A Heaven For Toasters

It's another day at the office for Detective Mika Pensive - until Mary, the precinct's artificial intelligence, or AI, tells her that there's an android, or “toaster,” in the building. Not only that, but the toaster is being brought in as Mika's new partner. To say she's unenthused is putting it mildly. Mary as the eyes and ears and brains of the department is fine, but Mika believes cops and androids don't need to partner up. She'd rather go on a date with boorish Richard than get to know the android Leo.

So Mika and Richard zoom off to the Greek island of Hydra for a sun-drenched weekend of classical architecture, sparkling seas, pristine beaches - and a visit to a little town called Clonesville, where all the residents are clones of one Doctor Morgan. Richard wants to see an exhibition there by the artist Xhristina, a favorite of his who uses clones of herself in her works. And imagine Mika's surprise when Leo shows up on Hydra, too. He starts nosing around Xhristina's exhibition, asking questions about conscious clones, which are illegal, and gets suspicious when her answers are evasive. Mika calms Leo down and keeps him from arresting Xhristina on the spot, but the damage is done. An angry Richard zooms off in a huff, exclaiming that their date has been ruined.

That leaves Mika and Leo to explore the island. Mika has no intention of ever considering Leo her real partner, but figures she may as well get to know him, as she'll still see him at the precinct. One of the clones in Clonesville offers his services as a guide, and they're off. A murder and a mystery ensue, and Mika and Leo are up to their eyeballs in it.

I love Mika. She's a no-nonsense protagonist who swears in Chinese - giving it shades of Firefly (my favorite TV show ever). She is determined not to like Leo, but Leo is just so much more...human than she expected. The book is a quick read, so the relationship develops quickly enough that I had to suspend my disbelief a little, but Mika and Leo are just so darn cute together! And it was fascinating seeing Mr. Rossis' take on just how human Leo could be. He felt emotions, he responded to what he felt - not at all what the word “android” usually conjures.

Although the story was set several decades in the future, the focus wasn't on technology, other than Leo. The mystery to be solved and the relationship that could develop between human and toaster was what the story was all about. The pace was fast, the story was engaging, and the cast of characters was varied and interesting (and now I want an AI like Mary - she was my favorite). I normally read sci-fi without a side of romance, but A Heaven for Toasters is one book I'm glad I picked up.