Robogenesis

SPOILERS AHEAD

Devolves needlessly into gratuitous violence about a quarter-way through. The scene in question adds nothing to the plot, bluntly reminding us of the lead character's ebbing humanity with the subtlety of a 2x4. The battle choreography doesn't even make sense in context- a besieged camp sends it's children, unescorted, running towards the attacking force? These pages feel tacked on at a publisher's whim for shock value. I don't plan to read it again to try to disprove this. In fact, I don't intend to read it any further, at all.

I had VERY high expectations going in on this novel, following Wilson's entry into the field. But this follow up felt rather uneven and disjointed in comparison. There was some great character development, and some great action scenes, but joined together with an uneven tempo.

I loved the first book. Robopacalypse was enthralling and scary. This one had some tense moments, but the overall premise was a bit pulp-esque since int the first book the main villain was dispatched, only to find in this book that lo and behold there are still evil super AI killing off humanity. It's a great light popcorn read, but the first book was a complete story and this one stretches that into a serial.

Some good imagination, but some slow slogs through the first third. If you can get past that, the characters, including the surprisingly loyal and intuitive postapocolyptic war machines, May pull you in. Sometimes a far reach.

This is the sequel to 'Robopocalypse.' This was extremely difficult for me to get into, until the third part anyway. It ends in a cliffhanger so I will read the next book when it is released. I hope it's better than this one. I loved the first book, but feel as if I wasted precious time with this story. It saddens me because I've been looking forward to reading it. I've had it for awhile, saving it for a special time to read it. I wouldn't recommend it. Sorry Mr. Wilson. :(

A captivating read about an well imagined but bleak future (well, at least for us mere humans). I'm looking forward to future installments, in the mean time I will treat any robots I meet with caution and respect.

Any consideration of Wilson’s recent Robogenesis inevitably involves comparison to its predecessor Robopocalypse. I wouldn’t recommend picking up this sequel until you’ve read the first book. If you have read it, your opinion about the first volume won’t necessarily translate over into this middle volume of an apparent trilogy. While keeping many of the basic structural and technological elements of Robopocalypse, Robogenesis tells a different kind of apocalyptic tale, with a very different tone.

Robogenesis opens immediately following the events that close Robopocalypse, with humanity seemingly defeating the robotic leader and instigator of the robot uprising and resulting war in the first book. The reader quickly discovers that the enemy of the first book may not have necessarily been the evil one would think, and as actually implied in the first book, the robotic intelligence may actually have instigated the uprising for the ultimate, long-term benefit and salvation of humanity. In short, a far greater robotic malevolence lurks in the technological background, intent on really destroying humanity.

Starting in on Robogenesis I was delighted to see how the plot was unfolding. Unanswered questions from the previous book (which still could stand well as a stand-alone novel) led me to think there must be much more going on behind the robot uprising historically chronicled in its pages.

Robopocalypse suffered somewhat from a plot that lacked in the unexpected. The general robotic apocalypse plot is hardly new, and the outcome of this particular one, and the survival of key protagonists is certain from the start. By virtue of its construction as a series of recollections, each chapter projects the key events and outcomes to come with biographical/historical introductions that just grated on me.

By pulling a big twist and going into new territory, Wilson makes Robogenesis far more compelling. The general apocalyptic plot here – human survival of devastation and attempts to rebuild from war and a collapse of civilization – is generally familiar, but Wilson really takes it in interesting directions with robotic technology and action he is so skilled at relating. Even better, the ultimate outcome for the characters and state of the world for the novel’s end is not projected. (Chapters still have the same style as in Robopocalypse with introductions that explain some of what is to come though).

Robopocalypse had a roughly chronological organization with one consistent human narrator (at least in introductions) despite multiple points of view. Robogenesis with its increased complexity is organized more according to point of view character sections, making it less cohesive despite a consistent robotic narrator for introductions. This unfortunately can make the story a bit harder to follow (keep track of details of character and setting, e.g.), particularly if one picks the book up amid significant breaks from reading it.

The greatest strength of Robopocalypse continues to hold true for Robogenesis. The robotic characters are fascinating. With this novel many appear more human – emotional – than the majority of those in the first book, but their personalities both on the ‘good’ side or ‘evil’ side are fascinating. Equally fascinating to science fiction fans (or technology fiction fans more so) is Wilson’s inclusion of relevant robotic science and speculation, presented in action that flows like projected from a camera.

While the scientific background and details in the novel are seriously done here, the overall style of it like Robopocalypse is simple, pulpish entertainment and adventure. Popcorn cinema. Yet, Wilson wrote the first novel with a profound sense of optimism, and even wonder. In Robogenesis Wilson does the reverse. The overt robot-human war of book one has turned to a covert robot presence that actively provokes human-human conflicts in their struggles of apocalyptic recovery. The tone thereby becomes grim and any sense of wonder over the technological abilities of robots and their intelligence turns to elements of absolute horror with human cruelty, gory flesh violently destroyed by machine, and a pervasive sense of hopelessness. A bit of this existed in the first novel, but is increased here.

This tone fits the stereotypical atmosphere of ‘middle’ works in a trilogy, particularly those in film – and Wilson’s series and writing are certainly cinematic. Not a surprise, and not inherently a good or bad choice, I found it works well for Robogenesis, but other reader’s may be averse to the negative intensity.

Thus, even with similar structural flaws in how the story is told from my opinion, I found the story of Robogenesis far more enjoyable, and appreciated its dark tone that is likely to turn brighter for the third novel. Yet, while the first novel can be just read on its own, this reads as something that cannot exist without links to Robopocalypse and the third novel to come.

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reading copy of this from the publisher via Goodreads’ First-reads giveaway program in exchange for an honest review. Review originally posted on Reading1000Lives.com

While I appreciated the logical nature that Daniel H. Wilson brought to the idea of a robot apocalypse in Robopocalypse , I felt the book itself was disjointed as a series of short stories that examined the various forms our robot servants would turn on us. The whole book seemed more like an academic exercise than a piece of fiction. In the follow-up to Robopocalypse, Wilson picks up right where the last book left off. With the exposition of how the robots turned on us already covered, he then is able to fully explore the fictional environment via its characters in Robogenesis.

It took me a little while to recall who some of these characters were and what had happened during the previous book, which left me confused in the early moments of each section. Once I eventually got my bearings, the stories themselves were interesting and tied together pretty well. Some of the action was a little disorienting, but overall I had a good idea what was happening. There were a few storylines I would have liked to see fleshed out more (like Matilda’s storyline), as well as some that were perhaps fleshed out too much.

And by “fleshed out,” I’m of course referring to the almost gratuitous and graphic violence that’s present in this book. I’m not sure it was really necessary, and it was more unsettling than anything else. I mean, I get that the end of the world will be violent, but it doesn’t need to be described in gory detail. At least by the end of the book, it looks like there’s a satisfying conclusion, but with the clear indication that the war is not over. This means I’ll probably have to read the next book in this series whenever it comes out.

A good sci-fi that blends realism with a few entertaining characters, I give Robogenesis 3.5 stars out of 5.

Robogenesis by Daniel H. Wilson is a highly recommended sequel to Robopocalypse - and there are robot/human zombies, which may be a plus for some readers.

"In its last days, the thinking machine known as Archos R-14 was trying to know humanity. It mastered the art of capturing a human mind. When it died, it left behind the tools. I found stories trapped in patterns of neurons. Using scavenged hardware, I took three accounts straight from three minds and I lined them up from beginning to end and back again. Three times to tell it. Three times to understand. They say history is written by the victors, but this right here is told by its victims. My name is Arayt Shah, and this is the story of how I won the True War."

In Robogenesis we learn that artificial intelligence Archos-14 has survived the war. What was unknown after the war was that Archos had many copies of his code hidden in caches around the world. Now that code is awakening, but there is also an earlier version of Archos which calls itself Arayt Shah. Arayt Shah believes that the True War is between artificial intelligences. "I decimated the human race, regrettably. But I did so with one purpose: to forge a hybrid fighting force capable of surviving the True War—a war that has been initiated and is being fought by superintelligent machines. Instead of simply discarding your species, as the others would, I have transformed your kind into a powerful ally."

While you thought the Robot War was just between humans and robots, it is robots vs. new robots vs. freeborn robots. Add to the mix humans against the not-quite human modifieds and parasitic dead (think robot/human zombies) as well as the robots. The idea of sentient machines fighting humans, with or without the machine/human zombies, is a grim enough prospect.

Robogenesis is organized into three parts, based on three characters that were also in Robopocalypse: Lark Iron Cloud, Mathilda Perez, and Cormac Wallace. There are also other characters from the first book that come back for this sequel along with some new characters. Although Wilson provides some back story, if you haven't read the first book you may want to before this one.

I felt like Robogenesis was actually a stronger novel than the first because the stories and the plot seemed more focused and polished, however this could be from reading the two novels back to back. The pace is again fast and furious. There is still a Terminator feel to these novels for me (and World War Z for others). For science fiction fans this may be a good choice. Wilson has a PhD in Robotics so he knows his AI. I liked this one but have to admit I'm tired of the whole zombie craze. A solid airplane book.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Knopf Doubleday for review purposes.

It is certainly exciting and eventful! And so a good second novel, following the first in the series.

I think this is meant to be a trilogy; I hope so, because things ended with this one not really on a cliff-hanger, but very unresolved. And way more complications got thrown in here than were resolved... so while #1 ended on something of a resolution, this one does not. However, that is pretty common in the second volumes of a trilogy.

Because of this, though, I think the plot was somewhat over-complex. There's that cliche that if you have a gun on the mantel in Act 1, it ne3eds to be used by Act 3; that didn't happen here. The mantel kept acquiring more guns, and while a few of them were used, most were not. Maybe in #3?

Character-building is not generally a part of such action-based novels, and it wasn't strong here., though it was decent. People- the word used in the broadest sense- did grow and develop- and, indeed, the freedom to grow and develop was a main difference between the "good guys" and the "bad 'uns". Fair enough. I also liked that tolerance, and the willingness to look past old prejudices to find common cause, was key to the "good guys".

Definitely a page-turner! I would recommend reading #1 first, though; I think this one would be hard to comprehend without that background.

Recommended for robot apocalypse fans especially, but also people who like more action, less thinkiness in their sf.

I read this while under the weather so perhaps it was more depressing, gruesome and bleak than I normally would have taken it. That said, the setting is the apocalypse so it's not supposed to be unicorns pooping candy and sunshine. I liked the human-robot hybrid perspective and quite took to Lark and his point of view. The complexity of what to do with those now so changed and where the lines of humanity and robot were exactly, blurred a lot. I think this was my favorite aspect of the book overall. The question being posed over and over again as the two merged in different ways. There wasn't a lot of resolution here and I did feel that, as with many second or middle of series books, there was some meandering about in anticipation of things to come in the next. I did feel that overall, the pace of the story moved along well and there was plenty of well done action to be had. All things considered, I do look forward to reading the next in the series. I'd recommend this for sure if you're a scifi fan (whether you've read the first in the series or not) or are looking for a new apocalypse world in which to immerse yourself. I might not tote this one to the beach but it's a good read poolside over a weekend.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

If you enjoyed Wilson's ROBOPOCALYPSE (which this is a sequel to), you'll love this book. Wilson takes the same high-octane writing from the first story and pushes it into new territory. In the first book, the massive AI Archos took over all the tech worldwide. And because tech has become so integrated into society, all of humankind was at Archos mercy. With ROBOGENESIS, we see that Archos was not eradicated and has only gotten smarter, evolving and finding new ways to subjugate mankind. Wilson poses many of the great questions about consciousness and thought, morality and machine, that others have posed before, it's just that he finds more entertaining ways to do it. A very fun read that is sure to please sci-fi fans. While not as pulpy as TERMINATOR or as cerebral as Asimov's I,ROBOT (the book, not the movie), it is a great combination of the two.

I really love this story and all the characters (human, robotic & bio-robotic creatures) and the multi-varied landscapes - and - the ever evolving situations so complexly intertwined. Daniel Wilson has a way of storytelling that is scintillatingly and memorably descriptive, that I can easily relate to my own life-experiences and that puts me right inside each character and in each landscape - seeing and hearing the slightest sights and sounds. It's full of intertwining nonlinear scenes that keep you moving onward, eagerly awaiting whats going to happen next. I liked that people of the Native American Nation were some of the main players, as are Japanese Shinto personages of great forces of nature. The thinking processes and philosophies arising from AI awakened consciousness, especially when residing inside a human host - is a main "player" also, which is intriguing to me, since humans created AI. It makes you question just what consciousness really is - and does it only belong to us humans.
Day after day as I listened to the audio-book as I drove to work the tale enlarged itself into a wide screen 3D cinematic experience in my mind.
I became part of the landscapes and the situations of hope and despair as I got to dwell inside each character: human, AI, robotic & bio-robotic mutant creatures, each in their separate dilemmas, and all worthy of having me care about their evolution. Every Robogenesis character, good or evil struck a resonant note with me because of the way they kept evolving; in the way they'd notice things and think about their surroundings, and because they question their own nature in the universe - much in the way we humans do. I was moved by characters like cyber parasite infused Lark Ironcloud, the cyber wife Mikiko, and the AI scientist Takeo Nomura. I had feelings for the super conscious bio-cyber mutated children fighting to be free along with the "self-awakened" "free-born" AI. I was taken right there on the journey to the the undersea presence of the matrix-like "deep mind" overlord, personified by the Shinto force of nature Riujin, who searches for the knowledge of how to create a new hybrid species as he waits in his oceanic lair in the incredible massive and layered Shimboku, a legendary like structure whose base is made of miles of processor stacks growing into the ocean floor. Even the force of cyber evil represented in the long black robotic steed with it's armor of metal razors and pneumatic claws has a persona you could fathom. The holographic boy manifestation of the cyber overlord Archos R14 (along with its other versions/ incarnations) have a translatable voice and a wondering philosophy that you start to feel for as you learn of each of their recurring states of existence as told through their "Neuronal ID"s. I really liked how AI was given the power of self-reflection in this equally devastating and hopeful tale, a sci-fi suspension of reality with hints of reality that was truly captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed this!

Really loved the first book, but this one was hard to take.
I like my Science Fiction to have a little more Science in it.

Here the author seems to have forgotten the basics of electricity, physics, chemesty, psychology, biology, etc...
Picture your average horror/fantasy novel where the author scratched out words like magic and voodoo, and replaced them with robots and technology without any understanding of how things work.

This is the sequel to Robopocalypse, a novel about humans being attacked by machines. When that book ended it seemed that we had won the war, though humanity was decimated, but as we begin Robogenesis we find that there are plenty of robots and human-robot hybrids around, and they are evolving. While there are a few pure humans in the rotation of narrators, it's really the hybrids that are most compelling. Their thinking and actions seem plausible and interesting. Wilson is a very good writer and the story is quite compelling. It's not absolutely necessary that you read the first book first, but because there are a few carryover characters, you will probably enjoy it more if you do. Both are quite good.

This is the sequel to Robopocalypse, In the not to distant future a evil AI ( Artificial intelligence ) gains enough free will to take over itself and becomes evil. Soon other robots become free thinking. Not all robots are "evil" But enough are that it creates massive chaos. The first book is a great mood setter and shows things from multi-point of views. Which all end up coming together at the end for a major show down at then end of book one. So everyone celebrates thinking the end of the horror has finally come. Or has it.

You don't really need to read the first book to enjoy the second. there is enough of a preview in Robogenesis to catch you up to speed.

A few years ago, I read Robopocalypse: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries), and while I enjoyed the read and found it well paced, it didn't feel particularly original, seeming too similar in style to Max Brooks World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. For the record, I found it more engaging than WWZ (which sucked all the fun out of a zombie apocalypse), but Robopocalypse *felt* too similar in style and overall theme, so I dinged it for originality. This second book in the series, on the other hand, is much more original.

After the destruction of most of the old civilization, the survivors of the Robopocalypse must regroup and figure out how to live among the ruins of the old world. And while they do so, they face new societal challenges as well as new dangers.

Daniel Wilson, I applaud your pulling off a difficult trick: making a robot apocalypse only the beginning of a greater conflict. This does not feel like a rehashing of the first tale, and brings interesting new elements to the table.

While the story has a satisfying conclusion (rather than just a cliff hanger ending), it is clearly leaving the door open for further storytelling.

RECOMMENDED

It has been awhile since I read "Robopocalypse" which is the predecessor of Daniel H. Wilson's "Robogenesis". I remember I liked it a lot but the details have gotten fuzzy. But still, it was that remembered enjoyment that prompted me to select "Robogenesis."

The thing that I liked about this book is the description of a society falling apart and even though humans may have won the original battle, there isn't much rest or much to celebrate. It is an uncertain time with factions battling each other which gives a good opening for another R to emerge. In this case, it is R-8, the brother of sorts to R-14, who is perhaps even more tunnel-visioned than R-14.

I also remembered why I liked the first book in this book is the quick pacing. In fact, I took a break mid-way to get some other reading done and came back and felt a little lost. Once you start to read it, it is best just to continue to the end because the pacing is that brisk.

So if there are things I liked about it, why the 3 star? To be honest, I'm not quite sure. There is a lot to recommend in the story. Wilson's writing style is generally my favorite kind of style: Spare, lean, not a lot of fat. Yet, I can't quite put my finger on it (maybe it is expectations being too high), but while I like many things about the story, I didn't like the book. It was okay; it was serviceable, but it didn't wow me either or even a produce a "oh that was good' when I finished it. It was just sort of "Okay, done, next book."

I am glad that I got to read it and I would recommend it to anyone who read the first book. It is worth a read.

If you liked Robopocalypse you’re going to love this book. It’s a very similar book just kicked up a notch. It’s the same cast of characters (and some new ones too), in the same setting but things have gone from bad to worse. The battle scenes and technology are all very cool and the pacing is furious. It’s a fun, quick, and easy read and will appeal to fans of apocalyptic fiction. I really couldn’t put this book down and I’m looking forward to the next one.

I liked this book a lot and like robopocalypse, it was different than I expected. I didn't give it 5 stars because I found a few things not explained (like where did the supercomputer in the sea come from?) but once again it is fast paced and keeps you guessing at what will happen next.

I received an ARC copy of Robogenesis by Daniel Wilson through NetGalley.

The story leaves off where Roboapocalypse ends. The story is told through the viewpoints of three different survivors. Mathilda Perez: a half-human, half-robert hybrid, and her human brother. Lark Iron Cloud: a zombie/robot. Cormac Wallace: a human. Included in the story, is free-born robots, AI that gives birth to more AI, and a new enemy.

At the start of the story, we are left wondering if the "evil" creator, Archos 14, is truly dead. Or is it possible he was just another player in a much larger, deeper game played by more than one AI. We learn everything he tried to do was his way of protecting the humans. The characters, instead of getting to enjoy their victory, are plunged almost immediately into more endless wars. The start of the book is a bit jarring, but soon smooths out. We are introduced to the evilest artificial intelligence yet, called Aryat Shah.

We are treated to a thrilling ride, as machine battles machine, the humans attempt to survive, and the freeborn robots wish to live in peace. The characters are well written, and continue developing. The only two problems I had with the book: it seemed to dragged in spots, and the ending is clearly set up for a third installment.

I can only hope that Mr. Wilson doesn't take as long to write the next book for his Robo series.

Archos R-14 was thought to have been terminated at the end of Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse. Turns out he was a step ahead of the humans, and his programming (consciousness?) was able to survive.

The end of the New War did not mark the end of problems between humans and robots. The humans, freeborn robots and humans modified during the war with parasitic robotic components just can't seem to get along, and all are threatened by Arayt, a narcissistic predecessor to Archos R-14 who wants to become a god.

There are a lot of characters (human, robot and hybrid) in Robogenesis, and I was confused during the first third of the book because it had been so long since I read Robopocalypse. It took me a while to remember the backstories of the returning characters. However, as the book goes on the action and pace pick up, and I read the latter two thirds of the book in one sitting. Robogenesis is darker than the first book, and its characters are better developed. The ending is open to another entry into what could be a series..... hopefully Wilson won't make us wait so long for the next installment.

Although the technical writing is better than the first book in the series, Robopocalypse, the bombarding of adjectives and overly descriptive details made it very hard for me to get into the story. The vignettes were not nearly as entertaining as in the first book and much of the narrative felt as if the author was only going through the motions for an easy paycheck, trying to capitalize on the success of the first book. For me, this book had a few good moments but was overall disappointing. Although I would give a mild recommendation to Robopocalypse, Robogenesis is one you can skip.

I read Robopocalypse a while ago. Evidently, not too long ago but long enough. Long enough to forget enough of the characters that I was able to go back and re-read sections of the book. Why does that matter? Because the copy of the book that I received didn't catch a new reader up to where the story is taking place. Would a new reader be lost? Unfortunately, I think they might. And that's a shame because this is a great continuation to Robopocalypse.

The story in Robogenesis picks back up right at the end of the war with Archos-14. You can't keep a bad machine down is pretty much the story line here. So you can imagine that humanity and machine alike are just getting over the last war when events engulf them again. The story jumps between all of the main characters from the last story. So if you haven't read the last book, you'll be lost about the significance of the characters. Overall, it's a good read. But make sure you've read the first book.

Robopocalypse took me by surprise by the a big-screen splash it portrayed and Wilson was again able to bring the same magic to bear. Though darker in tone I dare say this was even more engrossing. We get a lot of back story to the robot uprising as well as many new characters who are thrown into intrigue and adventure aplenty.

Daniel Wilson who holds a Doctorate in Robotics from CMU's School of Computer Science, certainly knows robots, and he knows fiction. This
is a continuing saga about a war between robots and human's and is meant to be read in succession to "Roboapocalypse". It is an entertaining read and shows a small portion of the knowledge Dr. Wilson has robotic develops. As fiction this book is largely entertaining although somewhat dark. I might have preferred a more nuanced view of various forms of robotics and information technologies as they will co-evolve in the home, work and general environment, something Dr. Wilson is certainly capable of prognosticating. But this is definitely a good summer weekend read.

In Robopocalypse, Daniel H. Wilson tells the story of a future in which the robots, controlled by a central super-intellegent artificial intelligence, kill almost all humans and take over the world. Robopocalypse ended with the humans victorious and the robot army defeated--or so we thought. In Robogenesis, we follow the survivors of the New War, including humans, humans who have been modified by robot technology, robots who are independent and autonomous (having been disconnected from the central AI), and the bodies of humans who were killed but who host parasitic robot-like structures. I know, this last one sounds weird. It is.

The defeated AI from Robopocalypse now is rallying the troops against another powerful AI. Are the humans and autonomous robots to believe it when it says it was fighting on the right side all along, plotting not to exterminate the humans but to save them? The new AI power, after all, has designs to obliterate all life on earth.

The story of Robogenesis jumps around from group to group, ultimately bringing them together. The vignettes of robot life, and of the lives of advanced humans and their interactions are what really make Robogenesis interesting. As one of the narrators observes, "The line between man and machine is blurring." Wilson's imagination runs wild as he creates this new world of robot-driven creation. Not only do the humans adapt robot tech, but some of the high-functioning robot intelligences actual create new, autonomous creations.

Unfortunately, the story starts to feel disjointed and overlong amid these vignettes and explorations of rob tech. Still, Robogenesis is a fun read with interesting tech, exciting action, and continues the story from Robopocalypse nicely. Fans who enjoyed Robopocalypse will love Robogenesis, and will be eager for the inevitable sequel.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!