The Mother Code

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What to expect

What it means to be human-and a mother-is put to the test in Carole Stivers' debut novel set in a world that is more chilling and precarious than ever.

It's 2049, and the survival of the human race is at risk. Earth's inhabitants must turn to their last resort: a plan to place genetically engineered children inside the cocoons of large-scale robots-to be incubated, birthed, and raised by machines. But there is yet one hope of preserving the human order-an intelligence programmed into these machines that renders each unique in its own right-the Mother Code.

Kai is born in America's desert southwest, his only companion his robot Mother, Rho-Z. Equipped with the knowledge and motivations of a human mother, Rho-Z raises Kai and teaches him how to survive. But as children like Kai come of age, their Mothers transform too-in ways that were never predicted. When government survivors decide that the Mothers must be destroyed, Kai must make a choice. Will he break the bond he shares with Rho-Z? Or will he fight to save the only parent he has ever known?

In a future that could be our own, The Mother Code explores what truly makes us human-and the tenuous nature of the boundaries between us and the machines we create.

(P)2020 Penguin Random House Audio

Critics Review

Some stories are so unique, yet so universal, that it is wonder they aren't a part of the human fable already. Carole Stivers's THE MOTHER CODE, is such a novel. Simply written but powerful, chock full of ideas and extrapolations about what it means to be a mother and all that such a word implies. Both apocalyptic, yet hopeful, treat yourself to this story. You'll be well rewarded.
James Rollins
Set against a post-pandemic apocalypse, biochemist Carole Stivers's The Mother Code offers it all: intriguingly flawed characters; compelling action; and, that most elusive of things, a fresh plot-children raised from birth by mother bots. The Mother Code asks us to reimagine the limitations of artificial intelligence and the costs of species survival, and in doing so, offers a profound meditation on motherhood and what it means to be human. Stivers is a brilliant storyteller!
Lori Ostlund
I could not put down The Mother Code! Part action adventure, part sci-fi, the novel is suspenseful and cinematic and such a pleasure to read. Carole Stivers is a masterful storyteller and she has combined science, technology and history to tell a beautiful story of humanity and love.
Devi S. Laskar
Carole Stivers is far from the first to wonder if motherhood can be scientifically replicated, but this is a thoughtful and thought-provoking addition to that meditation,. An end-of-times tale that focuses less on what has been lost and more on what and who might be saved (and how.) Stivers' wonderful story settles right on the line between human and machine, as blame and threat and rescue and love shift from character to character in surprising and powerful ways
Karen Joy Fowler
Biochemist Stivers's sweeping, cinematic debut raises probing questions about the nature of family and human connection... This dystopia is painful, provocative, and ultimately infused with hope
Publishers Weekly, starred review
The Mother Code is a dystopian tale for all, which is scarily relevant right now
Press Association review
The Mother Code is a dystopian tale for all
The Irish News (Belfast)
The Mother Code is a dystopian tale for all, which is scarily relevant right now
The Irish Examiner
Silicon Valley biochemist Stivers writes with a calm, technical authority
Financial Times
Stivers delivers a gripping techno-thriller that offers hope despite its bleak premise
The Guardian
An uneasy mix of techno-thriller and examination of the effects of new technology on human development
ParSec

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