The First Robot President

by Robert Carlyle Taylor

Overview

Fourth Edition of Robert Carlyle Taylor's Award-Winning Debut Novel
The First Robot President combines science fiction with political satire, making fun of Democrats and Republicans in equal measure. The novel centers around Thomas Jenkins, a lobbyist, and his robot wife whose political ambitions land her on the Green Party's 2520 Presidential ticket.

• Winner, Science Fiction, 2022 Independent Press Awards
• Gold Prize, Humor, 2021 Reader Views Reviewer's Choice Awards
• Distinguished Favorite, Science Fiction, 2021 New York City Big Book Awards
• Silver Prize, Audiobook-Fiction, 2022 Independent Book Publishing Association's Benjamin Franklin Awards
• Silver Prize, 2020-2021 Nautilus Awards
• Finalist, 15th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards

"A novel that makes you think and laugh … Taylor does an amazing job at keeping the reader hooked through this political satire…" Fay Gibb, Goodreads

"… a sparkling satire … a political comedy the reader can enjoy whatever their partisan affiliation." Cecelia Hopkins for Readers' Favorite

"... an entertaining science fiction satire made fascinating because of its behind-the-scenes looks at the bruising world of modern politics." Foreword Clarion Reviews

"... a perfect combination of science fiction and politics." Paige Loveitt for Reader Views

"… an atmospheric and entertaining roller-coaster ride with high stakes.  Plenty of twists and a satisfying finale make it an engrossing read." BookView Review

"… In Taylor's futuristic world, the rich, as ever, enjoy every privilege and the poor struggle to make ends meet. ...The pacing is smooth and the plotting tight.  Esmeralda's quest rockets the plot along toward an unexpected yet satisfying conclusion. Taking a subtle yet savage swipe at current political climate, Taylor weaves in a political satire with much food for thought on environmental concerns, poverty, and war.  Lighthearted and fun, the novel makes for a page-turning read." The Prairies Book Review

"… an atmospheric and entertaining roller-coaster ride with high stakes.  Plenty of twists and a satisfying finale make it an engrossing read." BookView Review

"The First Robot President's dialogue, which composes much of the text, is riveting and realistic ... An informative afterward offers convincing data on population projections for the next several centuries ... Robert Carlyle Taylor's skill in writing dialogue and exploring the ethics of having a robot as president make this novel an intriguing dive into pertinent topics."  IndieReader

"...The First Robot President was a very enjoyable book and one that I've already recommended to a friend. The mix of politics and economics were fascinating...a well-thought-out novel." Judge, 8th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published eBook Awards (refers to eBook) 

"From the very beginning, the story pulls you in.  The world-building and character development make you feel part of the world.  The plot itself was eye-opening … It's definitely a ride to a more realistic future of our society." Gisela, Goodreads

Product Details

BN ID:	2940166416940
Publisher:	Robert Carlyle Taylor
Publication date:	02/13/2022
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
File size:	780 KB

About the Author

Robert Carlyle Taylor, also known as Bob Taylor, was born and educated in New England. His parents were both teachers, and he developed an interest in literature at an early age. Although he aspired to be a writer, he put this ambition aside for a stable job, first in retailing, then in banking, and finally in the Federal government. He retired from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2018 after a forty-year career that included nineteen years in SBA's headquarters in Washington, D.C., and ten years as SBA's Area Director for Government Contracting in Fort Worth, Texas. The First Robot President is his first published novel.

Table of Contents

Dedication i

Preface to the Third Edition v

Quotations vii

Part I: Wife and Mother 1

Part II: The Path to the White House 101

Part III: The Oval Office 311

Epilogue 439

Afterword 447

Arvind Patel's Flowchart 453

Arvind Patel's Population Projections 461

About the Author 467

About Arvind Patel 469

Editorial Reviews

"... From the very beginning, the story pulls you in. The world-building and character development make you feel part of the world. The plot itself was eye-opening ... It's definitely a ride to a more realistic future of our society." Gisela, Goodreads

"... a sparkling satire ... a political comedy the reader can enjoy whatever their partisan affiliation." Cecelia Hopkins for Readers' Favorite

"A novel that makes you think and laugh ... Taylor does an amazing job at keeping the reader hooked through this political satire..." Fay Gibb, Goodreads, BookBub

"... an atmospheric and entertaining roller-coaster ride with high stakes. Plenty of twists and a satisfying finale make it an engrossing read." BookView Review

"...a perfect combination of science fiction and politics. The author seamlessly blends lessons about economics and political science into the storyline ... I recommend this story to people who enjoy futuristic tales. I would also recommend it to students who are studying economics and political science ..." Paige Loveitt for Reader Views

"... an entertaining science fiction satire made fascinating because of its behind-the-scenes looks at the bruising world of modern politics." Foreword Clarion Reviews

"... In Taylor's futuristic world, the rich, as ever, enjoy every privilege and the poor struggle to make ends meet. The plots, conspiracies, and revelations are embedded in a culture and politics dramatically familiar to today's socio-political climate. The pacing is smooth and plotting tight. Esmeralda's quest rockets the plot along toward an unexpected yet satisfying conclusion. Taking a subtle yet savage swipe at current political climate, Taylor weaves in a political satire with much food for thought on environmental concerns, poverty, and war. Lighthearted and fun, the novel makes for a page-turning read." The Prairies Book Review

"The First Robot President's dialogue, which composes much of the text, is riveting and realistic ... An informative afterward offers convincing data on population projections for the next several centuries ... Robert Carlyle Taylor's skill in writing dialogue and exploring the ethics of having a robot as president make this novel an intriguing dive into pertinent topics." IndieReader

"An enjoyable and thought-provoking book. The title was intriguing but I really did not expect much. I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting the book turned out to be ... I believe we are facing both a climate crisis and a population crisis. The book addresses both and by setting the novel about 500 years in the future shows clearly the consequences of our failures to act. I found the story well done and it was a fairly quick read. It was interesting to watch the changes in attitudes about the robot as well as the robot's developing intelligence. The novel works on several levels. Of course some will agree with the political views expressed and others will disagree. But in either case this is worth reading." Jack Reidy, NetGalley

"... The mix of politics and economics were fascinating ... a well-thought-out novel." Judge, 8^th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published eBook Awards (refers to eBook edition)

From the Publisher

2020-11-13
A civic-minded female robot, purchased as a wife in the 25th century, develops an ambition to enter Washington, D.C., politics and tackle such issues as overpopulation and economics education.

Taylor’s debut SF novel opens in 2484 in America, where marrying advanced robots from “General Google Motors” is a viable lifestyle option. Thus, affluent Thomas Jenkins, whose Virginia family has long been in Congress, buys Esmeralda, a lifelike robo-wife with Asian beauty, an astronomical IQ, and a gentle, public-spirited disposition. Though her Bible-reading mother-in-law, Geraldine, is dismayed—more so when Esmeralda and Thomas adopt a flesh-and-blood daughter—even she eventually warms to the robot. Esmeralda is interested in her new family’s government ties and alarmed by ills facing human society: environmental despoiling, overpopulation, and poor economics schooling. She follows the lead of a sister-in-law into running for office under the Green Party banner. The polite and brilliant robot rises through the ranks to become a Green Party vice presidential candidate. When the Green Party’s winner dies in a fluke attack by a leftover World War XII drone, Esmeralda must overcome the skeptics to show she can handle the White House. Taylor’s easy-to-read prose may remind many readers of mainstream authors treading in unfamiliar SF territory (Danielle Steele’s The Klone and I comes to mind). The tale features a Gene Roddenberry–level, far-future setting that does not feel much different from today. Mars colonies get brief citations, as do flying cars and a human population of 500 billion. But pop-cultural references invoke the point of view of the baby boomer era (including a casual, neutral reference to Donald Trump). The author’s agenda is less futuristic than scattered political satire. Esmeralda’s Democrat debate foe is an idiot eager to nuke Earth’s last remaining wildlife preserves to build (slightly radioactive) low-income housing; the Republican is a moron pushing an all-out war on Venus, a suspected UFO base. In this enjoyable story, ultralogical but humane machine niceness prevails over two-party idiocy and scheming. Meanwhile, the SF genre’s frequent concerns over the pros and cons of artificial intelligence (Isaac Asimov’s classic “Three Laws of Robotics,” for example) are topics conspicuous by their absence. In an afterword, Taylor describes his frustrating experiences working in the Small Business Administration (and a background in Buddhism and population-growth concerns) as major inspirations.

Engaging SF lite with some mild political satire involving the West Wing. (author bio)

Kirkus Reviews