C. Robert Cargill

"From critically acclaimed author, screenwriter, and film critic C. Robert Cargill comes a harrowing apocalyptic adventure that explores the relationship between humans and robots, and the fight for purpose and agency in a crumbling world"--

Day Zero

Sade A

For as long as humankind can remember, it has wanted two things: to play God and to breathe life into the objects around them.

altlovesbooks

"I can't change what is happening to the world, but I can change how it affects one human being. And to me, that's all that matters."

Pounce, robot domestic companion for eight-year-old Ezra, finds himself at the wrong side of a robot revolution nobody saw coming and still determined to keep his little human charge safe in the face of a true Kill-All-Humans situation. Using skills he didn't even know he had, Pounce and Ezra work together in trying to find someplace safe in the middle of the world ending around them.

This was so unexpectedly good! I picked it up thinking it was going to be some grimdark jaunt through a post-war countryside, and it kind of is that, don't get me wrong. But it was unexpectedly lighthearted and endearing, even while it was simultaneously dark and sad. There's also quite a bit of ruminating on what it means to be a robot with free will, and whether the urge to protect Ezra was coming from genuine love or instilled duty. 

The book is sad, funny, tense, and exciting all at once, and I loved the experience. This is a prequel to a series I haven't read yet though, and I've heard the next book isn't as good. I'm still absolutely going to give it a try, though.

At the end, this just felt unnecessary to the series. It adds nothing and while Pounce and Ezra's story grabbed me for a while, i couldn't help wondering why this is even an addition to Sea of Rust series.

JengaEdging

PREQUAL TO SEA OF RUST: DAY ONE OF THE APOCALYPSE HAS ARRIVED. It was a day like any other. Except it was our last. Pounce, a young nannybot caring for his first human charge, Ezra, has just found a box in the attic. His box. The box he arrived in, and the one he'll be discarded in when Ezra outgrows the need for a nanny. As Pounce experiences existential dread, the pieces are falling into place for a robot revolution that will spell the end of humanity. His owners, Ezra's parents, watch in disbelieving horror as the robots that have long served humanity - their creators - unify and revolt. Now Pounce must make an impossible choice: join the robot revolution and fight for his own freedom . . . or escort Ezra to safety across the battle-scarred post-apocalyptic hellscape that the suburbs have become. It will be their greatest game yet: Pounce and Ezra versus the end of the world. Praise for Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlisted Sea of Rust: 'A stone-cold stunner of a story that deals with death and darkness yet is leavened with light and life' Tor.com 'With a philosophical heart that asks big questions about life, death, and the soul, this is accomplished, technically complex scifi' SFX 'An action-packed post-apocalyptic thriller . . . [that] also addresses issues of soul and sentience in a subtle yet profound way' Financial Times

Day Zero

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