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Penrose #2
Blood and Iron
The second novel in the Penrose series continuing from Twisted Metal . Appointed Commander of the Emperor’s Army of Sangrel, Wa-Ka-Mo-Do of Ko tries to establish relations between the existing robot population and the humans who have recently arrived on Yukawa. On the continent of Shull, Kavan forms the Uncertain Army and is marching to Artemis City. Upon discovery that the city's generals have made an alliance with the humans, he retreats to Stark where he plans the eventual overthrow of Artemis and the humans. Meanwhile, Karel is heading South, hoping to be reunited with Susan, his wife. As he walks, he hears more of the stories of the robots, and begins to understand something about his place on the world of Penrose. But with limited resources and tensions growing between robot and human it's only a matter of time before problems arise. And it's becoming more and more apparent that the humans are a lot more powerful than the robots first expected.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2010
10 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Tony Ballantyne
75 books73 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Anthony Ballantyne, is a British science-fiction author who is most famous for writing his debut trilogy of novels, Recursion, Capacity and Divergence. He is also Head of Information Technology and an Information Technology teacher at The Blue Coat School, Oldham and has been nominated for the BSFA Award for short fiction.
He grew up in County Durham in the North East of England, and studied Math at Manchester University before moving to London for ten years where taught first Math and then later IT.
He now lives in Oldham with his wife and two children. His hobbies include playing boogie piano, walking and cycling.
Anthony Ballantyne, is a British science-fiction author who is most famous for writing his debut trilogy of novels, Recursion, Capacity and Divergence. He is also Head of Information Technology and an Information Technology teacher at The Blue Coat School, Oldham and has been nominated for the BSFA Award for short fiction.
He grew up in County Durham in the North East of England, and studied Math at Manchester University before moving to London for ten years where taught first Math and then later IT.
He now lives in Oldham with his wife and two children. His hobbies include playing boogie piano, walking and cycling.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 24, 2012
This is an excellent follow-on from Twisted Metal and I could not help but think how simply it read but how brilliant it actually was.* You have a philosophical look at the human condition by allegory – taken from the perspective of robots – questions being posed about nature and nurture, reasons for existence, about the best political ‘solutions’ for a society and for individuals, in fact all the questions and quandaries that have always faced humans. And now you have actual humans here as contrast, which highlights the philosophical points being made. This is all wrapped up in a thumping good story with a central mystery still to be unravelled. I’m definitely looking forward to the next one and the denouement, whenever that comes. Nice one Mr Ballantyne!
December 30, 2010
It is a world inhabited by humanoid robots, female and male robots. Baby robots are created when a female robot twists the wire from a male robot into a mind for a newborn and it is inserted into a baby body. The twisting of a mind decides personality, fidelity and talent. Their past is shrouded in legends. But now humans have arrived at Penrose and their motivations isn’t pure. Most robot minds are twisted for ‘what is’ but a few are twisted with the ability to make their own decisions. This is an epic story about the start of a new era where everything changes for the robots of Penrose.
This is the second book in the series that started with Twisted Metal (review below). The first book explored the origin of the robots on Penrose as well as the City of Artemis’ war of conquest against Turing City and the North.
This story continues the story of Karel a strange robot that survived the conquest of Turing City on his quest to rescue his wife Susan from Artemis City and it also follows the former commander, Kavan of the Artemis Army on his return to the same city. We don’t know much about the second continent Yukawa but here we get to follow Wa-Ka-Mo-Do a newly appointed commander that has to deal with the newly arrived humans.
- The book is dedicated to Eric, Chris and Simon
- There is a map of the second continent Yukawa in the beginning
This is such an original world populated with humanoid robots and animal robots. The great mystery is how did they come to be? The Book of Robots talk about the Makers and the first robots but it is forbidden in Artemis and Yukawa. Now the humans have arrived, are they really the makers? Filthy animals according to some.
Above their world hangs a metal moon, what is that? And what are the humans doing to it?
I especially enjoyed the Emperor and the Silent City and their brand of robot society contrasted with Artemis utilitarian world view ‘everything is metal’
Kavan has succeeded in conquering the north and now he is returning to Artemis City as a hero. But the leaders fear him and they plan treason to stop him, for they have been twisted to love leadership above all. He forms an army and marches against Artemis City picking up knowledge and followers on his way.
Kavan made to follow and believe in one ideology as are all the soldiers of Artemis can be seen as a clever critique of fanaticism as opposed to Karel’s freedom to make up his own mind.
Karel is also on his way to Artemis City to reunite with his wife. He travels in the wake of the Uncertain Army and he explores secrets hidden in the old mountains of the north on his way.
On the other continent Wa-Ka-Mo-Do is in trouble, the humans has been given land and privileges by the emperor but the robots of Yukawa has been made for a society without humans and the tension continues to build. The humans’ motivation is not pure and there are fractions in conflict with each other. He learns more about the mysterious humans and befriends a teenage girl I hope will return next book. There is exploitation and colonialism in the way the humans treat the robots.
I also enjoyed Susan’s exploration of Artemis City while she tries to find her missing friend and escape.
Eventually there is a clash on both continents that will change their world forever.
I love the robots, Tony switches point of view and there is no problem understanding or believing their motivation. I am usually not fond of multiple main characters as it dilutes my focus but here it works great for me. The switches back and forth are timely and appropriate to what is happening. You will find that the timelines might not be what you expect but that works well too.
The only one I miss from the first book is Maoco O, the city guard that survived and was about to start a resistance. What happened to him?
Easily one of the best books I read this year if not the best. There is not often you read a truly original story. A world of robots made for how that world is, clashes with new concepts as conflicting human groups lands and starts to take advantage. It is a story about exploitation, colonialism, fanaticism and free will all packed in an epic science fiction saga about robots. I have been fascinated by robots since I read The Caves of Steel. You can read it as a standalone novel but I recommend you read Twisted Metal first. This is one of the books you should read this year.
This is the second book in the series that started with Twisted Metal (review below). The first book explored the origin of the robots on Penrose as well as the City of Artemis’ war of conquest against Turing City and the North.
This story continues the story of Karel a strange robot that survived the conquest of Turing City on his quest to rescue his wife Susan from Artemis City and it also follows the former commander, Kavan of the Artemis Army on his return to the same city. We don’t know much about the second continent Yukawa but here we get to follow Wa-Ka-Mo-Do a newly appointed commander that has to deal with the newly arrived humans.
- The book is dedicated to Eric, Chris and Simon
- There is a map of the second continent Yukawa in the beginning
This is such an original world populated with humanoid robots and animal robots. The great mystery is how did they come to be? The Book of Robots talk about the Makers and the first robots but it is forbidden in Artemis and Yukawa. Now the humans have arrived, are they really the makers? Filthy animals according to some.
Above their world hangs a metal moon, what is that? And what are the humans doing to it?
I especially enjoyed the Emperor and the Silent City and their brand of robot society contrasted with Artemis utilitarian world view ‘everything is metal’
Kavan has succeeded in conquering the north and now he is returning to Artemis City as a hero. But the leaders fear him and they plan treason to stop him, for they have been twisted to love leadership above all. He forms an army and marches against Artemis City picking up knowledge and followers on his way.
Kavan made to follow and believe in one ideology as are all the soldiers of Artemis can be seen as a clever critique of fanaticism as opposed to Karel’s freedom to make up his own mind.
Karel is also on his way to Artemis City to reunite with his wife. He travels in the wake of the Uncertain Army and he explores secrets hidden in the old mountains of the north on his way.
On the other continent Wa-Ka-Mo-Do is in trouble, the humans has been given land and privileges by the emperor but the robots of Yukawa has been made for a society without humans and the tension continues to build. The humans’ motivation is not pure and there are fractions in conflict with each other. He learns more about the mysterious humans and befriends a teenage girl I hope will return next book. There is exploitation and colonialism in the way the humans treat the robots.
I also enjoyed Susan’s exploration of Artemis City while she tries to find her missing friend and escape.
Eventually there is a clash on both continents that will change their world forever.
I love the robots, Tony switches point of view and there is no problem understanding or believing their motivation. I am usually not fond of multiple main characters as it dilutes my focus but here it works great for me. The switches back and forth are timely and appropriate to what is happening. You will find that the timelines might not be what you expect but that works well too.
The only one I miss from the first book is Maoco O, the city guard that survived and was about to start a resistance. What happened to him?
Easily one of the best books I read this year if not the best. There is not often you read a truly original story. A world of robots made for how that world is, clashes with new concepts as conflicting human groups lands and starts to take advantage. It is a story about exploitation, colonialism, fanaticism and free will all packed in an epic science fiction saga about robots. I have been fascinated by robots since I read The Caves of Steel. You can read it as a standalone novel but I recommend you read Twisted Metal first. This is one of the books you should read this year.
July 9, 2010
A superb middle book in the Penrose trilogy: destined to be classics, these are the best books about robots I've ever read!
May 27, 2017
Tony Ballantyne’s science fiction tends very much towards the hard side of things; his earlier AI trilogy looked at artificial intelligence and Von Neumann Machines, both their pros and their cons. Now this Penrose series, of which Blood and Iron is the second book, is very different but still definitely leaning towards the hard side of SF. These books are written purely from the perspective of sentient robots living on a planet where they are the only sentient beings. This is really not a trivial task if you want to create a truly robotic culture rather than just human attitudes put into metal bodies. Just what sort of motivations will a purely robotic culture have? How will they shape their environment? What sort of family life will they have? What of love? Ballantyne does an excellent job of addressing these questions. The first book – Twisted Metal – covers a war in which one state is dominating all others on their continent. Their technology level is pitched interestingly low; they have atomic power, trains and fight their wars with ‘infantry,’ relatively crude firearms and swords. Throughout this book the question of their origin keeps cropping up without resolution; were the first robots made or did they evolve? In this book this question moves more to the front though it is still left (presumably) for the third, as yet unwritten, book to answer.
The war of the first book has been won but now rebellion is stirring with within the ranks of the victors and elsewhere on another continent humans have arrived from space. Human technology is superior but there is something the robots have that the humans want creating an inevitable conflict. Behind this plot Ballantyne continues to explore the culture and motivations of the robotic society and in doing so holds up a slightly warped mirror to our own human culture. Robots have no real need for organics and view biological life as being slightly disgusting; something that is seen as a contamination in their predominantly metal world and that a well-run home, town or city should be kept free of. After the humans have arrived a brief dialogue between human and robot nicely encapsulates up their different attitudes:
Lake Ochoa shone with the healthy blue of copper salts.
…
‘Shame you poisoned the lake.’
‘Poisoned? That’s copper!’
I love these books; Ballantyne does an excellent job of not only making the robot culture consistent, believable and logical but also managing to make the story largely character driven with; each of the main characters has very much their own voice and motivations whilst still staying consistent with the overriding robotic culture. The writing is deceptively simple, always flowing smoothly and a joy to read and, despite their essentially mechanical nature, the main characters are all easy to empathise with.
Sadly these books don’t seem to be hugely popular but I have noticed that Neal Asher is very complimentary giving this one the same four stars that I have, so at least I’m in good company! I’m looking forward to the third book, which will, I believe, complete the series.
The war of the first book has been won but now rebellion is stirring with within the ranks of the victors and elsewhere on another continent humans have arrived from space. Human technology is superior but there is something the robots have that the humans want creating an inevitable conflict. Behind this plot Ballantyne continues to explore the culture and motivations of the robotic society and in doing so holds up a slightly warped mirror to our own human culture. Robots have no real need for organics and view biological life as being slightly disgusting; something that is seen as a contamination in their predominantly metal world and that a well-run home, town or city should be kept free of. After the humans have arrived a brief dialogue between human and robot nicely encapsulates up their different attitudes:
Lake Ochoa shone with the healthy blue of copper salts.
…
‘Shame you poisoned the lake.’
‘Poisoned? That’s copper!’
I love these books; Ballantyne does an excellent job of not only making the robot culture consistent, believable and logical but also managing to make the story largely character driven with; each of the main characters has very much their own voice and motivations whilst still staying consistent with the overriding robotic culture. The writing is deceptively simple, always flowing smoothly and a joy to read and, despite their essentially mechanical nature, the main characters are all easy to empathise with.
Sadly these books don’t seem to be hugely popular but I have noticed that Neal Asher is very complimentary giving this one the same four stars that I have, so at least I’m in good company! I’m looking forward to the third book, which will, I believe, complete the series.
July 20, 2018
A good continuation of the series. If you liked the first book, you will like this one as well.
June 27, 2013
This is the second book in the series. It's a gripping read - surprising, since it's written entirely from a robot's perspective.
In Blood and Iron, the action is divided between Shull - where the first book, Twisted Metal, is based - and Yukawa, a more verdant continent, whose robots have an appreciation for aesthetics and who cultivate trees, plants and livestock. Yukawa has a distinctly Japanese feel to it and the robots there are artistic and sophisticated.
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do is a warrior-poet. Strikingly beautiful, his skill, prowess and speed, as well as his rank, are admired and feared by other robots. He is summoned to the Silent City for a direct audience with the Emperor, who orders him to Sangrel, an outlying province. He is told to liaise with the planet's newest arrivals - animals. Humans from the stars, who have powerful weapons and machinery at their disposal.
Inevitably, the humans turn out to be less interested in learning about the robots than screwing them over. Despite their comparatively fragile bodies, the ‘animals’ turn out to be a lot tougher, and a lot more dangerous, than they appear. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do is caught in an impossible dilemma between his duty to the Emperor and his responsibility to the people of Sangrel. His indecision ultimately leads to his downfall and to a terrible fate, much worse than death.
The book is written entirely from the robots’ perspective, which puts the reader’s sympathy well and truly in their camp. There is also the uncomfortable feeling that the behaviour of the humans is, sadly, all too typical, especially when big business is involved.
Tony Ballantyne writes about Penrose with such unstinting confidence the reader is naturally drawn into the story. Each character has a distinct voice and enough depth to be both believable and likeable. The story moves forward at just the right pace, gaining intensity as it progresses, as the situation Wa-Ka-Mo-Do faces becomes increasingly dire. It’s one of those books you look up from and find it’s 2 am and you should have been asleep hours ago.
In Blood and Iron, the action is divided between Shull - where the first book, Twisted Metal, is based - and Yukawa, a more verdant continent, whose robots have an appreciation for aesthetics and who cultivate trees, plants and livestock. Yukawa has a distinctly Japanese feel to it and the robots there are artistic and sophisticated.
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do is a warrior-poet. Strikingly beautiful, his skill, prowess and speed, as well as his rank, are admired and feared by other robots. He is summoned to the Silent City for a direct audience with the Emperor, who orders him to Sangrel, an outlying province. He is told to liaise with the planet's newest arrivals - animals. Humans from the stars, who have powerful weapons and machinery at their disposal.
Inevitably, the humans turn out to be less interested in learning about the robots than screwing them over. Despite their comparatively fragile bodies, the ‘animals’ turn out to be a lot tougher, and a lot more dangerous, than they appear. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do is caught in an impossible dilemma between his duty to the Emperor and his responsibility to the people of Sangrel. His indecision ultimately leads to his downfall and to a terrible fate, much worse than death.
The book is written entirely from the robots’ perspective, which puts the reader’s sympathy well and truly in their camp. There is also the uncomfortable feeling that the behaviour of the humans is, sadly, all too typical, especially when big business is involved.
Tony Ballantyne writes about Penrose with such unstinting confidence the reader is naturally drawn into the story. Each character has a distinct voice and enough depth to be both believable and likeable. The story moves forward at just the right pace, gaining intensity as it progresses, as the situation Wa-Ka-Mo-Do faces becomes increasingly dire. It’s one of those books you look up from and find it’s 2 am and you should have been asleep hours ago.
October 28, 2012
I found this second installment better than the first. The first ("Twisted Metal") read more like a fairy-tale than a novel. This one immerses the reader more in the strange world of the Penrose robots. Much still doesn't make sense: like how robots can construct themselves from raw metal using nothing but a forge and their hands; or how they can operate with no power source; or how their minds can function, being made of nothing but twisted wire. However this time it is acknowledged that these are Big Questions and not just background. Humans make an appearance, and the mysteries of how the robots came to be and what they are destined for are advanced but not solved. I only wonder if the author intends to finish this tale.
February 26, 2016
Blood and Iron is the second book in the Penrose series.
This is one of my favorite books, ever. While I've read better writing and characters, I still can't help but go back to this book as my favorite. Its setting is brilliant and engaging, taking the rather cliche idea of a 'robot alien' and developing it to be something truly wonderful and unique. The characters are well done, with every character having their own identity, culture and deceptively simple view of the world. The themes are also well done, being both alien and somewhat bizarre, but also completely relatable.
I'd recommend this book to anybody with an interest in deep thought and more philosophical, character oriented stories. The world just kind of sucks you in.
This is one of my favorite books, ever. While I've read better writing and characters, I still can't help but go back to this book as my favorite. Its setting is brilliant and engaging, taking the rather cliche idea of a 'robot alien' and developing it to be something truly wonderful and unique. The characters are well done, with every character having their own identity, culture and deceptively simple view of the world. The themes are also well done, being both alien and somewhat bizarre, but also completely relatable.
I'd recommend this book to anybody with an interest in deep thought and more philosophical, character oriented stories. The world just kind of sucks you in.
July 1, 2013
An amazing book! Excellent in every sense of the word. There was plenty of action, drama, mystery, and just epic story telling to keep me reading, wanting to know what was going to happen next. Some amazing characters and character growth as well. Really enjoyed this book and think anyone who loves sci-fi would find the book to be great. I always suggest that people should read a series in order, and thus everyone should read Twisted Metal first, however, if you could only pick one to read, then I would say read Blood and Iron instead. Great book and I am truly excited for the next book in the amazing Penrose series.
November 5, 2015
Okay I was not into this book after I read the beginning intro. I waited until last to read it out of the group of books I grabbed because of it. When I finally settled down to read it I was not ready for the actual story. It didn't grab me as fast as some but once it did I was not ready to put the book down. The characters are unique and the story moves along quickly enough to keep the pace but not to fast to feel like you are missing something. I want to read more about this world. I also want to read more by this author just because of the style he uses.
August 23, 2013
Det var kul att läsa en bok om en värld helt bebodd av robotar. Finns en del annorlunda tänkesätt hos dem, och deras bristande nyfikenhet över sitt förflutna skapar ett mysterium som kanske får sin lösning i nästa bok. Detta lär vara del två av tre, så jag har mer att läsa, om jag kan hitta dem. Kanske dags att skaffa en läsplatta så att jag kan läsa precis vad jag vill.
December 15, 2011
I do not think this was as good as the first one in the series, but it was still enjoyable. I like the world he has created. I am not sure if there is a third one or will be another one, but I hope there is.
November 22, 2013
This was a great book. The sequel to Twisted Metal. It was a gripping story leaving wonder were it was going. The characters were really strong and you found yourself rooting for them or hating them, depending on who they were. Looking forward to book three, if there is one.
June 5, 2011
Much better than the first in the series and makes me look forward to the conclusion. From what I've read, however, is that may be a long time coming which is a shame.
Read
September 4, 2011Pretty good
March 23, 2012
A good Idea that doesn't reach all the way through. Fully readable, but in the end I kind of expected more from the 550 pages.
October 1, 2012
3 Stars. This is really weird.
October 31, 2012
The book is difficult to follow, and there is no transition between the main plot and subplots. I hope the third one will be better.
February 22, 2013
Where is part three?
October 28, 2014
Good book. It is an interesting concept
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews