In a not-so-far-away future with smart houses, self-stocking fridges, and a society policed by an omnipresent institution called ‘The Grid’, we meet Scout, a Roomba vacuum cleaner who longs for human connection. Scout, along with other sentient appliances, works for an elderly couple called Harold and Edie. When Edie dies, The Grid deems it wasteful for one person to live in Harold’s home and decides to remove him and discard his belongings. With the help of Scout, a neighbour, and his estranged daughter, Harold decides to fight against The Grid to keep his house. Glenn Dixon’s imagination was a joy to step into, and the novel does a great job of balancing light with dark; I strangely enjoyed a future where vacuum cleaners enjoy listening to classical music but I equally feared the consequences we face when we allow technology to prioritise efficiency over emotion. IM

Faber