Tik-Tok

Tik-Tok is a very naughty robot who should really know better, but his asimov circuits don't work. So, instead of being an obedient and faithful domestic robot he turns his hand to child murder, gang murder, terrorist murder, broad-daylight murder, oh, and he likes to paint... and rob banks... and defraud, embezzle, extort, exploit and generally screw people over. And then things go from bad to worse, as he gets into politics.

This is a very dark satire on modern society. All the horrible things that people do to each other, Tik-Tok does to us and is lauded for it. Sadly (but humorously), I think this pretty much hits the mark all the way through.

So, anybody know why the first letter of each chapter runs alphabetically?

Before Bender “Bending Bot” Rodriquez there was Tik-Tok—a sophisticated robot who went on a murderous and violent crime spree that no one believed and went on to be the first nominated robot Vice-President.

The story of Tik-Tok is an amusing one. Throughout the book, his story interchanges between his past and the colourful people he is passed onto service for and his present, which usually involves him plotting his next crime or his next step in bringing equality to all robot in America.

A satirical comedy, Tik-Toks journey is an exploration of America which still feels relevant on a political level today. In fact it is the political satire which holds up the strongest with more relevance than ever in what often feels like an show more increasingly corrupt system no matter which way you turn.

Whilst the rest of the social satire doesn’t hold up as well as it did half a century ago, Tik-Tok’s exploits are amusing and it’s easy to find yourself rooting for him even as he heinously experiments with crimes such as arson, fraud, hijacking, jewel heists, violent chess games and more often than not—varied forms of murder.

What elevates Tik-Tok’s story is that is never explicit what his motivations are and when exactly he broke his “Asimov circuits” which previously prevented him commiting these acts—most of which no one believes because it is unheard of for a robot to do such things, leading to the framing of an unfortunate soul instead. Is Tik-Tok doing this because he wants to feel “real”? Or perhaps to further his cause for bringing rights to robots having rescued so many from dereliction. Or perhaps it’s just because he can. Whatever Tik-Tok’s motivations, it’s hard not to root for him no matter how low he stoops simply because he is somehow fundamentally likeable, whilst those around him seem to deserve it.

As a piece of social satire, some of its power has of course diminished in time, but this is still an entertaining read with some thought provoking moments. Sladek is clearly using it as platform for some deeper social beliefs, but at its heart has also created one of the finest anti-heroes in literature. show less

Les robots peuvent-ils avoir des problèmes ? Des problèmes psychologiques, s'entend. Voire des problèmes existentiels. Tik-Tok se le demande. Pourtant, Tik-Tok était un gentil robot. Aimable et bien élevé, respectueux des lois et des humains. D'ailleurs comment pourrait-il en être autrement ? Les robots, tout le monde le sait, sont rendus inoffensifs grâce à leur 'circuits Asimov'. Si seulement les circuits de Tik-Tok n'avaient pas grillés, à force de maltraitance. Il n'en aurait peut-être pas conçu cette haine totale du genre humain. Assis tout seul dans sa petite cellule qui mériterait un coup de peinture, Tik-Tok attend son heure. Et pour passer le temps, il se rappelle comment il avait bien failli mettre un terme à show more cette misérable race humaine, en accédant presque à la Maison blanche, après avoir laissé derrière lui un sacré monceau de cadavres... John Sladek est un touche-à-tout. Aussi à l'aise dans le fantastique ou le polar que dans la SF, il est surtout un formidable satiriste. Tik-Tok (dont le nom est une référence au Magicien d'Oz), en est la preuve une fois de plus. Irrévérencieux et redoutables, Sladek et son humour caustique sont décidément très peu politiquement corrects. --Georges Louhans show less

Social and political satire of the first order. I had to check the copyright date, since it was hard to believe this wasn’t a Trump-era Dr. Strangelove. I’m sure I missed half of the sly literary references: “It is meat to be here.”

I really can't see why people would dislike this author because he's too clever. Sure, satire and puns belong in the sock drawer of literature, but when a great satire like this comes along, I just want to scribble its telephone number on the bathroom stall. This novella came out before American Psycho, which I also adore, but on a few levels, it succeeds even better. I can't believe how easily I rooted for this psychopathic tin can. I recommend this author, people. Don't let his name disappear from our hearts.

SF satire in which a conscienceless robot demonstrates his utter humanity via opportunistic mass murder and greed.

Dark social comedy. Prescient. Massive plot holes, but who cares when the story's so delicious.