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Hamlet, Prince of Robots
Something is rotten in the state of cybernetics.
Elsinore Robotics is on the cusp of a breakthrough—the company is poised to create the first humanoid androids powered by true artificial intelligence. Their only rival, Norwegian Technologies, lost a publicly streamed contest between their flagship model, Fortinbras, and Elsinore’s HAM(let) v.1.
But when the first Hamlet model is found irreparably deactivated, the apparent victim of wild malware, the field of consumer cybernetics is thrown wide open. However, Hamlet v.1’s memories were not entirely lost in the accident.
Hamlet v.2 swears to avenge his progenitor, but is plagued by the aftereffects of integrating Old Hamlet’s backup into his own neural matrix. Beset by doubts about whether his feelings are truly his own, he worries his love for his boyfriend, Horatio, is an illusion, all the while driven by a consuming need for revenge. While he has a method, there is a madness in it, and Hamlet’s actions will leave no corner of Elsinore unscathed.
A beat-by-beat retelling of the Shakespeare classic, Hamlet, Prince of Robots grapples with conscience, ambition, and pain, and what it means to be, or not to be, human.
Elsinore Robotics is on the cusp of a breakthrough—the company is poised to create the first humanoid androids powered by true artificial intelligence. Their only rival, Norwegian Technologies, lost a publicly streamed contest between their flagship model, Fortinbras, and Elsinore’s HAM(let) v.1.
But when the first Hamlet model is found irreparably deactivated, the apparent victim of wild malware, the field of consumer cybernetics is thrown wide open. However, Hamlet v.1’s memories were not entirely lost in the accident.
Hamlet v.2 swears to avenge his progenitor, but is plagued by the aftereffects of integrating Old Hamlet’s backup into his own neural matrix. Beset by doubts about whether his feelings are truly his own, he worries his love for his boyfriend, Horatio, is an illusion, all the while driven by a consuming need for revenge. While he has a method, there is a madness in it, and Hamlet’s actions will leave no corner of Elsinore unscathed.
A beat-by-beat retelling of the Shakespeare classic, Hamlet, Prince of Robots grapples with conscience, ambition, and pain, and what it means to be, or not to be, human.
166 pages, Hardcover
First published January 31, 2023
12 people are currently reading
4631 people want to read
About the author
M. Darusha Wehm
35books64followersM. Darusha Wehm is a Nebula Award winner and Sir Julius Vogel Award winner, the author of Hamlet, Prince of Robots, the game The Martian Job, and over a dozen other novels. Their short fiction has been published widely and their poetry has been a finalist for the Rhysling Award.
Writing as Darusha Wehm, their mainstream books include the Devi Jones� Locker YA series and the humorous coming-of-age novel The Home for Wayward Parrots.
Darusha is a member of the Many Worlds writing collective and they are a fifth of the writing team Darkly Lem, the author of The Formation Saga which starts with Transmentation | Transience.
Originally from Canada, Darusha lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand after several years sailing the Pacific.
Writing as Darusha Wehm, their mainstream books include the Devi Jones� Locker YA series and the humorous coming-of-age novel The Home for Wayward Parrots.
Darusha is a member of the Many Worlds writing collective and they are a fifth of the writing team Darkly Lem, the author of The Formation Saga which starts with Transmentation | Transience.
Originally from Canada, Darusha lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand after several years sailing the Pacific.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
January 10, 2023
“People are too trusting of their technology, I think,� Hamlet mused.
The marketing for this book says it is “a beat-by-beat retelling of the Shakespeare classic�, which made me scratch my head a bit. Yes, it has most of the major plot points and characters, but otherwise bears a superficial resemblance to the source material.
Frankly, I think it would have worked better as a modernised play, as the author cannot avoid the problem of having various people gather in different rooms to make profound utterances, and then make them disappear for the next round of speechifying.
Also, Hamlet comes across as a bit of an insufferable prig no matter if he is human or robot. There is just something about that character that makes people go mad and want to stab each other.
The idea of transposing Hamlet’s musings on mortality into an existential debate about AI sounds good on paper, but this is one instance where I wished M. Darusha Wehm had, er, fleshed out their ideas a bit more.
For me, Horatio and Hamlet having an affair is far more interesting than the machinations underpinning Elsinore Robotics. The former is unfortunately a throwaway idea, but a good example of the occasional sparks of genius that light up these pages.
The marketing for this book says it is “a beat-by-beat retelling of the Shakespeare classic�, which made me scratch my head a bit. Yes, it has most of the major plot points and characters, but otherwise bears a superficial resemblance to the source material.
Frankly, I think it would have worked better as a modernised play, as the author cannot avoid the problem of having various people gather in different rooms to make profound utterances, and then make them disappear for the next round of speechifying.
Also, Hamlet comes across as a bit of an insufferable prig no matter if he is human or robot. There is just something about that character that makes people go mad and want to stab each other.
The idea of transposing Hamlet’s musings on mortality into an existential debate about AI sounds good on paper, but this is one instance where I wished M. Darusha Wehm had, er, fleshed out their ideas a bit more.
For me, Horatio and Hamlet having an affair is far more interesting than the machinations underpinning Elsinore Robotics. The former is unfortunately a throwaway idea, but a good example of the occasional sparks of genius that light up these pages.
December 5, 2022
Hamlet, Prince of Robots was a brief but fun read. I was impressed with how well the author translated the story into the world of robotics and computing; it worked perfectly right from the first scene in the server room. Although it remains a tragic tale, the migration of the story into this new world also brought a smile to my face a number of times as I waited to see how each scene would be adjusted. If you are a fan of Shakespeare and Shakespeare retellings, this version of Hamlet is definitely worth checking out. It gets 4 stars from me.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 1, 2023
Elsinore Robotics maker of humanoid androids powered by true artificial intelligence are continually in competition with their rival, Norwegian Technologies. The last public contest was between their model, Fortinbras, and Elsinore’s HAM(let) v.1 & Hamlet was victorious. Shortly afterwards he was found deactivated at Elsinore, possibly by rogue malware. Hamlet v.2 mourns the loss of his progenitor, & he becomes obsessed by thoughts of revenge.
A retelling of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' with the lead character an android rather than flesh & blood. The book looks at what is means to be human, about free will & choice. It mostly works quite well. I haven't read the original play but, like Cher Horowitz in Clueless, I've seen the Mel Gibson film version, so I knew what was coming & who the characters were. It's a quick read at just under 170 pages for the Kindle version so it doesn't outstay its welcome. An intriguing take. 3.5 stars (rounded up)
A retelling of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' with the lead character an android rather than flesh & blood. The book looks at what is means to be human, about free will & choice. It mostly works quite well. I haven't read the original play but, like Cher Horowitz in Clueless, I've seen the Mel Gibson film version, so I knew what was coming & who the characters were. It's a quick read at just under 170 pages for the Kindle version so it doesn't outstay its welcome. An intriguing take. 3.5 stars (rounded up)
January 13, 2023
Well, this was just a good old-fashioned re-engineered Shakespearean automaton whodunnit with plenty of allusions to the Bard's better known plays. The first 20 pages or so found me trying to keep track with the parallels with the play I haven't read in some 40 years, but after that, I was in Wehm's world completely. A fun read.
May 10, 2025
I believe this book would benefit from not following Hamlet “beat by beat,� as it sets out to do, and instead included some additional scenes, going more in depth into the characters� lives and the relationships between them. the premise is very interesting, and as half of the characters are robots, I really wanted to find out more about them and their relationships.
nevertheless, I think it does pretty well as a “beat-by-beat� retelling of the play, and I just wish it’d go a little further.
nevertheless, I think it does pretty well as a “beat-by-beat� retelling of the play, and I just wish it’d go a little further.
December 31, 2022
(Review originally published at historythatneverwas.com)
M. Darusha Wehm’s Hamlet, Prince of Robots is an absolutely brilliant retelling of Hamlet that hits every note of Hamlet while updating the story to a science-fantasy future in which life-like robots are the technological battleground between the Danes and the Norwegians.
In Wehm’s retelling, Hamlet is Hamlet 2.0, the second generation of these life-like robots. When his predecessor, Hamlet 1.0, is found deactivated, Hamlet 2.0 suspects foul play, and he seeks to learn the truth. The usual cast of characters are all present, with some gender-flipping and changes in relationships, but the core of the story remains true to the classic while becoming so much more than the source material.
For someone with a lifelong interest in literature and writing, I loved seeing the ways in which Wehm played with the tropes and made them still just as pertinent in this plausible future as they were in Shakespeare’s day. Hamlet, Prince of Robots would be a wonderful piece to explore in concert with the original play, giving students of English literature another way to understand the themes without the sometimes inaccessible Shakespearean language.
The author provided me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for review consideration.
M. Darusha Wehm’s Hamlet, Prince of Robots is an absolutely brilliant retelling of Hamlet that hits every note of Hamlet while updating the story to a science-fantasy future in which life-like robots are the technological battleground between the Danes and the Norwegians.
In Wehm’s retelling, Hamlet is Hamlet 2.0, the second generation of these life-like robots. When his predecessor, Hamlet 1.0, is found deactivated, Hamlet 2.0 suspects foul play, and he seeks to learn the truth. The usual cast of characters are all present, with some gender-flipping and changes in relationships, but the core of the story remains true to the classic while becoming so much more than the source material.
For someone with a lifelong interest in literature and writing, I loved seeing the ways in which Wehm played with the tropes and made them still just as pertinent in this plausible future as they were in Shakespeare’s day. Hamlet, Prince of Robots would be a wonderful piece to explore in concert with the original play, giving students of English literature another way to understand the themes without the sometimes inaccessible Shakespearean language.
The author provided me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for review consideration.
December 17, 2022
A new spin on Hamlet in a world of androids and technology. I really enjoyed this Novella! It stayed true to the original story (for the most parts) with great updates for the android world. I also loved the hamlet/horatio love story, and just the cleverness of it all.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 28, 2023
2023 is the year of android/robot versions of Hamlet, the other being The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu. I can only hope that one is a little more well-conceived. Hamlet, Prince of Robots is the barest of bare-bones, shorter than the original play, I'd assume, with a fraction of the emotional resonance. The style is, ironically, robotic to the point of comedy. And, as another review pointed out, the androids really don't behave any differently than the humans, which is frustrating! I love robots and androids wrestling with their own sense of being - Data and Murderbot, come ON, it's the unending "am I a human like everyone else or just a lesser being amongst Real People?" internal monologue of the Weird Kid, it's not HARD to hit that particular button. But there's just nothing here. It is almost all silence.
Polonius being the Ultimate Mastermind was a very odd choice. There were actually several changes that I find odd -
All in all, it's just not a version of Hamlet that I can take seriously. There are some grains of a hypothetically compelling story in there (Hamlet being literally haunted by a virus of his predecessor!) but, in practice, there are a handful of good lines scattered through 130 pages of very weak storytelling. Sorry, sweet prince.
Polonius being the Ultimate Mastermind was a very odd choice. There were actually several changes that I find odd -
All in all, it's just not a version of Hamlet that I can take seriously. There are some grains of a hypothetically compelling story in there (Hamlet being literally haunted by a virus of his predecessor!) but, in practice, there are a handful of good lines scattered through 130 pages of very weak storytelling. Sorry, sweet prince.
March 31, 2024
This was the laziest retelling I've ever read. The worldbuilding was sloppy and vague, the characters were barely developed and inconsistent, and the author constrained themselves by following the original play too closely in certain sections, to the story's detriment. I've only read Hamlet once, and a few years ago, so I don't know it as well as some people, but I clocked that the author was 'translating' the original dialogue into modern English in certain sections. It stood out painfully from the rest of the writing, complete with Shakespearean style wordplay that did not work at all outside its original context. Some archaic words and phrases got left in so that you'd have a strange dissonance between characters talking normally and then someone using a word like 'aforethought'.
There were some very silly sequences, like the video game based on The Lion King, and the robots having a livestreamed sword fight to decide the fate of the company. The author clearly has no idea how businesses work, how robots/computers work, or how novels work. It reads like a first draft that the author rushed out in a couple of weeks and managed to publish without a single editor looking at it. Such a shame because I love the concept of a sci-fi Hamlet, but I've read two of them now and, while neither of them was good, this was definitely the worst of the two.
There were some very silly sequences, like the video game based on The Lion King, and the robots having a livestreamed sword fight to decide the fate of the company. The author clearly has no idea how businesses work, how robots/computers work, or how novels work. It reads like a first draft that the author rushed out in a couple of weeks and managed to publish without a single editor looking at it. Such a shame because I love the concept of a sci-fi Hamlet, but I've read two of them now and, while neither of them was good, this was definitely the worst of the two.
August 10, 2022
Hamlet, Prince of Robots is a reworking of Hamlet for the 21st century. Questions of what it is to be human are asked by robots, and ghosts take on a new meaning - more technological, less fantastical. It was a smart and reflective read , tinged with a playful sense of humour that does not feel out of place amid the inevitable tragedy. The many clever references and reimaginings of the original text (and in at least one case, another interpretation) were a delight, but the story and the characters stood alone, with passions, existential ruminations, deceits, and plots. Hamlet, Prince of Robots was a captivating and thoroughly satisfying read, a feast for both the emotional and the nerdy parts of my brain alike.
I received a free eARC of this book for review but opinions are entirely my own. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
I received a free eARC of this book for review but opinions are entirely my own. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
March 21, 2023
I love reading retelling so when I saw this mashup of and robots I could not resist :D
The transfer of the setting to a futuristic era and Hamlet as a robot was beautifully done. Maybe you are wondering, but how can someone kill his father when he is a robot - don't worry - it all fits. ;)
Surprisingly transfer from play to novella didn't go as smoothly. Too many different characters and points of view and not enough characterization for them. Maybe it would have been better if it stayed in screenplay form? ¯\_(�)_/¯
The transfer of the setting to a futuristic era and Hamlet as a robot was beautifully done. Maybe you are wondering, but how can someone kill his father when he is a robot - don't worry - it all fits. ;)
Surprisingly transfer from play to novella didn't go as smoothly. Too many different characters and points of view and not enough characterization for them. Maybe it would have been better if it stayed in screenplay form? ¯\_(�)_/¯
January 1, 2023
Hamlet is one of my favorite of Shakespeare's plays, so the moment I saw the concept of Hamlet mixed with robots and AI, I was all in. This is everything I could have wanted in a Shakespearian retelling. This Hamlet is equal parts charming and cutting. I highlighted multiple times where I stopped because I was in awe of how much this author understood Hamlet as a character and made him feel like a real person, despite being an android, and where his snarkiness and pettiness really felt like they hit at the core of who Hamlet was originally described as.
Making a large portion of the cast into college students, turning some of the traditionally male characters into female counterparts, the added dimensions to the questions of humanity and morality when a large portion of the cast are androids, and the update to Hamlet's romantic arc all make this into a fresh and modern retelling that I found refreshing. It was a struggle to put this book down before I made it to the inevitable ending. I found the translation of the fifth act into this modernized and somewhat futuristic world to be the weakest aspect of this retelling, but it still did a good job of carrying the necessary weight and emotion of concluding a tragedy.
Making a large portion of the cast into college students, turning some of the traditionally male characters into female counterparts, the added dimensions to the questions of humanity and morality when a large portion of the cast are androids, and the update to Hamlet's romantic arc all make this into a fresh and modern retelling that I found refreshing. It was a struggle to put this book down before I made it to the inevitable ending. I found the translation of the fifth act into this modernized and somewhat futuristic world to be the weakest aspect of this retelling, but it still did a good job of carrying the necessary weight and emotion of concluding a tragedy.
February 4, 2023
Why? Why it was so short?😭
Obviously chose the book by its cover 😅and wasn't disappointed at all.
Haven't read Hamlet. Only saw the play and movie adaptation with Kenneth Branagh many years ago. And since I remembered some of the characters and how the story goes I kept wishing for a different ending. But alas the author kept true to the original.
Such an original idea to place the action in a world of Artificial Intelligence 👏
And the romantic relationship between Hamlet and Horatio was beautifully portraited ❤️
Obviously chose the book by its cover 😅and wasn't disappointed at all.
Haven't read Hamlet. Only saw the play and movie adaptation with Kenneth Branagh many years ago. And since I remembered some of the characters and how the story goes I kept wishing for a different ending. But alas the author kept true to the original.
Such an original idea to place the action in a world of Artificial Intelligence 👏
And the romantic relationship between Hamlet and Horatio was beautifully portraited ❤️
December 17, 2022
[Blurb goes here]
In an undefined future, two companies fight for supremacy on the android market. This is the story of one such company, Elsinore Robotics. They've created various android models with true AI, that have the capacity to experience human feelings.
The once King of Robots–a name earned after defeating a bot from a rival company,–Hamlet V.1, falls victim to malware, but not before the android could send part of his code to roam inside the business' servers. Code that could reveal the one responsible for his "death". Enter Hamlet V.2, an android plagued by sadness an uncertainty at the lost of his previous version. V.2 will soon find out that the pieces of code are meant for him.
It's time for Hamlet V.2 to exact his revenge on the ones responsible for the King of Robot's demise.
A new take on Shakespeare's tragedy, with touchy-feely androids. That's when the author lost me. The book's setting, at first, seemed intriguing enough, but soon turned pedestrian, specially when, from the start, you'll realize that these androids act exactly like humans do. Everything about their conduct is carefully explained, mind you, but to no avail. Even when some of their attributes hint at advanced robotics (twice maybe trice in the story): it's impossible to think of them as other than slightly augmented humans.
What happens when a human (witnesses, and all,) kills another human being? Think about it. What should happen, then, when an android—be it by accident or design—does the same thing? Not what you might expect: "He killed a guy! Let's deactivate him right now! No, wait, maybe tonight. How about tomorrow? You know what, no biggie...let us observe him to find out what the problem might be."
The absurdity of it all, is not lost on the reader. Written in beautiful prose, with fleshed out characters, this is a story that looses all credibility after going through the first few pages. This coming from me, a person who enjoys horror, the supernatural, Sci-Fi...
While I liked the book, nothing in it is remotely believable. I found it next to impossible to immerse myself in the story.
Thank you for the advanced copy!
In an undefined future, two companies fight for supremacy on the android market. This is the story of one such company, Elsinore Robotics. They've created various android models with true AI, that have the capacity to experience human feelings.
The once King of Robots–a name earned after defeating a bot from a rival company,–Hamlet V.1, falls victim to malware, but not before the android could send part of his code to roam inside the business' servers. Code that could reveal the one responsible for his "death". Enter Hamlet V.2, an android plagued by sadness an uncertainty at the lost of his previous version. V.2 will soon find out that the pieces of code are meant for him.
It's time for Hamlet V.2 to exact his revenge on the ones responsible for the King of Robot's demise.
A new take on Shakespeare's tragedy, with touchy-feely androids. That's when the author lost me. The book's setting, at first, seemed intriguing enough, but soon turned pedestrian, specially when, from the start, you'll realize that these androids act exactly like humans do. Everything about their conduct is carefully explained, mind you, but to no avail. Even when some of their attributes hint at advanced robotics (twice maybe trice in the story): it's impossible to think of them as other than slightly augmented humans.
What happens when a human (witnesses, and all,) kills another human being? Think about it. What should happen, then, when an android—be it by accident or design—does the same thing? Not what you might expect: "He killed a guy! Let's deactivate him right now! No, wait, maybe tonight. How about tomorrow? You know what, no biggie...let us observe him to find out what the problem might be."
The absurdity of it all, is not lost on the reader. Written in beautiful prose, with fleshed out characters, this is a story that looses all credibility after going through the first few pages. This coming from me, a person who enjoys horror, the supernatural, Sci-Fi...
While I liked the book, nothing in it is remotely believable. I found it next to impossible to immerse myself in the story.
Thank you for the advanced copy!
December 30, 2022
Hamlet.
Yes, that Hamlet. (Mister 'To Be, Or Not To Be' Man). The guy you were forced to read about in school and you either A) grumbled your way through the entire thing, yet begrudgingly finished or B) pretended to read and just looked up the SparkNotes summary.
So yes, it's Hamlet. BUT. With Cybernetics and high powered greedy scientific corporations. So really, it makes it 1000 times better, and would likely make Shakespeare himself roll over in the grave (serves him right, the wordy psycho). All in all, a fantastic novel and version of the classical Shakespearian tale (even for one such as I, who disdains most of the man's works).
Hamlet, Prince of Robots is set to be published on January 31, 2023. Thank you to In Potentia Press, NetGalley and the author for the digital Advanced Readers Copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Yes, that Hamlet. (Mister 'To Be, Or Not To Be' Man). The guy you were forced to read about in school and you either A) grumbled your way through the entire thing, yet begrudgingly finished or B) pretended to read and just looked up the SparkNotes summary.
So yes, it's Hamlet. BUT. With Cybernetics and high powered greedy scientific corporations. So really, it makes it 1000 times better, and would likely make Shakespeare himself roll over in the grave (serves him right, the wordy psycho). All in all, a fantastic novel and version of the classical Shakespearian tale (even for one such as I, who disdains most of the man's works).
Hamlet, Prince of Robots is set to be published on January 31, 2023. Thank you to In Potentia Press, NetGalley and the author for the digital Advanced Readers Copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January 1, 2023
While science fiction is not my typical genre, I was drawn to Hamlet Prince of Robots due to it being a retelling.
As a retelling, it remains true to the original story while bringing it up to current/future times. I loved Hamlet as a deeply complex character (a robot which is given a human complex, especially of emotions).
Could science and technology ever progress to the point where robots feel emotion more than humans?
It's an interesting concept and I loved the author's attempts at arguing for this theme.
A compelling read with an intriguing theme.
Thank you to NetGalley, M. darusha Wehm and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As a retelling, it remains true to the original story while bringing it up to current/future times. I loved Hamlet as a deeply complex character (a robot which is given a human complex, especially of emotions).
Could science and technology ever progress to the point where robots feel emotion more than humans?
It's an interesting concept and I loved the author's attempts at arguing for this theme.
A compelling read with an intriguing theme.
Thank you to NetGalley, M. darusha Wehm and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 1, 2024
I absolutely loved how this wove the traditional play into modern/sci-fi elements. The author made it work from several different angles, and it speaks just as loud in this new context. Somehow this retelling made me love Hamlet, the character, more than I usually do. I loved the choices made to interpret each character, and it was a really fun read.
March 22, 2025
super cool concept but i feel that more than a novella it should have been explored in a full length novel - losing the 1:1 tie with the original text, sure, but it would have gained so much more!! i love the idea of hamlet's ethical and philosophical dilemmas transposed to an android's mind and existence, and would read 500 pages more of it.
November 9, 2022
M. Darusha Wehm does a great job in doing a retelling and still be an original concept. I really loved the idea of Hamlet and the scifi elements. It was so well done and I really had a good time reading this. The characters were wonderfully done and I'm glad I read this.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 24, 2024
The first few pages had me thinking “why am I reading this � I really had an issue with editing and following the story-then I was really entertained and flew through the rest of the story. I loved the modern take on Hamlet. I really was rooting for him although I know what happens in the end I read it like I didn’t. I plan on reading more from this author.
April 1, 2023
I had hopes for this, but found it to be rubbish. Not something I’d recommend to anyone. Not well written and story disappointing.
December 25, 2022
Trigger warnings for Hamlet, Prince of Robots include: violence, abuse, death, and profanity (swearing).
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I don't always love sci-fi, speculative fiction or retellings. And I've never read Hamlet, so I couldn't put forward my thoughts on how true to the source material it is, but I enjoyed reading it.
~
I liked the characters and the way they're developed through the story. I also liked the way the story progressed, and the inclusion of queer characters in such a way that it wasn't even that obvious that they even were queer.
~
It was interesting to see how the androids and the humans gelled together, and the way they had 'interspecies' relationships (androids were in relationships with humans). It also also fun seeing a story where the humans were the problem and not the androids, but I won't go further into that so I don't spoil the actual story.
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I don't always love sci-fi, speculative fiction or retellings. And I've never read Hamlet, so I couldn't put forward my thoughts on how true to the source material it is, but I enjoyed reading it.
~
I liked the characters and the way they're developed through the story. I also liked the way the story progressed, and the inclusion of queer characters in such a way that it wasn't even that obvious that they even were queer.
~
It was interesting to see how the androids and the humans gelled together, and the way they had 'interspecies' relationships (androids were in relationships with humans). It also also fun seeing a story where the humans were the problem and not the androids, but I won't go further into that so I don't spoil the actual story.
January 1, 2023
A novelization of the play with the very thin veneer of many characters being AIs. Nothing interesting, thought-provoking, or new here.
June 16, 2023
I think Shakespeare would appreciate the sword fighting robots
December 20, 2022
Set far off in the future, a company by the name of Elsinore is set to take over the market on mass produced androids with artificial intelligence. However, the ghost of robots pass has other plans in this re-imagining of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet".
I love Shakespeare re-tellings! It is a fantastic way for people to enjoy the genius that is William Shakespeare when the original format might not be their cup of tea. Today, I have developed a taste for the classics, but back in high school I was all about the sci-fi vibes, this book would have been perfect for teenage me. Which leads me to believe that it will also be perfect for teens passing through my library on a regular basis.
The plot remains true to the original form, so for hardcore fans of The Bard there is plenty of easter eggs to the original show. BUT! Wehm has reworked Hamlet into an entirely new flavour. For people first meeting the Bard and his works, it will capture their attention with fancy robots and the future, while showing them the classic masterpiece that is Hamlet.
I love Shakespeare re-tellings! It is a fantastic way for people to enjoy the genius that is William Shakespeare when the original format might not be their cup of tea. Today, I have developed a taste for the classics, but back in high school I was all about the sci-fi vibes, this book would have been perfect for teenage me. Which leads me to believe that it will also be perfect for teens passing through my library on a regular basis.
The plot remains true to the original form, so for hardcore fans of The Bard there is plenty of easter eggs to the original show. BUT! Wehm has reworked Hamlet into an entirely new flavour. For people first meeting the Bard and his works, it will capture their attention with fancy robots and the future, while showing them the classic masterpiece that is Hamlet.
December 28, 2022
Nicely done. This is like when theatres produce versions of Shakespeare set in the modern day. It's quite good. I may have to re-read it.
Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!
Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!
December 28, 2022
Sadly, this one did not work for me on both an thematic and technical level, the latter of which I feel contributed to letting down the former’s potential. Full review to come.
December 22, 2022
Hamlet Prince of Robots is a game changer for teaching Hamlet to students. For readers who are reluctant to engage in Shakespeare's language, the sci fi version will be a great companion to the original play. The action of the novel. mirrors the. play exactly as chapters are named after each scene of the original text. Allusions to a certain lion film, a queer love story, and commentary on 21st century silicon valley battles heighten the intrigue of this classic story. Highly recommended.
December 22, 2022
This novella is a clever, thoughtful retelling of Hamlet set in the world of corporate cybernetics. With a mixed cast of robots and humans, the themes of the original play transfer well into the world of artificial intelligence, and I was thoroughly entertained. Thank you to NetGalley and in potentia press for a digital review copy.
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December 20, 2022i was impressed by the beat-for-beat translation to a robot/corporation setting! i just wasn't really given the chance to care about any of the characters or relationships. gertrude was probably the most interesting character and even then we barely get her. hamlet had the most pov time of course, and while there was the 'what does it mean to exist' from an 'is ai alive' standpoint, i don't think it was explored as much as it could have been. we DO get aroace ophelia though.
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