Android Karenina

Android Karenina is the latest mash-up the good folks at Quirk Classics have laid in our hands.  A few summers ago, I forced myself to read all the way through Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.  While there were some parts of the book that I flew through, I had to remind myself that it would be better to finish the book than jump in front of a train, myself.

It pleases me to no end to say that Ben H. Winters' version of the classic is much more entertaining.  As Anna tries to decide between her husband, whose face is half covered by a mechanical device, social standing and her lover, she is being targeted by the anti-government terrorist group, UnConSciya.  Lucky for her, the ever-faithful Class III Android Karenina is always there to soothe her whenever she's upset or compliment her whenever she needs a bit of an ego boost.

Being androids don't stop the Class III's from having human emotions, which makes following their lives as interesting as following the humans, thus making this book all the more enjoyable. 

It is a bit slow in the beginning, and can be a little overwhelming trying to remember the human characters who have 3-4 names each, and the androids who are written as their Class/Function/Model (example: II/Governess/D145).  The Class III's are less confusing as they are often looked upon as members of the family, and are given nicknames.  If you can get past the name confusions and the snail's pace at the beginning, Android Karenina is a wonderful book to keep you entertained this summer.  Tolstoy's 19th Century Russia in Mr. Winters' hands is, without a doubt, a steampunk classic.