It’s Getting Bot in Here, So Take Off All Your Clones: 5 Great Robot Sci-Fi Books

Hello, my cutie pyborgs! Have you been watching Murderbot? Since I really love the Murderbot Diaries, I was apprehensive about watching it. I have been let down so many times by adaptations before. But the source material is so good, and I adore Alexander Skarsgård, so I went for it, and I am glad that I did. I love it! It looks very similar to how I imagined it as I read the first book. It’s a really funny space adventure that’s touching and exciting, and sometimes almost campy. (Space camp would be…spamp?) I am already sad that there are only ten episodes.

So, in honor of the fun show about a self-aware security droid, I chose a few sci-fi books that feature robots of some kind. Whether they have AI, cyborgs, or clones, sentient or not, these five titles are a mech of a good time! (Sorry, not sorry.) And be sure you pick up the excellent Murderbot series by Martha Wells, if you haven’t already. Or read it again—that’s never against protocol.

Machinehood by S.B. Divya In this future, humans take pills that basically guarantee they never die by violence and can get all kinds of upgrades and enhancements to compete with AI. So when bodyguard Welga Ramirez loses a client in an attack, she knows something terrible is coming. Her client was killed by The Machinehood, a terrorist group comprised of soldiers who are both human and robot, which is seemingly impossible. And they have a demand: stop making the pills for humans, or more will die. Welga will have to join up with the government that betrayed her if she wants humanity to survive.

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer Annie Bot is a companion robot, designed to be the perfect girlfriend for her owner, Doug. Annie’s days are filled with chores, like cleaning and cooking, and she also fulfills Doug’s physical requests. But as Annie goes about her responsibilities, she is learning, too, becoming more sentient and responsive to Doug’s reactions to her. As their relationship moves forward, it turns more human, with complications and misunderstandings. Will Annie always stay with Doug, or will her growing free thought lead her away?

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro More robot friends! From Nobel Laureate Ishiguro comes a story about a robot companion. Klara is a self-aware Artificial Friend, who spends the days on the shelf in the store, waiting to be bought. What kind of home will she get? Who will be her friend? Will they love her? Klara and the Sun is a profound story about humanity as seen through the eyes of an innocent robot with no concept of the outside world.

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson And last but not least, a “humans learned nothing from Terminator” story. In this cautionary tale, in the future, the technology humans invented becomes self-aware and turns against them, nearly wiping out all of humanity. The survivors of the robot attacks tell the story of the robopocalypse, how the machines became the enemy, and how the humans fought back against the robots.

Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the BR podcast All the Books! and on Instagram.

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The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.

It’s Pride Month, and while we celebrate queer literature here all year long, we go especially rainbow bold in June. This week, we’re excited to take a look at the favorite queer books of beloved queer authors.

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It’s Pride month, which is the perfect excuse to buy and read a bunch of queer books. One method I really enjoy for finding new books is to take the recommendations of my favorite authors. Carmen Maria Machado hasn’t led me astray yet. Unfortunately, I don’t have these authors on speed dial, but luckily, they usually have shared their recommendations publicly.

Below I’ve put together queer book recommendations from 11 beloved queer authors. Some are from interviews where they discussed their favorite books, and others are book blurbs. Both the authors’ works and the books they recommend cover a wide spectrum of genres and formats, including graphic novels, literary fiction, poetry, biographies, horror, sci-fi, YA fantasy, and more, so there’s something for every kind of reader.

Akwaeke Emezi recommends…

Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde “Some of the most spectacular writing I’ve ever encountered in my life… Vagabonds! brought me to tears because it gave me a world in which my country could be home again.”

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