Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
Fiction
Why you might like it: This post-apocalyptic robot western features a deeply sympathetic main character, Brittle, a caregiver model who no longer has a human to nurture. Action-packed, thoughtful, and laced with humor, this is a wild ride through a barren landscape.
What it’s about: It has been thirty years since the last human died, slaughtered by the robots they created. Brittle survives by culling parts of dying and dead robots, just managing to stay ahead of the hive mind of the robot overlords—the One World Intelligences known as OWIs—that are out to destroy all the individual robots that remain. When Brittle is attacked by another scavenger after her own parts, she sustains damage to her core, and will die if she can’t find new parts. Then a group of rebels fleeing the OWIs offer her access to secret treasure trove of parts in exchange for leading them through the wasteland known as the sea of rust. Haunted by memories of the war with the humans, wracked with guilt and ready to face her own death, Brittle decides she has nothing to lose by joining the rebels.
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