Written by Matt Haig
Read by Jane Collingwood, Thomas Judd
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

In order to stay human, Audrey has built a moat around herself; a moat of books, music, and dreams. It makes her different from the echoes: the sophisticated, emotionless machines, built to resemble and work for the humans.

Daniel is an echo - but he's not like the others. He has feelings he was never designed to have, and cannot explain. And when Audrey is placed in danger, he's determined to save her.

We are in familiar territory. The future is dominated by big corporations – especially the two hi-tech monsters, Castle Industries and Sempura. It's not quite a dystopia, but things are far from well. Global warming has left half the world scorched, and half drowned. The police and politicians are in the pockets of the oligarchs. The rich reside in mansions protected by robot dogs, and the poor live in floating slums. Much of the manual work and most domestic drudgery is performed by humanoid robots, each generation of which has grown a little more refined, a little more human, than the last. The latest are called Echos (Enhanced Computerised Humanoid Organisms) – physically perfect but not yet imbued with emotions.