Nick reviews Robopocalypse

Robopocalypse
By Daniel H. Wilson
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: June 7th 2011
Edition: Paperback 338 Pages

What Goodreads has to say...

In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication. In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans – a single mother disconcerted by her daughter’s menacing “smart” toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a ‘pacification unit’ go haywire – but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.

When the Robot War ignites -- at a moment known later as Zero Hour -- humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us…and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years.

 Likes:
         We have all heard or read about how the world will be taken from us by the machines that we create. Movies like Terminator and I,Robot (Mmm, Asimov) all easily show how messed up we could all be if the machines or in this case, Robots, were to become self-aware and take us over. Though none of them quite do it the way Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse does it. My favorite part and the key reason why I wanted to read this book was the way this story is told. Instead of one solid story, the story is told through individual "recordings" by a single entity as recorded by security cameras or other means that kept records of the events as they transpired. So, instead of just following one person or a group of people, you get to watch, or in the case, read about the events that lead up to and take place after the robots "open up" on humanity. You get to read about a lot of characters and, at first, you think you could get lost amongst the stories being told about different people. That is where the author does a wonderful job of tying in all the stories together and having them relate to each other in some way. You also get to go back to characters you meet time and time again to see how they are progressing with their lives and how important their actions are in the war against the robots.
        There are some very likeable characters. It made reading about the characters feel very personable and it helped you feel exactly what these people were going through. In these stories, you feel everything from sadness to compassion. Triumph to sacrifice. Oh and the sense of creepiness from the main robot, Archos, is crazy. This book does a wonderful job of making feel the emotions of the people in this dystopian world ruled by robots.

Dislikes:
      Despite from the obvious harsh reality of the book having to end, there was only one small little issue I had with the book. There was a character that I really enjoyed reading about named Nine Oh Two. I loved hearing the story from his perspective. It was fun to read but I wish he was in the book a bit longer. He is introduced and doesn't last too long in the story due to what he does. He was such a joy to read about that I wish he was in the book just a bit longer.

Who would I recommend this to:
      If anyone has a love for science fiction, I would forcefully and passionately thrust this book into your hands. If you are looking for an unique read, I would do the same actions mentioned above into your hands as well. This is a wonderful book that just should not be passed up. I honestly hope that when this comes to the big screen, that it retains some of the joys that made this book so awesome to read.

*gives Steven Spielburg the evil eyes*

P.S. I know, one of these days I'm going to review a book that I did not absolutely love. I wouldn't go about holding your breath until then though. I don't like to read/finish bad books. :)