The Wrong Unit cover art

The Wrong Unit

A Novel

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The Wrong Unit

By: Rob Dircks
Narrated by: Rob Dircks
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About this listen

I don't know what the humans are so cranky about. Their enclosures are large, they ingest over 1,000 calories per day, and they're allowed to mate. Plus, they have me: an Autonomous Servile Unit, housed in a mobile/bipedal chassis. I do my job well: keep the humans healthy and happy.

"Hey you.”

Heyoo. That's my name, I suppose. It's easier for the humans to remember than 413s98-itr8. I guess I've gotten used to it.

Rob Dircks, author of Where the Hell is Tesla? and Don’t Touch the Blue Stuff!, has a "unit" with a problem: how to deliver his package, out in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to guide him. Oh, and with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. It's a science fiction tale of technology gone haywire, unlikely heroes, and the nature of humanity. (Woah. That last part sounds deep. Don't worry, it's not.)

©2016 Rob Dircks (P)2016 Rob Dircks Dystopian Fiction Humorous Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Comedy

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Critic reviews

“★★★★★ Dircks has delivered a fantastic novel that is charming, thoughtful, both heart wrenching and heart warming, thought-provoking, and ultimately just hilarious.” (AudiobookReviewer.com)

"Rob Dircks manages to bridge the tricky divide between science-fiction and humor so effortlessly that a comparison to Vonnegut is not a hyperbolic stretch.” (Ruth Sinanian, Literature Reviewer)
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It's not often an author can do a proper narration, well done. I look forward to your next audiobook.

Well written and narrated

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i loved this book from beginning to end.
It’s one I’d probably listen to again as well which I don’t do with many books.

It had humour, warmth, well written characters, it was well paced, never just coasted, and a really well thought out and executed plot line,a real witty feel good book.

For books like this there should be an extra rating, one for when you think the book is just so good 5 stars seems inadequate.

Also, the narration for this was perfectly done, can’t fault it.

One of the best I’ve listened to.

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absolutely loved this book.
I liked it so much I finished It in one sitting.

exelent and highly recommend

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Was dubious when I downloaded but enjoyed every single minute of this book. A really richly conceived world. Really well performed. Just download it.

Surprised by how much I loved this!

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Despite the fact that this is a post-apocalyptic story in which the few remaining humans are kept in captivity, this is a feel-good Science Fiction novel.

The lightness in tone comes mainly from the innocence and empathy of the main character, Heyou, a Servile Unit (an A.I. in a humanish body) whose purpose is the care and feeding of humans in their compound.

Heyou, the Wrong Unit of the title, is picked up by mistake and thrust into an epic quest to save humanity.

This involves a very long walk with a very small child. As Heyou trudges across the planet his empathy for humans and his own sense of identity grows with each challenge that he overcomes. Eventually, he has to face the biggest challenge of all, freeing humanity by bringing down Core, the A.I. who made him.

Rob Dircks is both author and narrator of this novel and he does both jobs with a deft touch and a nuanced understanding of dialogue and interior monologues.

This book is packed with clever ideas and finds new twists on the A.I. – menace-to-humanity trope but its strength comes from the gradual growth of Heyou into a fully rounded person.

Pick this one up if you want a light, fast, upbeat read.

Original, feel-good science fiction

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I was a bit dubious about this story at first, having never heard of the author, but for the first time in ages I found myself immersed in the story, and looking forward to my next listening session. The performance is also excellent.

Wildly Original

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This book was brilliant. I love this author, both as a writer and a narrator. He narrates this book so brilliantly. A minor complaint about the narration is that it is somewhat difficult to tell in Arches's chapters that its not being told from Heyoo's perspective because its the same narrator using the same voice. This is only minor as it is easy to understand once the chapter begins.
The story is awesome, if at some points slightly unnecessary, though it does lack some characterisation. In the last quarter of the book, many characters are introduced. I didn't feel that enough time was given to these people in order for me to establish a like or dislike of them. If something happened to them, I just couldn't remember who they were and shrugged it off.
Overall, it was a very good book, with some minor issues.

The Wrong Unit

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En vacker och ömsint historia om vad det är människor behöver. En robbot och ett barn som lär av varandra och förändar din verklighet.

solar punk

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