Cassandra Rose Clarke: The Mad Scientist's Daughter

The Mad Scientist's Daughter 

by Cassandra Rose Clarke 

Angry Robot

In a post-ecological-disaster world, Cat has been her own teacher, wandering nature. But her dad, a cyberneticist, brings home Finn, a being Cat initially took for a ghost. Finn becomes her teacher, a great resource for stories, math and science. At a party it becomes clear Finn is a robot although Cat remains convinced of his being a ghost until he admits what he is.

As she gets older, she becomes more and more fond of Finn. She gets in a fight at school with a kid who calls Finn an "it." She dates other boys, but they are all dis-satisfactory. One night she kisses Finn with disastrous consequences. Her father doesn't seem to buy her excuses but also doesn't seem to mind, either.

She goes to college. Her mother dies, and there is a see-saw between Finn and human lovers.

While it isn't heavily science fiction, it is SF--hypnotically told. Although Clarke's exploration of tropes is limited, she can tell a good tale. Because of the romantic nature and the serious treatment of romancing an AI, the novel doesn't seem well named except for her father's reaction to her kiss (not that he knows for certain what happened--or does he?). What's fascinating is what remains unstated but holds Cat's riveted to Finn. It must be unquestioning devotion. Even when she takes on other lovers, he does not. He remains faithful and hurries to her side when he's needed.

The narrator voice opens wonderfully childlike, aging as the narrator ages, and the detail is precise and evocative. The story title is predated by one written by Theodora Goss (I reviewed it as part of this JJ Adams' Mad Scientist anthology). They seem to have little overlap, and this has a stronger narrative thread, perhaps due to focusing on one character and being a novel.

I don't read many love stories as I don't find them realistic. Strange then that I was taken in by this one with an automaton. The ending did push character credibility, but still recommended if you're in the mood for a good storyteller.