# The Holy Machine by Chris Beckett



## Werthead (Feb 16, 2011)

*The  Holy Machine by Chris Beckett*



> The world has suffered the Reaction, a rise of religious fundamentalism  that has outlawed science and thrown much of humanity into poverty. Only  in Illyria, a great city-state in the eastern Mediterranean, does  science still prevail. Growing up in Illyria, shy and timid George  Simling accepts the doctrine of Reason until it begins to defeat itself:  to prevent the development of true AI amongst its robot servitors, the  rulers of the city decree that all robots are to have their memories  wiped every six months, including that of George's love, the sex-robot  Lucy. Fearing that her growing sentience will be obliterated and  realising that Illyria's enforced atheism is as stifling as the  religious insanity permeating the world outside, George takes Lucy and  flees the city, hoping against hope to find somewhere they can live in  peace.
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> _The Holy Machine_  was originally released in 2004 in the United States, but came to  broader attention when it was published in the UK by Corvus last year.  Early reviews have claimed that the book is an important step forward in  the development of science fiction as a literary form, proclaiming  comparisons with Orwell. These have been somewhat overwrought, but  certainly _The Holy Machine_ is a book with artistic aims far beyond its simple, _I, Love Robot_, premise.
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