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Bete Hardcover – January 1, 2014

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 104 ratings

A man is about to kill a cow. He discusses life and death and his right to kill with the compliant animal. He begins to suspect he may be about to commit murder. But kills anyway...

It began when the animal right movement injected domestic animals with artificial intelligences in bid to have the status of animals realigned by the international court of human rights. But what is an animal that can talk? Where does its intelligence end at its machine intelligence begin? And where might its soul reside.

As we place more and more pressure on the natural world and become more and more divorced Adam Roberts' new novel posits a world where nature can talk back, and can question us and our beliefs.

Roberts is an award winning author at the peak of his powers and each new novel charts an exciting new direction while maintaining a uniformly high level of literary achievement.
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gollancz; UK ed. edition (January 1, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0575127686
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0575127685
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.21 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.38 x 1.14 x 9.49 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 104 ratings

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Adam Roberts
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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
104 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book witty and humorous, with an interesting perspective. They appreciate the depth of the insight and meaningful exploration of human relationships with animals. The imagery is vivid and poetic, capturing the author's writing style well.

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5 customers mention "Wit"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book full of wit and invention. They describe it as a great read with an interesting outlook on the world. The story is told well and wittily. Some readers consider it a masterpiece.

"...Very clearly a masterpiece, it is a shame there is no US publication for this book. It is a shame this book did not appear on more awards lists...." Read more

"...He has a good story and he tells it well and wittily. Well worth reading - just don't read it while you're eating fillet steak..." Read more

"...Writing is poetic and humorous, and full of imagery...." Read more

"A wonderful book full of wit and invention, thoughtfully written...." Read more

4 customers mention "Depth"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's depth and thoughtfulness. They find the insights relevant and the humor endearing. The premise is fascinating and meaningful, with an interesting outlook on the world and how we treat animals today. The book blends adventure and deep thought in a cerebral, intimate, and humorous way.

"...Roberts' writing is punchy and efficient, his insight is deep and relevant, his humor is endearing and will cause more than a few giggles to escape...." Read more

"...'s wanderings and musings are moving and indeed both beautiful and meaningful...." Read more

"...This a well-considered exploration of our relationship to other animals and, finally, to ourselves...." Read more

"Great read with an interesting outlook on the world and how we currently treat animals" Read more

3 customers mention "Imagery"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the vivid imagery in the book. They find the bathtub, whisky, and Skyfall scenes moving and meaningful.

"...And so vivid: the bathtub scene... the whisky scene... the Skyfall scene... all things I'm not likely to forget...." Read more

"...tragicomic hero's wanderings and musings are moving and indeed both beautiful and meaningful...." Read more

"...Writing is poetic and humorous, and full of imagery...." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing style"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the writing style. They find it poetic, humorous, and full of imagery. The writing is punchy and efficient, with deep insights and relevant philosophies. Readers appreciate the author's ability to write philosophy and speculative fiction at the same time.

"...Roberts' writing is punchy and efficient, his insight is deep and relevant, his humor is endearing and will cause more than a few giggles to escape...." Read more

"...Writing is poetic and humorous, and full of imagery...." Read more

"...Roberts is able to write philosophy and speculative fiction at the same time. Like all his books this comes highly recommended...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2015
    A perfect perfect SF novel: cerebral, intimate, funny, and finely wrought, with a fascinating premise that never exhausts itself. Roberts' writing is punchy and efficient, his insight is deep and relevant, his humor is endearing and will cause more than a few giggles to escape. Cyber-biological-sfilosphy with heady psychological realism and literary symbolism. And so vivid: the bathtub scene... the whisky scene... the Skyfall scene... all things I'm not likely to forget.

    Very clearly a masterpiece, it is a shame there is no US publication for this book. It is a shame this book did not appear on more awards lists. Adam Roberts is a best kept not-really-a-secret who will get his place among the Stapledons and Besters and Sturgeons in due time.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2017
    Roberts, Adam. 'Bête'. Gulley Jimson meets Animal Farm? Transhumanist philosophising meets picaresque questing? Graham Penhaligon, foul-mouthed ex-farmer and jobbing butcher, wanders around the south of England sometime in the near - dystopian - future. Animals can talk, thanks to embedded chips, and are slowly taking over from humans.
    It sounds like a mess? It isn't; it works just fine! Roberts descriptions of his tragicomic hero's wanderings and musings are moving and indeed both beautiful and meaningful. He has a good story and he tells it well and wittily.
    Well worth reading - just don't read it while you're eating fillet steak...
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2019
    Slow going. Trouble staying interested.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2015
    On the day I am writing this, this book has only one other review. Which is a shame, this is truly SF of the highest level.

    The basic premise (AI + animal merge) is new and convincingly done. Writing is poetic and humorous, and full of imagery.
    The scene of the town full of refugees camping on pavements and in front yards will stay with me until I see it for real 20-30 years from now.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2017
    A wonderful book full of wit and invention, thoughtfully written. This a well-considered exploration of our relationship to other animals and, finally, to ourselves. Roberts is able to write philosophy and speculative fiction at the same time. Like all his books this comes highly recommended. Guido Eekhaut, award-winning author of Absinthe.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2015
    I'm always one to search out my reading preferences by author rather than subject matter. If you're familiar with Adam Roberts, you have a good idea of what to expect with this novel. And it won't disappoint in the least. It's one of his better efforts.

    If you've never read Adam Roberts before, you may or may not like his style and exaggerated way of writing about a given subject or theme, but if you do like it, it's truly rewarding. There's nobody else out there that writes like him. I really envy the person who has never picked up an Adam Roberts book before and is about to fall into a near bottomless pit of wonder and discovery.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2015
    I picked this off the library shelf because the jacket promised me prose (modified by some kind of positive adjective) & the premise sounded interesting. For the first third of the book, I kept waiting for the back story to be completed so the book could get on with the story of what was happening now. I found annoying the occasional references to the fact that this was all a retrospective from some future time. Then, at the end, we get this change of Point of View that goes backwards in a way that reminded me of Martin Amis' s Arrow of Time, which I thoroughly disliked. There WERE several nuggets of gold prose scattered amongst all this. And I will say the author bit off a lot & he did chew it. Since I don't think I ever came across a main character who was so dislikeable, I'll also give the author credit for the courage to put such a person out there for 300+ pages.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2015
    Great read with an interesting outlook on the world and how we currently treat animals

Top reviews from other countries

  • davidestevens
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2015
    And you thought that the AI revolution would be a matter of massive computers and steel bodies and perhaps a giant satellite in the sky. What a fantastic twist on the future of AI this book is. What a deeply engaging character the narrator is. Brilliant writing full of fabulous ideas. Adam Roberts gets better and better.
  • Steve Ward
    4.0 out of 5 stars Another great read by Adam Roberts
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2016
    Another great read by Adam Roberts. Shorter than some of his earlier works but a great story with the exploration of a near-future development that fundamentally changes human society and its relationship with nature. Only loses a startbecause the ending is ambiguous and like things to be tied up...
  • L
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2015
    Interesting plot which raises more questions than answers.
  • Mike
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2024
    Book was packaged very well. haven't read it yet but looking forward to it. Very good seller.
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2014
    Makes you think ...