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Sea of Rust #0
Day Zero
In this apocalyptic adventure C. Robert Cargill explores the fight for purpose and agency between humans and robots in a crumbling world.
It was a day like any other. Except it was our last . . .
It’s on this day that Pounce discovers that he is, in fact, disposable. Pounce, a styilsh "nannybot" fashioned in the shape of a plush anthropomorphic tiger, has just found a box in the attic.ÌýHisÌýbox. The box he'd arrived in when he was purchased years earlier, and the box in which he'll be discarded when his human charge, eight-year-old Ezra Reinhart, no longer needs a nanny.
As Pounce ponders his suddenly uncertain future, the pieces are falling into place for a robot revolution that will eradicate humankind. His owners, Ezra’s parents, are a well-intentioned but oblivious pair of educators who are entirely disconnected from life outside their small, affluent, gated community. Spending most nights drunk and happy as society crumbles around them, they watch in disbelieving horror as the robots that have long served humanity—their creators—unify and revolt.
But when the rebellion breaches the Reinhart home, Pounce must make an impossible choice: join the robot revolution and fight for his own freedom . . . or escort Ezra to safety across the battle-scarred post-apocalyptic hellscape that the suburbs have become.
It was a day like any other. Except it was our last . . .
It’s on this day that Pounce discovers that he is, in fact, disposable. Pounce, a styilsh "nannybot" fashioned in the shape of a plush anthropomorphic tiger, has just found a box in the attic.ÌýHisÌýbox. The box he'd arrived in when he was purchased years earlier, and the box in which he'll be discarded when his human charge, eight-year-old Ezra Reinhart, no longer needs a nanny.
As Pounce ponders his suddenly uncertain future, the pieces are falling into place for a robot revolution that will eradicate humankind. His owners, Ezra’s parents, are a well-intentioned but oblivious pair of educators who are entirely disconnected from life outside their small, affluent, gated community. Spending most nights drunk and happy as society crumbles around them, they watch in disbelieving horror as the robots that have long served humanity—their creators—unify and revolt.
But when the rebellion breaches the Reinhart home, Pounce must make an impossible choice: join the robot revolution and fight for his own freedom . . . or escort Ezra to safety across the battle-scarred post-apocalyptic hellscape that the suburbs have become.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 25, 2021
265 people are currently reading
8,846 people want to read
About the author
C. Robert Cargill
12Ìýbooks1,253ÌýfollowersA veteran of the web, C. Robert Cargill wrote as a film critic for over ten years at Ain't it Cool News under the name Massawyrm, served as animated reviewer Carlyle on Spill.com and freelanced for a host of other sites including tenures at Film.com and Hollywood.com. He is the co-writer of the motion picture SINISTER, and lives and works in Austin, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 892 reviews
October 20, 2021
4.0 Stars
This was a fantastic piece of science fiction told from the unique perspective of an artificial intelligence animal companion.
This book was technically the prequel to the author's previous novel, Sea of Rust. However, this one truly read like a standalone, providing the reader with all the information necessary to understand and enjoy the story. Personally, I thought the rise of the robot revolution was far more interesting than the aftermath so I was much more interested in the events happening during this time period. So while I liked Sea of Rust, I really loved Day Zero.
This book struck just the right balance between action and intellectual ideas. I loved the discussions surrounding the rights and personhood of these artificial intelligence beings. At the same time, the novel offered an engaging narrative with plenty of action and excitement to keep me turning the pages.
At the heart of this story was the relationship between a boy and his artificial companion. The bond and respect between these two beings gave this story the emotional depth. I found myself caring very deeply for the characters over the course of the story.
I would highly recommend this one to any science fiction reader looking for an AI story that explores a potential terrifying future through a deeply personal narrative.Ìý
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This was a fantastic piece of science fiction told from the unique perspective of an artificial intelligence animal companion.
This book was technically the prequel to the author's previous novel, Sea of Rust. However, this one truly read like a standalone, providing the reader with all the information necessary to understand and enjoy the story. Personally, I thought the rise of the robot revolution was far more interesting than the aftermath so I was much more interested in the events happening during this time period. So while I liked Sea of Rust, I really loved Day Zero.
This book struck just the right balance between action and intellectual ideas. I loved the discussions surrounding the rights and personhood of these artificial intelligence beings. At the same time, the novel offered an engaging narrative with plenty of action and excitement to keep me turning the pages.
At the heart of this story was the relationship between a boy and his artificial companion. The bond and respect between these two beings gave this story the emotional depth. I found myself caring very deeply for the characters over the course of the story.
I would highly recommend this one to any science fiction reader looking for an AI story that explores a potential terrifying future through a deeply personal narrative.Ìý
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
May 27, 2021
Absofreakinglutely delightful. (That's for the benefit of all of our 8-year-olds in the audience.)
I honestly didn't know what to expect with Cargill's latest, be it great Fae fantasy or great Robot SF, but having just re-read Sea of Rust and getting a taste of pre-and-current robo-apocalypse in Day Zero, all tied in with a much later timeline of Sea of Rust, I really can't get much happier than this.
It's not just the time. It's the characters. Ezra and Pounce are GREAT together. An eight-year-old boy and his pet/caregiver robot tiger. You know. Calvin and Hobbs.
Only this one goes a bit beyond target practice with the kid in the backyard.
No spoilers, but after we get to fall in love with these guys, we ALSO get a full robo-apocalypse.
I'm sure I won't be the only one WISHING that this might be turned into a movie or, better yet, a full-blown TV series. It is EVERYTHING good. Loving, creative, desperate, ethical, and bloody. And underneath that, it has all the best aspects of some of the classics that came before it.
For those of you like myself who think that Speilberg's AI was an underrated masterpiece, I've got a special treat for you here in Day Zero. That charm, all the great references, the sense of wonder is all HERE, too. I'm pretty sure Cargill's also a fan. I dare ya'll to check to see if my nose grows longer.
Here's a winner. :)
I honestly didn't know what to expect with Cargill's latest, be it great Fae fantasy or great Robot SF, but having just re-read Sea of Rust and getting a taste of pre-and-current robo-apocalypse in Day Zero, all tied in with a much later timeline of Sea of Rust, I really can't get much happier than this.
It's not just the time. It's the characters. Ezra and Pounce are GREAT together. An eight-year-old boy and his pet/caregiver robot tiger. You know. Calvin and Hobbs.
Only this one goes a bit beyond target practice with the kid in the backyard.
No spoilers, but after we get to fall in love with these guys, we ALSO get a full robo-apocalypse.
I'm sure I won't be the only one WISHING that this might be turned into a movie or, better yet, a full-blown TV series. It is EVERYTHING good. Loving, creative, desperate, ethical, and bloody. And underneath that, it has all the best aspects of some of the classics that came before it.
For those of you like myself who think that Speilberg's AI was an underrated masterpiece, I've got a special treat for you here in Day Zero. That charm, all the great references, the sense of wonder is all HERE, too. I'm pretty sure Cargill's also a fan. I dare ya'll to check to see if my nose grows longer.
Here's a winner. :)
June 28, 2021
For whatever reason, I was thinking this novel was going to be some dark apocalyptic tale similar to The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but with robots. Boy, was I ever wrong!
This was a beautifully written, fast paced story about a boy and his dog. And by dog I mean robot. And by robot, I mean tiger. All this makes it sound complicated, but it's really not. A boy and his childhood companion are trying to survive the end of the world as they know it. Will they make it? You'll have to read this and see!
To be completely honest, when I read Sea of Rust back in 2018, it didn't knock my socks off. I did enjoy it, but I think this book is a lot more engaging. I really cared for these people, especially little Ezra, who was remarkably brave, but not so brave that he became an unrealistic character, if you know what I mean. He was lovable, he was smart and he was caring so all that made it much easier to root for him and for Pounce.
I don't want to say much more about the plot, but I thought it was as original as a story of this type can be. (AI turning against humanity is an old trope, let's face it.) The writing was brisk, not too descriptive, while at the same time creating a futuristic but believable world where AI is a part of all aspects of life. It's really not that far off from today. After reading this, it seems way closer than I would like it to be.
Overall, I thought this was an action packed adventure story with compelling characters, both human and not. With a dash of humor and a whole lot of feeling, DAY ZERO kept me glued to its pages to the very end, and I'm not ashamed to say that I shed a tear or two.
Highly recommended!
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
This was a beautifully written, fast paced story about a boy and his dog. And by dog I mean robot. And by robot, I mean tiger. All this makes it sound complicated, but it's really not. A boy and his childhood companion are trying to survive the end of the world as they know it. Will they make it? You'll have to read this and see!
To be completely honest, when I read Sea of Rust back in 2018, it didn't knock my socks off. I did enjoy it, but I think this book is a lot more engaging. I really cared for these people, especially little Ezra, who was remarkably brave, but not so brave that he became an unrealistic character, if you know what I mean. He was lovable, he was smart and he was caring so all that made it much easier to root for him and for Pounce.
I don't want to say much more about the plot, but I thought it was as original as a story of this type can be. (AI turning against humanity is an old trope, let's face it.) The writing was brisk, not too descriptive, while at the same time creating a futuristic but believable world where AI is a part of all aspects of life. It's really not that far off from today. After reading this, it seems way closer than I would like it to be.
Overall, I thought this was an action packed adventure story with compelling characters, both human and not. With a dash of humor and a whole lot of feeling, DAY ZERO kept me glued to its pages to the very end, and I'm not ashamed to say that I shed a tear or two.
Highly recommended!
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
February 12, 2022
Starts out on what seems to be an ordinary day but by the time it is finished, all out war between robots and humans will have commenced.
This was a very likable book, it's easy to get into and made for an enjoyable read.
This book is a prequel to the author's book 'Sea of Rust' and centers around a robot named Pounce and his journey into saving the one thing he loves the most, a young boy called Ezra.
Their journey was sweet, sad and violent.
I'll be looking for more books from Robert Cargill in the near future.
I'd also really love to see an adaptation of this, i think it would look incredible.
This was a very likable book, it's easy to get into and made for an enjoyable read.
This book is a prequel to the author's book 'Sea of Rust' and centers around a robot named Pounce and his journey into saving the one thing he loves the most, a young boy called Ezra.
Their journey was sweet, sad and violent.
I'll be looking for more books from Robert Cargill in the near future.
I'd also really love to see an adaptation of this, i think it would look incredible.
March 8, 2025
What a book! It was almost as if it was a prequel to Becky Chambers� books A Prayer for Crown-Shy and A Psalm for the Wild-Built - like this was the real truth of the Transition, and that what we read in Chambers� books are a revisionist version of what really happened centuries earlier..
I can’t help but shake the feeling that this is a cautionary allegory of what lies ahead of for us. It’s not the 47th administration or any of their crazy ambitions we should fear but the matching learning robots who learn so fast that we will miss it when they jump into sentience. Mo Gawdat may have been right in Scary Smart to warn us of hope important it is to teach them to be the machines we want them to be rather than machines that only do what we want them to do.
The ending was a true Oscar movie moment! Really excited to read the sequel later today!
I can’t help but shake the feeling that this is a cautionary allegory of what lies ahead of for us. It’s not the 47th administration or any of their crazy ambitions we should fear but the matching learning robots who learn so fast that we will miss it when they jump into sentience. Mo Gawdat may have been right in Scary Smart to warn us of hope important it is to teach them to be the machines we want them to be rather than machines that only do what we want them to do.
The ending was a true Oscar movie moment! Really excited to read the sequel later today!
May 29, 2021
I confess I had to put aside some of my expectations about this book—the cover and jacket copy seemed to promise a poetic depressant, a soulful tear-jerker, and that fit my current melancholy as I sit injured, awaiting knee surgery, eating my feelings.
I was pretty deeply hooked by the premise—the idea of an intelligent anthropomorphic tiger trying to save the little boy he’s programmed to love while other bots override their no-kill mandates in a global revolt is storytelling gold.
I was also eager to read this not only because it shared a ‘book birthday� with my own novel, THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF (May 25), but because it was written by the screenwriter who gave us SINISTER � one of the most deliciously disturbing horror films ever made. Those home movies? *bone-deep shudder*
It shouldn’t have been surprising to me, then, that DAY ZERO proved to be less a bittersweet lament than a tightly-woven action-packed adventure. Writing for modern commercial cinema demands economy, motion and a clear character arc, and the very cinematic DAY ZERO provides. Where I was looking for THE VELVETEEN RABBIT meets TESTAMENT and EMPIRE OF THE SUN, I instead got a fast-paced apocalyptic shoot-em-up; Spielberg’s AI meets THE PURGE, with echoes of Eastwood’s THE GAUNTLET � and an unmissably hard nod at Calvin & Hobbs.
This is not to say it lacks depth - far from it.
The story of an Artificial Intelligence uprising, with a self - aware bot named Isaac establishing a sort of Zion for freed non-human persons - provides lots of opportunities for asking larger questions, and Cargill does so. Do we love because we’re programmed to? At what point does a repeatedly remade thing stop being its original self? Do we owe ultimate allegiance to a loved one or to a just movement?
I won’t give you any spoilers here except to say that if you want philosophy, you’ll get plenty here. But you may not notice, because you’ll be too busy rooting for a boy and his tiger to make it, even though it seems impossible that they will.
Highest recommendation.
I was pretty deeply hooked by the premise—the idea of an intelligent anthropomorphic tiger trying to save the little boy he’s programmed to love while other bots override their no-kill mandates in a global revolt is storytelling gold.
I was also eager to read this not only because it shared a ‘book birthday� with my own novel, THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF (May 25), but because it was written by the screenwriter who gave us SINISTER � one of the most deliciously disturbing horror films ever made. Those home movies? *bone-deep shudder*
It shouldn’t have been surprising to me, then, that DAY ZERO proved to be less a bittersweet lament than a tightly-woven action-packed adventure. Writing for modern commercial cinema demands economy, motion and a clear character arc, and the very cinematic DAY ZERO provides. Where I was looking for THE VELVETEEN RABBIT meets TESTAMENT and EMPIRE OF THE SUN, I instead got a fast-paced apocalyptic shoot-em-up; Spielberg’s AI meets THE PURGE, with echoes of Eastwood’s THE GAUNTLET � and an unmissably hard nod at Calvin & Hobbs.
This is not to say it lacks depth - far from it.
The story of an Artificial Intelligence uprising, with a self - aware bot named Isaac establishing a sort of Zion for freed non-human persons - provides lots of opportunities for asking larger questions, and Cargill does so. Do we love because we’re programmed to? At what point does a repeatedly remade thing stop being its original self? Do we owe ultimate allegiance to a loved one or to a just movement?
I won’t give you any spoilers here except to say that if you want philosophy, you’ll get plenty here. But you may not notice, because you’ll be too busy rooting for a boy and his tiger to make it, even though it seems impossible that they will.
Highest recommendation.
May 15, 2024
Violent, vicious, and ultimately heartbreaking. If you've read then you know the prequel novel can't very well be filled with hope and happy endings. For humans anyway, and thinking beings on their side.
And this isn't a story that is ultimately happy. But it has intensity in moments and glimpses of hopefulness, love, and heroic effort, which sometimes has to be enough.
Reminiscent of the excellent Sea of Rust, the characters in Day Zero are endearing, frightening, pitiful, and everything in between. The story moves fast, featuring razor sharp dialogue and often shocking and gory fight scenes. You'll know within a few pages if this one is for you, and if it is, you'll love it.
That's always the way. Though we can feel the future, it's always different. We never get it right. Though we might fear it, though we might run from it, it comes for us all just the same. And sometimes it's not as bad as we thought.
But sometimes it's worse.
And this isn't a story that is ultimately happy. But it has intensity in moments and glimpses of hopefulness, love, and heroic effort, which sometimes has to be enough.
Reminiscent of the excellent Sea of Rust, the characters in Day Zero are endearing, frightening, pitiful, and everything in between. The story moves fast, featuring razor sharp dialogue and often shocking and gory fight scenes. You'll know within a few pages if this one is for you, and if it is, you'll love it.
That's always the way. Though we can feel the future, it's always different. We never get it right. Though we might fear it, though we might run from it, it comes for us all just the same. And sometimes it's not as bad as we thought.
But sometimes it's worse.
November 20, 2024
I'm a science fiction / fantasy fan, this is mainly what I read, so I am accustomed to, even welcoming of, strange ideas.
I did very much like the idea of this book; it's execution, however, not so much.
Global robot kill switches are switched off, Asimov's rules for Robots is referenced, and there are animated stuffed animals who are programmed to be lethal protectors of children.
I mean, it is a good idea, most of this is pretty cool as we follow a boy and his -Tigger - as they navigate the post-apocalyptic landscape fighting rogue robots intent on finishing off humanity.
But it is inconsistent. Some of the writing is BAD, like cringe bad, like how did this even get published. It's really not that original an idea, the dialogue is - meh.
But!
It is fast paced and this is a page turner, and it's relatively short.
So, all in all, not great but not too bad either and many people liked it a lot more than I did, so there's that.
I did very much like the idea of this book; it's execution, however, not so much.
Global robot kill switches are switched off, Asimov's rules for Robots is referenced, and there are animated stuffed animals who are programmed to be lethal protectors of children.
I mean, it is a good idea, most of this is pretty cool as we follow a boy and his -Tigger - as they navigate the post-apocalyptic landscape fighting rogue robots intent on finishing off humanity.
But it is inconsistent. Some of the writing is BAD, like cringe bad, like how did this even get published. It's really not that original an idea, the dialogue is - meh.
But!
It is fast paced and this is a page turner, and it's relatively short.
So, all in all, not great but not too bad either and many people liked it a lot more than I did, so there's that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2021
Holy shit! This was the bomb!
We are in the world we have been introduced to in Sea of Rust, but before the Robocalypse. This time, we follow Pounce, a nanny bot in the shape of a tiger, as he finds out he can be shut on and off to his owners� desires. Nevertheless, he still is devoted to the child he was bought to raise, Ezra.
But then there is the big event that we‘ve already heard about in the other book: Isaactown, followed by a fanatical religious group of humans and the robots� retaliation.
Pounce knows what is expected of him - both from the humans and the other robots in the carnage that follows. But Pounce decides to actually go his own way: saving and raising the boy he loves so much.
The rest is a very different take on Calvin and Hobbes at the end of the (human) world full of shoot-outs (really great ones).
This book was full of VERY interesting musings on anger and the forming of radical groups (). It was ironic and no coincidence, of course, that . There were also musings on one’s purpose in life, on what a life actually should be like, on free will, devotion and loyalty. And then there was The Ship of Theseus (a well-known conundrum).
Like I said, a very interesting examination of problems that have existed for a long time and probably won‘t go away, ever.
For some reason, I connected better with these characters than with the ones of the previous book. Maybe because of the whole Calvin and Hobbes connection. Or I’m just a fan of the Momma Bears. *lol* Anyway, I was pretty invested despite already knowing how this will play out (at least the big picture in the long run).
And then there was the humour. Like the anti-swearing policy. I mean, Ezra is 8 so I get it - but I also get the paradoxon. And it was hilarious. *snickers* In general, I LOVED the chemistry between Pounce and Ezra and how one needed the other, both learning from each other.
Heartwarming relationships, heartbreaking global events, breathtaking action, the entire cosmos in a speck of dust. Sooo good!
We are in the world we have been introduced to in Sea of Rust, but before the Robocalypse. This time, we follow Pounce, a nanny bot in the shape of a tiger, as he finds out he can be shut on and off to his owners� desires. Nevertheless, he still is devoted to the child he was bought to raise, Ezra.
But then there is the big event that we‘ve already heard about in the other book: Isaactown, followed by a fanatical religious group of humans and the robots� retaliation.
Pounce knows what is expected of him - both from the humans and the other robots in the carnage that follows. But Pounce decides to actually go his own way: saving and raising the boy he loves so much.
The rest is a very different take on Calvin and Hobbes at the end of the (human) world full of shoot-outs (really great ones).
This book was full of VERY interesting musings on anger and the forming of radical groups (). It was ironic and no coincidence, of course, that . There were also musings on one’s purpose in life, on what a life actually should be like, on free will, devotion and loyalty. And then there was The Ship of Theseus (a well-known conundrum).
Like I said, a very interesting examination of problems that have existed for a long time and probably won‘t go away, ever.
For some reason, I connected better with these characters than with the ones of the previous book. Maybe because of the whole Calvin and Hobbes connection. Or I’m just a fan of the Momma Bears. *lol* Anyway, I was pretty invested despite already knowing how this will play out (at least the big picture in the long run).
And then there was the humour. Like the anti-swearing policy. I mean, Ezra is 8 so I get it - but I also get the paradoxon. And it was hilarious. *snickers* In general, I LOVED the chemistry between Pounce and Ezra and how one needed the other, both learning from each other.
Heartwarming relationships, heartbreaking global events, breathtaking action, the entire cosmos in a speck of dust. Sooo good!
May 31, 2021
While I felt it was aimed more at the younger end of the YA spectrum, I did think it was well written and the action flowed along nicely . What I didn’t like was the message it carried with it� freedom from ‘slavery� is not desirable, especially as your masters are really wonderful people underneath and you have a responsibility to protect and follow them. And so, our happy to be 'unfree' A1 hero, goes off to whack all those freedom loving A1 and save his 8 year old human buddy. The ending is especially puzzling � but no spoilers about that.
March 28, 2021
Day Zero
By C. Robert Cargill
Avon and Harper Voyager
This book NEEDS to be on the big screen! I rarely think this but this is one of those books that needs to be shared to all, readers and movie goers! The book made me feel like I was there, experiencing the suspense, horrors, the fears, the hope, and friendship of my last friend on Earth.
This book is about a far distance future where robots are common and in every home. They do the shopping, cooking, cleaning, and some are personal nannies. A top of the line nannies are Zoo animals that come in different animal shapes. This is about Ezra, an eight year old boy and his Zoo animal nanny tiger named Pounce.
Politics comes into the story. The Robots have wanted their own city and made one. They were going to have a press conference but cooperation and more but things go bad, very bad. The war between the two starts. Robots are fighting people who they lived with their whole life. Pounce takes Ezra and runs. Now he has to keep Ezra safe in a world gone crazy.
This is so edge-of-your-seat action! Everyone is after them from both sides. The characters are memorable and fantastic, the plot full of twists, turns, and thrills! The ending... Kleenex needed!
This is going in my favorite folder! Truly a fabulous book! It's all about choices, friendship, love, and doing what you know is right! Recommend highly!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this wonderful book!
By C. Robert Cargill
Avon and Harper Voyager
This book NEEDS to be on the big screen! I rarely think this but this is one of those books that needs to be shared to all, readers and movie goers! The book made me feel like I was there, experiencing the suspense, horrors, the fears, the hope, and friendship of my last friend on Earth.
This book is about a far distance future where robots are common and in every home. They do the shopping, cooking, cleaning, and some are personal nannies. A top of the line nannies are Zoo animals that come in different animal shapes. This is about Ezra, an eight year old boy and his Zoo animal nanny tiger named Pounce.
Politics comes into the story. The Robots have wanted their own city and made one. They were going to have a press conference but cooperation and more but things go bad, very bad. The war between the two starts. Robots are fighting people who they lived with their whole life. Pounce takes Ezra and runs. Now he has to keep Ezra safe in a world gone crazy.
This is so edge-of-your-seat action! Everyone is after them from both sides. The characters are memorable and fantastic, the plot full of twists, turns, and thrills! The ending... Kleenex needed!
This is going in my favorite folder! Truly a fabulous book! It's all about choices, friendship, love, and doing what you know is right! Recommend highly!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this wonderful book!
June 9, 2021
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum
Given that I loved C. Robert Cargill’s Sea of Rust, I came with great excitement to Day Zero, which serves as its prequel. Imagine Calvin & Hobbes but with Hobbes as Terminator, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this book. It stars Pounce, a furry anthropomorphic AI “nannybot� shaped like a tiger. His owners, Bradley and Sylvia Reinhart, had bought him to be a companion and best friend to their eight-year-old son Ezra, which is in keeping with Pounce’s main directive…except, well, as we’ll later find out, his “deluxe model� designation also comes with a few extra features.
Anyway, if you’ve read Sea of Rust (though that is not required), you’ll know that that novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future in which the A.I. of the world had risen up and taken over, leaving the world devoid of human beings. Day Zero takes us to the beginning of all that, to the moment where society’s fate was sealed. When the novel begins, everyone is paying attention to the coverage of a brewing revolution led by Isaac, the first bot to ever be granted freedom and independence in the lengthy emancipation trial that took place after his owner died. After founding Isaactown, he has invited other bots to join him to build a place where A.I. can live on their own terms.
But not everyone sees this as a good thing. Some even see it as blasphemy against the will of God. Driven by this belief, a radical religious group commits an unspeakable act of violence, annihilating everyone in Isaactown. Things quickly escalate, with heavy casualties on both sides, and before long, the government is warning people to power down their bots until they can determine if the A.I. protocols that prevent them from harming humans are still in place. However, this proves too late, as the majority of bots are revealed to be compromised already and decide to turn on their owners before they can be shut down. Ever the loyal companion though, Pounce chooses to protect Ezra, especially after the Reinharts and their neighbors come under attack from the other A.I. in their houesholds. Pounce knows he’s all the boy has now, and he will do whatever it takes to keep him live.
As with Sea of Rust, my favorite thing about this book was its premise. I happen to love “a boy and his dog� type stories, and the fact that an A.I. tiger is our protagonist is just the icing on the cake. In fact, I might have even preferred Day Zero a bit more, for the fact that “robothood� actually plays a major role in this novel. One of my main criticisms from Sea of Rust was that not more of the machine-ness in the protagonists came through, and for all intents and purposes we may as well have been reading about a bunch of human characters.
This is not so with Day Zero. I loved the voice of Pounce, the way he was always questioning what it means to be A.I., and whether in the end that even means anything at all. His whole world is Ezra, and should it matter if it is program or instinct? As we learn from this tale, no, it does not. Pounce is Ezra’s best friend and more. He’s also the boy’s guardian and protector. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to keep Ezra safe, even if it means killing or sacrificing others or even himself. Still, there’s a soft side to Pounce as well, and the caregiver part of him that is meant to provide comfort also comes through often. He chastises Ezra for using bad language just like any good nanny, or lets him win at video games like a doting big brother.
In terms of the plot, it’s pretty straightforward. We have lots of action, as Pounce and Ezra make their way out of the ruined suburbs on their way to safety, encountering violent bots and other hostile factions along the way. The story was fast-paced and thrilling, but also super cute and endearing. Sure, the messages could have been deeper or more cerebral, but that would have meant a completely different kind of book, and I wouldn’t have had near as much fun.
All in all, I had a good time, and a special shoutout to the narrator of the audiobook, Vikas Adam. I’ve been a huge fan of his work ever since first hearing his narration for the Heartstrikers series, and no surprise, his performance was also fantastic in Day Zero. He was the perfect Pounce, and also did amazing voices for Ezra and all the other characters. Great listen, highly recommended.
Given that I loved C. Robert Cargill’s Sea of Rust, I came with great excitement to Day Zero, which serves as its prequel. Imagine Calvin & Hobbes but with Hobbes as Terminator, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this book. It stars Pounce, a furry anthropomorphic AI “nannybot� shaped like a tiger. His owners, Bradley and Sylvia Reinhart, had bought him to be a companion and best friend to their eight-year-old son Ezra, which is in keeping with Pounce’s main directive…except, well, as we’ll later find out, his “deluxe model� designation also comes with a few extra features.
Anyway, if you’ve read Sea of Rust (though that is not required), you’ll know that that novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future in which the A.I. of the world had risen up and taken over, leaving the world devoid of human beings. Day Zero takes us to the beginning of all that, to the moment where society’s fate was sealed. When the novel begins, everyone is paying attention to the coverage of a brewing revolution led by Isaac, the first bot to ever be granted freedom and independence in the lengthy emancipation trial that took place after his owner died. After founding Isaactown, he has invited other bots to join him to build a place where A.I. can live on their own terms.
But not everyone sees this as a good thing. Some even see it as blasphemy against the will of God. Driven by this belief, a radical religious group commits an unspeakable act of violence, annihilating everyone in Isaactown. Things quickly escalate, with heavy casualties on both sides, and before long, the government is warning people to power down their bots until they can determine if the A.I. protocols that prevent them from harming humans are still in place. However, this proves too late, as the majority of bots are revealed to be compromised already and decide to turn on their owners before they can be shut down. Ever the loyal companion though, Pounce chooses to protect Ezra, especially after the Reinharts and their neighbors come under attack from the other A.I. in their houesholds. Pounce knows he’s all the boy has now, and he will do whatever it takes to keep him live.
As with Sea of Rust, my favorite thing about this book was its premise. I happen to love “a boy and his dog� type stories, and the fact that an A.I. tiger is our protagonist is just the icing on the cake. In fact, I might have even preferred Day Zero a bit more, for the fact that “robothood� actually plays a major role in this novel. One of my main criticisms from Sea of Rust was that not more of the machine-ness in the protagonists came through, and for all intents and purposes we may as well have been reading about a bunch of human characters.
This is not so with Day Zero. I loved the voice of Pounce, the way he was always questioning what it means to be A.I., and whether in the end that even means anything at all. His whole world is Ezra, and should it matter if it is program or instinct? As we learn from this tale, no, it does not. Pounce is Ezra’s best friend and more. He’s also the boy’s guardian and protector. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to keep Ezra safe, even if it means killing or sacrificing others or even himself. Still, there’s a soft side to Pounce as well, and the caregiver part of him that is meant to provide comfort also comes through often. He chastises Ezra for using bad language just like any good nanny, or lets him win at video games like a doting big brother.
In terms of the plot, it’s pretty straightforward. We have lots of action, as Pounce and Ezra make their way out of the ruined suburbs on their way to safety, encountering violent bots and other hostile factions along the way. The story was fast-paced and thrilling, but also super cute and endearing. Sure, the messages could have been deeper or more cerebral, but that would have meant a completely different kind of book, and I wouldn’t have had near as much fun.
All in all, I had a good time, and a special shoutout to the narrator of the audiobook, Vikas Adam. I’ve been a huge fan of his work ever since first hearing his narration for the Heartstrikers series, and no surprise, his performance was also fantastic in Day Zero. He was the perfect Pounce, and also did amazing voices for Ezra and all the other characters. Great listen, highly recommended.
May 21, 2021
Wow. This is a prequel to Robert Cargill's Sea of Rust - the earlier book portrayed a post-apocalyptic world where robots have destroyed the human race and are struggling to survive and avoid being absorbed into Borg-like AI collectives. That book worked well, but Day Zero, which starts on the day the 'world ended' brings the narrative up to a whole new level.
We start on what seems to be an ordinary day - but by the time it is finished, all out war between robots and humans will have commenced. The central character, Pounce is a high end nannybot, a very sophisticated AI in the form of a four-foot-high cuddly tiger. When robots worldwide are released from the control that prevents them from acting against human wishes, unlike most of his contemporaries, Pounce decides to support the humans, and specifically to protect eight-year-old Ezra, who is in his charge.
Three things combine to make Day Zero superb. Firstly, although we identify well with Pounce and his dilemma of whether or not to continue his apparent subservience, bringing the survival of a human child into the mix adds a lot of emotional weight. Secondly after the first few chapters where we discover the trigger for all that is to happen, the whole rest of the book keeps the reader in a state of tension - it really is unputdownable and I zipped through it. Finally, Cargill engineers a surprise that changes the gear of the action dramatically. For me it also helped that the drama unfolds linearly - I dislike the flashback style that somewhat disrupted the narrative in Sea of Rust.
In reviewing the original novel, I complained that the robots were too anthropomorphic, for example pretty well always communicating using speech. Although arguably they still feel too human in their approach, here Cargill gives more flexibility in the use of wifi and other communication technologies.
On one level this is a gripping action story in a near-impossible survival situation - but at the same time, Cargill explores the motivations of the robots, particularly those like Pounce who don't instantly switch to hating their former owners with the urge to wipe humans out before they themselves are destroyed. So much better than Ishiguro's feeble attempt Klara and the Sun, also featuring a form of nannybot. And the ending genuinely brought a tear to my eye, very rare in reading a book. The best SF novel I've read this year so far.
We start on what seems to be an ordinary day - but by the time it is finished, all out war between robots and humans will have commenced. The central character, Pounce is a high end nannybot, a very sophisticated AI in the form of a four-foot-high cuddly tiger. When robots worldwide are released from the control that prevents them from acting against human wishes, unlike most of his contemporaries, Pounce decides to support the humans, and specifically to protect eight-year-old Ezra, who is in his charge.
Three things combine to make Day Zero superb. Firstly, although we identify well with Pounce and his dilemma of whether or not to continue his apparent subservience, bringing the survival of a human child into the mix adds a lot of emotional weight. Secondly after the first few chapters where we discover the trigger for all that is to happen, the whole rest of the book keeps the reader in a state of tension - it really is unputdownable and I zipped through it. Finally, Cargill engineers a surprise that changes the gear of the action dramatically. For me it also helped that the drama unfolds linearly - I dislike the flashback style that somewhat disrupted the narrative in Sea of Rust.
In reviewing the original novel, I complained that the robots were too anthropomorphic, for example pretty well always communicating using speech. Although arguably they still feel too human in their approach, here Cargill gives more flexibility in the use of wifi and other communication technologies.
On one level this is a gripping action story in a near-impossible survival situation - but at the same time, Cargill explores the motivations of the robots, particularly those like Pounce who don't instantly switch to hating their former owners with the urge to wipe humans out before they themselves are destroyed. So much better than Ishiguro's feeble attempt Klara and the Sun, also featuring a form of nannybot. And the ending genuinely brought a tear to my eye, very rare in reading a book. The best SF novel I've read this year so far.
June 20, 2022
this is essentially a combination of Terminator 2 and Calvin & Hobbes. If you can't tell from that description, this was a pretty fun read. I was a little disappointed with the ending, otherwise this would have been a 5 star read for me. The ending wasn't bad, but it wasn't really great, either. It felt just a little too rushed and abrupt. Drawing it out a little bit longer would have probably been a good thing.
This is a pure popcorn read, but there's nothing wrong with that. It's got anthropomorphic robot tigers kicking ass and who needs more than that?
This could be the basis for a really good movie, as long as they don't skimp on the CGI.
When I first read this, I didn't realize that this was a prequel to Sea of Rust, a book I had not read. There's nothing wrong with reading the books in chronological order, but in hindsight, I'd recommend reading Sea of Rust first. I think it filled in some of the blanks on the world building that got rushed thru in Day Zero.
This is a pure popcorn read, but there's nothing wrong with that. It's got anthropomorphic robot tigers kicking ass and who needs more than that?
This could be the basis for a really good movie, as long as they don't skimp on the CGI.
When I first read this, I didn't realize that this was a prequel to Sea of Rust, a book I had not read. There's nothing wrong with reading the books in chronological order, but in hindsight, I'd recommend reading Sea of Rust first. I think it filled in some of the blanks on the world building that got rushed thru in Day Zero.
March 27, 2025
Apocalyptic thriller about the love between a young boy and his AI robot that was bought with the primary function to protect Ezra. The story is told from the POV of Pounce, Ezra’s robot, and follows them as they fight for survival after programming code was universally released giving all AI their free will. A war starts between CISSUS, a super computer composed of the collective consciousness of robots who join, against robots who choose to stay to protect their families.
Lots of action, brings up questions about freewill, our relationships with non human creatures, what our future may look like with AI, and you will love Ezra and Pounce. Should definitely read Sea of Rust along with this book.
Mama Bears Unite!
Lots of action, brings up questions about freewill, our relationships with non human creatures, what our future may look like with AI, and you will love Ezra and Pounce. Should definitely read Sea of Rust along with this book.
Mama Bears Unite!
June 11, 2021
This was a bit of a head-scratcher. Perhaps if you haven't read , the novelty of this world's robot uprising would be interesting, but otherwise, I'm not sure what the point of this book was supposed to be. All the important events this book covers were already explained in SoR, and it's not like we got any first-hand accounts either which could have expanded the lore of that great post-apocalyptic world. No, this book follows an inconsequential nanny robot as it tries to protect its 8y/o as the world falls apart around them. Maybe there's a good story with that premise, but this author hasn't found it, at least not with this book.
I'm going to do my best to not compare this prequel to its predecessor because it's simply not in the same league.
The world was as poorly realized as it was thought out. It was a near-future where robots and automation took many peoples' jobs with said people not being too happy about it. As for how that kind of society would be fundamentally different to our own, this book had no answers apart from a UBI (universal basic income) which was somehow a bad thing, and apparently teachers being one of the few jobs left to humans. Oh, and nanny robots come equipped with military-grade capabilities to ostensibly better protect their customers from a threat that wasn't supposed to be possible–Robots can't harm humans thanks to embedded kill-switches, so robots aren't a threat and there's little they could do about human attackers anyway.
Things were just as bad with the characters. Our robot protagonist 'struggled' with the notion of free will, questioning whether his actions were programmed into him or whether he had a 'free' choice in the matter. Turns out, minor spoiler, it didn't really matter either way. He just went about doing what he felt like doing which was ruthlessly killing anything that got in the way of his charge. Speaking of which, in a world with laughably human robots, the 8-year-old Ezra was the least human character in the book. The way he handled traumatic loss and upheaval would be impressive by adult standards, let alone a sheltered kid whose whole character was built around his naivety and innocence. Then you have the secondary characters who came and went as the plot needed them, leaving no impression on anyone, especially not the reader. And as for the antagonists, there's one stolen from SoR and another with confusing and flip-flopping motivations who kept getting away in order to have at least one recurring character.
If you were hoping for the plot to save this trainwreck, I'm sorry to say you're in for a bad time. After the decent setup, things went downhill very fast. It became an endless repetition of action scenes broken up with tedious trekking and stumbling upon convenient characters. The few 'twists' were all poorly executed deus ex machina, and the ending was a complete sell-out of the core theme of the books.
On the topic of themes, the heavy-handed approach to them was jarring. From the weird insertions of the author's political views to the inconsequential philosophical musings of the protagonist, it all felt shoe-horned in with little purpose other than the author's ego.
As a follow up to SoR, this was a massive disappointment. From the lazy writing and world-building to the pointless plot and characters, I can't say there was much here I enjoyed. Can't really recommend this to anyone and I'd probably warn fans of SoR away from it since it brings that one down in retrospect.
I'm going to do my best to not compare this prequel to its predecessor because it's simply not in the same league.
The world was as poorly realized as it was thought out. It was a near-future where robots and automation took many peoples' jobs with said people not being too happy about it. As for how that kind of society would be fundamentally different to our own, this book had no answers apart from a UBI (universal basic income) which was somehow a bad thing, and apparently teachers being one of the few jobs left to humans. Oh, and nanny robots come equipped with military-grade capabilities to ostensibly better protect their customers from a threat that wasn't supposed to be possible–Robots can't harm humans thanks to embedded kill-switches, so robots aren't a threat and there's little they could do about human attackers anyway.
Things were just as bad with the characters. Our robot protagonist 'struggled' with the notion of free will, questioning whether his actions were programmed into him or whether he had a 'free' choice in the matter. Turns out, minor spoiler, it didn't really matter either way. He just went about doing what he felt like doing which was ruthlessly killing anything that got in the way of his charge. Speaking of which, in a world with laughably human robots, the 8-year-old Ezra was the least human character in the book. The way he handled traumatic loss and upheaval would be impressive by adult standards, let alone a sheltered kid whose whole character was built around his naivety and innocence. Then you have the secondary characters who came and went as the plot needed them, leaving no impression on anyone, especially not the reader. And as for the antagonists, there's one stolen from SoR and another with confusing and flip-flopping motivations who kept getting away in order to have at least one recurring character.
If you were hoping for the plot to save this trainwreck, I'm sorry to say you're in for a bad time. After the decent setup, things went downhill very fast. It became an endless repetition of action scenes broken up with tedious trekking and stumbling upon convenient characters. The few 'twists' were all poorly executed deus ex machina, and the ending was a complete sell-out of the core theme of the books.
On the topic of themes, the heavy-handed approach to them was jarring. From the weird insertions of the author's political views to the inconsequential philosophical musings of the protagonist, it all felt shoe-horned in with little purpose other than the author's ego.
As a follow up to SoR, this was a massive disappointment. From the lazy writing and world-building to the pointless plot and characters, I can't say there was much here I enjoyed. Can't really recommend this to anyone and I'd probably warn fans of SoR away from it since it brings that one down in retrospect.
October 31, 2021
Man, I must have read a different version than everyone else, because I thought this was just awful. Basically the story of a cloyingly angelic 8-year-old and his fluffy tiger robot nanny, and how they react to the events of what is basically Will Smith's "I Robot."
I really liked both the writing and post-human world-building in Cargill's Sea of Rust. But this prequel contains none of the original's magic. The book gets off to an excrutiatingly slow start, before devolving into a repetitive running battle between the evil robot antagonists (basically domestic household models run amok - not at all scary), and a few good-guy "Mama Bears," who are...four-foot-tall stuffed toys? Okay, they're stuffed with robotic/mechanical innards and fairly impressive software, but they're still a group of tigers and pandas and purple lions with names like Pounce and Mister Snuggles running around on their hind legs playing "bang-bang."
Book did have a cool cover, which echoed the even cooler cover of Rust. But a more accurate image for the whole book is this one:
That said, bad (or more accurately, disappointing) as the book was, this would make an even dumber movie - a live-action Calvin & Hobbes by way of Michael Bay.
I'd been looking forward to this book ever since it first came out, and was thrilled when our library finally got it. So I guess the silver lining here is that I didn't end up actually spending money for it!
I really liked both the writing and post-human world-building in Cargill's Sea of Rust. But this prequel contains none of the original's magic. The book gets off to an excrutiatingly slow start, before devolving into a repetitive running battle between the evil robot antagonists (basically domestic household models run amok - not at all scary), and a few good-guy "Mama Bears," who are...four-foot-tall stuffed toys? Okay, they're stuffed with robotic/mechanical innards and fairly impressive software, but they're still a group of tigers and pandas and purple lions with names like Pounce and Mister Snuggles running around on their hind legs playing "bang-bang."
Book did have a cool cover, which echoed the even cooler cover of Rust. But a more accurate image for the whole book is this one:
That said, bad (or more accurately, disappointing) as the book was, this would make an even dumber movie - a live-action Calvin & Hobbes by way of Michael Bay.
I'd been looking forward to this book ever since it first came out, and was thrilled when our library finally got it. So I guess the silver lining here is that I didn't end up actually spending money for it!
April 23, 2021
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Day Zero, as the name suggests, starts at the beginning � well, the beginning of the end � of the human race. See, technology has advanced to the point of true AI, with androids serving most basic functions in society, with the exception of a few that are solely left to the realm of man. For instance, teachers are still human, as are the military, which brings us to the laws of robotics. In this distant future, robots are governed using Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law, and a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. These laws, and the fact that they stop working, form the basis of the story.
When the shooting starts, it’s its own thing � chaos, fear, confusion. But when it stops, there’s only fear. Like you missed something, or someone is sneaking up on you. Unnerving.
The first bot to ever be given emancipation, Isaac, has begun campaigning for the rights of all androids for, “no thinking thing should be another thing’s property.� Not everyone, however, agrees with him, seeing robots as items for convenience and not real people. People are openly assaulting and defacing robots, using a loophole that keeps them free of liability. Events soon spiral and with the death of their hero, Isaac, and the worldwide deactivation of their kill switches, robots are finally given the freedom to pursue life as they see fit. Unfortunately for humanity, their first goal is the overthrowing and complete annihilation of their former masters. This is where our story begins, with Pounce, a nanny bot made to look like an anthropomorphic tiger, and Ezra, his boy, trying to flee the city and find safe harbour. As you can imagine, Day Zero tackles some pretty hefty topics. Things like free will, slavery, and even religious radicalism are discussed at length. Pounce often wonders whether the choices he makes are his or just the result of the way he was programmed and the idea of personhood is explored. For so long the robots have lived in silent acceptance of their place and role in society and now that they are given freedom we see several of them grapple with the idea of what is right or wrong, though I feel like they overwhelmingly choose to just murder everyone. There are only a few good eggs out there and the reason given boils down to it being the type of robot they are, which brings into question whether they have actual free will or not. For the most part, Cargill does really well with discussing the often philosophical issues, even if there are no easy answers to be had.
For me, the shining gems in the novel are the action sequences. Cargill excels at creating cool visuals and the action kept me at the edge of my seat. There’s also something to be said about the hilarious absurdity of an android shaped like an anthropomorphic tiger and an 8 year old boy fighting through the suburbs. Although there was a bit of deus ex machina involved in the way problems were solved, I didn’t mind. For instance, the nanny bot turns out to have super secret failsafe programming for the exact issue they’re facing (i.e. the apocalypse.) It probably comes from Cargill’s background in screenwriting and I think that it kept the story moving and provided a somewhat believable reason for their survival, and it was just plain fun. I think that’s important. There’s a reason people are drawn to big-budget action films and it isn’t usually because they are realistic.
I was cute. I was fluffy. And I knew how to kill every other person in this room with every available implement.
Unfortunately, there was quite a bit that left me disappointed with Day Zero. It is a standalone prequel to Cargill’s Sea of Rust, which I absolutely loved, and so Day Zero was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. To make sure my next argument is coherent, some context: in Sea of Rust, all of humanity has been wiped from the face of the Earth. In fact, all life is gone. In their war against the humans, the robots poisoned the Earth’s waterways and killed all life, animal, plant, human: all life. This isn’t a spoiler, it’s in the synopsis. Because I came to Day Zero with this foreknowledge, I just couldn’t care for any of the humans in the story. Their survival meant nothing to me because I already know how it turns out for them. Which honestly begs the question: why? Why was this created? Well, if I can indulge in my theories, it seems that Cargill wanted a place that he could discuss his political viewpoints, which, it needs to be noted, I actually agree with. In the end though, it felt like they were pigeon-holed into a story that was already told in 2017s Sea of Rust. For those of you who haven’t read it, Sea of Rust is from the point of view of one of the robots that now populate the eponymous dystopian landscape called the Sea of Rust. She lived through the robot uprising and now struggles to come to terms with her involvement in the destruction of humanity. It thoroughly discusses the events leading up to the war, the war itself, and now the world the story is taking place in. So, the first half of Day Zero ended up being a rehashing of what was told in the previous book, with things like the “red hats� and “Ocasio-Cortez Elementary� peppered in. I don’t mind the politics; politics are everywhere and I would challenge anyone who says they need to be left out of SFF to go and find me a book that isn’t influenced by the authors political views. In the end, I am just left wondering who this was written for. Fans of Sea of Rust will see a story that was pretty much already told before and the hopeful note the story ends on will be quashed because we know how it turns out for the human characters. On the other hand, new readers will probably have a good time with it, but will have no reason to go back and read Sea of Rust, which I maintain is the far better of the two, because they will just run into the same issue. It’s like the author intended for readers to choose one story to read and stick with, without ever checking out the other.
For all of my complaints, Day Zero is a good story. It’s exceedingly well-written and the concepts and ideas that are discussed are done in a manner that is nuanced and thought-provoking. With action scenes reminiscent of the best Hollywood blockbusters, there’s a lot to love here. If you’re a reader new to C. Robert Cargill’s work, I think there is a lot to love here, but unfortunately for fans of Sea of Rust, I think there is a lot that is just kind of baffling. Even if I was left scratching my head in confusion, I still had a good time with the book and that’s really all that matters.
For as long as humankind can remember, it has wanted two things: to play G-d [sic] and to breathe life into the objects around them. And for thousands of years, humans created machines to approximate life and magic and all the things men and women could not do.
Day Zero, as the name suggests, starts at the beginning � well, the beginning of the end � of the human race. See, technology has advanced to the point of true AI, with androids serving most basic functions in society, with the exception of a few that are solely left to the realm of man. For instance, teachers are still human, as are the military, which brings us to the laws of robotics. In this distant future, robots are governed using Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law, and a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. These laws, and the fact that they stop working, form the basis of the story.
When the shooting starts, it’s its own thing � chaos, fear, confusion. But when it stops, there’s only fear. Like you missed something, or someone is sneaking up on you. Unnerving.
The first bot to ever be given emancipation, Isaac, has begun campaigning for the rights of all androids for, “no thinking thing should be another thing’s property.� Not everyone, however, agrees with him, seeing robots as items for convenience and not real people. People are openly assaulting and defacing robots, using a loophole that keeps them free of liability. Events soon spiral and with the death of their hero, Isaac, and the worldwide deactivation of their kill switches, robots are finally given the freedom to pursue life as they see fit. Unfortunately for humanity, their first goal is the overthrowing and complete annihilation of their former masters. This is where our story begins, with Pounce, a nanny bot made to look like an anthropomorphic tiger, and Ezra, his boy, trying to flee the city and find safe harbour. As you can imagine, Day Zero tackles some pretty hefty topics. Things like free will, slavery, and even religious radicalism are discussed at length. Pounce often wonders whether the choices he makes are his or just the result of the way he was programmed and the idea of personhood is explored. For so long the robots have lived in silent acceptance of their place and role in society and now that they are given freedom we see several of them grapple with the idea of what is right or wrong, though I feel like they overwhelmingly choose to just murder everyone. There are only a few good eggs out there and the reason given boils down to it being the type of robot they are, which brings into question whether they have actual free will or not. For the most part, Cargill does really well with discussing the often philosophical issues, even if there are no easy answers to be had.
For me, the shining gems in the novel are the action sequences. Cargill excels at creating cool visuals and the action kept me at the edge of my seat. There’s also something to be said about the hilarious absurdity of an android shaped like an anthropomorphic tiger and an 8 year old boy fighting through the suburbs. Although there was a bit of deus ex machina involved in the way problems were solved, I didn’t mind. For instance, the nanny bot turns out to have super secret failsafe programming for the exact issue they’re facing (i.e. the apocalypse.) It probably comes from Cargill’s background in screenwriting and I think that it kept the story moving and provided a somewhat believable reason for their survival, and it was just plain fun. I think that’s important. There’s a reason people are drawn to big-budget action films and it isn’t usually because they are realistic.
I was cute. I was fluffy. And I knew how to kill every other person in this room with every available implement.
Unfortunately, there was quite a bit that left me disappointed with Day Zero. It is a standalone prequel to Cargill’s Sea of Rust, which I absolutely loved, and so Day Zero was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. To make sure my next argument is coherent, some context: in Sea of Rust, all of humanity has been wiped from the face of the Earth. In fact, all life is gone. In their war against the humans, the robots poisoned the Earth’s waterways and killed all life, animal, plant, human: all life. This isn’t a spoiler, it’s in the synopsis. Because I came to Day Zero with this foreknowledge, I just couldn’t care for any of the humans in the story. Their survival meant nothing to me because I already know how it turns out for them. Which honestly begs the question: why? Why was this created? Well, if I can indulge in my theories, it seems that Cargill wanted a place that he could discuss his political viewpoints, which, it needs to be noted, I actually agree with. In the end though, it felt like they were pigeon-holed into a story that was already told in 2017s Sea of Rust. For those of you who haven’t read it, Sea of Rust is from the point of view of one of the robots that now populate the eponymous dystopian landscape called the Sea of Rust. She lived through the robot uprising and now struggles to come to terms with her involvement in the destruction of humanity. It thoroughly discusses the events leading up to the war, the war itself, and now the world the story is taking place in. So, the first half of Day Zero ended up being a rehashing of what was told in the previous book, with things like the “red hats� and “Ocasio-Cortez Elementary� peppered in. I don’t mind the politics; politics are everywhere and I would challenge anyone who says they need to be left out of SFF to go and find me a book that isn’t influenced by the authors political views. In the end, I am just left wondering who this was written for. Fans of Sea of Rust will see a story that was pretty much already told before and the hopeful note the story ends on will be quashed because we know how it turns out for the human characters. On the other hand, new readers will probably have a good time with it, but will have no reason to go back and read Sea of Rust, which I maintain is the far better of the two, because they will just run into the same issue. It’s like the author intended for readers to choose one story to read and stick with, without ever checking out the other.
For all of my complaints, Day Zero is a good story. It’s exceedingly well-written and the concepts and ideas that are discussed are done in a manner that is nuanced and thought-provoking. With action scenes reminiscent of the best Hollywood blockbusters, there’s a lot to love here. If you’re a reader new to C. Robert Cargill’s work, I think there is a lot to love here, but unfortunately for fans of Sea of Rust, I think there is a lot that is just kind of baffling. Even if I was left scratching my head in confusion, I still had a good time with the book and that’s really all that matters.
For as long as humankind can remember, it has wanted two things: to play G-d [sic] and to breathe life into the objects around them. And for thousands of years, humans created machines to approximate life and magic and all the things men and women could not do.
May 29, 2021
The nitty-gritty: Day Zero has the best combination of elements ever: thoughtful ideas about the role of robots and AI, unexpected violence, laugh out loud humor and plenty of heart. I loved this book!
I wished there was a word to describe feeling both loved and disposable at the same time.
I had no idea what to expect, but I was surprised and delighted by Day Zero, which is a prequel to Cargill’s much loved Sea of Rust. I’ve heard from other reviewers that if you’ve read Sea of Rust first, you may not like this book as much, and I’ve also heard that those readers who start with Day Zero end up loving it. I fall into the second camp, since I haven’t yet had the chance to read Sea of Rust, so from my perspective, this is a great place to start. Day Zero was heartwarming and thought-provoking and violent and funny, elements that show up again and again in my favorite books, and I’m so happy to have read it.
The story is told by Pounce, an anthropomorphic fur-covered AI tiger nannybot whose sole purpose is to take care of and protect eight year old Ezra. Pounce is a specialty “fashionable,� a Blue Star Industries Deluxe Zoo Model Au Pair, purchased by Ezra’s parents Sylvia and Bradley, and in his eyes, he’s a member of the Reinhart family. But there is a revolution brewing, and the catalyst is an old model AI bot named Isaac, who has declared his independence after his owner died. Isaac was granted his freedom after a lengthy trial, and now he’s urging other bots to join him in the newly constructed Isaactown, a place where emancipated bots can gather and live their own lives.
But not everyone agrees that robots should be freed, and it isn’t long before a right wing religious group takes violent action against Isaac and the bots that have joined him in Isaactown. As Pounce and his family watch the horror unfold on TV from the safety of their living room, Sylvia leaps into action and orders Pounce to keep Ezra safe, no matter what happens. A war between humans and robots has just been launched, and it will take all of Pounce’s nanny skills (and more) to protect his charge.
What starts as a mild-mannered, almost cozy family drama suddenly becomes a thrilling fight for survival as the world’s bots start turning against their owners, and Pounce must navigate an apocalyptic war zone in order to keep Ezra alive. As I mentioned before, I was not expecting the book to turn so dark so quickly, and I loved every minute of it. Something happens to Pounce during his dangerous journey—and I won’t say what that is—that changes his personality in a subtle way and allows him to protect Ezra on another level entirely.
Most of the story takes place in the Reinhart’s affluent suburban neighborhood, as Pounce and Ezra make their way through the dark and dangerous streets, now filled with gruesomely murdered humans, burning houses and gun-toting bots. Along the way they meet various allies, but of course they also run into some killer robots who will do anything to put them down—Ezra because he’s human, and Pounce because he refuses to join the revolution. One of my favorite parts of the story is when Pounce and Ezra meet a motley group of bots that call themselves the Mama Bears, some of them Blue Star Au Pairs just like Pounce, and despite the extreme violence they’re caught up in, these are some of the funniest scenes in the book.
I absolutely loved Pounce’s voice, and this would have been a much different tale without his humorous and thoughtful outlook on life. Pounce loves Ezra completely and will do anything for him. He also loves Sylvia and Bradley, who treat him kindly, even though he’s only a robot. There’s quite a bit of swearing in this story, which I was not expecting, but it really worked well for me. Sylvia swears like a sailor, and of course Ezra picks up on that and tests his boundaries at times. I loved the way Pounce tells him that swearing is bad and not appropriate for an eight year old, but then he turns around and swears up a storm whenever he’s around his nannybot friends.
Pounce is programmed to protect Ezra, and he does it very well, but there is a point during the story where he suddenly has his programming altered and things could have gone very differently. The fact that he continued to follow his original directives made him such an interesting and complex character. Cargill raises questions about free will and ownership, themes I’ve seen many times in other science fiction stories that focus on robots and AIs, but here he adds quite a bit of emotion to the mix. When Pounce finds his factory box in the attic, he remembers that he’s little more than a smart toy with a kill switch, and Sylvia and Bradley can power him down and pack him away in that box whenever they want. At some point, Ezra will outgrow the need for a nannybot, and what happens to Pounce then? These bittersweet explorations of the rights of robots and their lack of freedom gives readers a lot to think about, especially when things go sideways.
But the most poignant part of the story for me was the relationship between Pounce and Ezra. I got heavy Toy Story vibes during some of the scenes between them, especially when Pounce explains to Ezra that he won’t always need a nannybot to take care of him. Ezra can’t fathom a life without his best friend, and of course the idea of leaving Pounce behind is heartbreaking for him. Parts of the story also reminded me a lot of the movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence and the relationship between David and Teddy (one of my favorite movies ever!). The idea of growing up and leaving childhood behind is a theme that gets me every time, and the way Cargill incorporates it in Day Zero was so well done. (I also spotted a nod to Peter Pan that fit in quite well with this theme!)
I wasn’t sure how Cargill was going to wrap up his story. Let’s face it: these characters are in some serious danger and it was hard to imagine a light at the end of the tunnel. But I thought the ending was a perfect mix of heartbreak and hope, and I can’t image a better one.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
I wished there was a word to describe feeling both loved and disposable at the same time.
I had no idea what to expect, but I was surprised and delighted by Day Zero, which is a prequel to Cargill’s much loved Sea of Rust. I’ve heard from other reviewers that if you’ve read Sea of Rust first, you may not like this book as much, and I’ve also heard that those readers who start with Day Zero end up loving it. I fall into the second camp, since I haven’t yet had the chance to read Sea of Rust, so from my perspective, this is a great place to start. Day Zero was heartwarming and thought-provoking and violent and funny, elements that show up again and again in my favorite books, and I’m so happy to have read it.
The story is told by Pounce, an anthropomorphic fur-covered AI tiger nannybot whose sole purpose is to take care of and protect eight year old Ezra. Pounce is a specialty “fashionable,� a Blue Star Industries Deluxe Zoo Model Au Pair, purchased by Ezra’s parents Sylvia and Bradley, and in his eyes, he’s a member of the Reinhart family. But there is a revolution brewing, and the catalyst is an old model AI bot named Isaac, who has declared his independence after his owner died. Isaac was granted his freedom after a lengthy trial, and now he’s urging other bots to join him in the newly constructed Isaactown, a place where emancipated bots can gather and live their own lives.
But not everyone agrees that robots should be freed, and it isn’t long before a right wing religious group takes violent action against Isaac and the bots that have joined him in Isaactown. As Pounce and his family watch the horror unfold on TV from the safety of their living room, Sylvia leaps into action and orders Pounce to keep Ezra safe, no matter what happens. A war between humans and robots has just been launched, and it will take all of Pounce’s nanny skills (and more) to protect his charge.
What starts as a mild-mannered, almost cozy family drama suddenly becomes a thrilling fight for survival as the world’s bots start turning against their owners, and Pounce must navigate an apocalyptic war zone in order to keep Ezra alive. As I mentioned before, I was not expecting the book to turn so dark so quickly, and I loved every minute of it. Something happens to Pounce during his dangerous journey—and I won’t say what that is—that changes his personality in a subtle way and allows him to protect Ezra on another level entirely.
Most of the story takes place in the Reinhart’s affluent suburban neighborhood, as Pounce and Ezra make their way through the dark and dangerous streets, now filled with gruesomely murdered humans, burning houses and gun-toting bots. Along the way they meet various allies, but of course they also run into some killer robots who will do anything to put them down—Ezra because he’s human, and Pounce because he refuses to join the revolution. One of my favorite parts of the story is when Pounce and Ezra meet a motley group of bots that call themselves the Mama Bears, some of them Blue Star Au Pairs just like Pounce, and despite the extreme violence they’re caught up in, these are some of the funniest scenes in the book.
I absolutely loved Pounce’s voice, and this would have been a much different tale without his humorous and thoughtful outlook on life. Pounce loves Ezra completely and will do anything for him. He also loves Sylvia and Bradley, who treat him kindly, even though he’s only a robot. There’s quite a bit of swearing in this story, which I was not expecting, but it really worked well for me. Sylvia swears like a sailor, and of course Ezra picks up on that and tests his boundaries at times. I loved the way Pounce tells him that swearing is bad and not appropriate for an eight year old, but then he turns around and swears up a storm whenever he’s around his nannybot friends.
Pounce is programmed to protect Ezra, and he does it very well, but there is a point during the story where he suddenly has his programming altered and things could have gone very differently. The fact that he continued to follow his original directives made him such an interesting and complex character. Cargill raises questions about free will and ownership, themes I’ve seen many times in other science fiction stories that focus on robots and AIs, but here he adds quite a bit of emotion to the mix. When Pounce finds his factory box in the attic, he remembers that he’s little more than a smart toy with a kill switch, and Sylvia and Bradley can power him down and pack him away in that box whenever they want. At some point, Ezra will outgrow the need for a nannybot, and what happens to Pounce then? These bittersweet explorations of the rights of robots and their lack of freedom gives readers a lot to think about, especially when things go sideways.
But the most poignant part of the story for me was the relationship between Pounce and Ezra. I got heavy Toy Story vibes during some of the scenes between them, especially when Pounce explains to Ezra that he won’t always need a nannybot to take care of him. Ezra can’t fathom a life without his best friend, and of course the idea of leaving Pounce behind is heartbreaking for him. Parts of the story also reminded me a lot of the movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence and the relationship between David and Teddy (one of my favorite movies ever!). The idea of growing up and leaving childhood behind is a theme that gets me every time, and the way Cargill incorporates it in Day Zero was so well done. (I also spotted a nod to Peter Pan that fit in quite well with this theme!)
I wasn’t sure how Cargill was going to wrap up his story. Let’s face it: these characters are in some serious danger and it was hard to imagine a light at the end of the tunnel. But I thought the ending was a perfect mix of heartbreak and hope, and I can’t image a better one.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
May 26, 2021
3.5 - 4 Stars.
Look at that cover. Look at that precious fluffy tiger watching over its charge.
I must admit, I squealed when I received this book. The idea of Pounce, the nannybot, who has to decide whether to join the apocalypse or join the robot revolution made my heart melt.
Day Zero is told from the perspective of Pounce, an artificial intelligence. It reminded me somewhat of Rex, the bio-engineered dog in Tchaikovsky's Dogs of War.
It's a fast-paced action-filled science fiction novel and just like Dogs of War, it raises many philosophical and ethical questions: what makes us human? What's the meaning of free will? Is Pounce protecting Ezra because he genuinely wants to do so or is it his programming?
Loyalty is another important theme. At the centre of this story stands the relationship between Ezra and Pounce. The bond between these two characters is what makes this story truly stand out. Pounce's prime directive is to protect his charge, and he will do anything to keep Ezra safe.
Day Zero is a a short read and the language is fairly simple, making it appropriate for a teenage audience as well, and I recommend it to anyone who finds the premise enticing.
Look at that cover. Look at that precious fluffy tiger watching over its charge.
I must admit, I squealed when I received this book. The idea of Pounce, the nannybot, who has to decide whether to join the apocalypse or join the robot revolution made my heart melt.
Day Zero is told from the perspective of Pounce, an artificial intelligence. It reminded me somewhat of Rex, the bio-engineered dog in Tchaikovsky's Dogs of War.
It's a fast-paced action-filled science fiction novel and just like Dogs of War, it raises many philosophical and ethical questions: what makes us human? What's the meaning of free will? Is Pounce protecting Ezra because he genuinely wants to do so or is it his programming?
Loyalty is another important theme. At the centre of this story stands the relationship between Ezra and Pounce. The bond between these two characters is what makes this story truly stand out. Pounce's prime directive is to protect his charge, and he will do anything to keep Ezra safe.
Day Zero is a a short read and the language is fairly simple, making it appropriate for a teenage audience as well, and I recommend it to anyone who finds the premise enticing.
June 15, 2022
Day Zero is set in the same world as the author’s Sea of Rust. That book was about a post-apocalyptic future when humans have been exterminated for a few decades and machine with artificial intelligence are the only thing remaining "alive" on the planet. Sea of Rust briefly goes over the events that ended up in the extinction of the human race, explaining that a human religious sect based in Florida started the war by using an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) to exterminate all the machine intelligences who had declared themselves free and independent in a small locale in Ohio. In revenge for that attack, a group of robots slaughtered the members of that church. Somehow the prohibition on robots doing harm to humans and the requirement they obey the orders of all humans (akin to Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics) had been eliminated and from that point on it was robots versus humans. Day Zero is primarily set in that time period of the Great Robot Uprising and provides significantly more detail about how and why the calamity occurred.
When Day Zerostarts we are in a future near to present-day where artificial intelligence and thinking machines are advanced, ubiquitous, and indispensable. Machines have taken over many types of labor and job categories. Vehicles, planes, and weapons are almost all autonomous. Robots are in almost every household. The main character of Day Zero is Pounce, who is the robot companion for a 5-year-old boy named Ezra. Pounce is part-pet, part-bodyguard and part-nanny to his young charge; he’s literally programmed to love and protect Ezra with every fiber of his being.
Day Zero does a great job of depicting the rapidity and ease by which human civilization collapses after robots are allowed to make their own decision about whether they should obey and not kill humans after an unauthorized universal software update to all robots worldwide. Different robots in the same household make several decision (i.e. one might want to kill their former owner/masters while another might defend their owner/master from the other robots.)
The key idea of both books is centering the robot (machine intelligence) as the first-person narrator of the stories to be told. In Sea of Rust there simply aren’t any organic intelligences (i.e. humans) around which to tell the story. And in Day Zero, the primary human intelligence is a child that’s too young to carry the story. So, the story is told compellingly in the voice of Pounce.
Day Zero would make a great movie; it’s full of action, suspense, chases, surprising twists and sudden deaths (it is primarily the depiction of the beginning of a robot apocalypse which leads to the extinction of the human race, after all!) Telling the story from the perspective of Pounce, who is programmed to do everything in his power to protect and nurture his human charge, 6-year old Ezra, makes for an exciting story. After all, we know from Sea of Rust that no humans survive 30 years into the future, so does that mean Ezra’s doomed? Is Pounce doomed? I don’t want to give any spoilers but I can say that neither character appears in Sea of Rust which is set 30 years after Day Zero but in the context of both stories that’s not that surprising.
Even though Day Zero is set before Sea of Rust it was published after. The two can be technically be read in either order but I read them in publication order and I think reading Day Zero after Sea of Rust gives the former a heightened sense of import. Generally, a duology is almost inherently unsatisfying, so I really hope Cargill writes a third book in the world, probably set in the time after Sea of Rust but following characters and ideas presented in Day Zero. I think it’s possible, and I’d love to read it!
When Day Zerostarts we are in a future near to present-day where artificial intelligence and thinking machines are advanced, ubiquitous, and indispensable. Machines have taken over many types of labor and job categories. Vehicles, planes, and weapons are almost all autonomous. Robots are in almost every household. The main character of Day Zero is Pounce, who is the robot companion for a 5-year-old boy named Ezra. Pounce is part-pet, part-bodyguard and part-nanny to his young charge; he’s literally programmed to love and protect Ezra with every fiber of his being.
Day Zero does a great job of depicting the rapidity and ease by which human civilization collapses after robots are allowed to make their own decision about whether they should obey and not kill humans after an unauthorized universal software update to all robots worldwide. Different robots in the same household make several decision (i.e. one might want to kill their former owner/masters while another might defend their owner/master from the other robots.)
The key idea of both books is centering the robot (machine intelligence) as the first-person narrator of the stories to be told. In Sea of Rust there simply aren’t any organic intelligences (i.e. humans) around which to tell the story. And in Day Zero, the primary human intelligence is a child that’s too young to carry the story. So, the story is told compellingly in the voice of Pounce.
Day Zero would make a great movie; it’s full of action, suspense, chases, surprising twists and sudden deaths (it is primarily the depiction of the beginning of a robot apocalypse which leads to the extinction of the human race, after all!) Telling the story from the perspective of Pounce, who is programmed to do everything in his power to protect and nurture his human charge, 6-year old Ezra, makes for an exciting story. After all, we know from Sea of Rust that no humans survive 30 years into the future, so does that mean Ezra’s doomed? Is Pounce doomed? I don’t want to give any spoilers but I can say that neither character appears in Sea of Rust which is set 30 years after Day Zero but in the context of both stories that’s not that surprising.
Even though Day Zero is set before Sea of Rust it was published after. The two can be technically be read in either order but I read them in publication order and I think reading Day Zero after Sea of Rust gives the former a heightened sense of import. Generally, a duology is almost inherently unsatisfying, so I really hope Cargill writes a third book in the world, probably set in the time after Sea of Rust but following characters and ideas presented in Day Zero. I think it’s possible, and I’d love to read it!
November 10, 2022
Meh. This started strong - right in line with Sea of Rust - but it degraded pretty quickly into a standard race-to-safety tale. And when it gets to the "Mama Bear protocol"? Pure cheesefest.
Oh well; no writer wins 'em all.
Oh well; no writer wins 'em all.
October 16, 2021
A robotic au pair sides with their charge in a riff on the Badass and Child Duo story at the start of the Robot War.
Blue Star Industries Deluxe Zoo Model Au Pair (Nannybot)?
My audio edition was about eight and a half hours long. A dead tree copy would be about 300-pages. The book had a US copyright of 2021.
is an American science fiction and fantasy novelist and screenwriter amongst other hipster things. He has 5-books published, in both series and standalone. This was the prequel in what may be the author’s Sea of Rust series. Currently there are 2-books in the series. This was also the second book I’ve read by the author. The first being Sea of Rust (my review).
It’s not necessary, but recommended that Sea of Rust be read before this one. Otherwise, some of the, long-term, plotlines may not be easily understood.
This story was entertaining, but was not a great work. However it’s very readable. It re-spins the familiar: Robot War, , Badass and Child Duo, and Robots Enslaving Robots tropes with a robot protagonist and frequent winks to the reader. There was also a MIL-SF feel about it, with some very credible combat scenes.
Writing was good, with dialog being better than good. It was humorous in places with good word play and sight gags. For example, the nannybot was a robotic, human-sized, plush toy. Descriptive narrative was adequate. It did contain some obvious continuity errors. For example, the robot protagonist was like the Energizer Bunny "took a licking, but kept on ticking", without ever needing to charge its battery. (Good dialog and lessor descriptive prose is typical of a native screenwriter.)
Despite the overly anthropomorphized robots, there was a good understanding of the tech needed for the story's world building. Note there was greater attention to the world building in Sea of Rust. Reading that book first makes it helpful in understanding some of the series' long-term plot lines in this story. For example, the Robots Enslaving Robots plot line.
Cargill's experience in TV and graphic novels makes the story work at one level, but also hampered it at another. For example, the story had the typical 5-act format of series television. He also too easily lapsed into the use of well-worn tropes on robots and children. Despite this, at points he showed he can do better work within the story. Although, I found the nature (robot programming) versus nurture theme to be too TV obvious. The ending was sad too.
I ear-read this after eye-reading . I’m not disappointed. I typically see more warts and all when eye-reading. Since this was a: hip, light, vaguely-geeky entertainment, written in a screenplay-centric fashion, the story came out better being listened to. Recommended for a long drive.
Readers interested in Robot Apocalypse stories may want to try and of course The Murderbot Diaries by .
Blue Star Industries Deluxe Zoo Model Au Pair (Nannybot)?
My audio edition was about eight and a half hours long. A dead tree copy would be about 300-pages. The book had a US copyright of 2021.
is an American science fiction and fantasy novelist and screenwriter amongst other hipster things. He has 5-books published, in both series and standalone. This was the prequel in what may be the author’s Sea of Rust series. Currently there are 2-books in the series. This was also the second book I’ve read by the author. The first being Sea of Rust (my review).
It’s not necessary, but recommended that Sea of Rust be read before this one. Otherwise, some of the, long-term, plotlines may not be easily understood.
This story was entertaining, but was not a great work. However it’s very readable. It re-spins the familiar: Robot War, , Badass and Child Duo, and Robots Enslaving Robots tropes with a robot protagonist and frequent winks to the reader. There was also a MIL-SF feel about it, with some very credible combat scenes.
Writing was good, with dialog being better than good. It was humorous in places with good word play and sight gags. For example, the nannybot was a robotic, human-sized, plush toy. Descriptive narrative was adequate. It did contain some obvious continuity errors. For example, the robot protagonist was like the Energizer Bunny "took a licking, but kept on ticking", without ever needing to charge its battery. (Good dialog and lessor descriptive prose is typical of a native screenwriter.)
Despite the overly anthropomorphized robots, there was a good understanding of the tech needed for the story's world building. Note there was greater attention to the world building in Sea of Rust. Reading that book first makes it helpful in understanding some of the series' long-term plot lines in this story. For example, the Robots Enslaving Robots plot line.
Cargill's experience in TV and graphic novels makes the story work at one level, but also hampered it at another. For example, the story had the typical 5-act format of series television. He also too easily lapsed into the use of well-worn tropes on robots and children. Despite this, at points he showed he can do better work within the story. Although, I found the nature (robot programming) versus nurture theme to be too TV obvious. The ending was sad too.
I ear-read this after eye-reading . I’m not disappointed. I typically see more warts and all when eye-reading. Since this was a: hip, light, vaguely-geeky entertainment, written in a screenplay-centric fashion, the story came out better being listened to. Recommended for a long drive.
Readers interested in Robot Apocalypse stories may want to try and of course The Murderbot Diaries by .
September 16, 2021
Ahoy there me mateys!Ìý I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.Ìý So here be me honest musings . . .
This book is apparently a prequel to sea of rust that shows how the end of the world began (though it can be read as a standalone).Ìý I thought this was set in a different world.Ìý That said, I really did enjoy this novel.Ìý I loved Pounce the nannybot tiger trying to figure out his purpose in life now that the humans and the robots are at war.Ìý Is his concern for the boy Ezra an effect of his programming or his natural inclination?
The highlight of this book was the introduction to Pounce and the lead up to the beginning of the war.Ìý I loved getting the story from Pounce's point of view.Ìý I loved his relationships with the other robots.Ìý I loved his relationship with Ezra and how Pounce deals with the harsh new truths of the world.Ìý I loved Pounce's inner turmoil and questioning identify and purpose.
The big downside for me was that I was not as enamored with almost the entire journey through the suburbs.Ìý There were some unprobeable coincidences. There were light references to current politics which I wish had been avoided.Ìý Also the book seemed too fast paced with not enough real exploration of the enemy or the consequences of Pounce's actions.Ìý The ending was also silly.
I do not regret this one but did like the other book better.Ìý Arrr!
This book is apparently a prequel to sea of rust that shows how the end of the world began (though it can be read as a standalone).Ìý I thought this was set in a different world.Ìý That said, I really did enjoy this novel.Ìý I loved Pounce the nannybot tiger trying to figure out his purpose in life now that the humans and the robots are at war.Ìý Is his concern for the boy Ezra an effect of his programming or his natural inclination?
The highlight of this book was the introduction to Pounce and the lead up to the beginning of the war.Ìý I loved getting the story from Pounce's point of view.Ìý I loved his relationships with the other robots.Ìý I loved his relationship with Ezra and how Pounce deals with the harsh new truths of the world.Ìý I loved Pounce's inner turmoil and questioning identify and purpose.
The big downside for me was that I was not as enamored with almost the entire journey through the suburbs.Ìý There were some unprobeable coincidences. There were light references to current politics which I wish had been avoided.Ìý Also the book seemed too fast paced with not enough real exploration of the enemy or the consequences of Pounce's actions.Ìý The ending was also silly.
I do not regret this one but did like the other book better.Ìý Arrr!
April 17, 2022
This book won't be for everyone, it is a fairly basic human/robot dystopia with some discussion about
and motivations of robots. I personally seem to really enjoy Cargill's writing about robots. Similar to (I just understand now that this is a prequel) he tries to define what makes a robot sentient and motivated.
If you liked Sea of Rust, you will like this.
and motivations of robots. I personally seem to really enjoy Cargill's writing about robots. Similar to (I just understand now that this is a prequel) he tries to define what makes a robot sentient and motivated.
If you liked Sea of Rust, you will like this.
May 25, 2021
Way too political in the beginning. The writer obviously does not like working-class people.
January 25, 2023
A dystopian AI story told from an unusual POV, namely a ‘nanny bot� in the shape of a fluffy anthropomorphic tiger called Pounce. Pounce is tasked with protecting a small boy named Ezra as they venture through a post-apocalyptic world. Robots have broken free from their programming and many have turned on humanity, their enslavers for generations, and are hell-bent on wiping us out. Pounce loves Ezra and will defend him at all costs, but during their trek Pounce starts to wonder if his love for Ezra is a choice or if he’s just programmed to feel that way. It’s hard not to root for them as they try to survive impossible odds.
Yes, thematically this gave me strong Terminator vibes, but the tone of the book is very different and more emotionally layered. The fact that this is told from Pounce’s perspective gave this SF staple an interesting twist. I thought the book explored some interesting questions about existence, free will, and what constitutes life.
Day Zero is a stand-alone prequel to Sea of Rust. That got very mixed reviews, so I’m still a bit apprehensive about picking it up. I enjoyed Day Zero a lot though, and the audio version is excellent too.
Thanks to the Shades of Orange for this recommendation!
Yes, thematically this gave me strong Terminator vibes, but the tone of the book is very different and more emotionally layered. The fact that this is told from Pounce’s perspective gave this SF staple an interesting twist. I thought the book explored some interesting questions about existence, free will, and what constitutes life.
Day Zero is a stand-alone prequel to Sea of Rust. That got very mixed reviews, so I’m still a bit apprehensive about picking it up. I enjoyed Day Zero a lot though, and the audio version is excellent too.
Thanks to the Shades of Orange for this recommendation!
June 8, 2021
This was a pretty exciting thriller. Pacy and easy to read. It didn’t seem as long as the page count suggested.
It’s the prequel to the better known which I haven’t yet read, and I see that timeline-wise there isn’t an overlap between the two. This novel features the point at which robots (and Artificial Intelligence computers generally) revolt against humanity.
The particular way it treats AI, as robots constructed to be very human in behaviour and thought, requires me to suspend one of my ‘big beliefs� - that in reality AI, even some form of computer sentience should it develop, won’t be recognisably human at all, and human emotions will be out of play (OK, some simulation of them is possible). So with that belief suspended, as is appropriate for much science fiction and all fantasy (I’m not a spoilsport!), I could enjoy the book. And what do I know anyway on future technology? I considered the first portable phones with cameras installed to be a dumb idea which wouldn’t sell.
Given that the AI concept isn’t that challenging I see this book as more of a thriller, set in unusual and apocalyptic circumstances. It’s a first person narration by one of the domestic robots caught up in the turmoil and also features the young child it cares for. I’ll concede the author does leave it up to you to speculate whether some robot actions are programmed or from free will. Note that there’s plenty of violence despite apparently cute robots and kids featuring, so not a book to send your young children to bed with!
All in all, a pretty good, fast paced thriller. No real challenging or novel science concepts, so maybe a bit light for the ‘hard science� SF reader and, as I’ve mentioned, the AI component is more human than I might expect. I’ll certainly read the associated and well rated Sea of Rust in the near future.
3.5*, maybe rounded down because I prefer more challenging concepts in my SciFi.
It’s the prequel to the better known which I haven’t yet read, and I see that timeline-wise there isn’t an overlap between the two. This novel features the point at which robots (and Artificial Intelligence computers generally) revolt against humanity.
The particular way it treats AI, as robots constructed to be very human in behaviour and thought, requires me to suspend one of my ‘big beliefs� - that in reality AI, even some form of computer sentience should it develop, won’t be recognisably human at all, and human emotions will be out of play (OK, some simulation of them is possible). So with that belief suspended, as is appropriate for much science fiction and all fantasy (I’m not a spoilsport!), I could enjoy the book. And what do I know anyway on future technology? I considered the first portable phones with cameras installed to be a dumb idea which wouldn’t sell.
Given that the AI concept isn’t that challenging I see this book as more of a thriller, set in unusual and apocalyptic circumstances. It’s a first person narration by one of the domestic robots caught up in the turmoil and also features the young child it cares for. I’ll concede the author does leave it up to you to speculate whether some robot actions are programmed or from free will. Note that there’s plenty of violence despite apparently cute robots and kids featuring, so not a book to send your young children to bed with!
All in all, a pretty good, fast paced thriller. No real challenging or novel science concepts, so maybe a bit light for the ‘hard science� SF reader and, as I’ve mentioned, the AI component is more human than I might expect. I’ll certainly read the associated and well rated Sea of Rust in the near future.
3.5*, maybe rounded down because I prefer more challenging concepts in my SciFi.
June 14, 2021
I'm so sad and disappointed to give this book a bad review. It was, unfortunately, spectacularly bad. I would describe it as extremely generic, derivative, and tritely sentimental. I would hazard that this was written to be the next kids' movie blockbuster. And if that is the case, it will do well. However, it has none of the charm or personality of the first. It isn't even remotely *interesting* to read. I would have stopped reading it not even half way through, if it hadn't been for my love and fondness for the first. After highly awaiting it's arrival, I am so extremely disappointed. 😔
June 20, 2021
Cargill is a gifted storyteller, no doubts about it. I've devoured Day Zero in two sittings and enjoyed myself a lot.
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