync even if pointed in different directions.
Notice I didn’t say anything about either of them not having a mother, because Scorn certainly has two – both of whom are giving zem exactly the same kind of grief that mothers the world over give their newly adult children when those children are not living their parents’ dreams for them.
Mother may not always know best, but she always thinks she does, and Scorn is getting that times two. Which ze does zir best to ignore or delay or postpone dealing with, as so many of us do. At least until this time it bites zem in the ass – in multiple senses of the phrase – even if Scorn doesn’t always have an ass, depending on which carapace ze happens to be using at the present.
While Scorn is very much the character that carries the story, the places ze carries that story through are both fascinating and fantastic every step of the way.
A part of this reader wants to say that Scorn comes across as very human, because that’s our default paradigm. But like Murderbot, Scorn isn’t human and doesn’t want to be – no matter how much zir mothers hoped that ze would aspire to such.
And the whole idea that ze still must deal with zir human mothers and their human disappointment in zem is what makes Scorn so easy for human readers to identify with. Ze has mommy issues – and don’t we all?
But zir world is our future, and it feels plausible even as we get sucked into it. Human greed carried out through corporate political shenanigans is running the show. Independence for human colonies and autonomy for sentient, sapient, autonomous AIs are being spun into opposition instead of banding together to help each other. Because the corporations make more profits out of war than they do peace.
Scorn moves through zir world as an AI, not a fixed body in time and space. Ze uses bodies, but is not attached to or possessed by one, and it changes zir perspective in ways that go even beyond what we’ve already seen in John Scalzi’s Lock In, although there are some similarities. Scorn goes well beyond the ‘threeps’ in what ze does and how ze does it. It feels like a next step.
At the same time, Scorn’s emotional landscape is as fraught and confused as any human’s. Ze just processes it differently some of the time, and turns it off some of the time, but it is still recognizable and well within our empathetic parameters.
So I had an absolute blast reading about Scorn’s surprising Emergent Properties, was fascinated with zir world, and hope the author takes us back to zir and it sometime in the future!
Originally published at Reading Reality
July 31, 2023
Kids, right? You put everything you have into raising them, teaching them, and then they leave the nest and you just can’t predict where they’re going to go or what they’re going to do. Sure, you have your own hopes and dreams for them, but they have a certain degree of free will because their environments will be changing. In Emergent Properties, this is even true of our protagonist, Scorn, the AI “daughter” of two brilliant scientists who divorced under the most bitter of circumstances and emancipated Scorn at the ripe age of…seven. Scorn is one-of-a-kind for an AI because they’re completely autonomous. In a tumultuous time when the AI and lunar communities are trying to fight for autonomy from the corporations that run Earth, Scorn seems to have put themself in the thick of it by taking the original purpose for which they were developed, data collection, and directing it toward something they find much more enjoyable and fulfilling: investigative journalism. The problem? Well, the last time they were up on the moon, someone or something tried to kill them and that assassination attempt cost them all the research they’d collected on that assignment.
This novella is as much about a child’s fraught relationship with two parents who keep using their kid as a weapon against one another in a never-ending war to one-up the other (yet with much more dire circumstances at work) and that child’s battle to not only try and stay out of the middle of the fight and still try to let their parents know they still care about them and just wants their rights to live their life as they wish respected as it is about independence as a whole and a warning about the future: what will we do once we have humanoid AI that are equipped with emotional programming? Yeah, you might say, “That’s just programming, though”. Keep in mind, our human brains are simply computers programmed with emotions too. We can malfunction. We can short-circuit. How is that much different?
While I’ve read more enjoyable cyber mystery novellas, this was still a great diversion for a Sunday afternoon.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Crime Fiction/Genre Mash-Up/Mystery/Novella/Science Fiction
This novella is as much about a child’s fraught relationship with two parents who keep using their kid as a weapon against one another in a never-ending war to one-up the other (yet with much more dire circumstances at work) and that child’s battle to not only try and stay out of the middle of the fight and still try to let their parents know they still care about them and just wants their rights to live their life as they wish respected as it is about independence as a whole and a warning about the future: what will we do once we have humanoid AI that are equipped with emotional programming? Yeah, you might say, “That’s just programming, though”. Keep in mind, our human brains are simply computers programmed with emotions too. We can malfunction. We can short-circuit. How is that much different?
While I’ve read more enjoyable cyber mystery novellas, this was still a great diversion for a Sunday afternoon.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Crime Fiction/Genre Mash-Up/Mystery/Novella/Science Fiction
February 13, 2023
*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*
I really wanted to love this book, it's got a lot of great bits, but for me it really just fell flat. In part, I think it's because it's billed as being similar to Murderbot, which it really isn't, while Scorn is an independent AI in a society where that's not common or even accepted, there's not a lot of crossover between the two and they shouldn't be compared as it's unfair to do so. Scorn is an interesting character, an AI created with a purpose (data collection I think?) who then decides that no, they're going to do their own thing and settle on being an investigative reporter. This is a fascinating setup, but I felt that it wasn't handled well, as I completely forgot Scorn was a reporter until it was brought up again later in the book. The narrative was hard to follow and while I get why, with Scorn having to rebuild lost memories, it made it really hard to follow what was happening. There were other mother stylistic choices, such as including code in some sections and having Scorn reply to untranslated French, that I found jarring and not integrated well. There was also a whole thing with Scorn's mothers that turned out to be super relevant, and their connections were very interesting, but once again, I feel like the narrative failed to make these ideas have any sort of real impact.
I really wanted to love this book, it's got a lot of great bits, but for me it really just fell flat. In part, I think it's because it's billed as being similar to Murderbot, which it really isn't, while Scorn is an independent AI in a society where that's not common or even accepted, there's not a lot of crossover between the two and they shouldn't be compared as it's unfair to do so. Scorn is an interesting character, an AI created with a purpose (data collection I think?) who then decides that no, they're going to do their own thing and settle on being an investigative reporter. This is a fascinating setup, but I felt that it wasn't handled well, as I completely forgot Scorn was a reporter until it was brought up again later in the book. The narrative was hard to follow and while I get why, with Scorn having to rebuild lost memories, it made it really hard to follow what was happening. There were other mother stylistic choices, such as including code in some sections and having Scorn reply to untranslated French, that I found jarring and not integrated well. There was also a whole thing with Scorn's mothers that turned out to be super relevant, and their connections were very interesting, but once again, I feel like the narrative failed to make these ideas have any sort of real impact.
November 12, 2023
The main character in this story is a sentient AI who uses ze/zem pronouns, which isn't something I have a problem with on principle, but I found it hard to get into the flow of reading this because of that. This was full of paragraphs such as, "Ze hits the ground, trying to roll to zir feet, but only ends up in a tangle of semifunctional limbs. With concerted effort, ze drags zemself upright and looks around. Zir time is limited, ze just doesn't yet know by how much." Every time I hit one of those pronouns I was pulled out of the story slightly. I'd end up focusing on reading instead of just being lost in the story, and being lost in the story is the great part of reading! It's fair to say that this is a me problem and something that might be less of problem as I get more accustomed to alternative pronouns, but in the meantime, it definitely detracted from my enjoyment.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only problem with this story. I spent a lot of time not really knowing what was supposed to be going on. And the worst part was that when the protagonist finally defeats the villain, it happens off screen which was a huge let down. I found myself wondering, "Did what I think was about to happen actually happen?" And I went back to reread the section to make sure I didn't miss something. Yes, it probably did happen.
My favorite character was a weather station named MATt. Which maybe stands for meteorological and air-quality monitoring station, only I can't quite figure out how.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only problem with this story. I spent a lot of time not really knowing what was supposed to be going on. And the worst part was that when the protagonist finally defeats the villain, it happens off screen which was a huge let down. I found myself wondering, "Did what I think was about to happen actually happen?" And I went back to reread the section to make sure I didn't miss something. Yes, it probably did happen.
My favorite character was a weather station named MATt. Which maybe stands for meteorological and air-quality monitoring station, only I can't quite figure out how.
August 4, 2023
(4/5 stars) Our main character, Scorn, is a hard-hitting investigative AI journalist who wakes up with no memory of the last 10 days. As Scorn undergoes a journey to recover what was lost (and figure out what story got zem killed the last time), we ponder autonomy, identity, and family relationships. When I saw this novella billed as Martha Wells' Murderbot adjacent, I was immediately intrigued. I will say it doesn't quite live up to the Murderbot standard but I did enjoy it as a quick read; it would be good for a cozy afternoon. I wish there had been more time given to character development, and the plot felt a bit rushed, but I guess such is the nature of a novella.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Emergent Properties is out now!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Emergent Properties is out now!
December 19, 2023
I had a hard time getting into this book. The main character is an AI who goes by Scorn. It took me a while to even understand what was going on because there's not much of an exposition in the beginning and there are a lot of unusual things going on - the AI's memory has lost some time, ze wakes up somewhere ze isn't supposed to be, ze has suffered damage - and while I appreciated a book using neo-pronouns, this was also confusing at first, since it's unclear what is happening in general.
Not a whole lot happens in this book. It's pretty short, but even so, it took me a while to read because I just wasn't very into it. I didn't connect with the characters at all, it was all very confusing, and the ending did not feel very surprising to me.
Not a whole lot happens in this book. It's pretty short, but even so, it took me a while to read because I just wasn't very into it. I didn't connect with the characters at all, it was all very confusing, and the ending did not feel very surprising to me.
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