Book Review: Robogenesis

Robogenesis by Daniel H. Wilson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The world is in ruins following the events of Robopocalypse. Archos-18 was defeated, or was it? Other mega AIs scramble to life as well. The Freeborn, humans, and a strange intermingling of man and machine all try to find their place in this new world they thing free of the looming threat of the AI supercomputer. They soon discover they're wrong, and again the fight is on to survive.

Robogenesis picks up pretty well right after the events of Robopocalypse. Though at first we're with some new characters in Russia. We're reintroduced to characters from the first book as they're thinking the war is over and can start moving on with life. Things don't go well though, and the characters slowly realize the war never really ended, and eventually everyone is reunited, and some new characters are brought in as well on both sides.

I absolutely loved Robopocalypse. I was excited to read Robogenesis and see where the story went. This books feels like a middle book in a trilogy, especially the way it ended.

There was very little happiness for the characters in the book. I can only think of two events that were really happy. And I happen to like some happy in my books, even post-apoc end-of-world war stories need some happy in them in my opinion.

I think my favorite character this time around might be Houdini. Loyal and faithful Houdini. A close second would be Nine Oh Two, is almost more human than the human characters, and definitely more human than the other freeborn.

Overall, it's a good book. I don't think it's as good as the first one, but if there's a third book in the series I'll definitely keep reading!

I received an eARC of Robogenesis through Netgalley.


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Book Review: Daybreak Zero

Daybreak Zero (A Novel of Daybreak), by John Barnes, is the follow up to Directive 51, in which a radical terrorist group (or is it?) known as Daybreak unleashes nanoswarms and biotes across the planet that destroy practically anything made of plastic and follow up with targeted nuclear attacks and EMPs launched from the moon to further take down infrastructure and take man back to the stone age.

Anything not made of organic materials - fuel, plastics, clothes - turns to sludge. Millions die and the world as we know it has changed forever. People struggle to keep remaining technology clean and free from the nanoswarms and biotes. The United States crumbles under the disaster, but two groups of patriots in separate parts of the country form new temporary governments in an order to bring back the constutional government of the United States.

Daybreak Zero follows these two groups as they try to politically maneuver each other out of existence, while at the same time agreeing to work together to bring about the next Presidential election to firmly re-establish the US government. At the same time, they both have to battle groups of Daybreak followers known as tribes, and former rich citizens that have set themselves up as Castles in their own little fiefdoms around the country.

Daybreak Zero is a story of rebuilding the nation, a story of survival of the fittest, and a mystery about what Daybreak really is and where it came from. It's set on a large canvas, but is told in the individual lives of the characters. The cast is huge, but some characters get more focus than others - don't get too attached though, because some of them don't make it.

Daybreak Zero clearly sets the stage for another book in the series, and if I didn't read another one I'd be content with this book. It starts and ends where it needs to and sums up previous events from Directive 51 throughout the narrative. Though having read this book, I want to know what happens next!

Daybreak Zero was provided to me by the publisher for review and is due in stores on March 1st.