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Reflection Bay Press, LLC
Paperback: 978-0-5783724-2-6 $18.95 (USA) $24.95 (Canada)
Hardcover: 978-1-7346462-9-0 $27.95 (USA) $34.95 (Canada)
Audiobook: 978-1-7346462-3-8 $29.95 (USA) (retailers generally discount the audiobook)
e-Book: 979-8-2019329-5-4 $5.95
Set in 2484, Taylor’s debut tells one robot’s journey to the White House. When the affluent Thomas Jenkins, whose Virginia family has long been in Congress, buys Esmeralda, a lifelike robot wife with superb IQ and a gentle, humanitarian disposition, Geraldine, Thomas’s mother is dismayed. But it doesn’t take long for Esmeralda to win her mother-in-law’s heart. Following in the footsteps of one of the family members, Esmeralda steps into politics and becomes a Green Party vice president candidate. When the party’s winner dies, Esmeralda becomes the president. But proving herself worthy of the position is not as easy as it seems. Taylor combines the usual elements of hard SF novels and political thrillers and presents an accurate satiric mirror of the current socio-political milieu. In Taylor’s far-futuristic world, people are facing environmental despoiling, overpopulation, and poor economics schooling, and politics is a dirty game. Once the introductions are over, the narrative canters along at a good pace, but politics and socio-economic scenes remain at the heart of the story. Some highlights: a planet struggling with ever-diminishing natural resources and overpopulation; politicians pushing an all-out war on other planets. Despite a bit of acronym excess, this is an atmospheric and entertaining roller-coaster ride with high stakes. Plenty of twists and satisfying finale make it an engrossing read.
***
Categories: Science Fiction
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