Rose/House

There was some pretty stiff competition in the Novella category for the Hugos this year. I have already reviewed Thornhedge, Mammoths at the Gates, and The Mimicking of Known Successes, all of them favourably. But there was also an Arkady Martine story on the list, and I’ve loved everything of hers I have read. How would Rose/House stack up to the others?

I should start by noting that there is a really interesting review of the book at Strange Horizons that examines aspects of the book that did not occur to me when I read it. Thank you, Vanessa Jae, it is always interesting to get a new perspective on a work.

My thoughts on reading the book, rather more obviously, was that it was about billionaires and AIs. Rose House itself is an AI, and was created by a reclusive billionaire, possibly one who was an actual genius, rather than a self-styled genius like a certain real world billionaire I could mention. But even a genius can’t create incredible things without lots of money. To create something incredible by yourself requires absurd amounts of money. Basit Deniau, the creator of Rose House, while now deceased, exhibits exactly the sort of egomania we have come to expect from the fabulously wealthy.

So we have a house that is an AI, and also a potential murder suspect. How does a house kill someone, and why? Also how does a detective go about interrogating something that isn’t human, and thinks very differently than humans. That’s doubtless a topic that has been addressed before (presumably by Asimov), but that will always be worth revisiting, especially in these days when people claim (rather absurdly) to have produced actual AIs.

Then we get to the dénouement, and without being too spoilery I think I can say that where billionaires and amazing inventions are concerned, it all comes down to money, and to other people wanting a share of it. It also reminded me somewhat of Kathleen Ann Goonan’s wonderful Flower Cities series.

Rose/House is a clever, thoughtful book that may well have other depths that I have not noticed. It is a worthy competitor in the category. By now, of course, the voters have spoken. But if you didn’t read this one, do give it a try.

Title: Rose/House
By: Arkady Martine
Publisher: Tor
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Amazon US
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