Elias is fleeing east from what was once Norway. The authorities are after him again because most robots are either slaves or prohibited. Elias likes the digital beings as much as anyone else and doesn’t think they should have to die because they want to be free. That is why he hopes to find “the wonderful place”, the small enclave where cybernetic organisms can live in peace. But in 2131, the world lies in ruins and chaos. It is difficult to find food, and acid rains down from the sky.

Such times of crisis make strange bedfellows. Elias finds friendship with Lilac, a rebellious robot who is also on the run, and Alfred, a fully digitised, sentient house program who is temporarily loaded into teddy bear.

Alfred 2.0 is a wonderful new science fiction novel from a master of the genre, and an exciting and gripping story.