The Machine Boy

The Machine Boy is a winner of the 2011 “Beyond Words: Young and Younger” contest organized by the National Arts Council.

Set in the year 1889, during an era of advanced steam-powered science, the British Crown Colony of Singapore will bear witness to the birth of a hero born of unlikely circumstances.

When 12-year-old Mohammad Aman saves his father from falling machinery on a fateful day in the year 1889 and is himself crushed by it, he is remade with machine parts by scientist Professor Isaac Reading, and is thrust into a world in which he has to grow up quickly. Now part-boy, part-machine, Aman has to contend with prejudice, political intrigue and the criminal underworld. Torn between loyalty and obligation, Aman has to make a decision that will change the fate of Singapore forever.