Sea of Rust
Ratings51
Average rating3.6
There is a reasonable backstory on the end of humanity but, other than that, this is just a sort of Mad Max for robots.
3.25 out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Brittle, a lone Caregiver robot, scavenges for functioning parts in the desolate Sea of Rust. Along her journey she encounters factions of robots that have differing visions of how the post-human world should be. It's marketed as something akin to The Martian, but it feels much more like a quirkier story out of The Terminator universe.
This was an interesting take on the post-apocalyptic genre and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story jumps between pre- and post-robot uprising and I found myself more invested in the chapters that described the history of the world before the apocalypse versus the present day narrative. Every aspect of this “what-if” world is well thought out and nicely conveyed to the reader.
For a story about metal automatons and artificial intelligence, Sea of Rust employs a surprising amount of emotional heft. Brittle's tale is one of angst, loss, and survival. I couldn't help drawing parallels to The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis, a favorite of mine that dives even deeper into the psyche of robotkind and explores what it really means to have free will. Sea of Rust is not at that level, but it is a serviceable and enjoyable ride nonetheless.
Suppose that we actually develop Artificial Intelligence for robots. This novel describes a possible future that is all too likely.
recenzie pe larg https://bloguldesefe.ro/2021/03/09/da-am-avut-o-apocalipsa-dar-cum-ramane-cu-a-doua-apocalipsa-sau-cum-s-a-inselat-asimov-sea-of-rust-de-c-robert-cargill/
Robot is too human for me to find interesting. Writing feels like a parady of an action movie.
Excellent start with a balanced view between the storytelling and Science fiction. Waiting for the next
DNF @ ~25%.
This was actually my second go at reading this book and I only got a little beyond where I initially stopped. I'm giving it two stars because I like some of the concepts and Brittle is intriguing, but everything else didn't work for me.
