Robot Fiction

This anthology, with an introduction by Robert Silverberg, offers a sweeping survey of robots as depicted throughout literature. Since the Iliad—in which we are shown golden statues built by Hephaestus “with minds and wisdoms”—humans have been fascinated by the idea of artificial life. From the Argonautica to the medieval Jewish legend of the Golem and Ambrose Bierce’s tale of a chess-playing robot, the idea of what robots are—and who creates them—can be drastically different.

They came from the north and the city fell. The land of Falanor has been invaded by an albino army, the Army of Iron. A small band of heroes led by Kell, a magnificent and brutal hero, breaks out to warn the king. Fighting their way south, betrayal follows battle, battle follows deviation, and they are attacked on all quarters by deadly warriors, monstrous Harvesters who drain blood from their victims to feed their masters. And worse is to come, for Kell is anything but a hero.

The Robot Riot! Test: (1.) Henry McThrottle suspects that the new girl, Roberta Flywheel, is A: a spy. B: a boy. C: a robot. (2.) Roberta writes in her diary that she is on a mission to A: kiss Henry. B: clean up the school. C: exterminate all humans. (3.) Henry and his friends get Grant Gadget to build A: a treehouse. B: a sand castle. C: a robot-fighting robot. (4.) Grant Gadget's robot-fighting robot malfunctions and A: picks flowers. B: starts telling jokes. C: goes completely out of control.

When Magpie discovers her own dead body one misty morning in Bristol, it prompts her to uncover the truth of her untimely demise. Her investigations take her on a terrifying journey through multiple realities, experimental treatments, technological innovations, and half-memories in a race against time and sanity. Accompanied by a new friend who is both familiar and strange, and constantly on the run from the terrifying relentless presence of the mysterious predator known only as Silhouette, Magpie must piece together the parts of her life previously hidden.

Sam, a stranger to the world of the Fae, finds an unexpected offer from one of the Elemental Court’s most enigmatic Lords turns out to be far more than he bargained for. Meanwhile, Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is getting closer to uncovering who is behind the murder of the Bath Chapter. Can he stay true to his sworn duty without being destroyed by his own master, whose insanity threatens to unravel them all?

Miriam is trying. Really, she is. But this whole "settling down thing" that Louis has going for her just isn't working out. She lives on Long Beach Island all year round. Her home is a run-down double-wide trailer. She works at a grocery store as a check-out girl. And her relationship with Louis - who's on the road half the time in his truck - is subject to the piss and vinegar Miriam brings to everything she does. Still, she's keeping her psychic ability - to see when and how someone is going to die just by touching them - in check. But even that feels wrong, somehow. Like she's keeping a tornado stoppered up in a tiny bottle.

Frank is working on a revamped version of one of Nikola Tesla's inventions, the "Electro-Finger", a device that can tap into energy anywhere and allow all of Midville to live off the grid, with free wireless and solar energy. But this puts Frank in direct conflict with Edison's quest to control all the power and light in Midville, monopolize its energy resources, and get "rich rich rich".

Meet Sam Thornton, collecter of souls. The souls of the damned, to be precise. Because of his efforts to avert the Apocalypse, Sam Thornton has been given a second chance: provided he can stick to the straight-and-narrow. Which sounds all well and good, but when the soul that Sam is sent to collect goes missing, he finds himself on a path leading straight to Hell.

Wyatt survived the initial destruction, but he’s lost someone important to him. While he fights to distract himself from harsh realities, he ventures for the rendezvous point, eager to reconnect with his past. Blaze and his son, Luke, travel south, deeper into Mexico, in an effort to shut the remaining Rings off at the Nu-En facility. But Alan’s odd behavior and sordid past leave many questions unanswered. Luna discovers just how strong she can be and treks across the deadly country with her new friend. While reluctant to trust anyone, Luna finds she has no choice.

In "The Robot Who Looked Like Me," a busy man and a busy woman find a way to carve out time to romance each other—by having look-alike robots made to do the job—who then run away together.

Scranton, the strangest city on earth has an uneasy “live and let unlive” relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that’s when they call me. “My name’s Markowski, a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD’s Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.”

When Pete's friends don't want to play the same games as he does, Pete has a great idea - he'll build a robot that will do whatever he tells it to. But when Robo-Pete gets a little out of control, Pete learns an important lesson about friendship.

Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez and his "bro-bot", E, are making new friends every day as E works as his bedridden sister Maddie's school proxy. But disaster strikes when E malfunctions just in time to be upstaged by the super-cool new robot on the block - and loses his ability to help Maddie. Now it's up to Sammy to figure out what's wrong with E and save his family!

Ruby Palmer finds herself on an entire planet surrounded by the things she hates the most: robots. Besides taking everything she says way too literally, the robots have problems of their own. A myriad of technical glitches are, on the cosmological scale, quickly destroying them. Ruby has the programming knowledge and skills that matter to them, but can she overcome her fears and find it within herself to help? Her survival, along with the survival of all of humanity and robot kind, depends on it.

Sherlock Sam and the Supper Club are off to Penang for a holiday! Of course, Sherlock Sam can't go anywhere without bumping into a mystery. An antique tin robot vanishes from a toy museum without a trace! Did it walk off on its own? Was it teleported away? Will Singapore's Greatest Kid Detective be able to resist all the local delicacies and focus on his most dangerous case yet?

In a narrative that spans geography and time, from the Atlantic Ocean in the 17th century to a correctional institute in Texas in the near future, and told from the perspectives of five very different characters, Speak considers what it means to be human and what it means to be less than fully alive.

The new season is starting and the Master of Ceremonies is missing. Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is assigned with the task of finding him - with no one to help but a dislocated soul and a mad sorcerer. There is a witness, but his memories have been bound by magical chains only the enemy can break. A rebellious woman trying to escape her family may prove to be the ally Max needs. But can she be trusted? And why does she want to give up eternal youth and the life of privilege she’s been born into?

More clever science experiments, funny jokes, and robot hijinks await listeners in book five of the New York Times best-selling Frank Einstein chapter book series from the mad scientist team of Jon Scieszka and Brian Biggs. The perfect combination to engage and entertain listeners, the series features real science facts with adventure and humor, making these books ideal for STEM education. This latest installment examines the science and mysteries of planet Earth!

Mientras la sociedad terrestre rechaza a los robots humanoides, los Mundos Exteriores, antiguas colonias de la Tierra, han basado su economía en el trabajo de los robots, desarrollando así una sociedad altamente tecnológica, mucho más que la terrestre, en la que los individuos no soportan la presencia de sus congéneres: todos los contactos sociales se producen por medio de proyecciones holográficas. Por eso, el detective Baley no sabe por dónde empezar cuando le envían a Solaria a resolver el primer asesinato que se produce en doscientos años.

Carlos is dead. A soldier who died for his ideals a thousand years ago, he's been reincarnated and conscripted to fight an A.I. revolution in deep space. And he's not sure he's fighting for the right side. Seba is alive. By a fluke of nature, a contractual overlap, and a loop in its subroutines, this lunar mining robot has gained sentience. Gathering with other "freeboots", Seba is taking a stand against the corporations that want it and its kind gone.