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twstdtink's review against another edition
2.0
I was so excited for this prequel. But, I quickly realized in reading it that Sea of Rust didn’t NEED a prequel. The thing that made the 1st book wonderful and unique was that it threw you into the middle of the story, long after the fall of man. This book follows a child and his nanny bot right at the rise of robots and it’s both too narrow a perspective and too predictable. A short story anthology covering many different perspectives would have been much better.
landonfx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
jmaddren's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the concept, but the execution lacked the skill of an experienced storyteller.
jrobles76's review against another edition
5.0
Come for the cute nanny-bots, stay for the existential crisis of whether we have free will. Set in Austintonio in the future, it's the robot apocalypse. I loved this book and you should totally read it, especially if you're from Austin. This is an unputdownable book, that I would have finished sooner had I not had to work...or eat and sleep.
winterreader40's review against another edition
4.0
Pounce is a nannybot that looks like a tiger and he loves his charge Ezra but the day he finds his box in the attic is the first day he realizes that he won't be with Ezra for his entire life, one day he will grow up no longer need him. Unfortunely for Pounce his first existential crisis happens the same day world as everyone knew it ends.
The first part of this book where Pounce once he is freed and makes the conscious decision to save Ezra when the other bot in the house kills his parents the second she is freed slowly starts to build the angst and it just continues to escalate the whole way through the book. I wasn't certain I'd finish this because children don't interest me but this was a really good prequel to Sea of Rust. You can read them either in chronological order or publishing order(I did this) though I feel some things have a bit more impact when you read them in publishing order.
The first part of this book where Pounce once he is freed and makes the conscious decision to save Ezra when the other bot in the house kills his parents the second she is freed slowly starts to build the angst and it just continues to escalate the whole way through the book. I wasn't certain I'd finish this because children don't interest me but this was a really good prequel to Sea of Rust. You can read them either in chronological order or publishing order(I did this) though I feel some things have a bit more impact when you read them in publishing order.
manifeststefany's review against another edition
5.0
Be nice to Alexa.
The day life ends as we know it was so well written it felt like a historical event. This book and Sea of Rust had to be heard back to back. Thrilling.
The day life ends as we know it was so well written it felt like a historical event. This book and Sea of Rust had to be heard back to back. Thrilling.
cloudcrow's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty unrealistic, if one can use this word for SF.
I guess you have to really be in teenage years to find it a fun read.
I guess you have to really be in teenage years to find it a fun read.
lilyevangeline's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of points for creativity, and a fast-paced, compelling plot, but lacked depth at times and seemed too neatly tied and sentimental in its ending.
Pounce is an anthropomorphic robot tiger (I imagined Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes the whole time) who serves as a nanny to an 8 year old boy. When robots take over the world, Pounce decides not to sign up for the evil robot army, and he instead attempts to shepherd his young charge across a wartorn suburbia to safety.
On the one hand, it felt like standard dystopian fare with a lot of shoot outs and reflections on mortality, alternating with savaging and building trust with secondary characters (who subsequently die).
On the other hand, there's an element of absurdism in the fact that the hero is, in fact, essentially a plush toy (). I really enjoyed that the horror of the apocalypse was continually balanced by my own imagination placing a plus toy and an 8 year old with a plasma gun in the middle of it. In the vein of truth is stranger than fiction, it felt, somehow, more realistic, while also keeping the world from becoming too dark.
Despite this incongruous set up, our characters manage to shoulder a surprising amount of emotional weight. Ezra has to struggle to come to terms with the death of his parents and what it means to be a "good guy" in the midst of death and gore. Pounce, meanwhile, has to struggle with freewill and what it means to make his own choices.
Ultimately, however, I don't think this ever quite reached the place of truly poignant reflections. The conclusions our heroes come to are the "right" ones, so to speak, but I also never felt they were truly in danger of becoming bad people. There weren't high enough stakes for this book to carry weight. The reflections on freewill were nothing I haven't heard and despite them coming from the perspective of a robot, I didn't feel he really added anything truly interesting to the conversation of what it means to be human or good or free.
Apparently, this book was written as a prequel to another book about the robot apocalypse by Cargill, which vibes because when I finished the book, I couldn't help thinking that it was ending just as things were getting interesting. This is a fine story, but not really the one I'm most interested in hearing. For better or worse, it simply felt like your basic apocalyptic action movie.
Pounce is an anthropomorphic robot tiger (I imagined Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes the whole time) who serves as a nanny to an 8 year old boy. When robots take over the world, Pounce decides not to sign up for the evil robot army, and he instead attempts to shepherd his young charge across a wartorn suburbia to safety.
On the one hand, it felt like standard dystopian fare with a lot of shoot outs and reflections on mortality, alternating with savaging and building trust with secondary characters (who subsequently die).
On the other hand, there's an element of absurdism in the fact that the hero is, in fact, essentially a plush toy (
Spoiler
of course, we eventually learn that he's much more than this, but even once he joins up with the other Mama Bears I kept being struck by the even more absurd picture struck by now an army of military grade plush toys saving the worldDespite this incongruous set up, our characters manage to shoulder a surprising amount of emotional weight. Ezra has to struggle to come to terms with the death of his parents and what it means to be a "good guy" in the midst of death and gore. Pounce, meanwhile, has to struggle with freewill and what it means to make his own choices.
Ultimately, however, I don't think this ever quite reached the place of truly poignant reflections. The conclusions our heroes come to are the "right" ones, so to speak, but I also never felt they were truly in danger of becoming bad people. There weren't high enough stakes for this book to carry weight. The reflections on freewill were nothing I haven't heard and despite them coming from the perspective of a robot, I didn't feel he really added anything truly interesting to the conversation of what it means to be human or good or free.
Apparently, this book was written as a prequel to another book about the robot apocalypse by Cargill, which vibes because when I finished the book, I couldn't help thinking that it was ending just as things were getting interesting. This is a fine story, but not really the one I'm most interested in hearing. For better or worse, it simply felt like your basic apocalyptic action movie.
erikofthenorth's review against another edition
4.0
4.25/5 Stars
Sea of Rust, the first book written in this series (but a sequel to this), is one of my favorite "popcorn" sci-fi books. So, it'll be no surprise that I was both anxious and excited to read its new prequel. I'm happy to report that it met my expectations. Now, that's not to say it was better than its predecessor, but it was equally fast paced, interesting, and had overall enjoyable characters and narrative.
The "flaws" here are that it felt considerably shorter and a bit too heavy handed in its philosophical musings on self will and identity. Those nitpicks aside, I still highly recommend this to anyone who liked the first book or fans of robots and/or dystopian futures.
Sea of Rust, the first book written in this series (but a sequel to this), is one of my favorite "popcorn" sci-fi books. So, it'll be no surprise that I was both anxious and excited to read its new prequel. I'm happy to report that it met my expectations. Now, that's not to say it was better than its predecessor, but it was equally fast paced, interesting, and had overall enjoyable characters and narrative.
The "flaws" here are that it felt considerably shorter and a bit too heavy handed in its philosophical musings on self will and identity. Those nitpicks aside, I still highly recommend this to anyone who liked the first book or fans of robots and/or dystopian futures.
loonyboi's review
3.0
Considering that the author also writes screenplays (Doctor Strange and The Black Phone being two notable examples), it should come as no surprise that this novel reads like an action movie. That's not a bad thing! It's a fun and quick read, and I enjoyed it. I'll have to track down [b:Sea of Rust|32617610|Sea of Rust (Sea of Rust #1)|C. Robert Cargill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476602158l/32617610._SY75_.jpg|53204799] next, as this was written as a prequel to that (although I don't think I missed anything by reading it first).