The Servants

By: Janine R. Pestel

Narrated by: Sheree Wichard

Madeline was rich and arrogant. She fired all her human servants and purchased robotic "ServBots". Everything is great until she realizes all is not as perfect as it seemed.

Find out why some jobs are better left to humans.

©2016 Janine R. Pestel (P)2016 Janine R. Pestel

Nice Short Story!

This, to me, is in the vein of an episode of the Twilight Zone. I could even hear the music at the climax of the story! A wealthy, lonely, angry widower who doesn't want to deal with human imperfections (and who also is somewhat cheap) buys new domestic servants to tend to her daily needs. She soon finds out the robots are not what they seem!

For me, the writing was a little stilted and choppy and the story didn't flow that well. Every mundane action was described which detracted from the macabre experiences and suspense I believe the author was trying to capture. The scene when Madeline walks in on the robots lubricating themselves could have been much more detailed and suspenseful but it was rushed through. The description of how the robots face was just a little off could have been more fully described and created a foreshadowing moment but it was also sort of glossed over. In contrast, the robot parking of the car and practicing driving was dwelt on in a way that made me think later that it should have been much more significant to the story.

The best character, in my opinion, was the butler that Madeline fired. He was rendered perfectly and his dialogue was realistic as well as the inner voice which showed us his true feelings for Madeline.

Did it keep my attention? Yes. Did I listen to it in one sitting? Yes, at 46 minutes this was easy to do. Was the narration good? It was serviceable. Not great, but it also didn't detract from the story in a serious way. I felt that Sheree could have voiced Madeline in a more regal, ringing way which would have matched the tone the author set.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

Good read

Any additional comments?

The Servants by Janine R. Pestel was a good quick read. Madeline is a very rich but arrogant woman. When she fires one of her servants she decides to replace him with robots. This turns out to be a deadly decision.

Got better the longer I listened

Any additional comments?

This is a strange story but interesting. I didn't care too much for the performance by the narrator. I like the idea of robot servants but it could have been better. However, if it was developed as a full novel I would try it - so not too bad.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

update

I was gifted this Audio ARC for a honest and unbiased review from the author/narrator.

This was a very delightful short story. The narrator did a beautiful account narrating the story. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and when it did, I was surprised. This would make a great episode for the Twilight Zone.

Pure Fun

Any additional comments?

"The Servants" is a satisfying taste of short form horror - a good length, great characters, a fun twist, and narrated well. I enjoyed this thoroughly! I would recommend this short story to anyone who reads horror/sci-fi/thrillers!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.