The Spawn of The Death Machine

Android Avenger #2

by Ted White

"You are an artificially constructed human being, a mobile data-gathering device."
That is what the computer's metallic voice tells Tanner when it releases him from his cell. Naked, unarmed, with no memory to guide him, he emerges into a savage world, into the ruins of Manhattan in the twenty-third century where wild animals roam and men have become cannibals in a frantic struggle to survive. Who has unleashed this chaos upon the world? Has Tanner really been dispatched to gather facts to help save the tragic remnants of humanity? Or is he to be the final instrument of destruction?

Genres: Science Fiction

175 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Theodore Edwin ("Ted") White is a Hugo Award-winning American writer, known as a science fiction author and editor as well as a music critic. In addition to books and stories written under his own name, he has also co-authored novels with Dave van Arnam as Ron Archer, and with Terry Carr as Norman Edwards.

Reviews

[Bill Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tanner is awaken by a computer hundreds of tears in the future. His memories has been washed clean, he remembers nothing of his previous life. The world has changed drastically, cities has been destroyed and overgrown. Mankind has been reduced to pockets of savages and small settlements. He is tasked with venturing out into the new world to gather facts on the current state of humanity. As his journey progresses he slowly starts to remember who he was and where he came from.

[Matthew J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it is a bit of a hodgepodge of other story ideas, this book is quite entertaining and has some interesting takes on those ideas. Essentially this is like The Terminator being sent out to explore and catalog a classic After the Fall world where people have fallen back into barbarism after some event. As the book progresses and our character, who is supposed to be a blank slate, begins to remember his life before, the truth of what's going on and what went on is unexpected.
Apparently this book is actually a sequel of sorts. Tanner, the narrator and protagonist was also the lead in a book called Android Avenger. You don't need to have read that book to get this one, however. Again, he begins the book as a clean slate, his memory supposedly having been scrubbed by his computer-creator (that's not a spoiler, the computer tells him as much in the opening scene).
Having just read The Yngling, a book that's also about an ultra-strong hero in a post-apocalyptic world, it's interesting to see how much better Ted White handles things in this book than John Dalmas did in his. Though Tanner is an almost unkillable, super-powered android, he never comes off as blandly perfect. And he doesn't come off as an author stand-in, a so called Gary Stu (male Mary Sue). He's flawed. He makes mistakes. He needs to learn things.
It's also weird reading books from this era because you know if this came out today it would be like 500 pages instead of 175, yet there wouldn't be any more to the story. I miss the efficiency of storytelling that was so common (and in fact demanded by publishers) from this time. Sure, I could have dealt with the back half of the book having another 50 pages or so, to go into the various little adventures. But I didn't need them. The book didn't need them. So they're not there. It's a very tight 175 without feeling rushed.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm. Mostly it's an adventure. A fair bit like The Long Tomorrow but not as rich, not as thoughtful. Better than the pulpy covers though! Somewhat sexist, but then again the men were almost caricatures, too. Not quite worth my time, tbh, as I just don't see the different types of societies that have evolved as quite plausible. Read a modern post-apoc. like Station Eleven instead, to get a more satisfying experience.

2B ppl by 2050! Omg it'll be awful!

[Joe Santoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the 2nd book by Ted White I've read, and I would say this is the keeper. Granted, I'm a sucker for 'how did the world end?' books, but this is a particularly good one. The main character, Tanner, is some sort of cyborg, and he is send off to see how the world is doing. He starts in 'the City' (New York) where there are ruins and primitives that are raiding each other for wives. He progresses west through hunter-gatherers.... small towns, a city, a science enclave, then finally what I suspect is the authors ideal society on the west coast.

Along the way we find out what happened to the world and what Tanner is exactly. Excelllent classic sci-fi with lots of things to make you think about humanity and technology.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this obscure post apocalyptic fantasy and would love to find more like it. Begins with our protagonist awakened by his robot masters and told that he is a “data gathering device”. He is told to explore the ravaged world and report his findings.

Starts with him battling cannibal cavemen in the rust covered remains of a city. This part starts a bit predictable, then moves into more creative territory. Tanner must learn about how to survive among the savages, while learning how to be a man. Featuring a fight with a bear, vault dwellers, and a psychic community. It’s short, but just as long as it needs to be.

[Thomax Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ted White is a genius. His writing style is so well done that I am envious of him. He is my new favorite writer. The sad thing is you can only find his work in their original printing. They aren't even available as ebooks. Someone really needs to reprints for a modern audience. The sad thing is he is hardly even known now when he should have gone down in history as one of the best sci fi writers ever.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I might have liked this better when I was young but it just disappointed me in most ways.