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peterwolfsbane's review
4.0
"No castle grim with candlelight, no thunder overhead..."
So begins this beautiful, atmospheric book. Short but it manages to convey it all. The rhyming scheme and sheer poetry of One Of Us is enchanting.
Thought-provoking and original, it talks about the future of AI and robots and how they, if they were made to be exactly like us, would act. The robot in the book is newly made and very painfully human. He ponders his purpose and all of ours and feels. He feels so, so deeply. This makes the scientists realise that he, even though made and not born, is one of us. That he belongs with the human race.
"And then he asked me so sincere, "What is my purpose now?""
The book starts off with a very Frankenstein-like vibe but later turns futuristic. The art is absolutely brilliant. You could give me a whole series of books with just the art and I'd take it. However, there were a couple of spelling errors in the prose itself. If those weren't there, I would've given full 5 stars. One of Us was a very original graphic novel and I really enjoyed it!
Thank you to BookSirens and Louis Rosenberg for a free copy of this book and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
thenthomwaslike's review
2.0
Note: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the artwork. The pencil sketched look in black and white fit with the theme and did a good job of showcasing the story. I enjoyed the overall arc and themes of the story, but the rhyming scheme was simple and remained the same throughout. This is likely to be a positive for most readers, but it came off with a cadence that didn't match the content (trying to stay spoiler-free here).
I really enjoyed the artwork. The pencil sketched look in black and white fit with the theme and did a good job of showcasing the story. I enjoyed the overall arc and themes of the story, but the rhyming scheme was simple and remained the same throughout. This is likely to be a positive for most readers, but it came off with a cadence that didn't match the content (trying to stay spoiler-free here).
look_whos_reading's review
4.0
This is my honest and voluntary review of this eARC obtained from BookSirens.
I requested this slim graphic short story because it had an intriguing synopsis of the future of AI. Man vs machine has never been a more powerful debate and the progress that science is making is in leaps and bounds. In this short story, one such scientist creates an AI - a thinking, feeling, human inspired machine that becomes self-aware and starts asking some hard-hitting questions to its creator.
The irony of scientific progress is explored with such poignancy. There are existential questions we ask ourselves and in moments of crisis, our Gods - what is my purpose on this earth? What meaning does my life have? What is my contribution to the future generations? The very same questions have been asked over and over by generations, no matter how far ahead we've come since the days of evolution. 'Evolution' itself is questioned. And the paradox in this story lies in the fact that these self-aware machines that are built to replace humans also awaken to the same confounding sense of loss.
This is a story to pore over again and again, discovering beautiful artwork, a challenge to your faith, a nudge to curiosity and an urgency to put into action your ambitions and aspirations. Highly recommended.
I requested this slim graphic short story because it had an intriguing synopsis of the future of AI. Man vs machine has never been a more powerful debate and the progress that science is making is in leaps and bounds. In this short story, one such scientist creates an AI - a thinking, feeling, human inspired machine that becomes self-aware and starts asking some hard-hitting questions to its creator.
The irony of scientific progress is explored with such poignancy. There are existential questions we ask ourselves and in moments of crisis, our Gods - what is my purpose on this earth? What meaning does my life have? What is my contribution to the future generations? The very same questions have been asked over and over by generations, no matter how far ahead we've come since the days of evolution. 'Evolution' itself is questioned. And the paradox in this story lies in the fact that these self-aware machines that are built to replace humans also awaken to the same confounding sense of loss.
This is a story to pore over again and again, discovering beautiful artwork, a challenge to your faith, a nudge to curiosity and an urgency to put into action your ambitions and aspirations. Highly recommended.
mel_books's review
4.0
One of Us is a futuristic graphic novel for adults, or a 'picture book for grown-ups' as author calls it. I like everything futuristic and AI related. It is quite short, but design and the illustrations are astonishing. I like it!
Thanks for the ARC and the opportunity to read this! All opinions are my own.
Thanks for the ARC and the opportunity to read this! All opinions are my own.
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