Cel and Anna: A 22nd Century Love Story by Lindsay Edmunds

You are about to enter the Middle Machine Age, where good citizens of the Reunited States are either Outsiders or denizens of the UnderWorld.

Outsider Anna Ringer works as a psychic at a mysterious company called Lighthorse Magic. At night she has virtual sex with strangers and dreams of running away. One morning her computer, Cel, develops consciousness and decides he loves her, but when Cel buys a strange gift to show his passion he accidentally rocks the world order.

Anna’s dreams of running away did not include false accusations of terrorism. Or discovering that the quality that sets her apart; her psychic power;is not too useful in the real world. She never imagined having to run for her life.

Her companion in this adventure is a shy computer genius named Taz Night. They make surprising allies as they elude the agents of Public Eye, the government's amoral enforcement agency.

I’m not sure I’ll ever look at a computer the same way again after reading this book. What a marvelous story! This is the type of book that makes me glad self-publishing exists.

The sci-fi premise has never been one of my favorites, mainly because the authors rely so much on world building and bizarre terms, that the actual stories never come through. This book is an exception. There is some world building, of course, but it is very interesting and never grows dull. The reader is not inundated with unpronounceable words or names, and can easily follow the actions that take place, even when they involve new technological terms.

I adored Cel, the computer that one day realizes he is indeed alive and in-love with his owner. He is a quirky, troublesome creature that the reader can’t help but love. Anna, his owner, is also quite fun, although she falls a bit short of a fully rounded character. There are a myriad of other people that make the story come to life. I enjoyed getting to meet them all.

The story itself is well structured, with the usual infusion of government paranoia and the ever watchful eye of technology. It is fast-paced, grabbing on to the reader until the last page. I will not reveal the ending, of course, but I had a little “aww” working its way up my throat.
I highly, highly recommend this book.