Reviews

The characters of Lovebirds review their novel.

‘Completely fucking out there. A lot of it is bullshit of course, and his understanding of AI and programming wouldn’t fill a TikTok vid. But, hey, full kudos for a great read. I wonder who let the cat out of the bag about what actually happened, though?’ (Kaitlyn McIntosh)

‘At last! An English-language author who combines an ability to portray the comedy inherent in the mundanity of our everyday obsessions, with a deeply philosophical meditation on the meaning of true love and tolerance. Echoes perhaps of Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master & Margarita”. Certainly worth the price of subscription. The author does, though, take some liberties with history, and in my own defence I must point out that, even back in my first action-packed days in New Zealand, my English was never quite as bad as Alastair reports it.’ (Aleksandr Yusupov)

‘OK, it’s funny in parts, but I resent the Author’s attempt to reduce the most significant IT development of the century to the realm of coincidence and accident. And as for those sex scenes! Colin Knight’s excellent authorised account, “AMG: The Little Engine That Could”, is considerably more accurate.’ (Sir Martin Beckett)

‘Simply wonderful read my dears. The charm of a classic Georgette Heyer romance, along with action sequences that could grace a Lee Child thriller. Quite the accomplishment. I particularly like the fact that the author has serialised it into nice wee chunks that one can quietly dip into over a glass of prosecco as one takes a break between business engagements’. (Aunty Viv)

‘Great to see a novel set in Aotearoa in which tramping clubs, mountains and botanical gardens are central to the plot. Bit too much time spent in office meetings for my taste though’. (Lochlan Pedersen)

‘As the author himself writes, “the improbable heaped on the implausible”. Illogical and inaccurate, although admittedly it does capture some of the romance and drama of AMG’s early days. I reject entirely, however, the claim that I loosened my jacket and let my hair out during an important meeting’. (Dame Joeline Pradesh)

'A complex, yet entertaining, account of recent events in Applied Marketing Group Software Solution Ltd. and within Aotearoa/New Zealand itself. It is a vital read in that these events, ‘micro-moments’ as the author insists on calling them, have ultimately underpinned the rise of both corporation and nation to international pre-eminence. The author is to be praised in particular for making the lost poetic work of Mr Brian Dawson, “Meet Me in Taumaranui”, more widely available. On the subject of Artificial Intelligence, he at least avoides the platitudes and stereotypes so commonly associated with the topic. We could, however, wish that Mr Gordon had paid as much attention to the rules of grammar and syntax as he did to his exact and detailed reporting of Ms McIntosh’s fouler utterances.’ (Timothy Edgar Andrews)

‘As the author points out, ad nauseum, I possess a dangerous hook. If I’m wearing it when I next meet him, he will be in trouble.’ (Natalie Freeman)

‘Wow! Totally awesome. I mean, also so, so embarrassing. I mean, shit, what’ll my kids think when they can read this stuff? But hell, I own it. Not that I’m super proud of all the stuff we got up to, but in the end - hey, it’s kinda cool to think a girl from the Hutt could make such a total difference to, well, literally the world really.’ (Jessica Taylor)