The Clockwork Dynasty

by Daniel H. Wilson
309 pgs

In The Clockwork Dynasty, Daniel H. Wilson crafts an alternate-history story in which a secret society of automatons has been living amongst humanity for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Automatons, which are essentially robots, have a real-life history that dates back at least as far as ancient Greek mythology (think of the owl in the original Clash of the Titans movie). In Wilson’s version of history, these automatons, are self-aware, with emotions and intelligence, and have had centuries to enhance themselves through technology far more advanced than ours.

When June Stefanov was a young girl in Russia, her grandfather told her he witnessed a soldier in WWII withstand a hail of bullets and single-handedly destroy a German tank. He said the soldier had supernatural strength and left behind a mysterious metal artifact, which he then presented to her, and which she has worn as a necklace around her neck ever since. She has spent the rest of her life investigating the mystery behind her grandfather’s story. She travels the world hunting down examples of antique automatons, which she believes hold the key to unlocking the mystery behind the relic she wears around her neck.

June’s latest find is one of an automaton built hundreds of years ago to resemble a 12-year-old girl. She eventually figures out how to activate her, and when she does, she becomes noticed by the race of beings she’s unwittingly been investigating her whole life. She soon finds herself in the middle of a feud that has been brewing for hundreds of years, and her survival becomes tied to that of this mysterious and fascinating race.

I really enjoyed Wilson’s three previous books, and once again, he showcases his background in, and love for, robotics and has written a story that is wholly unique. This time, however, his story falls more in the fantasy genre, than in science fiction. He doesn’t spend a lot of time establishing the roots of his story in real life science and technology, like a lot of science fiction stories do, but instead, expects his readers to suspend their beliefs and just enjoy the story, which I did.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Robogenesis

by Daniel H. Wilson
362 pgs

Robogenesis is the sequel to Wilson's very entertaining book Robopocalypse, which detailed mankind's war against Archos 14, the artificial intelligence that brought about the robot uprising and decimated the human race. Robogenesis picks up immediately where its predecessor leaves off; mankind thinks they've destroyed Archos 14 and won the war (not a spoiler, since you find that out right at the very beginning of Robopocalypse). Unfortunately for the survivors of the war, however, their victory is short-lived, as Archos 14 had left behind many copies of its code.

Now the war moves into a new stage. It's no longer simply a war between robots and humans. Now, it's a war between different generations of robots. Mankind, and thousands of human-robot modified creatures left behind by Archos's experiments are simply trying to stay out of the crossfire and survive.

Robogenesis took me somewhat longer to get into than the first book did, and I think that's because the plot took awhile to surface. But the imagery of the world Wilson has created is fantastic and I was more than happy to wait for the story to unfold. It's clear from the first chapter, which gives an account of a man becoming the host to a robot parasite, which merges itself with the man's nervous system and takes over both his mental and physical functions, that Wilson's storytelling abilities have developed and progressed since the first book.

I'm hoping there's a third book coming.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Amped

Amped by Daniel H. Wilson

I had high hopes for Amped, having really enjoyed Robopocalypse, and it didn't disappoint. It's a smart, futuristic thriller that does what many books in its genre fail to do nowadays--it gets you to think.

The book takes place in the not-too-distant future. Technology has advanced to the point where many of the disabilities and shortcomings that plague mankind can now be fixed with a neurological implant. People suffering from epilespy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADHD and variety of other disorders no longer have to suffer, they're now able to live not simply normal lives, but the implants give them advanced abilities above and beyond those of normal humans. Likewise, children born with below average intelligence or even severe mental handicaps are now able to quickly surpass their average peers in mental and physical abilities.

The book begins with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling being handed down. The Court's ruling states that since the surgery to receive an implant is an elective surgery, and since those who receive one receive an unfair advantage over those who don't, recipients should receive no protections under the 14th Ammendment. They essentially have none of the rights of a U.S. citizen.

Owen Gray is a teacher who has grown up thinking that his parents had given him an implant as a child because of his epilepsy. But his father, who was one of the developers of the implants, gave him one that had the ability to do far more than that. The implant's true abilities have been dormant in Owen's mind all his life. But with the Court's ruling, and the civil unrest and violence that it leads to, the true nature of the implant is about to be revealed to Owen.

Wilson is a young writer and he's been described as Michael Crichton's successor in the technological thriller genre. I'd compare him to Aldous Huxley as well. I mentioned before that the book will make you think. There are a lot of philisophical and sociological questions that it's sure to make readers think about. As I read it I was continually reminded of the thoughts and impressions I had while reading Brave New World.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

A Brief Interview with Author Daniel H. Wilson

I had the idea of trying to expanding this blog a little to include not just reviews of the books I read, but if possible, to include some brief interviews with authors that I enjoy. I don't know how often they'll accommodate my requests, but you never know unless you try, right? This is my first - and hopefully not last post of its kind.

Daniel H. Wilson has a Masters Degree in Machine Learning and a PhD in Robotics. He is the author of the novel Robopocalypse, which appeared on the NYT Bestseller List, as well as some non-fiction titles including Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived & How to Build a Robot Army: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Alien Invaders, Ninjas, and Zombies. His next book Amped will be published this summer.

I understand that Robopocalypse is being made into a movie by Dreamworks with Steven Spielberg directing it. That must feel incredibly satisfying as an author to have a story you wrote get that type of attention. As the creator of the story, what type of feelings do you have about turning it over to someone else and letting them take some kind of ownership for it?

I can understand how it would be scary to hand over something that you've had total control over, and then sit on your hands waiting to see what will happen. But Steven Spielberg is directing Robopocalypse. I'm sitting on my hands, sure, but I'm sitting in the front row and I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

The story is told in much the same way as was Dracula and more recently World War Z by Max Brooks, using various accounts and sources to tell the story rather than the typical narrative style. Were either of those books influential in the way you told Robopocalypse?

I enjoyed both of those books, and the incredible success of World War Z certainly helped Robopocalypse get sold. The vignette narrative style is so useful in an epic story because it lets you jump between all the awesome things that are happening and drop most of the boring connective tissue. That said, Robopocalypse does have persistent characters who come together into a single story by the end.

Your PhD in Robotics obviously served you well in writing Robopocalypse and your other works. Do you think you’ll always write books where futuristic technology plays a major role? Or are there other types of stories that you think are inside you that will eventually get written?

I love thinking about the relationship we have with our technology. That will probably always be an underlying theme of whatever I write. It's an ancient relationship that the first humans had and future humans will have, so I don't think I'll run out of stories.

I read in another interview that you gave that you don’t really worry about the possibility of an eventual robot uprising. What realistically do you think the future of Artificial Intelligence in computers could be?

AI is already smarter than we are in many specific domains. This will continue until they're smarter than we are period. As human beings, we will respond by doing what we do best -- adapting.

Your next book, Amped which will be out this summer looks equally entertaining. How was the writing process for that one different from what you did for Robopocalypse?

Amped is near future story in which a massive civil rights movement has been sparked by people with disabilities who are cured by neural implants that make them smarter than regular people. It has a more traditional narrative structure, told chronologically from the perspective of one character. That made it harder to map together, but also let me go into much more detail with our protagonist. And trust me, Owen Gray goes through some serious s***.

Thanks so much for your time and I look forward to reading more of your books in the future.

No worries, Sean. Thanks for your support!

My post on Robopocalypse is here.

Robopocalypse

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

Using the same literary technique that Max Brooks used in World War Z to document mankind's war against the zombies, Daniel Wilson documents the robot uprising that threatened the human race with extinction.

We created them to make our lives easier. They cleaned our houses, they drove our cars, and they were integrated into every aspect of our existence. But when they all simultaneously became self-aware and were no longer interested in serving their creators but in eliminating us instead, a war started that nearly wiped us out.

Robopocalypse is written as a history. You learn on page one that we already fought the war and won. The fun in reading this book is not waiting to see how things turn out at the end but rather to know the outcome already and then in a very creative way, to go back and see how things got there. If it weren't for World War Z, this book would seem wholly original in its style. Nevertheless, it's still a great book. Wilson, who has a PhD. in Robotics, has done an excellent job of writing a story that doesn't seem to be that far fetched anymore.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆