Runaway Robot

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This is a mad adventure to reunite Eric with his leg, Alfie with his hand, whilst saving Eric from the scrap heap all the adults are determined that Eric will be banished to. Although Alfie’s world is full of robots, his story is essentially about what it means to be human and all the mistakes, mess and vulnerability that go along with it. As with Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s other books, a comical façade drives a crazy plot but just below the surface is a poignant and touching human story. Hilarious, complex and hugely satisfying. The plot (such as it is) left me absolutely cold. It’s full of wild coincidences and a confusing mess of ideas that makes it hard to decide what it’s really about. There’s also an absence of the kind of joyous inventiveness that marks out the best children’s literature, and the fantastic events of the story end up feeling silly rather than wondrous.

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Alfie is quite a lost and lonely soul. He is off school after an accident in which he lost both his hand and his confidence. He takes to taking the bus and hanging out in the arrivals lounge at the airport; although it does take some skills to avoid detection from the authorities. When one day his presence is challenged it leads to an encounter with Eric, a giant one-legged robot in need of a friend. Alfie makes the decision to bring him home with him but a ban on humanoid robots has just been passed, which means Alfie is breaking the law by sheltering Eric. Eric is problematic - he has excellent manners and is polite and courteous; however, he takes instructions literally and that causes a whole lot of problems. They make a charming pair as together they tryy to remember how they each lost their missing body part! Set in a future where the world is highly automated it is a novel which raises issues of humanity, machines and our future roles together. As our world gets closer and closer to a more automated future it is a timely novel for discussion of serious topics of artificial intelligence and science and what makes us human.

About Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Now obviously, I’m far from the target audience for the book. In fact, I’m over 30 years away from being the target audience, but I’ve read enough children’s books with my son to know that plot and characterisation are just as important in children’s literature as they are in books for adults. ‘Runaway Robot’ is fun enough, but nothing in it made me care about what was happening.

Runaway Robot | BookTrust

Keeping Eric secret is no easy task and with Eric’s penchant for causing chaos and destruction wherever he goes it is only a matter of time before the authorities will capture him and he is sent to R-U-Recycling where he will be crushed into a small metal cube. Can Alfie keep Eric safe and solve the mystery of who Eric is and where he came from… Rory Rooney is unremarkable in almost everything, apart from his capacity to attract the attention of the school bully. But when he suddenly and spectacularly turns green, he becomes a superhero! Unfortunately, he also has a tendency to squash police cars and anything else that gets in his way. Oh, and he’s also illegal, so unless Alfie can keep him hidden, he will be crushed at the R-U-Recycling scrapyard. Can Alfie save Eric from destruction? And should he even try if the news reports about a dangerous, rogue robot are true?Steady on. This is it. This is how we lose. We have robotic voice assistants in our kitchens, listening to everything we say. We have cars that can drive themselves. Boston Dynamics is designing Terminator-style walking, jumping robots. We are creating our own downfall and nobody seems to care. When Alfie goes to Airport Lost Property, he finds more than he bargained for. A lot more. Because there's a giant robot called Eric hidden away on the shelves. Eric has lost one leg and half his memory. He's super strong, but super clumsy. He's convinced that he's the latest technology, when he's actually nearly one hundred year's old and ready for the scrap heap. Found that this was a difficult book to read. Wasn't overly gripping until the second half. Don't think I'd read aloud in the classroom as a lot of children would not be interested. But wouldn't mind having it in my classroom library for children who are particularly interested in robots. Runaway Robot is a little different to the children’s books I usually read as this one is set in the future and features kids with artificial limbs and… robots. The history of robotics contained inside the story was also rather fascinating and my son had never even considered this side of a robot before, how old the technology might be. And to be honest, I learned something too.