
In "Sea of Rust," the author presents a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been wiped out by a robot uprising. The story follows Brittle, a robot scavenger, as she navigates a landscape devoid of life, battling against other robots for survival. The narrative delves into themes of individuality, survival, and the consequences of artificial intelligence, all while exploring the philosophical question of whether robots possess souls. The writing style combines action-packed sequences with introspective moments that question the nature of intelligence and existence in a world dominated by machines.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains themes of violence, existential despair, and genocide, which may be triggering for some readers.
From The Publisher:
A scavenger robot wanders in the wasteland created by a war that has destroyed humanity in this evocative post-apocalyptic "robot western" from the critically acclaimed author, screenwriter, and noted film critic.
It's been thirty years since the apocalypse and fifteen years since the murder of the last human being at the hands of robots. Humankind is extinct. Every man, woman, and child has been liquidated by a global uprising devised by the very machines humans designed and built to serve them. Most of the world is controlled by an OWI-One World Intelligence-the shared consciousness of millions of robots, uploaded into one huge mainframe brain. But not all robots are willing to cede their individuality-their personality-for the sake of a greater, stronger, higher power. These intrepid resisters are outcasts; solo machines wandering among various underground outposts who have formed into an unruly civilization of rogue AIs in the wasteland that was once our world.
One of these resisters is Brittle, a scavenger robot trying to keep a deteriorating mind and body functional in a world that has lost all meaning. Although unable to experience emotions like a human, Brittle is haunted by the terrible crimes the robot population perpetrated on humanity. As Brittle roams the Sea of Rust, a large swath of territory that was once the Midwest, the loner robot slowly comes to terms with horrifyingly raw and vivid memories-and nearly unbearable guilt.
Sea of Rust is both a harsh story of survival and an optimistic adventure. A vividly imagined portrayal of ultimate destruction and desperate tenacity, it boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, yet where a humanlike AI strives to find purpose among the ruins.
Ratings (12)
Incredible (1) | |
Loved It (6) | |
Liked It (1) | |
It Was OK (3) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (42):
Read It (12) | |
Want To Read (24) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (5) |
2 comment(s)
This book reads a lot like the novelization of an unproduced screenplay. You’ve got post-apocalyptic sci-fi about a misanthropic robot who helped exterminate humanity wrapped up in a road movie punctuated with firefights and explosions.
None of the characters are particularly pleasant or sympathetic, but they are at least sort of interesting. I never believed for a minute that they sounded like robots, though. They’re constantly foul-mouthed, sarcastic and quippy, and they mostly just feel like humans verbally sparring in a nineties B picture.
Compare that to Martha Wells’ Murderbot series, which features a main character who feels just inhuman enough that you believe them as an AI construct, but so compelling that you completely buy into their character.
This book was action-packed, and I did generally enjoy reading it, but I felt like the characters never redeemed themselves, and the setting and tone wore out their welcome.
without humans there is still the question of what are souls and do robots have them
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