Slick by M. M. Vaughan

Book of the Week: 26 January 2020

‘My name is Danny, and I need your help. First off, I should tell you that this isn’t my story – it’s Eric’s. Well, the name he was given was Eric, but I called him Slick, and he was my best friend. I say was because he died six months ago … Two, and this is kind of important: Slick was a robot.’

We are told from the very beginning that Slick is a robot, or android, but how he became Danny’s best friend and why he ‘died’ are the questions we need answering. Slick and his family have just moved to Ashland and are keen to get to know everyone. Danny, who regularly gets into trouble in school and who worries about his mum since his dad left them, is really only interested in computer games. When he first meets Slick he discounts him as a ‘weirdo’ who takes everything literally and is obsessed with brand names. After this unpromising start, Slick proves impossible to avoid and Danny becomes more and more intrigued about his mysterious weekly visits to a dentist and his parents who either ignore him, or turn up uncannily quickly when he gets injured. As the story progresses, being told alternately by Slick and Danny, we realise that Slick has no idea what he actually is and is only eager to make friends and understand the world. Danny, however, is intent on finding out where Slick came from and what exactly is going on with his unusual new friend.

This is an intriguing science fiction book that makes us think about what it means to be human and how the power of friendship can alter our lives.