Robopocalypse

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Average customer rating 4.6 (10 comments)

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I have to admit something right now. I am a bit of an addict when it comes to shiny, interesting, unusual, eye-catching book covers. I love them. Honestly, if the walls to my house were covered in dust-jacket art I would be a very, very happy woman. There's just something about it...I know, I know, the marketers and artists know what they are doing but still, it's addicting. What does this have to do with ROBOPOCALYPSE by Daniel H. Wilson? Well... take a look at that shiny cover. It's even prettier in person (is prettier the right word to use here?). Unfortunately, what was spectacular on the outside didn't quite make the cut on the inside. Until about halfway through ROBOPOCALYPSE I thought this book would be a four-star from me. It was gripping, interesting, the premise was horrifying and fascinating all at once. I thought I was enjoying the little snippets at the beginning and end of each chapter, but unfortunately those snippets were also the nail in the coffin of that 4 star rating for me. You see, I am a fan of classy foreshadowing in books. But when each chapter ends with the narrator talking about the great works the person did later on...it just takes some of the surprise and fun out of the story. By the time I got to the climax of this first book, all the surprise element was sucked out. The ending was absolutely, dead-on predictable and I felt cheated as a result. Don't get me wrong - there's nothing wrong with the bare bones of the story. The whole idea of a robot-uprising is one that's interesting and still fairly unique in these days of vampire/werewolf and/or religious uprisings. And I really liked how Wilson formed the consciousness of the robots doing their work in ROBOPOCALYPSE - but it was the packaging that just did not work for me at all. Will I pick up ROBOGENESIS? I probably won't buy it like I did ROBOPOCALYPSE. I do have an advanced copy that I'm looking at picking up in the next few weeks, but I'm not very hopeful and kind of dreading it. What would you do if faced with this predicament? Liking the story but hating the way its told? I guess time will tell for me.

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Remember those classic Sci-Fi stories you used to read as a kid where robots are alive and they have turned evil. Robopocalypse brought those memories back for me! Daniel H. Wilson’s Robopocalypse is man-versus-machine tale - " the story of how the robots turn against the humans. The author weaves a modern and plausible tale, which can happen in next 20-30 years, considering how many smart machines we have in our lives. The robotic apocalypse is orchestrated by a single central super computer, Archos, who takes humanity by surprise all around the world. Archos takes control over the entire ensemble of machines in the world - "smart phones, smart cars, bi-peds, domestic robots, telephones, satellites, machines" anything that has a computer or controller in it. And they start to work against human civilization and start evolving (the learning bots). The entire novel is in flashback and told from points of views of several survivors from across the world. These survivors start to work on their own in Tokyo, Afghanistan, London, New York, and Oklahoma. As the story progresses, homo sapiens find ways to collaborate against the single enemy that they have created. The story works at many different levels. Part 1 is grim as humans start to suffer, but engaging. As the story progresses, the action starts to come in. Then the survival instincts kick in, and finally collaboration. But more importantly, it is a tale of humanity and how pressure brings the best (mostly) and worst in people. I enjoyed the book, because it brings back memories of the Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, the stories I grew up with and stories that fired my imagination as a kid. This is also the first book I have read that is written in this style" each chapter is written in first person perspective of different characters. You can open any chapter in part 1 or part 2 of the book and read it. It is later, that all these threads start to come together. Many reviewers mention that this style has been used in few other books, but this was my first book in this style, and I enjoyed it a lot. Daniel H. Wilson is a Robotics Engineer, a television host and a PhD. So many of the robots used in Robopocalypse are based on (or variant of) real world robots that exist today. The audiobook is read by Mike Chamberlain who takes the book to whole another level. He changes accents based on the character being a Texan oil driller, a British telephone hacker, or a Native American from Okhlahoma among the few. A very well done audiobook. Available from Audible.com. I enjoyed this book a lot, a fun to read, and to listen. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of science fiction or to anyone who enjoys reading.

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I think this is one of those books that you either love or hate. Basic story is a very smart computer goes on a mission to destroy the human race by using robots. The book starts as the war ends. The "hero" (Cormac Wallace) tells the story of the fight by using tales of various different groups battling all over the world who ultimately unite to protect mankind. It's not until almost the end that you find out how Wallace learns about all the different groups. As a sci-fi thriller, I feel the book gives good value.

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Even though I am a Librarian and an avid reader(despite what people think these two things do not always go together) I rarely read end of the world scenarios from sci-fi, in fact I consider Asimov's "I Robot" series to be the definitive and seminal works in robot apocalyptic literature. So reading the reviews for Wilson's Robopocalyse, I was surprised to even be interested. This book is a Great Read, and very fun to recommend to my patrons. Like a strong female protagonist? There's several in here. Like the under-dog to win? Got that. An uplifting ending? Yep it's there, in a dark, end of all we know kinda way. Always liked that creepy talky Tina is gonna get you, what's lurking under the bed feeling? Got that too. A little afraid that your kids spend way to much time on their game slaves? Apparently Wilson thinks so too. For 20 years people have been asking me what my favorite book is. (This is a very common question to librarians) My answer has always been that picking a favorite book would be like picking a favorite child, I love them all equally, if for differing reasons. Daniel H Wilson and Robopocalpse have changed my tune and I admit that Archos is my favorite.

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A sharp and engaging story written with cinematic clarity. It will translate well to the big screen.

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As one well acquainted with s-f and also with the worlds of software development and artificial intelligence, I was enormously pleased to have found this book. It's full of action and very compelling, but the best thing about it, in my opinion, is the innovative narration. I like my s-f to be written with style, as in Neal Stephenson and William Gibson. Daniel H. Wilson belongs in this pantheon. I can hardly wait for his next book.

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This is a great, page-turning robotic bunch of awesomeness. There, I said it.

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let's just hope that this book remains a work of fiction...

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this book is 100% PURE awesomeness! the book is a science fiction novel.the cover art is amazing and so is the book.its an award winner.me and my friend were discusing the amazing details daniel h wilson has put in the story.i read it over the weekend.my friend recomended it to me and i wanted a good read.i want to read it again over and over again.i hope i can watch the movie if it ever comes out.i highly recommend this book to every person in the world!

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Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson. Where has this guy been? I know it's not his first book, but when this writer writes a Science Fiction novel that could happen in the near future you might want to sit up and take notice. I read this book over the weekend and was so blown away I'm reading it again. The story takes places in the near future when people have robots doing most of the chores around the house besides everything else they do and not only that, but robots compared to humans are 2 to 1 ratio. Not so good when the robots are taking over the world. This is a great, quick summer read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Mr. "G"