Top 3 Man-Made Characters (Laurie)

I had trouble coming up with the right title for this post because I wasn't quite sure how to describe these characters. For a fantasy reader such as myself, "Non-Human" is way too broad a term because it would bring lots of my favorite fantasy creatures into the mix. And they're not all robots, exactly, since one is a computer system...

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at today are favorite characters who are mechanical or man-made. They aren't even truly alive, but somehow the authors gave them so much personality that they made significant impacts on their respective books and have stayed with me long after I finished reading. Although I don't tend to read a lot of science fiction in general, I had lots of fun coming up with this Top 3 list :) Enjoy!



3. Iko from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Cinder's lovable android in The Lunar Chronicles just jumps up from the page in every single scene she's in. Bursting with energy and spunk, she never fails to bring comic relief, though her over-the-top flirtatiousness and obsession with fashion did make me roll my eyes a few times. But despite her tendency to be a bit ridiculous, I really appreciated her self-confidence despite androids' low societal status and most of all, her extreme loyalty to Cinder.








2. Hart from the Nyssa Glass series by H.L. Burke

As much as I enjoyed Nyssa's character in this series, it was Hart's first appearance that totally got me hooked. You'd never guess a house's central computer system could have so much personality, but Hart had such a delightful playfulness, complete with shy flirtations and an array of jokes - sometimes funny, sometimes adorably lame. The way he came to care for Nyssa made me absolutely melt. Never before (and probably never again!) have I ever wished I could hug a computer program :)






1. Dominic from The Electrical Menagerie by Mollie E. Reeder

I recently finished The Electrical Menagerie, and Dominic was the inspiration for this entire post! Dominic was so wonderfully robotic, and yet not, that he managed to stand out even amid a cast of fun, intriguing human characters. I loved the way he cared so much for Carthage, his creator / master, but also poked fun at his human absurdities. He had so many fabulous one-liners where his robotic understanding of situations turned into pure comedy. And yet he also shared some of the deepest wisdom in the book, in a scene that may or may not have made me cry... (By the way, be on the lookout for my full review of this book later this summer!)





I have to give an honorable mention to Tegan, the AI in Jebraun Clifford's story "Beyond the Stars, Past the Moons" in the Encircled anthology. He doesn't get a lot of screen time, but he still manages to make an impression with his snarky attitude and memorable quotes!


So now I want to hear from YOU! Who are some of your favorite "man-made" characters? Have you read any of these books?


Thanks for reading!
Laurie