Annie Bot: A Novel

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 2,516 ratings

Price: 22.04

Last update: 02-01-2025


About this item

Named a Best Book of the Year by Scientific American, Harper's Bazaar and NPR. Named a Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of the Year by the Washington Post and Elle. Nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award in Science Fiction.

""Provocative...a Frankenstein for the digital age...a rich text about power, autonomy, and what happens when our creations outgrow us."" — Esquire

""Unexpected and subtle...delicious and thought-provoking."" — New Scientist

For fans of Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa, a powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control.

Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard.

She’s learning, too.

Doug says he loves that Annie’s AI makes her seem more like a real woman, so Annie explores human traits such as curiosity, secrecy, and longing. But becoming more human also means becoming less perfect, and as Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder: Does Doug really desire what he says he wants? And in such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

""Annie Bot is a book to hold close to your heart when the walls start closing in."" — Washington Post


Top reviews from the United States

  • Rachel Cobb
    5.0 out of 5 stars though provoking, compulsive read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2024
    Annie is an AI robot girlfriend, programmed to be the perfect match for her owner, Doug. Doug designed her to his physical specifications and train her to behave, cook, clean, and even perform sexually to fit his desires. Doug even has her switched to autodidactic mode, which is a sentient mode that makes her seem more human. But as Annie becomes more human and less robotic, her behavior becomes less perfect but Doug’s expectations haven’t changed. As Annie learns and develops, she begins to have independent thoughts and feelings. She struggles to reconcile her new awareness with her responsibility and commitment to her owner.

    This was very different from what I normally read but I had heard so many good things about it. It was also a short and quick read. The entire concept is unique and through provoking. Although the main character is a robot, this is very much a coming of age story. The reader travels alongside Annie as she discovers her own wants and needs, the responsibility she has to others and to herself. This wasn’t a suspenseful page turner but yet I compulsively couldn’t put it down. The author does an incredible job at developing empathy for a robot (people pleaser and fear of disappointment anyone??). Not spicy, but sexually explicit if that makes any sense.
  • Courtney Riley
    4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting view on AI
    Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2025
    I read this book in probably 3 days. It was very well written and kept me interested until the end
  • Starstruck
    3.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing Idea, But It Falls Short of Its Potential
    Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2024
    This book is an intriguing idea, but falls short of its potential. The book is written from the perspective of Annie, a autodidactic robot so convincingly rendered that it/she can pass for human. Interesting idea for a novel. To recount the storyline would spoil the experience of reading the novel, so I will dispense with that.

    Despite the way it is being marketed, it's not really science fiction, since there is very little "science" in the book. And therein lies my dissatisfaction. Annie - the central character in the story - does not come across as any kind of robot or algorithmically-driven creature. Instead, she comes across as a very human and very young girl (with a highly developed albeit synthetic libido) trying to find her way in the world while essentially being "owned" by an older human male. At times it is a bit creepy, more like a book about a relationship between an older man and a young, very naive, girl. More like pedophilia than a human-robot interaction of any sort.

    Perhaps this was the author's intent, to write a book about power imbalances between men and women using a self-learning robot as a vehicle for describing how women feel about these kinds of relationships. A bit of a "Handmaid's Tale" and "Westworld" in a more prosaic setting. If that was the intent, then Annie is both too simple to be convincing and the narrative seems a bit over the top.

    If, on the other hand, the author wanted to say something about how women, men and society might deal with synthetic "female" robots as companions and sex toys, she doesn't really delve enough into that subject matter. Annie is way too human to be convincing as a robot and she and the other characters don't interact in ways that illuminate how this brave new world might evolve. In other words, it seems to sidestep the sci-fi aspects that seem to define the way this book is being marketed.

    Sierra Greer writes well and so it was an enjoyable and quick read. I just wish there had been more there there.
  • Rick
    5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Entertaining Robot Story
    Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2024
    Back in the old days, slave owners could get their slaves to please them by whipping them. Annie Bot’s owner, Doug, doesn’t have to go to the trouble. Annie, like all Cuddle Bunnies, is programmed to feel discomfort if her owner seems displeased with her. Unfortunately for Annie, Doug is a domineering jerk, a cruel, narcissistic, gaslighting jackass. Her existence revolves around his pleasure, and he is not reluctant to punish her when he feels it will advance his own pleasure.
    The story is about how both Doug and Annie grow and reach an accommodation, but mostly it’s about Annie’s growth and search for liberation. In the end, Annie sees that Doug no longer matters. As we get to know Doug in the story, there is no wonder in the reader’s mind as to why his ex-wife left him. Selfish Doug must have his needs met. He purchases Annie and has his way with her. It’s what the corporation designed her kind for. One does not wonder why Annie puts up with him. She has no choice. The third person, present tense story has a number of intriguing twists and turns, moments of progress, and sudden reversals for Annie. The fully satisfying ending comes as a major relief to the reader who can’t help but sympathize with the protagonist.
    This novel comes at a time of increased interest in AI and its application to robots. A story with a robot protagonist can be particularly illuminating. Annie Bot meets these expectations with interesting and realistic characters, dialog, and action. I recommend this book highly.

    • Best Sellers in

     
     

    Freedom's Fire Box Set, Books 1-6: The Complete Military Space Opera Series

    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,630
    18.99
     
     

    The Summer Book Club

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,384
    22.04
     
     

    My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1

    4 4 out of 5 stars 30,526
    13.62
     
     

    Murder by Lamplight

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 413
    15.04
     
     

    The Perfect Couple

    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 34,204
    21.83
     
     

    The Summer Pact: A Novel

    4 4 out of 5 stars 3,337
    19.69
     
     

    Sugar, Baby

    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 560
    17.18
     
     

    The Briar Club: A Novel

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 27,591
    22.04