Lost Bits

By: Kerry Nietz

Narrated by: Joseph Robert Courtemanche

The last thing K-404 remembers is a happy home with the human child Ele, whose care is his primary purpose. So, when he wakes up in a landfill of tossed-away technology, his only thought is to reunite with his family.

This world is not his own, though. It’s a wasteland of desolate buildings, flying metal disks, and monstrosities that keep themselves active by stealing another bot’s power.

How did the world get this way?

And why was he discarded?

Hampered by imperfect memory, an obsolete body, and limited battery life, 404 sets out to find his home. Joined by other castaways, he faces off against scavengers and monsters, only to encounter greater threats.

Pursued, outsmarted, and manipulated on every side, 404 teeters on the brink of annihilation. His only chance of survival? Those bits of himself—the connections—he hasn’t lost.

©2022 Kerry Nietz (P)2022 Kerry Nietz

Moving, clean, and entertaining "buddy" tale

I really enjoyed this new book by Kerry Nietz. He does an excellent job of building a believable and interesting future while creating lovable and ethical characters who demonstrate classical virtues like courage and integrity. By the end of book, all the main characters feel like treasured friends: Four, Sam, Wes, even the digger robot Fuzzy.

Lost Bits is a classic "buddy" tale where we see the main characters travel together, bond, and try to complete a quest (finding lost love), all while setting some things right in the world. There are similar themes here to tales like LOTR, I Robot, AI, and even the movie Bicentennial Man.

There's no scary violence and deaths are mostly hinted at, not explicitly stated. Lost Bits is quite refreshing and moving. It's a pleasure to read a tale that fills you only with warmth, while still challenging you intellectually.

The performance by Courtemanche is excellent. He provides distinctive, unique voices for each character so you know who's speaking right off the the bat. He has a pleasant timber to his voice - similar to Stefan Rudnicki? - that makes listening very enjoyable. His range is excellent too, allowing for more variety of voices. My only criticism would be to work on female voices; they could use some improvement to be more obviously female and unique.

Lost Bits book ends like it's setup for future books, and I hope that happens. This is my favorite universe of Nietz' since his DarkTrench series, which I absolutely love.

To be...or not...to be...

...human.

In a dystopian world where machines seek to conquer, where lies one android's loyalties? Lost Bits is a story of relationships...relationships lost and relationships found, told in a narrative that takes a number of unexpected twists and turns. The voices of well-defined characters will stay with you long after the story ends.

An adventure you wouldn't want to miss!

Let me just say how much I enjoyed this book! 😍
And this is my first @kerrynietz
novel.
At first I thought I will not like it because our heroes here are robots. No feelings, no emotions, and just things that are programmed.
The author did an awesome job bringing them to life. It was like they are real people.
I enjoyed all of the places that they went. I loved Sam! I couldn't stop myself laughing from all of his banter and side comments. 😂

If there will be a second book for Lost Bits, I will definitely read it.
Btw, I have read (listened) this book with #audible. Applause for the narrator! I sometimes forget that it is his and he voiced a lot of character in this story.

I received a copy from the author but all of the words are mine. 😊

Stellar Story Telling & Teller

What a fun tale that really came to life in audio format! Not only was the writing engaging but so was the voice talent. We’ll read and well written. Highly recommend!

An amazing journey. Phenomenal narration.

A heartfelt adventure anyone would enjoy! The narrator navigates an incredible range of characters.
A delightful listen!

Pretty Darn Good!

Although there were a few moments that the author lost me a little, overall this was really well done. Machines piecing together some semblance of human empathy is a really cool topic to write on. The narrator was fantastic. He came up with so many different voices that made the book fun to listen to!

L0st b1ts, by Kerry Nietz.

L0st b1ts, by Kerry Nietz.

I was given a free copy of this Audible book in exchange for an honest review. No other request was made of me.

Join in the intrepid adventure of K404, or K4 as he yearns to regain memories after partial data loss. K4 is a loveable Bot, or robot, who after recognizing his world is much different than he can recall, knows he must get back to what he once knew. Soon he encounters Sam, a companion, who's singular desire is to fulfill his-own mission, no matter what K4 does, simply because as a companion, Sam does not want to be alone.

The twists and turns and challenges they overcome, are made easier when they befriend Wes. Not always what you would guess, but Wes is a true friend, although a bit difficult to understand at first. "Much limited." "Many thoughts." "Cannot explain." "Read now." 

Along their way they encounter treachery and evil of other Bot's that have their own selfish desires to end K4's mission only to improve themselves. K4, Sam & Wes learn their combined knowledge leads to success.

This is a brilliantly written story as intriquing as any human drama mystery. Keeping the reader engaged throughout.  Nietz brings you in and holds you until the end. The author skillfully and creatively entails the technology and conveys it to the reader in an effortless fashion. The choice of the narrator was pure gold. Courtemanche brings all voices to life and we can easily know each individual by voice alone. His rhythm portraying the many characters gives the impression of multiple readers - you forget there is just one.

If Wes were to interpret my feelings about this book, he'd say: "Book good. Story good. Must Read. "

I would happily pay for this book, and still give it the same review. I look forward to other books by Kerry Nietz.

~Br1an

happy for a reunion of bits,

the narrator had me in the trash with the bits and so glad we all got out, voice overs amazing, characters so rea.

A clever story tremendously presented.

Every audio book has two components: the story and the presentation.
The story is straight forward enough, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, in AI and android garb, gather on a quest to save Maid Marion and protect Sherwood Forest.
The humanoid protagonist, K-404, comes to life in a rubble heap and is quickly paired up with Sam, an immobile companion. K-404 is high functioning but damaged, confused about his environment and what happened to the human family he is programed to serve. The quest to get out of the junk yard and return to his family involves teaming up with other AI devices with varying capabilities and agendas.
There are multiple location and character additions throughout the story and clear images of new scenes and capabilities didn't always form in my mind. True, the characters seemed to know what was happening but I rarely had confidence in my grasp of the immediate environment or why something was happening.
The overall presentation is lighthearted for a serious story line and the author shamelessly sprinkles the story with puns, irony, and humor that does not distract.
Narrator Joseph Courtemanche successfully brings the multiple characters to life with consistent voicing and clear distinction between characters. His narration goes a long way to enhancing the author's description of size, utility, and personality of the expansive number of mechanical devices featured.

Great story. Loved the narrator

I really loved this book. The characters were all great. I especially enjoyed the relationship between the main characters Four and Sam. What a great idea to write a book like this. Having the main character as a robot was really cool. I also loved that a character from one of the authors previous books made an appearance. I had an idea of what might happen in the book but boy was I wrong. A great story with lots of fun surprises and characters. Having both read and then listened to the story, the narrator does a great job bringing the characters to life. Really enjoyed the listen.