Review: first rate!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 10, 2012
If you have read any of the other short stories in the Auto series, you will already be familiar with the future the author envisages; set in 2022 a world where our online lives have developed to the point that they are almost completely automated by our "autos" which know us so well that they can reply to friend requests, make posts, suggest friends etc on our behalf, to save us actually having to do it ourselves. However, you do not need to have read the other stories in the series first as each can be read as a standalone.Imagine if you will, a future where you can go and visit a loved ones' grave and still interact with their autos which carry on their online life after death, on their behalf. Sounds quite a nice idea and when you consider barcode scanning, not too unbelievable, which is why this story has such a sinister feel to it. What starts of as a very funny little tale, when Janine goes to visit her dead father's grave and discovers his auto has been making the acquaintance of those of the other inhabitants in the graveyard really does give you quite a chill up your spine as the story develops.It is a very clever story that is extremely well written, that really leaves you thinking "that could be possible one day" which is the beauty of David Wailing's whole Auto series - he takes a look at our online lives now and then fast forwards 10 years into the future and comes up with his vision of how we will be communicating, which sometimes seems extremely good and something you can't wait to embrace but on the other hand has some very sinister undertones indeed.