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The Wildcraft Drones
Not yet published
Expected 21 May 26Can machines rewild us?
An AI breakthrough connects a team of scientists with a wild dolphin, but progress is neck-and-neck with climate breakdown. Class differences are only the first challenge when romance blooms between college girls at a soil remediation site. A forlorn drone seeks reassignment after his human companion dies—but a reckless band of rebels has other plans.
T. K. Rex’s debut collection explores a turbulent timeline where the role of intelligent machines changes alongside nature and humanity, in thirteen tales from the climate crisis and beyond. This is the world of The Wildcraft Drones.
Welcome to the Grungle.
An AI breakthrough connects a team of scientists with a wild dolphin, but progress is neck-and-neck with climate breakdown. Class differences are only the first challenge when romance blooms between college girls at a soil remediation site. A forlorn drone seeks reassignment after his human companion dies—but a reckless band of rebels has other plans.
T. K. Rex’s debut collection explores a turbulent timeline where the role of intelligent machines changes alongside nature and humanity, in thirteen tales from the climate crisis and beyond. This is the world of The Wildcraft Drones.
Welcome to the Grungle.
- GenresScience Fiction
202 pages, Paperback
Expected publication May 21, 2026
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I think this collection is utterly fantastic; there wasn’t a single story I didn’t enjoy, either on its own or as part of the whole. I ate it up. I wanted seconds and thirds and fourths. Enchanting, compelling, delightful.
Yes, The Wildcraft Drones will stick with me for a long time. Rex has created a fully realized, immersive world that feels lived-in, intricate, and astonishingly coherent, blending speculative science fiction, climate fiction, and human drama in ways I found so very inventive. I was constantly amazed by how the collection cleverly balances big, thought-provoking ideas with subtle, intimate storytelling.
Some of my favorite stories were “Squawker and Dolphin Swimming Together,” “A Holdout in the Northern California Designated Wildcraft Zone,” and “Fortyounce and the Seabitch of Strip Mall City”—tender, reflective moments of human connection paired with snarky, fast-paced adventures of drones navigating the wilds. I loved the sly humor and fable feel, the easy philosophical depth and vivid sensory details, and, well, pretty much everything about this book.
With humor, hope, and ethical inquiry abounding, The Wildcraft Drones is a rare gem that kept me both entertained and thoughtful, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Yes, The Wildcraft Drones will stick with me for a long time. Rex has created a fully realized, immersive world that feels lived-in, intricate, and astonishingly coherent, blending speculative science fiction, climate fiction, and human drama in ways I found so very inventive. I was constantly amazed by how the collection cleverly balances big, thought-provoking ideas with subtle, intimate storytelling.
Some of my favorite stories were “Squawker and Dolphin Swimming Together,” “A Holdout in the Northern California Designated Wildcraft Zone,” and “Fortyounce and the Seabitch of Strip Mall City”—tender, reflective moments of human connection paired with snarky, fast-paced adventures of drones navigating the wilds. I loved the sly humor and fable feel, the easy philosophical depth and vivid sensory details, and, well, pretty much everything about this book.
With humor, hope, and ethical inquiry abounding, The Wildcraft Drones is a rare gem that kept me both entertained and thoughtful, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Review of advance copy
I received an ARC of this book.
The collection of stories rates as very well written. The sentences feel crisp yet with a certain poetic touch. All deal, to some extent or another, with our changing environment. There's an urgency to the writing that reflects the importance of the topic, yet there is hope to be found in the way the characters try and find companionship with both one another and the natural world.
The punchy stories read easily, but each one has a depth to them, as well. While no book can solve our environmental crisis, this one leaves you with the hope that one day, as a species, we will.
The collection of stories rates as very well written. The sentences feel crisp yet with a certain poetic touch. All deal, to some extent or another, with our changing environment. There's an urgency to the writing that reflects the importance of the topic, yet there is hope to be found in the way the characters try and find companionship with both one another and the natural world.
The punchy stories read easily, but each one has a depth to them, as well. While no book can solve our environmental crisis, this one leaves you with the hope that one day, as a species, we will.
Read
March 6, 2026T.K. Rex’s gentle prose is dense with sly humor, sharp metaphor, and an abiding love for the natural world. These stories challenge us by showing us the logical conclusion of late-stage capitalism – spiraling natural disasters, a mushrooming police state – but they also show the endless promise of resistance and hope, of love and lust, of rewilding and regrowth. These characters – both human and adorable drone – will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading (and re-reading) this visionary book.
Did not finish
February 10, 2026I received a free copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Dnf @ 15%
This book didn't feel quite like a finished draft. The dialogue was unnatural, pacing nonexistent, and there were so many scene changes/pov shifts that felt unnecessary. There's not really any scene work, it's almost always the character summarizing what happens in the scene in a way that makes it kind of confusing what's going on.
Dnf @ 15%
This book didn't feel quite like a finished draft. The dialogue was unnatural, pacing nonexistent, and there were so many scene changes/pov shifts that felt unnecessary. There's not really any scene work, it's almost always the character summarizing what happens in the scene in a way that makes it kind of confusing what's going on.
March 16, 2026
I really enjoyed this collection of sci-fi short stories! The loved the combination of robotics and nature focuses 🤖🌻
Note: I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
Note: I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was an unique read for me. I never thought about a machine communicating with sea life, I found it very intriguing. It was a quick read which i really appreciated
February 28, 2026
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
2.75/5 stars
I love a book that is told through vignettes, but the execution in this one just fell flat for me. There was even a chapter I skipped because it just made no sense. Overall, this has the promise of being a really interesting scifi that focuses on nature, humanity, and the climate crisis.
Promising, but needs more edits.
2.75/5 stars
I love a book that is told through vignettes, but the execution in this one just fell flat for me. There was even a chapter I skipped because it just made no sense. Overall, this has the promise of being a really interesting scifi that focuses on nature, humanity, and the climate crisis.
Promising, but needs more edits.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews