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The Year’s Top Robot and AI Stories: Second Annual Collection
An unabridged collection spotlighting the best robot and AI stories published in 2020 by current and emerging masters of the science fiction genre, edited by Allan Kaster.
- “Callme and Mink” by Brenda Cooper—A robot that trains dogs tries to find good homes for them in a post-collapse world.
- “Go. Now. Fix.” by Timons Esaias—A “Panda Pillow,” programmed to comfort children, finds itself in the middle of an airplane disaster.
- “Your Boyfriend Experience” by James Patrick Kelly—A sexbot designer wants his boyfriend to test out his latest android.
- “Metal Like Blood in the Dark” by T. Kingfisher — Two space-faring robot siblings, living off sunlight and metal, are captured by an evil drone.
- “The Beast Adjoins” by Ted Kosmatka — A woman stranded on a comet schemes to keep her son alive and beat the AIs who have nearly wiped out humanity.
- “50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know” by Ken Liu — The obituary for an AI provides a list of advice for other advanced AIs.
- “The Ambient Intelligence” by Todd McAulty — A man in power armor confronts a sixty-ton killer robot hiding out in a shipwreck in Lake Michigan.
- “Nic and Viv’s Compulsory Courtship” by Will McIntosh — An AI that controls a city sets up an unwilling couple to become “ideal partners.”
- “Father” by Ray Nayler — In an alternate 1950s, the VA sends a robot to be a surrogate father to the son of a dead soldier.
- “A Guide for Working Breeds” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad — A grumpy robot mentors a perky robot who is having problems with its role in society.
- “Rover” by A. T. Sayre — A Martian rover, unable to communicate with Earth, detects a repeating radio signal from a spaceship.
- “Come the Revolution” by Ian Tregillis — In an alternate 18th Century Holland, a robot is determined to escape her makers’ constraints.
- “Sparklybits” by Nick Wolven — The sole stay-at-home mother of a multi-mom family must come to a gut-wrenching decision about their virus-infected smart home.
- “Callme and Mink” by Brenda Cooper—A robot that trains dogs tries to find good homes for them in a post-collapse world.
- “Go. Now. Fix.” by Timons Esaias—A “Panda Pillow,” programmed to comfort children, finds itself in the middle of an airplane disaster.
- “Your Boyfriend Experience” by James Patrick Kelly—A sexbot designer wants his boyfriend to test out his latest android.
- “Metal Like Blood in the Dark” by T. Kingfisher — Two space-faring robot siblings, living off sunlight and metal, are captured by an evil drone.
- “The Beast Adjoins” by Ted Kosmatka — A woman stranded on a comet schemes to keep her son alive and beat the AIs who have nearly wiped out humanity.
- “50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know” by Ken Liu — The obituary for an AI provides a list of advice for other advanced AIs.
- “The Ambient Intelligence” by Todd McAulty — A man in power armor confronts a sixty-ton killer robot hiding out in a shipwreck in Lake Michigan.
- “Nic and Viv’s Compulsory Courtship” by Will McIntosh — An AI that controls a city sets up an unwilling couple to become “ideal partners.”
- “Father” by Ray Nayler — In an alternate 1950s, the VA sends a robot to be a surrogate father to the son of a dead soldier.
- “A Guide for Working Breeds” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad — A grumpy robot mentors a perky robot who is having problems with its role in society.
- “Rover” by A. T. Sayre — A Martian rover, unable to communicate with Earth, detects a repeating radio signal from a spaceship.
- “Come the Revolution” by Ian Tregillis — In an alternate 18th Century Holland, a robot is determined to escape her makers’ constraints.
- “Sparklybits” by Nick Wolven — The sole stay-at-home mother of a multi-mom family must come to a gut-wrenching decision about their virus-infected smart home.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 17, 2021
89 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 14, 2021
Allan Kaster has done half a dozen best-of collections, focusing on Hard SF, Space Opera and more. This is his second annual Robot and AI collection, with the best of 2020, and he’s done a great job of surveying the field. Naturally, I looked for titles I’d already read and loved and was pleased to see them well represented. I’m especially fond of A “Guide for Working Breeds” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad, but I was delighted to be introduced to a host of ones I’d missed, including Ken Liu’s “50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know,” and Will McIntosh’s “Nic and Viv’s Compulsory Courtship” where a city-running AI just wants people to be happy, and maybe keep its job too. I didn’t find a single clunker in the entire collection of thirteen tales selected by the editor based on their impact on him as a reader, and which “deliver(ed) an epiphany, a memorable character, strong world-building, and excellent craftsmanship.”
My only beef with the collection, which is available on Kindle Unlimited for those of you with an account, as well as a trade paperback, is that Kaster didn’t include a forward or story introductions. Collections like this offer a survey of what’s out there, but I want the editor to add some context as well. Regardless, this is a fine baker’s dozen of tales and strongly recommended.
(Originally posted at: https://amazingstories.com/2021/12/sc...)
My only beef with the collection, which is available on Kindle Unlimited for those of you with an account, as well as a trade paperback, is that Kaster didn’t include a forward or story introductions. Collections like this offer a survey of what’s out there, but I want the editor to add some context as well. Regardless, this is a fine baker’s dozen of tales and strongly recommended.
(Originally posted at: https://amazingstories.com/2021/12/sc...)
August 25, 2023
My favorite story in this collection was easily “The Beast Adjoins”, which I could not stop thinking about for weeks after I read it. I’m still thinking about it. All the stories were most definitely worth reading but that one really stands out to me.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews