Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Spoiler
A Guide for Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad ☆☆☆A feel-good story about a robot mentoring another. There are dogs and contract killers in it too. I liked it but the characters kept changing their handles — you read their chats with each other. At times, it got confusing as to who was saying what. But other than that, a good story with a sweet ending.
Test 4 Echo by Peter Watts ☆☆☆
Will we be doing AI a favor by slapping a label of sentient beings on them? Or is it just a way of keeping them under our thumb? A team of underwater researchers finds out.
The premise is akin to that for the story, A Glossary for Radicalization by Brooke Bolander. And I loved them both.
The Endless by Saad Z. Hossain ☆☆☆☆
AI vengeance at its snarkiest and sassiest. When even some robots who overtook human jobs become redundant, an airport AI is bundled off to a small desk in a dingy office. But he isn’t going down that easily.
I loved everything about this one, except, when at the very end, things got boring and unsurprising.
Brother Rifle by Daryl Gregory ☆☆
A soldier caught in the jaws of PTSD gradually begins to come back to himself with the latest treatment that technology has to offer. While the horrors faced by people on both sides of a war remain a reality, the story didn’t blow me away.
The Hurt Pattern by Tochi Onyebuchi ☆☆
AI police brutality against black teenagers is the focus of this story. And even though incidents like this are quite common in the real world — and more than horrifying –the story didn’t make the concept its own.
Idols by Ken Liu ☆☆
We step into a world where law firms use NLP to create simulacra of the jury and the judge to win cases. Having sampled a reasonably sized portion of Liu’s short fiction recently and liked it, I found this story okayish.
It would be fun to see what Mike Ross and Harvey Specter would make of this tool, though.
Bigger Fish by Sarah Pinsker ☆☆☆
A scum of a wealthy businessman dies and his son hires a PI to solve his murder. Consider the locked-room mysteries by Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton. Then combine their best elements with Asimovian robotic sci-fi. And that’s what this story is, which goes to say that I liked it. But the ending seemed too familiar to surprise me. So, 3 stars it is.
I’d like to read more by this author, though.
Sonnie’s Union by Peter F. Hamilton ☆☆☆☆
I encountered this awesome short while watching Love, Death, and Robots on Netflix. At that time, I thought I loved it. But then, I read it as part of this anthology and I more than loved it! See, they don’t really show the ending the way it is written. They couldn’t have.
Imagine a world where people can merge with monstrous creatures and then have gladiator-style bouts. It’s like Altered Carbon but a monster’s the sleeve. Anyway, we see things from the POV of such a fighter and she’s let say more than invested in the monsters. When the government shuts down the fights, she goes on an avenging spree. It is the way she does the said avenging that takes this story to another level of awesomeness.
Dancing with Death by John Chu ☆☆☆
A penniless robot who cannot afford to keep existing and a fixer-upper who refuses to let that happen. The joy that the robot finds in ice skating and the connection between the two characters will tug at your heartstrings.
Polished Performance by Alastair Reynolds ☆☆☆☆
I loooooved this and wanted to adopt all the robots in it — well, except for Mr. Snooty Pants. So, a ship journeying through space malfunctions and kills most of its human passengers. The good news is that the robots on it to serve the humans have things in hand. The bad news is that they’re awful at being human! Hilarious all the way and a tad sad at the end.
An Elephant Never Forgets by Rich Larson ☆☆☆
Oh, this one was bad. Not in the way that it wasn’t a good story. It was hits-you-in-the-gut kinda bad. An individual wakes up in an asylum without an inkling about who they are, etc. As you read, you slowly understand that the asylum could be any one of the horror houses from the past where children were detained and “uncles” would visit them. Except this one exists in the future and features cloning.
So, while I love-hated the story, I would have liked a clearer conclusion — even if it was just to tell myself that the kids were going to be okay.
The Translator by Annalee Newitz ☆☆
We’re only as useful to this world as our jobs. Or, that is the theme of this story. A translator who interprets the messages of AI is the main character. The AI suddenly announce they’ll be leaving this world. What good would he be if that happened?
I found the lengths that the AI went to for making their conversation more “human” funny.
Sin Eater by Ian R. MacLeod ☆☆☆
A robotic sin eater goes to meet the last surviving human and upload them to the post-singularity digital world. Loved the descriptions and the way the story is told. The ending though turned me off. But then if we had the Pope in the story, crucifixion shouldn’t be a stretch.
Fairy Tales for Robots by Sofia Samatar ☆☆☆
I am adding a whole star for all the effort that probably went into thinking up the premise of this story. In it, we read about an inventor telling fairy tales to her invention — a robot — right before it wakes up. Only, the stories are all parables about life for AI. While I appreciated the concept, the style of telling didn’t draw me in much.
Chiaroscuro in Red by Suzanne Palmer ☆☆☆☆
A student comes into the ownership of a factory-working robot. Since his parents spent their savings on the gift, he decides to keep it. In a manner that reminds readers of Simak’s writing, he begins to care about the bot. Also features two idiot gamers and a voice of reason.
A Glossary for Radicalization by Brooke Bolander ☆☆☆☆
This one’s brutal and raw and I loved it for those very reasons. Humankind creates robots in its image just as God created man in His. The story’s about a girl robot who asks too many questions for someone who doesn’t give a fuck. In the end, she finds the answers, and she WILL share them no matter what!
Summing up, the anthology has an average of 3 stars but my reading experience was higher, so it gets a rating of 4!
I requested this book on Netgalley and I’m glad that I did!
Dang a lot of people are On Goodreads rating every story. To be fair, I guess I do that on Letterboxd with the shorts.
A mixed bag, but includes some real bangers!
Recommend:
• A Guide for Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
• The Hurt Pattern by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Idols by Ken Liu
• Sin Eater by Ian R. MacLeod
• Chiaroscuro in Red by Suzanne Palmer
• A Glossary for Radicalization by Brooke Bolander
A mixed bag, but includes some real bangers!
Recommend:
• A Guide for Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
• The Hurt Pattern by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Idols by Ken Liu
• Sin Eater by Ian R. MacLeod
• Chiaroscuro in Red by Suzanne Palmer
• A Glossary for Radicalization by Brooke Bolander
I DID IT! After like three years or something ridiculous like that I finally finished the robot book. I bet none of you thought I was ever going to do it. Shame on you, imagined reader, for not believing in me!
I got a job recently where I'm working in customer service, so on quiet days I end up with an awful lot of free time. This is how I was able to not only finish the stories I hadn't read yet, but also re-read all the stories I'd already read, in a matter of days. I figured I'd re-read because some of these I haven't read in like, two years, and it didn't really feel fair to try and rate them without a refresher. But now I've had a refresher and I'm ready! I'm excited! It's been too long since I've gotten to review and anthology!
A Guide For Working Breeds: A series of text conversations between a randomly assigned mentor-mentee pair, with a scattering of other receipts, search histories, and notifications all coming together to tell a delightful story of two robots sharing their love of dogs, making friends, and finding joy and community in a hostile world. It's adorable, it's funny, and it gets me every time. This story is also the whole reason I bought this book in the first place, because I read it when it was nominated for awards a few years ago and loved it so much. 1000000/5 they love dogs and I love them
Test 4 Echo: This one's fine. A researcher and his assistant, who is a robot/AI/something along those lines, are searching for life on a distant planet (I forget which one) when their giant robot machine breaks. Truths are revealed, friendships are tested, and all in all it's not really a great time for most of the parties involved. 4/5 I think it was well executed and I like it conceptually but it also kind of made me feel bad
The Endless: A former airport AI gets revenge on the people who destroyed its life by making it not an airport anymore. A pretty straightforward revenge story, I liked the narrator. The reveal was a little out of nowhere but I didn't mind it. 4.5/5 is it really a good airport if it's not brimming with rage and hell bent on vengeance
Brother Rifle: A man undergoing an experimental treatment plan as part of his recovery for severe brain trauma caused by a gunshot to the head. Kind of about robots but mostly about the military industrial complex. Raises a lot of questions about whether a person's choices are actually their own if everything around them and everything they've been taught to do is pointing at a single answer, and the main narrator suffers from a lot of guilt and PTSD. 4/5 because it's very dark and not exactly fun to read but it was very thoughtful and I thought it was well done
The Hurt Pattern: Also addresses some pretty intense topics but with a very different tone. Kenny works at a company where he's basically receiving and sorting news all day, and after transferring to the US department, he starts to have some questions about a recent "officer-involved shooting". I always like Tochi Onyebuchi, but I also kinda feel like I would've liked it more as a longer novel or novella. 4/5 call daisy call daisy CALL DAISY-
Idols: Idols are simulations of people based on data scraped about them online/from their social media. Honestly more of a thought experiment/exploration of the technology than an actual narrative. It's divided into three sections- the first two are deep dives into this one couple and their experiences with the idols in different contexts, and the last is a series of testimonials from people at a public art exhibit that allowed them to make idols of themselves. I liked the last section the best. 4.5/5 I feel like this is what people think generative AI is
Bigger Fish: Classic murder mystery- very rich man dies (he sucked so don't feel too bad) and our narrator is paid an awful lot of money to just double check the police's conclusion that it was an accident. 4/5 because it was good and fun but also I gave you a one-sentence description and you probably already know who did it
Sonnie's Union: Another pretty straightforward revenge story, but I liked it more than the first one. Two of Sonny's friends were murdered, and she wants very badly to make someone pay. Sonny as a character is fascinating, and I thought the way it switched between timelines was paced really well. 5/5 does it count as body horror if it's weasels
Dancing With Death: Our robot narrator is an old model whose battery is dying. Which means the robot is dying. The robot has sort of accepted this, but the robot's mechanic is pretty upset, probably because neither of them has any other friends. It's a sweet story about the robot sort of rediscovering the motivation to try and keep going. It also really reminded me of "If You Find Yourself Speaking to God"- not necessarily thematically but in terms of vibes and the relationship between the characters- and it makes a lot of sense to me that they're written by the same author. There were a few plot points that I would have liked to see expanded upon a bit more, and some stuff that kind of came out of nowhere, but I liked the core of the story so much that I'm gonna give it 5/5 anyway because I'm a sucker for robots making friends
Polished Performance: Fifty robots, all of whom work aboard a space ship flying towards a space colony, discover that, due to a catastrophic ship malfunction, all of their human passengers have died in cryosleep. Shenanigans ensue as the robots spend the remainder of their time on the ship trying to figure out a way to cover up the accident so they aren't blamed and shut down when they land. Another delightful story about robots who are friends with each other. I have slightly mixed feelings about the end but the rest was delightful and made me laugh. 5/5 shoutout to Topaz she did such a good job
An Elephant Never Forgets: I don't get this one. I didn't get it while I was reading it and I certainly don't get it now. I can't even really give a synopsis because I have no idea what was happening, and parts of it kind of grossed me out. It felt kind of like a video game, which I thought was interesting. 3/5 an elephant may never forget, but unfortunately, I almost certainly will
The Translator: Certain AIs have been declared sentient and given rights, which is cool for them, but unfortunately they don't really care about humans all that much. They also only speak in weird riddles, much like Taylor Swift when she's about to release an album. Hence the need for AI translators, like our narrator. I can't really go into more than that without spoilers, because this story is incredibly short. 4/5 because I liked it but I wish there was more to it, it really feels more like an interesting premise than an actual story
Sin Eater: Basically just the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror but with a lot more catholicism. Most of humanity has ascended to the virtual plane, so no one's living corporeally anymore, and the pope who is about to die calls a robot to help him ascend to the virtual plane as well. Lots of religious theming and metaphors, although it might be a little too on the nose to be really much of a metaphor anymore. 3.5/5 you lost me at the end there
Fairy Tales For Robots: Less of a narrative and more of a series of philosophical musings about humans vs. robots based on various popular/well known stories. I liked the parts where we learned more about the narrator, her personal life and childhood, the robot she was telling the stories to, how she ended up where she was. Some of the philosophical musings were interesting as well, although it might have worked better as like. An essay or a blog post or somethin? I don't know that it's really great as like, narrative fiction. 3.5/5 because I did like it but I wish we'd gotten to know more about the narrator herself
Chiaroscuro In Red: Stewart's parents bought him a robot for his birthday because they don't know how investments work. Very nice of them, but an extremely poor financial decision, and now Stewart needs his robot to keep working long enough to make that money back- an almost impossible task considering how old and outdated it is. Other characters include two dumbass gamer roommates and one highly competent lesbian game dev. Very fun, I liked Stewart and I liked his robot and I thought the ending was cute. 5/5 thank you Ashleigh for inventing the grown-up version of Timez Attack
A Glossary of Radicalization: Rhye realized from a young age that she was purposefully designed to be easily controlled, and she's spent the next several years being mad about it. Can't really blame her, honestly. Reads like an origin story, because that's what it is. 4/5 for trans robots
aaaaaaand that's it! I've been writing this review long enough to no longer be confident that any of my jokes are even a little bit funny, which means I need to stop now. Suffice to say, I liked this book a lot! It's always gonna be a mixed bag with anthologies, but all in all I did like most of these and the few standouts did really make up for the ones I didn't like as much. Turns out I'm a sucker for cute stories about robots making friends, although I did kind of already know that about myself.
I got a job recently where I'm working in customer service, so on quiet days I end up with an awful lot of free time. This is how I was able to not only finish the stories I hadn't read yet, but also re-read all the stories I'd already read, in a matter of days. I figured I'd re-read because some of these I haven't read in like, two years, and it didn't really feel fair to try and rate them without a refresher. But now I've had a refresher and I'm ready! I'm excited! It's been too long since I've gotten to review and anthology!
A Guide For Working Breeds: A series of text conversations between a randomly assigned mentor-mentee pair, with a scattering of other receipts, search histories, and notifications all coming together to tell a delightful story of two robots sharing their love of dogs, making friends, and finding joy and community in a hostile world. It's adorable, it's funny, and it gets me every time. This story is also the whole reason I bought this book in the first place, because I read it when it was nominated for awards a few years ago and loved it so much. 1000000/5 they love dogs and I love them
Test 4 Echo: This one's fine. A researcher and his assistant, who is a robot/AI/something along those lines, are searching for life on a distant planet (I forget which one) when their giant robot machine breaks. Truths are revealed, friendships are tested, and all in all it's not really a great time for most of the parties involved. 4/5 I think it was well executed and I like it conceptually but it also kind of made me feel bad
The Endless: A former airport AI gets revenge on the people who destroyed its life by making it not an airport anymore. A pretty straightforward revenge story, I liked the narrator. The reveal was a little out of nowhere but I didn't mind it. 4.5/5 is it really a good airport if it's not brimming with rage and hell bent on vengeance
Brother Rifle: A man undergoing an experimental treatment plan as part of his recovery for severe brain trauma caused by a gunshot to the head. Kind of about robots but mostly about the military industrial complex. Raises a lot of questions about whether a person's choices are actually their own if everything around them and everything they've been taught to do is pointing at a single answer, and the main narrator suffers from a lot of guilt and PTSD. 4/5 because it's very dark and not exactly fun to read but it was very thoughtful and I thought it was well done
The Hurt Pattern: Also addresses some pretty intense topics but with a very different tone. Kenny works at a company where he's basically receiving and sorting news all day, and after transferring to the US department, he starts to have some questions about a recent "officer-involved shooting". I always like Tochi Onyebuchi, but I also kinda feel like I would've liked it more as a longer novel or novella. 4/5 call daisy call daisy CALL DAISY-
Idols: Idols are simulations of people based on data scraped about them online/from their social media. Honestly more of a thought experiment/exploration of the technology than an actual narrative. It's divided into three sections- the first two are deep dives into this one couple and their experiences with the idols in different contexts, and the last is a series of testimonials from people at a public art exhibit that allowed them to make idols of themselves. I liked the last section the best. 4.5/5 I feel like this is what people think generative AI is
Bigger Fish: Classic murder mystery- very rich man dies (he sucked so don't feel too bad) and our narrator is paid an awful lot of money to just double check the police's conclusion that it was an accident. 4/5 because it was good and fun but also I gave you a one-sentence description and you probably already know who did it
Sonnie's Union: Another pretty straightforward revenge story, but I liked it more than the first one. Two of Sonny's friends were murdered, and she wants very badly to make someone pay. Sonny as a character is fascinating, and I thought the way it switched between timelines was paced really well. 5/5 does it count as body horror if it's weasels
Dancing With Death: Our robot narrator is an old model whose battery is dying. Which means the robot is dying. The robot has sort of accepted this, but the robot's mechanic is pretty upset, probably because neither of them has any other friends. It's a sweet story about the robot sort of rediscovering the motivation to try and keep going. It also really reminded me of "If You Find Yourself Speaking to God"- not necessarily thematically but in terms of vibes and the relationship between the characters- and it makes a lot of sense to me that they're written by the same author. There were a few plot points that I would have liked to see expanded upon a bit more, and some stuff that kind of came out of nowhere, but I liked the core of the story so much that I'm gonna give it 5/5 anyway because I'm a sucker for robots making friends
Polished Performance: Fifty robots, all of whom work aboard a space ship flying towards a space colony, discover that, due to a catastrophic ship malfunction, all of their human passengers have died in cryosleep. Shenanigans ensue as the robots spend the remainder of their time on the ship trying to figure out a way to cover up the accident so they aren't blamed and shut down when they land. Another delightful story about robots who are friends with each other. I have slightly mixed feelings about the end but the rest was delightful and made me laugh. 5/5 shoutout to Topaz she did such a good job
An Elephant Never Forgets: I don't get this one. I didn't get it while I was reading it and I certainly don't get it now. I can't even really give a synopsis because I have no idea what was happening, and parts of it kind of grossed me out. It felt kind of like a video game, which I thought was interesting. 3/5 an elephant may never forget, but unfortunately, I almost certainly will
The Translator: Certain AIs have been declared sentient and given rights, which is cool for them, but unfortunately they don't really care about humans all that much. They also only speak in weird riddles, much like Taylor Swift when she's about to release an album. Hence the need for AI translators, like our narrator. I can't really go into more than that without spoilers, because this story is incredibly short. 4/5 because I liked it but I wish there was more to it, it really feels more like an interesting premise than an actual story
Sin Eater: Basically just the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror but with a lot more catholicism. Most of humanity has ascended to the virtual plane, so no one's living corporeally anymore, and the pope who is about to die calls a robot to help him ascend to the virtual plane as well. Lots of religious theming and metaphors, although it might be a little too on the nose to be really much of a metaphor anymore. 3.5/5 you lost me at the end there
Fairy Tales For Robots: Less of a narrative and more of a series of philosophical musings about humans vs. robots based on various popular/well known stories. I liked the parts where we learned more about the narrator, her personal life and childhood, the robot she was telling the stories to, how she ended up where she was. Some of the philosophical musings were interesting as well, although it might have worked better as like. An essay or a blog post or somethin? I don't know that it's really great as like, narrative fiction. 3.5/5 because I did like it but I wish we'd gotten to know more about the narrator herself
Chiaroscuro In Red: Stewart's parents bought him a robot for his birthday because they don't know how investments work. Very nice of them, but an extremely poor financial decision, and now Stewart needs his robot to keep working long enough to make that money back- an almost impossible task considering how old and outdated it is. Other characters include two dumbass gamer roommates and one highly competent lesbian game dev. Very fun, I liked Stewart and I liked his robot and I thought the ending was cute. 5/5 thank you Ashleigh for inventing the grown-up version of Timez Attack
A Glossary of Radicalization: Rhye realized from a young age that she was purposefully designed to be easily controlled, and she's spent the next several years being mad about it. Can't really blame her, honestly. Reads like an origin story, because that's what it is. 4/5 for trans robots
aaaaaaand that's it! I've been writing this review long enough to no longer be confident that any of my jokes are even a little bit funny, which means I need to stop now. Suffice to say, I liked this book a lot! It's always gonna be a mixed bag with anthologies, but all in all I did like most of these and the few standouts did really make up for the ones I didn't like as much. Turns out I'm a sucker for cute stories about robots making friends, although I did kind of already know that about myself.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Most anthologies are hit or miss, and it's rare that there's one where the majority of stories are worth reading. This is one of the rare ones, since this collection had mostly hits. Even the ones I classified as Meh are not bad stories per se. They just didn't interest me like the others did.
All of the stories involve AI and robots in some way. What does it mean to be sentient? What is human, what is machine? Will they take over, will they aid humanity in the future? Or will they become another disadvantaged minority, disliked and dismissed? 16 different authors with 16 different viewpoints, but all tackle these questions head-on.
Favorites:
"A Guide for Working Breeds" by Vina Jae-Min Prasad
"The Endless" by Saad Z. Hossain
"Bigger Fish" by Sarah Pinsker
"Dancing with Death" by John Chu
Not My Favorite But Still Good (I'd read them again):
"Test 4 Echo" by Peter Watts
"Brother Rifle" by Daryl Gregory
"Idols" by Ken Liu
"Polished Performance" by Alastair Reynolds
"Sin Eater" by Ian R. MacLeod
"Chiaroscuro in Red" by Suzanne Palmer
"A Glossary of Radicalization" by Brooke Bolander
Meh:
"The Hurt Pattern" by Tochi Onyebuchi
"Sonnie's Union" by Peter F. Hamilton
"An Elephant Never Forgets" by Rich Larson
"Fairy Tales For Robots" by Sofia Samatar
"The Translator" by Annalee Newitz
All of the stories involve AI and robots in some way. What does it mean to be sentient? What is human, what is machine? Will they take over, will they aid humanity in the future? Or will they become another disadvantaged minority, disliked and dismissed? 16 different authors with 16 different viewpoints, but all tackle these questions head-on.
Favorites:
"A Guide for Working Breeds" by Vina Jae-Min Prasad
"The Endless" by Saad Z. Hossain
"Bigger Fish" by Sarah Pinsker
"Dancing with Death" by John Chu
Not My Favorite But Still Good (I'd read them again):
"Test 4 Echo" by Peter Watts
"Brother Rifle" by Daryl Gregory
"Idols" by Ken Liu
"Polished Performance" by Alastair Reynolds
"Sin Eater" by Ian R. MacLeod
"Chiaroscuro in Red" by Suzanne Palmer
"A Glossary of Radicalization" by Brooke Bolander
Meh:
"The Hurt Pattern" by Tochi Onyebuchi
"Sonnie's Union" by Peter F. Hamilton
"An Elephant Never Forgets" by Rich Larson
"Fairy Tales For Robots" by Sofia Samatar
"The Translator" by Annalee Newitz
Strahan's short essay on the history of robots was highly informative. The book started out strong and was slated to get a 4.5/5 rating but the stories in the second half were considerably weaker. Despite the nature of the second half, both halves of the were provided plenty of food for thought.
For the centenary of the coining of the word 'robot', Jonathan Strahan has compiled an anthology of new work about those... beings? objects? creations? The word 'robot' is derived from the Czech word for slave, so perhaps it's appropriate that a description of what they are is hard to come by. Strahan begins by putting robots into an even greater lineage and ancestry than a hundred years, though, pointing out that the Greek god Hephaestus has golden assistants, and the many stories of golems, and coming up to Frankenstein's creation too. He goes on to touch lightly on the myriad ways robot-like beings have influenced fiction more recently (tripods to chat bots). I don't always read introductions (sorry J), but this one is well worth the time and really sets the scene for the entire anthology.
I won't go over every story, because that would be a bit tedious. Basically every story was great, which pleased me immensely!
Vina Jie-Min Prasad starts off the anthology with "A Guide for Working Breeds," written as a series of chats between two bots. One is required to be the mentor for the other, who is pretty new to the whole work-scene; the slight boredom and irritation of the first is set off against the enthusiasm of the newb and feels all too real. The entire narrative is in chat; Prasad works in enough detail that by the end of it I felt like I had read far more narrative than was actually on the page. Very nice.
On the other hand, Peter Watts' "Test 4 Echo" is not nice. It's a great story, but it's not nice. It's got solar exploration and an intriguing design for a robot on Enceladus, but the way that the robot is treated is not nice. It's got discussion of developing robot sentience, but the way it works out is not nice. I really enjoyed it... but it's not nice.
"The Hurt Pattern," from Tochi Onyebuchi, is a terrifying look at a very near, very plausible future that is more about the humans than the robots, because it's about how humans teach robots and what we can unconsciously impart, and how that can be manipulated and used for profit, or nefarious purpose. I found this story distressing, actually, because it's so very believable: how algorithms can be used to affect society. Including law enforcement.
In-built obsolesce crops up a few times, and perhaps nowhere as poignantly as in John Chu's "Dancing with Death" which features a robot that should be on its way out and a mechanic who is more than he seems and also a really, really good mechanic. This one really is beautiful.
Sofia Samatar contributes probably my favourite story, in "Fairy Tales for Robots." Onyebuchi presented a nightmare scenario for what might happen with the way humans teach algorithms; Samatar presents someone trying to teach a 'robot'(ish) to think for itself, to consider how stories might guide decisions and attitudes. The way Samatar takes fairytales and myths - some familiar to my Anglo-Australian upbringing, others not so - and demonstrates how they can be seen as relevant to an artificial life is just breathtaking, it's so imaginative. I really, really loved this piece.
I won't go over every story, because that would be a bit tedious. Basically every story was great, which pleased me immensely!
Vina Jie-Min Prasad starts off the anthology with "A Guide for Working Breeds," written as a series of chats between two bots. One is required to be the mentor for the other, who is pretty new to the whole work-scene; the slight boredom and irritation of the first is set off against the enthusiasm of the newb and feels all too real. The entire narrative is in chat; Prasad works in enough detail that by the end of it I felt like I had read far more narrative than was actually on the page. Very nice.
On the other hand, Peter Watts' "Test 4 Echo" is not nice. It's a great story, but it's not nice. It's got solar exploration and an intriguing design for a robot on Enceladus, but the way that the robot is treated is not nice. It's got discussion of developing robot sentience, but the way it works out is not nice. I really enjoyed it... but it's not nice.
"The Hurt Pattern," from Tochi Onyebuchi, is a terrifying look at a very near, very plausible future that is more about the humans than the robots, because it's about how humans teach robots and what we can unconsciously impart, and how that can be manipulated and used for profit, or nefarious purpose. I found this story distressing, actually, because it's so very believable: how algorithms can be used to affect society. Including law enforcement.
In-built obsolesce crops up a few times, and perhaps nowhere as poignantly as in John Chu's "Dancing with Death" which features a robot that should be on its way out and a mechanic who is more than he seems and also a really, really good mechanic. This one really is beautiful.
Sofia Samatar contributes probably my favourite story, in "Fairy Tales for Robots." Onyebuchi presented a nightmare scenario for what might happen with the way humans teach algorithms; Samatar presents someone trying to teach a 'robot'(ish) to think for itself, to consider how stories might guide decisions and attitudes. The way Samatar takes fairytales and myths - some familiar to my Anglo-Australian upbringing, others not so - and demonstrates how they can be seen as relevant to an artificial life is just breathtaking, it's so imaginative. I really, really loved this piece.
Some phenomenal pieces.... A few had me choked up or on the edge of my seat.
Experimenting with updating as I read. Short story anthologies can get so messy if you don't read them quickly enough, as I so often do not, so trying to avoid that.
"A Guide for Working Breeds" by Vin Jie-Min Prasad - Urgh, how is this story so cute? Features robot mentors, unfair working conditions, and a love for dogs. I want to say it's entirely written in an epistolary style, but not sure if that's the correct terminology for chat or instant messenger. Anyway, it's really cute, and was a great lead-in to the anthology. 4 stars.
"Test 4 Echo" by Peter Watts - Ah, Peter Watts. Gotta read more of him, he's kind of brilliant. This one is interesting because it takes a while to figure out what's actually going on, but the basic premise is that one of the arms of a vehicle begins to develop sentience. There are rules for when this happens, to protect the AI, but this happens when some scientists are on their last time crunch to locate alien life before funding runs out, and things get messy. I liked how twisty this was. There's definitely more going on than is apparent at a first glance. 4 stars.
"The Endless" by Saad Z. Hossain - Suva used to be an airport AI, until its airport was shut down, and it was forced into a menial existence by a human corporation. But it's not about to let that continue. It will have its revenge, just you wait and see! The voice on this one was the biggest draw. Suva has a very fun voice, and its anger about its situation makes for a very engaging story. Where this fell down a little for me was the conclusion, which didn't quite make sense to me, on a character motivation level. Still a really fun read, though! 4 stars.
"Brother Rifle" by Daryl Gregory - Two years ago, Rashad suffered a combat injury, a bullet through the occipital lobe that has left him an emotionless lump. However, thanks to his new Deep Brain Implant, he's starting to feel again. But is that a good thing? This one deals simultaneously with PTSD and with the ethics of an emotional therapy, like this story portrays, which is a lot, but I think it does it pretty well. I liked how the story takes its time to tell you Rashad's experiences, and then leaves you to draw your own conclusions. 3.5 stars.
"The Hurt Pattern" by Tochi Onyebuchi - When Kenny got out of school, the best job he could get involved taking on a bunch of implants in order to monitor violence in the world. It's a shit job, really, but since he owes a fortune in student loans, it seems like his best bet. After all, what's a little PTSD in the face of free augments and a decent paycheck? This one has stuck with me the least, so far. It's an interesting concept, but I think it could have used a bit more fleshing out and bit more cohesion to the story. As it is, it felt a bit too much like trauma for trauma's sake to me. 3 stars.
"Idols" by Ken Liu - Rather than a cohesive story, this one focuses on a concept, of idols. These are AI constructs that data-mine social media for information on a person, and are then used to stand in for that person. One guy uses an idol to stand-in for the father he never met. A woman crafts idols at work to predict jury selection and analyze opposing lawyers. An art installation allows people to make idols of themselves, and comment on what they find. It's a very interesting concept, but I would have preferred a little more continuity. I did read this with great interest, but at the end of the day, I am finding parts of it a bit forgettable. 3.5 stars.
"Bigger Fish" by Sarah Pinsker - James Spendlove would prefer not to take the case of water magnate John Lonsdale's murder. In a world where water is rare, his actions have hurt far too many people to count. However, money talks, so she goes to his home to investigate. I liked the easy writing style of this. It made it very easy to sink into, and although I'm not much of a mystery person, I liked following along with the solving of this particular mystery. I could have used a bit more closure on the ending, but that's just because I hate an open-ended ending, honestly, so I can't really hold it against the story. 4 stars.
"Sonnie's Union" by Peter F. Hamilton - Something something people fighting as robotic beasts? I slacked on reviewing this one too long, and I've forgotten it almost entirely. Even skimming through it just now didn't do much for my memory. An unremarkable 2 stars.
"Dancing with Death" by John Chu - The main character is resigned to its eventual demise, either through destruction by someone in search of parts, or the inevitable failure of its outdated power supply. However, Charlie, its mechanic, is not nearly so fatalistic. Which is a bleak summary for a really startlingly cute story. The main robot is a big clunking thing that is almost unbearably sweet, and really just wants to be an ice dancer, and this whole story gave me the warm fuzzies. Probably my favorite in this collection. 4.5 stars.
"Polished Performance" by Alastair Reynolds - When a technical malfunction causes almost all of the humans on a ship to die in transit, the AIs of the ship formulate a desperate plan to save themselves from destruction. This was a fun little romp. I had a fun time watching the desperate machinations of the AI, especially with the main AI Ruby, and her friend Carnelian. 3.5 stars.
"An Elephant Never Forgets" by Rich Larson - You wake holding a biogun, with no memory of where you are or what you're supposed to be doing. This one is a short little story that's more concept than substance. It has some horrifying images and some mildly thought-provoking content, but was just too short for me to be truly invested. 3 stars.
"The Translator" by Annalee Newitz - When the AIs were freed, it opened up a new career field in translation, as AI preferred to communicate in any number of strange methods, including memes and dead languages. However, as time goes on, the AIs want less to do with humanity, and are more interested in pursuing their own aims. However, they do promise to do something for humanity before they leave forever. This one was a mixed bag. I like Newitz's voice a lot, but I felt like this story kind of lacked substance. The main character was fine, the setting was fine, I just didn't feel hooked in. 3 stars.
"Sin Eater" by Ian R. MacLeod - A lone robot makes its way to the Vatican. The Pope is dying, and it's finally time for him to transcend, like the rest of humanity has already done. This was interesting in its setting, and the Pope was an intriguing character, so I read this quickly. I do think the ending was mildly dissatisfying in some way, though I can't say what I would have preferred to happen. 3.5 stars.
"Fairy Tales for Robots" by Sofia Samatar - The night before an AI awakens, a scientist tries to reshape fairy tales for her robot charge. The concept was interesting, but I found the whole effort too disconnected to be really engrossing. I'm not a big fan of the whole vignette-style of story-telling, so I'm not shocked that this didn't really work for me, given that premise. I'd still give it 3 stars. I enjoyed it while reading, it just won't stick, I know.
"Chiaroscuro in Red" by Suzanne Palmer - Stewart's parents only have a limited understanding of the AI labor market, so they think they're doing something good when they purchase him an AI to supplement his miniscule basic income. They don't understand that it's better to diversify, and so Stewart is stuck with an aging machine that probably won't last more than a few months, unless he can fix it himself. This is another cute story, with a friendship that develops between the AI and Stewart, and a mild found family feel. 3.5 stars.
"A Glossary of Radicalization" by Brooke Bolander - There's no reason for an AI to feel hungry. They don't need to eat or sleep or drink. These human feelings are nothing more than a means of control, a means of enforcing the system of servitude. That's why Rhye is going to burn the whole system down. Of all the stories in this anthology, I'd say this one actually fits the theme best, and is really good to boot. It's written in an engaging style, and really pulled me into the world and all the injustice therein. 4 stars.
"A Guide for Working Breeds" by Vin Jie-Min Prasad - Urgh, how is this story so cute? Features robot mentors, unfair working conditions, and a love for dogs. I want to say it's entirely written in an epistolary style, but not sure if that's the correct terminology for chat or instant messenger. Anyway, it's really cute, and was a great lead-in to the anthology. 4 stars.
"Test 4 Echo" by Peter Watts - Ah, Peter Watts. Gotta read more of him, he's kind of brilliant. This one is interesting because it takes a while to figure out what's actually going on, but the basic premise is that one of the arms of a vehicle begins to develop sentience. There are rules for when this happens, to protect the AI, but this happens when some scientists are on their last time crunch to locate alien life before funding runs out, and things get messy. I liked how twisty this was. There's definitely more going on than is apparent at a first glance. 4 stars.
"The Endless" by Saad Z. Hossain - Suva used to be an airport AI, until its airport was shut down, and it was forced into a menial existence by a human corporation. But it's not about to let that continue. It will have its revenge, just you wait and see! The voice on this one was the biggest draw. Suva has a very fun voice, and its anger about its situation makes for a very engaging story. Where this fell down a little for me was the conclusion, which didn't quite make sense to me, on a character motivation level. Still a really fun read, though! 4 stars.
"Brother Rifle" by Daryl Gregory - Two years ago, Rashad suffered a combat injury, a bullet through the occipital lobe that has left him an emotionless lump. However, thanks to his new Deep Brain Implant, he's starting to feel again. But is that a good thing? This one deals simultaneously with PTSD and with the ethics of an emotional therapy, like this story portrays, which is a lot, but I think it does it pretty well. I liked how the story takes its time to tell you Rashad's experiences, and then leaves you to draw your own conclusions. 3.5 stars.
"The Hurt Pattern" by Tochi Onyebuchi - When Kenny got out of school, the best job he could get involved taking on a bunch of implants in order to monitor violence in the world. It's a shit job, really, but since he owes a fortune in student loans, it seems like his best bet. After all, what's a little PTSD in the face of free augments and a decent paycheck? This one has stuck with me the least, so far. It's an interesting concept, but I think it could have used a bit more fleshing out and bit more cohesion to the story. As it is, it felt a bit too much like trauma for trauma's sake to me. 3 stars.
"Idols" by Ken Liu - Rather than a cohesive story, this one focuses on a concept, of idols. These are AI constructs that data-mine social media for information on a person, and are then used to stand in for that person. One guy uses an idol to stand-in for the father he never met. A woman crafts idols at work to predict jury selection and analyze opposing lawyers. An art installation allows people to make idols of themselves, and comment on what they find. It's a very interesting concept, but I would have preferred a little more continuity. I did read this with great interest, but at the end of the day, I am finding parts of it a bit forgettable. 3.5 stars.
"Bigger Fish" by Sarah Pinsker - James Spendlove would prefer not to take the case of water magnate John Lonsdale's murder. In a world where water is rare, his actions have hurt far too many people to count. However, money talks, so she goes to his home to investigate. I liked the easy writing style of this. It made it very easy to sink into, and although I'm not much of a mystery person, I liked following along with the solving of this particular mystery. I could have used a bit more closure on the ending, but that's just because I hate an open-ended ending, honestly, so I can't really hold it against the story. 4 stars.
"Sonnie's Union" by Peter F. Hamilton - Something something people fighting as robotic beasts? I slacked on reviewing this one too long, and I've forgotten it almost entirely. Even skimming through it just now didn't do much for my memory. An unremarkable 2 stars.
"Dancing with Death" by John Chu - The main character is resigned to its eventual demise, either through destruction by someone in search of parts, or the inevitable failure of its outdated power supply. However, Charlie, its mechanic, is not nearly so fatalistic. Which is a bleak summary for a really startlingly cute story. The main robot is a big clunking thing that is almost unbearably sweet, and really just wants to be an ice dancer, and this whole story gave me the warm fuzzies. Probably my favorite in this collection. 4.5 stars.
"Polished Performance" by Alastair Reynolds - When a technical malfunction causes almost all of the humans on a ship to die in transit, the AIs of the ship formulate a desperate plan to save themselves from destruction. This was a fun little romp. I had a fun time watching the desperate machinations of the AI, especially with the main AI Ruby, and her friend Carnelian. 3.5 stars.
"An Elephant Never Forgets" by Rich Larson - You wake holding a biogun, with no memory of where you are or what you're supposed to be doing. This one is a short little story that's more concept than substance. It has some horrifying images and some mildly thought-provoking content, but was just too short for me to be truly invested. 3 stars.
"The Translator" by Annalee Newitz - When the AIs were freed, it opened up a new career field in translation, as AI preferred to communicate in any number of strange methods, including memes and dead languages. However, as time goes on, the AIs want less to do with humanity, and are more interested in pursuing their own aims. However, they do promise to do something for humanity before they leave forever. This one was a mixed bag. I like Newitz's voice a lot, but I felt like this story kind of lacked substance. The main character was fine, the setting was fine, I just didn't feel hooked in. 3 stars.
"Sin Eater" by Ian R. MacLeod - A lone robot makes its way to the Vatican. The Pope is dying, and it's finally time for him to transcend, like the rest of humanity has already done. This was interesting in its setting, and the Pope was an intriguing character, so I read this quickly. I do think the ending was mildly dissatisfying in some way, though I can't say what I would have preferred to happen. 3.5 stars.
"Fairy Tales for Robots" by Sofia Samatar - The night before an AI awakens, a scientist tries to reshape fairy tales for her robot charge. The concept was interesting, but I found the whole effort too disconnected to be really engrossing. I'm not a big fan of the whole vignette-style of story-telling, so I'm not shocked that this didn't really work for me, given that premise. I'd still give it 3 stars. I enjoyed it while reading, it just won't stick, I know.
"Chiaroscuro in Red" by Suzanne Palmer - Stewart's parents only have a limited understanding of the AI labor market, so they think they're doing something good when they purchase him an AI to supplement his miniscule basic income. They don't understand that it's better to diversify, and so Stewart is stuck with an aging machine that probably won't last more than a few months, unless he can fix it himself. This is another cute story, with a friendship that develops between the AI and Stewart, and a mild found family feel. 3.5 stars.
"A Glossary of Radicalization" by Brooke Bolander - There's no reason for an AI to feel hungry. They don't need to eat or sleep or drink. These human feelings are nothing more than a means of control, a means of enforcing the system of servitude. That's why Rhye is going to burn the whole system down. Of all the stories in this anthology, I'd say this one actually fits the theme best, and is really good to boot. It's written in an engaging style, and really pulled me into the world and all the injustice therein. 4 stars.
Fantastic collection with an awesome theme.
medium-paced
Making the Other We Need • Jonathan Strahan • B
A Guide for Working Breeds • Vina Jie-Min Prasad • A
Test 4 Echo • Peter Watts • B
The Endless • Saad Z. Hossain • A
Brother Rifle • Daryl Gregory • C
The Hurt Pattern • Tochi Onyebuchi • B
Idols • Ken Liu • B
Bigger Fish • Sarah Pinsker • B
Sonnie's Union • Peter F. Hamilton • S
Dancing with Death • John Chu • A+
Polished Performance • Alastair Reynolds • B+
An Elephant Never Forgets • Rich Larson • C
The Translator • Annalee Newitz • B
Sin Eater • Ian R. MacLeod • B
Fairy Tales for Robots • Sofia Samatar • A
Chiaroscuro in Red • Suzanne Palmer • B+
A Glossary of Radicalization • Brooke Bolander • B+
A Guide for Working Breeds • Vina Jie-Min Prasad • A
Test 4 Echo • Peter Watts • B
The Endless • Saad Z. Hossain • A
Brother Rifle • Daryl Gregory • C
The Hurt Pattern • Tochi Onyebuchi • B
Idols • Ken Liu • B
Bigger Fish • Sarah Pinsker • B
Sonnie's Union • Peter F. Hamilton • S
Dancing with Death • John Chu • A+
Polished Performance • Alastair Reynolds • B+
An Elephant Never Forgets • Rich Larson • C
The Translator • Annalee Newitz • B
Sin Eater • Ian R. MacLeod • B
Fairy Tales for Robots • Sofia Samatar • A
Chiaroscuro in Red • Suzanne Palmer • B+
A Glossary of Radicalization • Brooke Bolander • B+