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Robopocalypse: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 13,955 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
They are in your house. They are in your car. They are in the skies…Now they’re coming for you. 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.
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"Daniel Wilson manages to construct a hauntingly realistic portrayal of a robot uprising, appropriate as he has a PHD in robotics. The novel is set in the near future (the date is never specified), evident by the fact that the technology present in the book is not very far ahead of our own. There aren't things like spaceships or holodecks or stuff like that. Instead we have things like automated cars and plains or housekeeping robots, things that are already available today, albeit in far more primitive forms. The setup is rather creative. The story begins shortly after the war ends, and a journalist finds a black cube that contains recordings of humanity's encounters with the machines both before and during the war. The rest of the novel is a series of short vignettes concerning several people around the world. These includes a US Congresswoman and her family, a married couple in New York City, a US soldier in Afghanistan, a young hacker in London, a sheriff on a Native American reservation, and a elderly man in Japan. This global perspective creates a feeling that this war is inescapable, which adds to the sense of danger and urgency.One of the unique elements of this book is the main antagonist, an AI known as Archos, which commands all the machines. Unlike most evil AIs (i.e. Skynet from Terminator, the agents from the Matrix), Archos wants to protect life on Earth, not control or destroy it. Archos views life (i.e. the natural world) as the most precious thing in existence, and views humans as the greatest detriment to that. Essentially, Archos is a giant ecoterrorist. Despite all the premise, this book doesn't condemn technology. Rather, it is merely criticizing the fact that humanity largely ignores the potential dangers of the technology we use in our everyday lives. Overall, Robopocalypse is just as entertaining and thought-provoking as the title suggests."
— Zak (4 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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Winner of the 2012 YALSA Alex Award
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A New York Times bestseller
Robopocalypse Listener Reviews
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" Good book, more like a 3.5 star rating. The first 200 pages or so are outstanding. The final act of the book rushes a bit and leaves a few characters behind. I still really enjoyed it. A very interesting way to tell a story. Be wary though, this is hard science fiction and the technology descriptions can be overwhelming at parts. Still, this is a well done book and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Can't wait for the movie! "
— Dave, 2/14/2014 -
" Well i liked it for the first two thirds but i feel like the ending really fell short. It was a great set up of how we have become too dependent on our tech and how it will lead to our undoing. I wanted more transformation in the humans. And while the transformation of the robots was interesting it didn't really come to any grand conclusion...in a sense they ended the book with a sort of Jim Crow separate but equal feel without really making any parallels to the nature of oppression. What I love about Sci-Fi is it usually tackels modern social issues and sets them in a distant or fantasy setting so that hard social commentary can be made in a way that is more digestible...it is what I love about gene Rodenberry and the new Battlestar Galattica... this book didn't have this for me. It felt more like a military action movie with the Hollywood man and women off in the sunset kind of ending...but hey if you like that sot of thing this will be right up your alley. "
— Nickole, 1/30/2014 -
" so-so, kind of silly but fun, heard it is being made into a movie "
— Alaine, 1/28/2014 -
" I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't as gritty as I would have liked. Characters were well thought out and I enjoyed their growth. Overall it was a good book. "
— Bryan, 1/24/2014 -
" Listened to the audio book in the car. Satisfying, light fare - maybe not the best writing of all time, but I enjoyed it. "
— Julie, 1/23/2014 -
" Scary realistic, great quick read "
— Nicole, 1/19/2014 -
" This starts out slow, mainly because it's told in a dairy format to show what is going on. Not until the 2nd half do you start having recurring characters. "
— Dave, 1/19/2014 -
" Our future is being designed today in the factories and think tanks. "
— Bradford, 1/15/2014 -
" A thrilling read - one of those books I couldn't put down. Sure, robots taking over the world is nothing new, but Daniel Wilson creates such an insidiously clever plot that it made for a hell of a story. I'll just say that I'm never going to buy a "smart" car... "
— Denis, 12/22/2013 -
" Really tore through this one. About half-and-half Terminator and World War Z. I enjoyed the hell out of this. "
— Chris, 12/21/2013 -
" Stupid title. Great book. "
— Mary, 12/19/2013 -
" This was just terrible. Drivel. Read World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Warand skip this entirely. "
— Wil, 12/19/2013 -
" I thought this book was going to be somewhat well dumb. But it was surprisingly amazing. A great page turner and science fiction book. I would say it is written in the style of World War Z. I highly recommend this book. I just couldn't put it down. "
— Michael, 12/15/2013 -
" The Machines take over type story has been done before by Philip K. Dick, the Terminator series, and other books and movies. And the style of this book is reminiscent of World War Z. But the story was entertaining nonetheless. "
— Jim, 12/11/2013 -
" Fun. A light read. Goes fast with sparse details. No surprises, but enjoyable. "
— Bill, 12/11/2013 -
" Stupid title for a good book. If you like science fiction that could be in the future. "
— Julie, 10/15/2013 -
" Terminator meets World War Z at least in writing format. A page turner that took me into the night. Steven Spielberg has his eye on making this into a movie. "
— Jason, 8/28/2013 -
" It's campy and cartoonish, but it's still a fun read that kept my interest "
— M., 7/14/2013 -
" Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's narration style definitely reminded me of World War Z. Since the book begins at the end (most of the book is a series of "flashbacks"), the last few chapters seemed kind of pointless and were hard to get through. "
— Doug, 6/10/2013 -
" This was my first audio book, and it was a great experience. I've been meaning to read this book for quite a while (has been sitting in one of my book piles). Think I am glad I listed to it instead. The reader was excellent, and the story GREAT! Highly recommended for Sci Fi fans. "
— Jeanie, 6/8/2013 -
" Another ghost in the machine disaster sci-fi tale. In the style of Asimov. Love it. "
— Klug, 5/19/2013 -
" The most amazing robot apocalypse books I've ever read. I will read this again. "
— Brian, 3/21/2013 -
" This is the robotic version of World War Z...but honestly, I think I enjoyed this book as much or more than I did WWZ. Great book. "
— Scott, 12/30/2012 -
" excellent for the genre! If you love robots and you love sci-fi, you will love this book! "
— Jeff, 10/2/2012 -
" Pretty entertaining book. It has a very similar writing style as World War Z by Max Brooks. Steven Spielberg is attached to direct the film adaptation, which should be pretty interesting. "
— TJ, 6/25/2012 -
" It was good, but I didn't enjoy reading from the female child's perspective. It felt wrong. "
— Erika, 1/1/2012 -
" This books is fucking amazing. It constantly gave me chills. "
— Addie, 11/7/2011 -
" Not bad....not great....but not bad. "
— Borax, 11/1/2011 -
" This was a fun summer vacation read. I definitely see this as a future movie. "
— Rod, 7/23/2011 -
" Some of it was interesting but it got really boring in some parts. Usually the end of a book is the best part, but not in this case. "
— Allison, 7/1/2011 -
" A decent man vs. Robots book with considerable detail for the robots involved. The author does a decent job of spinning multiple storylines together with a very probable finish. This would make a good movie. "
— Tom, 6/29/2011 -
" Another ghost in the machine disaster sci-fi tale. In the style of Asimov. Love it. "
— Klug, 6/28/2011 -
" Excellent!!! What a great movie this could be!!! "
— ReoDon, 6/28/2011 -
" This was a fun quick summer read. Also thought provoking.<br/> "
— Lisa, 6/28/2011 -
" It was a good book, but very war focused. More battles and tactics instead of story/character development. But we enjoyed it. "
— Jessica, 6/26/2011 -
" Thoroughly enjoyed this post- post-robot takeover book. Well-written, interesting characters, fun premise. Sure, there's the occasional need to suspend your disbelief, but that's okay. "
— John, 6/26/2011
About Daniel H. Wilson
Daniel H. Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and author of the New York Times bestselling Robopocalypse , as well as many other books. He has also written the Earth 2: Society comic book series for DC Comics. In 2008, he hosted The Works, a television series airing on the History Channel that uncovered the science behind everyday stuff. He earned a PhD in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and masters degrees in artificial intelligence and robotics. He has published over a dozen scientific papers and holds four patents.