Evil Robot Monkey

by Mary Robinette Kowal

"Evil Robot Monkey" is a science fiction short story published in 2008 by Mary Robinette Kowal. It was nominated for the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, School

3 pages, ebook

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winning alternate history novel The Calculating Stars, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series which continues in 2025 with The Martian Contingency. She is also the author of The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, The Spare Man and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the Nebula and Locus awards. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and several Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette has also worked as a professional puppeteer, is a member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses, and performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and Neal Stephenson. She lives in Denver with her husband Robert, their dog Guppy, and their “talking” cat Elsie.

Her novel Calculating Stars is one of only eighteen novels to win the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards in a single year.

Reviews

[Dennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Re-read 01/02/19:

I gave this one another try and indeed liked it a little better this time around. But I'm still not a fan of this particular story of hers.

__________________

I'm a fan of Mary Robinette Kowal's short fiction.

Such as The Lady Astronaut of Mars or For want of a Nail.

But Evil Robot Monkey, though nominated for a Hugo in 2009, just didn't do it for me.

If you still wanna try it yourself, you can read it here.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise is good: delving into the likely issues with uplifted animals. But it’s not really so much a story as a character sketch. It’s a great character sketch, mind you, because I don’t know of too many implanted chimpanzee characters out there, but the ending is a bit of a let down, given the premise. It truly seems to beg for more.

[Poornapragna Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short story which surprisingly captures emotions remarkably well. I loved Sly and Vern even more.

[Frannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story to read, nothing like I've ever read before, but hey, I guess that happens when you have to read books for school

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit of a cheat really as its only a 1000 word story, but I've been reading alot online during lockdown that I can't count so I'm counting this. Though short its a mini master class in 'show don't tell', with each word pared down to reveal something about the setting and the characters. I do wonder how this story would develop in a longer piece, while at the same time appreciating that with this story there's power in a quick gut punch.

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It spoke to me, like so many other of my favorite short stories it evokes feelings and questions about who we as humans are. In a way I have a great deal of respect for authors who can express and bring forth complex questions and thoughts in very few words.

At the very least, If they're not very good, you haven't wasted a lot of time reading them. But give this one a read.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a unique story that addressed bullying and feeling left out without the typical schmaltzy anti-bullying work that is out there. The author lets us into the anger that infuses those who are misunderstood, pigeon-holed by society, and feel helpless to do anything about their circumstances. Can't wait to explore this with my senior lit class.

[zerogravitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome little story about how horrible humankind truly is. An excellent dive into the mind of a nonhuman protag, with an incredible amount of investment and immersion over a short read. Excellent twist at the end and high payoff.

[Caleb M. Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something about uplifted animals just gets me, you know?

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very short and quite messy, and was nominated for the Nebula in 2009. Didn't win. My story reaction, from the little I remember: Eh, OK. Was he really a robot monkey? I don't care enough to reread it.

[Naomi Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good characterisation in such and also a really gripping concept put on paper in a really short time. Very impressive, but I'm not blown away.

[Dannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title is representative of what the teacher calls the chimp. It gives you a different perspective initially because I was expecting the monkey to do something inherently evil but instead I ended up feeling sympathy for this poor creature. The name of the chimp, Sly, implies how smart and intelligent he is with an implication that he doesn’t always use his intelligence for good and can be mischievous. The monkey named Sly is thought of as evil by the teacher and students because he became aggressive after being disturbed, but the story is not simply about good and evil. Sly, The cybernetic chimp is the developing character. At first, he exhibits chimp-like behavior but as the story goes on you become more aware of how intelligent and frustrated he is. The setting takes place in a zoo-like environment and is a direct representation of how Sly feels about his life. He is caged. Trapped in a body that his mind doesn’t belong in. He is not only confined inside a cage at the zoo but he has an advanced mind capable of abstract thoughts and feelings trapped inside the body of a chimp and put on display for everyone see. After being gawked at by a bunch of middle school students who proceed to bang on the glass wall, he throws some of the clay from his pottery wheel at the window and then writes the word ass on the window. He only wants peace and quiet to work on his pottery. Sly uses the clay to mentally escape his world of confinement. Vern, a zookeeper or caretaker of the chimp, then is forced to come in and take the pottery wheel away. He is the only one who Sly likes. You can tell he is understanding of Sly’s struggle and tries to better the modified monkey's life the best he can. Vern is the one who initially gave Sly the pottery wheel.

In the end, the chimp is punished for misbehaving by taking away the one thing that brings him sanity. It is cruel that this chimp must be confined to a cage every day and I think any human would probably act the same way. I believe it is a realistic response for this altered primate to behave angrily because I am sure he is aware of how trapped and limited his life is. I think this story represents how humans sometimes go too far with science and lack the compassion and consideration that are a necessary part of these kind of experiments. It makes me hate experiments done on animals more so than before. I feel pity for the horrible life Sly is forced to live. The advantage of seeing life through Sly’s eyes is that you understand how smart and frustrated he is being trapped inside his cage and inside a chimp’s body. It is ironic that the chimp has human intelligence but is still treated like an animal.

[John Cory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little short story. Less than 1,000 words long, but very satisfying and interesting. You can read it for free on the author's website.

[Tar Buendía · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historia muy breve que podéis encontrar de manera gratuita en la web de la autora: http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal...

Es muy emotiva y me encanta la ilustración de la portada (hecha por ella también). Aunque sea bastante clásica en el sentido de no ser muy novedosa está muy bien escrita y tiene el tamaño ideal.

[Tinkerbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's not fair of me to rate a short story at all, because short stories are not my favorite medium. (At least with this one I wasn't scratching my head and wondering what the heck I just read. I hate short stories like that.) This was just a little glimpse into the sad life of an uplifted chimp. And it was good. But it didn't blow my mind.

[Coco (freedom for all) Semi-Haitus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting depiction of what could possibly be happening or has happened or maybe even might happen. Short story. Easy to dissect for school depending on what you're doing. I do think that this theory could be made into an epic novel or series, it's a captivating thought.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and poignant.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A flash fiction story about a frustrated cyborg monkey in a cage and different human's empathy and lack there of. Short and poignant. The story is available for free on the author's website.

[Grant Engler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free from the author's website

[Dale Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best SF stories ever

[Jude (NovelReader13) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun and touching short story. I really enjoyed listening to the author's reading of this, and I'd read an entire book about Sly in a heartbeat!

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's short and decent.

[Joshua Kulinowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

The line "still so close that Sly could reach out and break him" really resonated with me

[Udy Kumra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! And it's less than 1000 words, thus giving me a free read for the year lol

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[Lars Dradrach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of condensed short stories and it's amazing what some authors are able to cramp into a few pages, but this one felt more like a sketch to something that could become a good story.

[Metis-dite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius

[PAR · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars! Very short story. Only 3 pages.
Read: 1/16/23
PDF link here:
https://cfa57c.p3cdn1.secureserver.ne...

[Lidia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a short story, it has a lot of surprises!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short exploration into character in a world where some animals have human characteristics. I felt bad for Sly. Great writing, I enjoyed this story.