2019 reading challenge: Reading roulette: Read the third book you see on your Want to Read shelf.

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The best way I can describe this book is Disney meets Philip K. Dick. Only not as dark as most of Dick's work.

Several decades into the future the place to escape reality is a wonderful destination spot in Washington State called "The Kingdom". The Kingdom has magical lands like "Jungle Land", "Storybook Land", "Paleo Land". And the motto of the Kingdom is "Happy ever after isn't just a promise, it's a rule". People come from far and wide to the Kingdom to see the hybrids. Cyberneticly created animals that bring back extinct animals for the visitors amusement.

But one of the hybrid types the all come to see are the 7 Fantasists.... cybernetic android Princesses. Anna is one of the Fantasists who spends her day interacting with the guests. But then she's accused of murdering one of the park employees.

This book is told through flashbacks in Anna's point of view and from trial transcripts.

I found the book well written, engaging and rather thought provoking. Like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1 by Philip K. Dick, it causes you to stop and reflect on "what makes us human?", "where does self-awareness start?", "how far is too far?", "where do we say self-autonomy begins?", "What are emotions?"

I enjoyed the book and really do hope the author writes another book as a follow up to this one.



View all my reviews

be warned

*little soapbox pulled out for me to stand on it*

Before you call someone a race traitor for standing up for equal human rights... for knowing history... for being a decent human being... um... have you by chance done the DNA testing to see what YOUR background is?

You may be soooo white that you are translucent, but genetics doesn't lie and you might just have a bit of Sub-Saharan African in you.

And even if you don't have SSA... who the hell are you to get off calling someone a traitor for giving a fuck about other people.

If this offends you... please feel free to take yourself and leave my feed and no longer talk to me.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Says she of the "Caucasian skin, green eyes and light hair" with SSA in her genes.

*gets down from soapbox and returns to normal daily activities*