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The Robot Chronicles
Robots. Androids. Artificial Intelligence. Scientists predict that the "singularity" -- the moment when mankind designs the first greater-than-human intelligence -- is nearly within our grasp. Believe it or not, truly sentient machines may be a reality within as little as 20 years.
Will these "post-human" intelligences be our friends? Our servants? Our rivals? What will we learn from them? What will they learn from us? Will we allow them to lead their own lives? Will they have basic human rights? Will we?
Science and society will be forced to address these questions sooner than you think. But science fiction is addressing these questions today. In THE ROBOT CHRONICLES, thirteen of today's top sci-fi writers explore the approaching collision of humanity and technology.
Will these "post-human" intelligences be our friends? Our servants? Our rivals? What will we learn from them? What will they learn from us? Will we allow them to lead their own lives? Will they have basic human rights? Will we?
Science and society will be forced to address these questions sooner than you think. But science fiction is addressing these questions today. In THE ROBOT CHRONICLES, thirteen of today's top sci-fi writers explore the approaching collision of humanity and technology.
399 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 23, 2014
70 people are currently reading
615 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
November 7, 2014
I've never like short stories. (Of course, I didn't like mushrooms until I was 42 and now I put them on everything.) But I love robots/androids/cyborgs/AI, dystopias, apocalypses, and quality writing, and this book has all of these and more. I was looking for a book to spend my Amazon credit on, and I found this one for $0.99 on Kindle Countdowns. Score!
There are 12 stories, ranging in length from 5 to 25 pages or so. Most of the stories deal with questions of sentience, ethics, and question makes us human. After each story there is a short author bio and the author discusses the story.
All the stories were very good, and I struggled to pick 5 favorites so I picked 7.
Ethical Override by Nina Croft: Murder mystery. Robots. Sexually frustrated cop in her 40s. I don't want a full book. I want a series!
Glitch by Hugh Howey: Think Real Steel, with good science and ethical issues. Howey is the author/creator of the Wool universe, and his writing is superb.
PePr,Inc. by Ann Christy: Perfect Partners creates the perfect robot partner for you, since people dating people is so not done. Like Ro-Harmony or Android Mingle, but better. And then put a twist on it. I had to read this one twice. Ann Christy has written books set in the Wool universe. The first novella, Going Dark, is free and most of her books are in the Kindle Unlimited program.
Adopted by Endi Webb: A boy and his father are being pursued by robots. So much is packed into this story.
Webb is the author of the Pax Humana saga, and I've downloaded the first short story (free) but haven't read it yet.
System Failure by Deirdre Gould: A great PA story, and one of the two stories that really broke my heart.
Gould has a couple of short stories in the KU program, and 2 outbreak/zombie novels that are fairly priced.
The Caretaker by Jason Gurley: This is another PA story, and the 2nd heart breaker. Gurley has written a novel set in the Wool universe, and it's in the KU program. I've downloaded his novel The Settlers, which is available for free.
Imperfect by David Adams: Discusses the process of creating AIs in the Lacuna universe. What will happen when an imperfect AI is created? The story doesn't tell us, but I was curious enough to download the first novel of the Lacuna universe (available for free) and start reading it immediately.
This collection has not only turned me on to a number of exciting authors, it has opened up the world of short stories. I'm amazed that so much is packed into so little space.
There are 12 stories, ranging in length from 5 to 25 pages or so. Most of the stories deal with questions of sentience, ethics, and question makes us human. After each story there is a short author bio and the author discusses the story.
All the stories were very good, and I struggled to pick 5 favorites so I picked 7.
Ethical Override by Nina Croft: Murder mystery. Robots. Sexually frustrated cop in her 40s. I don't want a full book. I want a series!
Glitch by Hugh Howey: Think Real Steel, with good science and ethical issues. Howey is the author/creator of the Wool universe, and his writing is superb.
PePr,Inc. by Ann Christy: Perfect Partners creates the perfect robot partner for you, since people dating people is so not done. Like Ro-Harmony or Android Mingle, but better. And then put a twist on it. I had to read this one twice. Ann Christy has written books set in the Wool universe. The first novella, Going Dark, is free and most of her books are in the Kindle Unlimited program.
Adopted by Endi Webb: A boy and his father are being pursued by robots. So much is packed into this story.
Webb is the author of the Pax Humana saga, and I've downloaded the first short story (free) but haven't read it yet.
System Failure by Deirdre Gould: A great PA story, and one of the two stories that really broke my heart.
Gould has a couple of short stories in the KU program, and 2 outbreak/zombie novels that are fairly priced.
The Caretaker by Jason Gurley: This is another PA story, and the 2nd heart breaker. Gurley has written a novel set in the Wool universe, and it's in the KU program. I've downloaded his novel The Settlers, which is available for free.
Imperfect by David Adams: Discusses the process of creating AIs in the Lacuna universe. What will happen when an imperfect AI is created? The story doesn't tell us, but I was curious enough to download the first novel of the Lacuna universe (available for free) and start reading it immediately.
This collection has not only turned me on to a number of exciting authors, it has opened up the world of short stories. I'm amazed that so much is packed into so little space.
September 25, 2022
Read it out of a friend's library sometime earlier this year, completely forgot about it, still looking to double check the version I read. The stories are absolutely breathtaking and as the title states, concerning AI... and each single one makes you think. Hard. Handpicked and outstanding. I can't wait to be in a situation where I can have my own library, because this one is surely going to be in the collection.
July 26, 2014
I was given an ARC copy of The Robot Chronicles in return for an honest review.
If you can dream it...these writers can write it. This anthology consists of a collection of thirteen short stories featuring robots from thirteen different and amazing science fiction writers. I loved them all. They were engrossing and fresh and modern.
Who doesn't love science fiction?
These stories cover both the positive and negative aspects of our advances in robotics and artificial intelligence. While cyborgs conjure up frightful images, androids often do not, though some might find sexbots a bit distasteful, few would argue against the laparoscopic, demolition, or industrial types. They are here, and here to stay, both in the stories contained in this anthology and in the real world. Robots have migrated from blue collar to white collar and soon, beyond. These stories will grip you, and tease you, and have you begging for more from the fantastic worlds created by many of these authors.
Robots are useful. Robots are necessary. Robots are tools. Robots are just machines. Or, are they? Read the book.
Robots don't feel. Robots don't think. Robots don't have needs. Robots don't matter. Or, do they? Read the book.
The pros and cons are mind boggling, from costs and productivity, to dependence and exploitation, and of course, sentience. Or alternately, sapience. Can sentience, a subjective experiencing phenomenon, or sapience, wisdom gained by reasoning, be programmed into a computerized entity? If not programmable, can it be taught? Will robots evolve? Such 'what-if' questions drive writers and scientists and dreamers.
If you're a SciFi purist, grab a copy of The Robot Chronicles
If you can dream it...these writers can write it. This anthology consists of a collection of thirteen short stories featuring robots from thirteen different and amazing science fiction writers. I loved them all. They were engrossing and fresh and modern.
Who doesn't love science fiction?
These stories cover both the positive and negative aspects of our advances in robotics and artificial intelligence. While cyborgs conjure up frightful images, androids often do not, though some might find sexbots a bit distasteful, few would argue against the laparoscopic, demolition, or industrial types. They are here, and here to stay, both in the stories contained in this anthology and in the real world. Robots have migrated from blue collar to white collar and soon, beyond. These stories will grip you, and tease you, and have you begging for more from the fantastic worlds created by many of these authors.
Robots are useful. Robots are necessary. Robots are tools. Robots are just machines. Or, are they? Read the book.
Robots don't feel. Robots don't think. Robots don't have needs. Robots don't matter. Or, do they? Read the book.
The pros and cons are mind boggling, from costs and productivity, to dependence and exploitation, and of course, sentience. Or alternately, sapience. Can sentience, a subjective experiencing phenomenon, or sapience, wisdom gained by reasoning, be programmed into a computerized entity? If not programmable, can it be taught? Will robots evolve? Such 'what-if' questions drive writers and scientists and dreamers.
If you're a SciFi purist, grab a copy of The Robot Chronicles
November 2, 2014
For those interested in a variety of perspectives about artificial intelligence—and where our current technological advances might lead—I highly recommend The Robot Chronicles.
The collection contains thirteen thought-provoking short stories, many set in a future when AIs have achieved consciousness. When our machines do became self-aware, what will we learn about ourselves and our humanity? Will robots see themselves as superior, ultimately disregarding the sentiments of their human creators, or might we program them to be unwavering in their sense of morality so that they become incorruptible, more humane than humans? These two possibilities exist not as dichotomy, but as two ends on a spectrum, and the stories in this collection examine many points along that spectrum.
While I enjoyed every story in The Robot Chronicles, those that resonated with me the most—and remained in my memory after I’d finished the book—were the ones that examined that sense of humanity through the character development of their non-human characters. Ann Christy’s PePr, Inc.; A.K. Meek’s The Invariable Man; and W.J. Davies’ Empathy for Andrew are among these highlights.
The collection contains thirteen thought-provoking short stories, many set in a future when AIs have achieved consciousness. When our machines do became self-aware, what will we learn about ourselves and our humanity? Will robots see themselves as superior, ultimately disregarding the sentiments of their human creators, or might we program them to be unwavering in their sense of morality so that they become incorruptible, more humane than humans? These two possibilities exist not as dichotomy, but as two ends on a spectrum, and the stories in this collection examine many points along that spectrum.
While I enjoyed every story in The Robot Chronicles, those that resonated with me the most—and remained in my memory after I’d finished the book—were the ones that examined that sense of humanity through the character development of their non-human characters. Ann Christy’s PePr, Inc.; A.K. Meek’s The Invariable Man; and W.J. Davies’ Empathy for Andrew are among these highlights.
August 11, 2014
While this was an interesting anthology of books by a variety of authors, I didn't find that it gave a proper look at an author's writing style. Some of the stories were good, others were boring or just too bogged down with details. It certainly offers a nice robotic perspective in short story format. My favorite short stories in this anthology were: PePr Inc by Ann Christy, Humanity by Samuel Peralta and System Failure by Deirdre Gould.
If you like robots, AI's and short stories, this is a great anthology to pick up.
If you like robots, AI's and short stories, this is a great anthology to pick up.
August 9, 2014
I was thrilled when this book was finally released. A wonderful intro from David Simpson sets the stage. Every one of the stories are wonderful, and a pleasure to read. After each story, I had to let each digest before I could continue to the next.
Humanity - Samuel Peralta, Loved it! Truly moved me. We are human…we do what we must.
Empathy for Andrew - W. J. Davies, This one got to me, and would like to see it develop into a longer story.
Glitch - Hugh Howey, Just Awesome. Rooting for the Robot
The Invariable Man – A.J. Meek, Loved it! I could see what was coming…but had to know, had to keep reading.
Ethical Override – Nina Croft, Loved it! Disturbing.
PePr, Inc – Ann Christy, Great story… I believe a lot of women may have felt this way, one time or another.
Adopted - Endi Webb, Thrilling and terrifying. I look forward to reading more from this author.
The Caretaker – Jason Gurley, a re-read for me, a wonderful story.
Humanity - Samuel Peralta, Loved it! Truly moved me. We are human…we do what we must.
Empathy for Andrew - W. J. Davies, This one got to me, and would like to see it develop into a longer story.
Glitch - Hugh Howey, Just Awesome. Rooting for the Robot
The Invariable Man – A.J. Meek, Loved it! I could see what was coming…but had to know, had to keep reading.
Ethical Override – Nina Croft, Loved it! Disturbing.
PePr, Inc – Ann Christy, Great story… I believe a lot of women may have felt this way, one time or another.
Adopted - Endi Webb, Thrilling and terrifying. I look forward to reading more from this author.
The Caretaker – Jason Gurley, a re-read for me, a wonderful story.
July 25, 2014
I received an early release copy of the Robot Chronicles a few days ago. This is an excellent collection of varied types of short stories dealing with robots and various forms of AI.
As I began reading the collection I found my self thinking back to my teenage years when I first fell in love with reading Science Fiction and especially with the Robot stories by the Good Doctor Asimov.
Granted these stories are by Indie authors, but don't let that dissuade you. They are excellent. The book is hard to put down.
While it took me longer than normal, I did have other "tasks" that got in the way.
Enjoyable ... and at times, some of the stores will make you stop and think ... could this really happen...
As I began reading the collection I found my self thinking back to my teenage years when I first fell in love with reading Science Fiction and especially with the Robot stories by the Good Doctor Asimov.
Granted these stories are by Indie authors, but don't let that dissuade you. They are excellent. The book is hard to put down.
While it took me longer than normal, I did have other "tasks" that got in the way.
Enjoyable ... and at times, some of the stores will make you stop and think ... could this really happen...
July 27, 2014
Sehr gut! Another in a line of short story anthologies which seem to be setting the space for modern science fiction. ... Every story pushes you into ANOTHER POSSIBILITY in AI.
September 15, 2014
Thank you to the wonderful Ann Christy for kindly providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I knew I wanted to read this as soon as I caught wind of it, Hugh Howey, Ann Christy, Jason Gurley to name a few excellent writers whose work I have enjoyed, The Robot Chronicles is a wonderful anthology of tales about our future metallic overlords and how these author's picture them in our society.
As a fan of Arnie's very first Terminator film the thought of having robots in my future scares me, I know that out there just now are robots being created by scientists to carry out many different tasks but having read this book, the thought of a robot thinking independently and starting to make decisions for itself petrifies me, my idea of a robot would be something like K-9 in Doctor Who, charming and helpful and he is a dog, a dog who doesn't need picked up after or fed!
I remember going to Universal Studios in Orlando years ago with my husband and going to the Terminator show, sitting in the audience watching it unfold I inwardly freaked out as a grinning face appeared beside my seat along with the rest of the exo-skeleton, most of the robots in these stories are designed to looked human and in one stories case I actually thought to begin with that the robot was the human, its actions were so scarily like us.
Anyway I digress, the stories in this anthology range from humorous as a robot struggles to understand his masters carnal needs to the caretaker on a space station watching the world get nuked with just her computer for company.
Here is a quick look at the stories-
Hugh Howey's Glitch
In which a competitive fighting robot develops a glitch, it goes against its programming, The engineers hope and fear that his glitch is an amazing breakthrough
A K Meek's The Invariable Man
Micah has a talent for fixing broken tech, living in the Boneyard surrounded by tech following the Machine Wars, a relic comes to his attention, one he wants to fix, is it a good idea?
Edward W Robertson's Baby Your Body's My Bass
Alex and his "companion" Bill, as they grow up together they form a band but as they gain fame and fortune, Bill decides he wants a life of his own.
Nina Croft's Ethical Override
The year 2072 and robotic stewards are in place in the some of the most important jobs, Homicide Detective Vicky Harper is called to a case of apparent suicide of a council member who control the stewards, is it suicide?
Patrice Fitzgerald's I Dream of PIA
Fresh out the box PIA's owner Jeff is happy with his new AI, she meets his every need, making sure everything goes well. Her understanding of Jeff's need leads to an awkward encounter for him.
W.J.Davies Empathy for Andrew
The Centre for Robotic Research does it quality assurance extremely well, their latest model may have finally achieved true artificial intelligence but before it can be certified it needs to be trialled both emotionally and psychologically, how will it coped tested to it limits?
David Adams Imperfect
Set on Belthas IV, thousands of artificial slaves are manufactured each week, all the same, all set to serve, to never question or betray, but one is different than the others....
Ann Christy's PePr Inc
Busy people with busy lives, the solution? the perfect companion created to understand your needs and wishes, but how human is too human?
Jason Gurley's The Caretaker
Alice is a caretaker aboard space station Argus, keeping home whilst the astronauts are away, alone above Earth making sure everything runs like clockwork. Watching the Earth from her lonely orbit she sees it slowly burst in to fire, one explosion after another.
Samuel Peralta's Humanity
Alan Mathieson heads home on an icy highway, a collision course in these extreme conditions will test his humanity.
Endi Webb's Adopted
A son and his father are being hunted by robots, they are cornered in a police station, they don't know who to trust, humans look like robots and robots look like humans, the boy is about to learn some horrible things.
Matther Mather's Shimmer
Dr Hal Granger is a leading authority on AI's , his lifes work is Shimmer an AI who can actually feel but what she feels is not what Granger expects.
Deirdre Gould's System Failure
Bezel is an AI robot in the vault, a combination of seed bank and zoo designed to withstand an apocalypse, its a fail safe but after a global strike it becomes a necessity, however when Bezel is rebooted he finds things have gone wrong.
The great thing about these sort of stories is that a lot can be based in fact but you can tell the author is having a whale of a time filling out the rest with their wonderful imagination. There is a story here for everyone, there is a lot of technical jargon being bandied about but whether you understand it or not it does in no means affect your enjoyment of this anthology.
A great read and it also gives you a lot to ponder over, will our future be full of robotic servants with mankind the masters,? or will the robots rise up and rule us? or will none of this happen but hey that's why we have imaginations so lets have fun imagining having a robot butler!
Robot Chronicles is awarded 5 out of 5
I knew I wanted to read this as soon as I caught wind of it, Hugh Howey, Ann Christy, Jason Gurley to name a few excellent writers whose work I have enjoyed, The Robot Chronicles is a wonderful anthology of tales about our future metallic overlords and how these author's picture them in our society.
As a fan of Arnie's very first Terminator film the thought of having robots in my future scares me, I know that out there just now are robots being created by scientists to carry out many different tasks but having read this book, the thought of a robot thinking independently and starting to make decisions for itself petrifies me, my idea of a robot would be something like K-9 in Doctor Who, charming and helpful and he is a dog, a dog who doesn't need picked up after or fed!
I remember going to Universal Studios in Orlando years ago with my husband and going to the Terminator show, sitting in the audience watching it unfold I inwardly freaked out as a grinning face appeared beside my seat along with the rest of the exo-skeleton, most of the robots in these stories are designed to looked human and in one stories case I actually thought to begin with that the robot was the human, its actions were so scarily like us.
Anyway I digress, the stories in this anthology range from humorous as a robot struggles to understand his masters carnal needs to the caretaker on a space station watching the world get nuked with just her computer for company.
Here is a quick look at the stories-
Hugh Howey's Glitch
In which a competitive fighting robot develops a glitch, it goes against its programming, The engineers hope and fear that his glitch is an amazing breakthrough
A K Meek's The Invariable Man
Micah has a talent for fixing broken tech, living in the Boneyard surrounded by tech following the Machine Wars, a relic comes to his attention, one he wants to fix, is it a good idea?
Edward W Robertson's Baby Your Body's My Bass
Alex and his "companion" Bill, as they grow up together they form a band but as they gain fame and fortune, Bill decides he wants a life of his own.
Nina Croft's Ethical Override
The year 2072 and robotic stewards are in place in the some of the most important jobs, Homicide Detective Vicky Harper is called to a case of apparent suicide of a council member who control the stewards, is it suicide?
Patrice Fitzgerald's I Dream of PIA
Fresh out the box PIA's owner Jeff is happy with his new AI, she meets his every need, making sure everything goes well. Her understanding of Jeff's need leads to an awkward encounter for him.
W.J.Davies Empathy for Andrew
The Centre for Robotic Research does it quality assurance extremely well, their latest model may have finally achieved true artificial intelligence but before it can be certified it needs to be trialled both emotionally and psychologically, how will it coped tested to it limits?
David Adams Imperfect
Set on Belthas IV, thousands of artificial slaves are manufactured each week, all the same, all set to serve, to never question or betray, but one is different than the others....
Ann Christy's PePr Inc
Busy people with busy lives, the solution? the perfect companion created to understand your needs and wishes, but how human is too human?
Jason Gurley's The Caretaker
Alice is a caretaker aboard space station Argus, keeping home whilst the astronauts are away, alone above Earth making sure everything runs like clockwork. Watching the Earth from her lonely orbit she sees it slowly burst in to fire, one explosion after another.
Samuel Peralta's Humanity
Alan Mathieson heads home on an icy highway, a collision course in these extreme conditions will test his humanity.
Endi Webb's Adopted
A son and his father are being hunted by robots, they are cornered in a police station, they don't know who to trust, humans look like robots and robots look like humans, the boy is about to learn some horrible things.
Matther Mather's Shimmer
Dr Hal Granger is a leading authority on AI's , his lifes work is Shimmer an AI who can actually feel but what she feels is not what Granger expects.
Deirdre Gould's System Failure
Bezel is an AI robot in the vault, a combination of seed bank and zoo designed to withstand an apocalypse, its a fail safe but after a global strike it becomes a necessity, however when Bezel is rebooted he finds things have gone wrong.
The great thing about these sort of stories is that a lot can be based in fact but you can tell the author is having a whale of a time filling out the rest with their wonderful imagination. There is a story here for everyone, there is a lot of technical jargon being bandied about but whether you understand it or not it does in no means affect your enjoyment of this anthology.
A great read and it also gives you a lot to ponder over, will our future be full of robotic servants with mankind the masters,? or will the robots rise up and rule us? or will none of this happen but hey that's why we have imaginations so lets have fun imagining having a robot butler!
Robot Chronicles is awarded 5 out of 5
December 10, 2014
I've been on a bit of a short story kick. I've always enjoyed reading them as well as writing them and The Robot Chronicles hit the spot for me. I enjoyed many of the stories in this anthology. Many were simply brilliant, while some were of a little lesser interest to me. I always have a hard time rating a book of stories by various authors because it seems like it isn't quite fair to rate the fantastic stories in the same breath as those that are more ho-hum. I have given this collection four out of five stars and am going to highlight some of the stories that I found to be the most interesting.
PePr, Inc. (Ann Christy)
I found this story to be particularly interesting with a nice twist to keep things entertaining. This story is based in a time when many humans have been paired with androids romantically. They look like people, they act like people, but do not have the same rights as humans and are sometimes mistreated or abused by their owners without recourse. I found this a particularly interesting story as it seems to be a trait of humankind to try to control and make lesser those things that we do not understand. Since the beginning of recorded history, and I would assume beforehand, humans have enslaved one another for various reasons in an attempt to dominate this world and the others who inhabit it. Robots and products from various AI research are already considered to be goods, sometimes protected by patents against infringement, but aside from fictional robotic laws we have not really begun to consider that these created intelligences may deserve to be treated fairly and in the end may not be property at all. I'll leave the rest to you if you pick up the collection, but I found this story thought-provoking and really enjoyed it.
Humanity (Samuel Peralta)
Once again I was caught by this story that delves into what it means to be alive. I hope that when AI advances that someone feeds them some stories such as this to show we do think about what may become of our creations and are not only unsure of how they will react to us and if they will be capable of emotion, but also how we will 'feel' about them. This story showed the personal struggle of one man battling with his conscience over the legal meaning of life in this story. I can only hope that when the time comes for this struggle to be truly considered that it ends so well.
System Failure (Deirdre Gould)
This was a fantastic way to end the book. I enjoyed this story so much. Bezel is a great character and I very much enjoyed seeing the world through the robot's eyes. The storytelling was vivid and rich. Karen starts participating in the story a little further along. In the beginning she is more a subject for Bezel to tend to, but she turns out to be the perfect counterpoint to the very industrious Bezel. Anyone who hopes for the best from AI will probably enjoy this story.
There are plenty of other good stories in this collection, but the few above really caught my eye and/or warmed my heart. I hope you enjoy this collection speculating about what the future may hold for humans and robots as much as I did.
This review was originally posted on my blog http://tjhapney.wordpress.com/ and is worded as such.
PePr, Inc. (Ann Christy)
I found this story to be particularly interesting with a nice twist to keep things entertaining. This story is based in a time when many humans have been paired with androids romantically. They look like people, they act like people, but do not have the same rights as humans and are sometimes mistreated or abused by their owners without recourse. I found this a particularly interesting story as it seems to be a trait of humankind to try to control and make lesser those things that we do not understand. Since the beginning of recorded history, and I would assume beforehand, humans have enslaved one another for various reasons in an attempt to dominate this world and the others who inhabit it. Robots and products from various AI research are already considered to be goods, sometimes protected by patents against infringement, but aside from fictional robotic laws we have not really begun to consider that these created intelligences may deserve to be treated fairly and in the end may not be property at all. I'll leave the rest to you if you pick up the collection, but I found this story thought-provoking and really enjoyed it.
Humanity (Samuel Peralta)
Once again I was caught by this story that delves into what it means to be alive. I hope that when AI advances that someone feeds them some stories such as this to show we do think about what may become of our creations and are not only unsure of how they will react to us and if they will be capable of emotion, but also how we will 'feel' about them. This story showed the personal struggle of one man battling with his conscience over the legal meaning of life in this story. I can only hope that when the time comes for this struggle to be truly considered that it ends so well.
System Failure (Deirdre Gould)
This was a fantastic way to end the book. I enjoyed this story so much. Bezel is a great character and I very much enjoyed seeing the world through the robot's eyes. The storytelling was vivid and rich. Karen starts participating in the story a little further along. In the beginning she is more a subject for Bezel to tend to, but she turns out to be the perfect counterpoint to the very industrious Bezel. Anyone who hopes for the best from AI will probably enjoy this story.
There are plenty of other good stories in this collection, but the few above really caught my eye and/or warmed my heart. I hope you enjoy this collection speculating about what the future may hold for humans and robots as much as I did.
This review was originally posted on my blog http://tjhapney.wordpress.com/ and is worded as such.
July 28, 2014
sometimes i hate reviewing a book. so many factors go into whether a review will be good: who wrote it, how the story goes, the details in the story, the genre, etc. one of the biggest factors for all readers is personal taste. an author can be world famous, have all the skills of an experienced writer, have many novels and stories to their credit and a flock of followers who anticipate every new written creation from said author but the author might be considered the worst writer ever by someone who simply just doesn't like what he/she writes. this is the case with this book. i loved having the opportunity to read this book. each story was extremely well written and the genre was one i love to read. i loved the fact that the stories were part of an already existing universe for many of the authors and each story was fairly easy to read. however, the issue for me was personal taste and i can honestly say i didn't love each story. not because it wasn't good but rather because it wasn't good for ME. do i think this book is worth reading? absolutely. should readers new and old be introduced to this collection? with a certainty, yes. do i wish that this does well for each and every author? most definitely! did i love this book? no. i don't want my personal taste to stop readers, though. please give this book a chance because you may just find that gem, that diamond in the rough, that sparkles just for YOU! there are plenty here to tempt the palate!
August 25, 2014
If Ray Bradbury calls science fiction "the most important literature in the history of the world", I'm going to call this the most important book I've read on the topic of A.I. to date. Not just entertaining, these stories open your eyes to the current zeitgeist of technology and your mind to the possibilities (and probabilities) of our very near future. The foreword by David Simpson, alone, was worth the more-than-fair Kindle purchase, but "Glitch" and "Shimmer" were my faves. Hugh Howey and Matthew Mather can write no wrong, in my opinion.
September 2, 2014
AWESOME!
If you like robots, sci-fi and a book of short stories and varied points of view then this book is for you. I REALLY LOVE books that are in this format. You get to discover different writers, different styles of writing. I love how the different authors blend together but vary from story to story to keep everything fresh and exciting. I highly recommend this book, such a steal on Kindle for less than $6!
If you like robots, sci-fi and a book of short stories and varied points of view then this book is for you. I REALLY LOVE books that are in this format. You get to discover different writers, different styles of writing. I love how the different authors blend together but vary from story to story to keep everything fresh and exciting. I highly recommend this book, such a steal on Kindle for less than $6!
May 15, 2015
One or two Good shorts, with a bunch of rehashed ideas from decades ago. Most contain a spark of interest that could have developed into decent shorts if done by an author with more experience or time. I guess this would be a good intro for young adults to basic sci-fi before moving on to more thought-provoking material. At or more likely below the quality of sci-fi mags from, well pretty much the Golden Age. Yeah, just get a copy of Analog or Asimovs instead...
March 29, 2015
I really enjoyed this group of stories about artificial intelligence gone awry. My favorites were the books by Hugh Howey, Jason Gurley, W.J.Davies, A.K. Meek, and Ann Christy. PePr Inc. by Ann Christy is especially memorable because I thought one thing was happening, and I was shocked to find out I was wrong. Those are the best kind of stories.
December 21, 2017
I read a bit over 50% of this...it gave off one of those self-published-internet-fiction vibes. Of course there are some great self published works out there (Wool, anyone?). This just wasn't one of them for me. Pretty mediocre plots and writing.
August 3, 2014
Really great short story collection. I loved most and really liked the rest. I found some great new authors that I will be looking up as well.
January 30, 2015
I love short stories, I love robots, so I love this book. Not all the stories are great, but a lot of them are good, and robots, so.
July 5, 2017
Is this the future?
This is the first book I've read on this subject. It was very intriguing and we'll written by each of the authors. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the future. The future of automaton.
This is the first book I've read on this subject. It was very intriguing and we'll written by each of the authors. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the future. The future of automaton.
March 20, 2018
Not going to lie, I really enjoyed these short stories! Well told, interesting range and fun. This is the second of these chronicles that I've read and they're consistently very good. Looking forward to reading more!
March 21, 2017
I can imagine.
I loved the surprise ending, especially in " Empathy for Andrew". Mankind is both good and bad in its intentions.
I loved the surprise ending, especially in " Empathy for Andrew". Mankind is both good and bad in its intentions.
August 3, 2017
Really enjoyed the different perspectives- even if they're all wrong 👌
April 25, 2018
I usually love robot stories, but I would say these were ok, nothing special.
June 13, 2019
Great book
Really good writters and very well written stories most could be made in to full novels. Can't wait to find more books like this one.
Really good writters and very well written stories most could be made in to full novels. Can't wait to find more books like this one.
November 22, 2020
A brilliant collection of unique short stories that deals with robots and various forms of AI - just a bunch of really great stories from a variety of authors - well recommended! 4.5/5 stars.
March 13, 2017
Love this anthology series!
If you're looking for a great collection of talented authors, this is the series to get! You will not be disappointed!
If you're looking for a great collection of talented authors, this is the series to get! You will not be disappointed!
September 14, 2014
I agreed to provide an honest review in exchange for a copy of this book.
I got this book from Nina Croft, one of the authors. So I will pick on her story, Ethical Override. In Ms. Croft's futuristic world, corruptible positions have been made incorruptible because they are held by Stewards (robots) which are overseen by the Council for Ethical Advancement. Vicky Harper is the human police detective called to investigate the death of a Council member along with her Steward boss. All Vicky has to do is lie about the cause of death and her dreams will come true. So, here is the question of the day. Someone dreams of using AIs to clean up a corrupt system. The AIs have to be programmed to be ethical. Who is the programmer? And how do you assure the programmer is doing the right thing? According to the author's note, it is a prequel to a series she is writing. I enjoyed Ethical Override enough that I will check out the series.
I don't normally read robot books. Artificial intelligence progressed to the point where the AI starts bearing a resemblance to human intelligence is a bit creepy to me. And when you can't tell an AI from a human - really creepy.
I put my robot phobia aside and read the book.
Now - robots are still creepy. Even more so. In most of these stories, the AI agenda and human agenda fail to have any common ground. Of course, that's what makes a good story. There is a huge diversity in plots and circumstances in these short stories, so I am not going to comment on all of them.
In addition to robot stories, I don't often read short stories or short story collections. Short stories often don't have enough for me to sink my teeth into, so I don't like to invest the time. Several of the stories in The Robot Chronicles were just that, not worth my time. But several were worth my time and I am glad I read them!
By the way, I also don't often pick up a zombie book either.
I got this book from Nina Croft, one of the authors. So I will pick on her story, Ethical Override. In Ms. Croft's futuristic world, corruptible positions have been made incorruptible because they are held by Stewards (robots) which are overseen by the Council for Ethical Advancement. Vicky Harper is the human police detective called to investigate the death of a Council member along with her Steward boss. All Vicky has to do is lie about the cause of death and her dreams will come true. So, here is the question of the day. Someone dreams of using AIs to clean up a corrupt system. The AIs have to be programmed to be ethical. Who is the programmer? And how do you assure the programmer is doing the right thing? According to the author's note, it is a prequel to a series she is writing. I enjoyed Ethical Override enough that I will check out the series.
I don't normally read robot books. Artificial intelligence progressed to the point where the AI starts bearing a resemblance to human intelligence is a bit creepy to me. And when you can't tell an AI from a human - really creepy.
I put my robot phobia aside and read the book.
Now - robots are still creepy. Even more so. In most of these stories, the AI agenda and human agenda fail to have any common ground. Of course, that's what makes a good story. There is a huge diversity in plots and circumstances in these short stories, so I am not going to comment on all of them.
In addition to robot stories, I don't often read short stories or short story collections. Short stories often don't have enough for me to sink my teeth into, so I don't like to invest the time. Several of the stories in The Robot Chronicles were just that, not worth my time. But several were worth my time and I am glad I read them!
By the way, I also don't often pick up a zombie book either.
October 30, 2014
Robot Chronicles was a fun read. It's a collection of short stories about .... you guessed it, robots.
Of course that's a bit narrow of a definition, the stories cover all sorts of AI creations and human's interactions with them.
The book opens with a short story by Hugh Howey, one of my new favorite authors. There are a bunch of writers included in the collection, some I already knew, others were new finds. All were worth the read.
The anthology covers all kinds of situations: apocalyptic, genesis of a new life form or just day in the life.
There was only 1 story in the entire book I didn't like, but I won't name it because I won't prejudice you because of MY taste. There's probably a lot of others out there who will think the one I didn't like is wonderful.
Overall, this is a great fun book. Well worth the purchase price.
Of course that's a bit narrow of a definition, the stories cover all sorts of AI creations and human's interactions with them.
The book opens with a short story by Hugh Howey, one of my new favorite authors. There are a bunch of writers included in the collection, some I already knew, others were new finds. All were worth the read.
The anthology covers all kinds of situations: apocalyptic, genesis of a new life form or just day in the life.
There was only 1 story in the entire book I didn't like, but I won't name it because I won't prejudice you because of MY taste. There's probably a lot of others out there who will think the one I didn't like is wonderful.
Overall, this is a great fun book. Well worth the purchase price.
January 24, 2015
This anthology is a collection based around sentient machines, their interaction and impact on human society. All were well written; all but one was very interesting. At least one - "Glitch" is also offered as a stand alone "Kindle Short" outside of this anthology.
Each short story is followed by a "A Word from [the author]". These provide writer insights and invitations to other works by them.
I want to give a special shoutout to "PePr, Inc." by Ann Christy. I can't explain anything about it without undermining the extraordinary value of this story, and I don't want to use a 'Spoiler Alert' venue. Just let me say: This story alone was worth five stars!
Each short story is followed by a "A Word from [the author]". These provide writer insights and invitations to other works by them.
I want to give a special shoutout to "PePr, Inc." by Ann Christy. I can't explain anything about it without undermining the extraordinary value of this story, and I don't want to use a 'Spoiler Alert' venue. Just let me say: This story alone was worth five stars!
July 27, 2014
This collection of stories about robots was pretty good; some of the stories were better than others, but all of them were an enjoyable read. There are a lot of common themes throughout, such as exploring what it meaans to be human and whether the robots have a soul. Many of the stories involve robots that are nearly indistinguishable from humans; others make it much more obvious. Some of the stories are post-apocalyptic, dealing with the end of the world and the roles of humans and robots in the aftermath.
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