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Staff Pick
Daniel H. Wilson had to go a very, very long way to get me to love a sci-fi/fantasy short story collection, but go he did. I'm staunchly not a fan of sci-fi/fantasy, or short story collections for that matter, so the fact that I loved this is kind of weirding me out right now. Even typing this is giving me all kinds of cognitive dissonance! These stories are super fun with lip-biting suspense and sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat tension, and there's even a bit of empathy and heartbreak braided in here and there (very sneaky). Several of the stories were so strong, I groaned when they were over — I was nowhere near being done with those characters. Bravo, Daniel H. Wilson, you've cracked a tough nut with your slyly addicting stories! Now, time to move on to The Clockwork Dynasty! Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Imaginative and deeply learned, Wilson’s latest collection examines the empathic potential of artificial intelligence, and the fierce love between fathers and children. Recommended By Matt K. , Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
From the New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse comes a fascinating and fantastic collection that explores complex emotional and intellectual landscapes at the intersection of artificial intelligence and human life.
In "All Kinds of Proof," a down-and-out drunk makes the unlikeliest of friends when he is hired to train a mail-carrying robot; in "Blood Memory," a mother confronts the dangerous reality that her daughter will never assimilate in this world after she was the first child born through a teleportation device; in "The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever," a physicist rushes home to be with his daughter after he hears reports of an atmospheric anomaly which he knows to be a sign of the end of the earth; in "Miss Gloria," a robot comes back to life in many different forms in a quest to save a young girl. Guardian Angels and Other Monsters displays the depth and breadth of Daniel H. Wilson’s vision and examines how artificial intelligence both saves and destroys humanity.
Review
"Wilson’s abundant talents are on display — the detail that hooks you, the efficient worldbuilding, the ideas and concepts deftly embedded throughout that light up the imagination, yet never slow down these propulsive narratives. Dark, chilling, even moving at times and consistently entertaining. This is brainy action, hard sci-fi with heart." Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
Review
"By page 9, I was grinning like a kid on his first carnival ride. I love everything out of Daniel Wilson’s mind — it’s fun and it’s fast — and the short story format takes it into overdrive. Thrilling, touching, funny, heartbreaking and scary as hell, there’s nowhere this rollercoaster won’t take you. Grab on to those pages and hold tight. You’re in for one hell of a ride." Sylvain Neuvel, author of Sleeping Giants
Review
"Spectacular....Wilson displays an aching humanity and literary sensibility that will satisfy his fans and win him plenty of new ones. This thoughtful, affecting collection will linger in the thoughts of readers long after the last page is turned." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
About the Author
Daniel H. Wilson is the bestselling author of Robopocalypse, Robogenesis, and Amped, among others. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and earned a B.S. in computer science from the University of Tulsa and a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two children.