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    Robogenesis: A Novel
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    Robogenesis: A Novel
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    Robogenesis: A Novel
    Audiobook15 hours

    Robogenesis: A Novel

    Written by Daniel H. Wilson

    Narrated by MacLeod Andrews, Emily Rankin and Mike Chamberlain

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The stunningly creative, epic sequel to Wilson's blockbuster thriller and New York Times bestseller Robopocalypse

    "The machine is still out there. Still alive."

    Humankind had triumphed over the machines. At the end of Robopocalypse, the modern world was largely devastated, humankind was pressed to the point of annihilation, and the earth was left in tatters . . . but the master artificial intelligence presence known as Archos had been killed.

    In Robogenesis, we see that Archos has survived. Spread across the far reaches of the world, the machine code has fragmented into millions of pieces, hiding and regrouping. In a series of riveting narratives, Robogenesis explores the fates of characters new and old, robotic and human, as they fight to build a new world in the wake of a devastating war. Readers will bear witness as survivors find one another, form into groups, and react to a drastically different (and deadly) technological landscape. All the while, the remnants of Archos's shattered intelligence are seeping deeper into new breeds of machines, mounting a war that will not allow for humans to win again.

    Daniel H. Wilson makes a triumphant return to the apocalyptic world he created, for an action-filled, raucous, very smart thrill ride about humanity and technology pushed to the tipping point.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 10, 2014
    ISBN9780385362849
    Unavailable
    Robogenesis: A Novel
    Author

    Daniel H. Wilson

    Daniel H. Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and author of the New York Times bestselling Robopocalypse and its sequel Robogenesis, as well as ten other books, including How to Survive a Robot Uprising, Guardian Angels & Other Monsters, and The Clockwork Dynasty. He recently wrote the Earth 2: Society comic book series for DC Comics. In 2008, Wilson hosted "The Works," a television series airing on the History Channel that uncovered the science behind everyday stuff. He earned a PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as master’s degrees in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. He has published over a dozen scientific papers and holds four patents. Wilson lives in Portland, Oregon.

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    Reviews for Robogenesis

    3.5/5

    112 ratings22 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Superb story about war, humans and robots, captivating and smart. Although second in a series can be read stand-alone as well. Creates an epic flow of events, captured through the eyes and minds of several characters. The switch from one character to another is seeming-less and rejoining the narrative threads comes natural. Combines a lot of existing ideas (enhanced humans, super artificial intelligence, zombie like machines) into a consistent book. A bit gory occasionally (but it is a war book as well), but it does not insist on this part. Story is about the events after a big war between robots and humans in which humans seem to have won. Still it turns out there are several other artificial intelligence entities that have their own interest. The characters are diverse: human transformed robot, independent android robot, enhanced human girl and her brother, human fighter and his pregnant companion. Their journey is adventurous and the end is uncertain.
    • 4/5
      I'd been meaning to read this sequel to Robopocalypse for so long, but then once I finally started it, I almost gave up early on. This story is just so bleak and dark, even more so than the first volume. And it's not even the end of the story? This second volume came out at least four years ago, but the third piece is still not published. I'm feeling a little salty over here.But I'm salty because I'm invested. In several of these characters and in some of these ideas. If I don't get to see how this all pans out -- which AI gets the upper hand and what that means for humanity, what kind of world Cherrah and her baby will live in, what role Matilda and her network will have... As much interest as I have in a final showdown between the AIs, I want to know how humans will find a way to move forward in actual peace (crosses fingers), now that there is such a variety of human/AI/robotic hybrids.(And yes, I know, Wilson doesn't owe me anything as an author, but he's indicated that he wants to write this next piece, I hope he has the time/space/publisher support to make it happen.)
    • 4/5
      It's one of those sequels where all traces of the upbeat ending are obliterated by the third sentence, and the irritation is greatly increased by having the main villain blabbing the intro to each chapter. Once again the story picks up and hooks you, and there's some really clever twiists and turns and strong characters--but there are one too many bad guys floating around, and by the end of the book it's hard to tell which is which. That said, I definitely want to read the third book if there is one.
    • 4/5
      This is the sequel to Robopocalypse and as such, you probably should just move along if you haven't read the first one. Its a fairly engaging technothriller set in the immediate aftermath of the robot wars that happened in the first book.It had been a while since I read the first one, so it took me a bit to remember who everyone was. An interesting take on AI, sentience and what it means to be alive, for humans, robots and cyborgs.7/10S: 8/26/16 - F: 9/14/16 (20 Days)
    • 2/5
      Robogenesis reads as if both Daniel Wilson and the publisher were surprised at how well Robopocalypse did and the publisher said "So...could you do another one?" When Robopocalypse ended it wasn't exactly screaming out for a sequel, but there was some potential for a story about how the new world would be built by the surviving humans, the freed robots and the cyborgs now that the AI overlord is dead. This is not that novel.Instead, it turns out that Archos-14, the central enemy of the first novel wasn't REALLY trying to wipe out humanity. It was practicing tough love to remove the weak and train the strong in order to turn the remaining humans into a force that can fight the real evil, Archos-8. Who is just one of several super-secret pre-war AIs around the world, all with different motives that are almost as poorly explained as their origins.In Robogenesis the timeline is even more fractured and mixed up than in Robopocalypse, but without the conceit that it is a post-war reconstruction of memories and archives. As it jumps around some of the characters are simply abandoned until they make a brief re-appearance again at the end of the book, when the last shreds of the protagonists are saved by a literal deus-ex-machina defeating the bad guy armies, poof. As the end of the book got closer and closer without any reasonable way for the protagonists to survive, I found myself hoping that Archos-8 really would win and just put an end to the thing, no more sequels, and a planet of perfectly ordered psychotic AI utopia. But no, the people survive while the arch villain and the secret ally are left alone, locked in a sealed cave full of super-computers, to battle it out machino-a-machino. So at least the ground is well laid for a third book. Which I will be certain to skip.
    • 4/5
      Another enjoyable read from DH Wilson provided you do not worry too much about the politics. My concern is that this book supports an ends justify the means argument. I am not sure if Wilson intended to write the AIs from this perspective as this would be a predominant belief among roboticists (of which the author is a member) or if this was simply an unexamined assumption by the author. In summary an enjoyable post-apocalyptic romp with transhuman characters, the sort of story I enjoy while simultaneously really worrying about the underlying assumptions and politics.
    • 4/5
      I liked the first book in this series enough to go out and buy the second immediately after finishing the first and dive right into it. And guess what? The robot uprising wasn't completely quelled in the first book. There's more!It's a good story and a pretty good sequel Wilson embedded some elements in the first book that led directly to the second, and built upon things in the first that I didn't think of. I think it's obvious that when he finished the first book, he already had plans for a sequel. (Now I'm curious if he intends to write a third.)But beyond that, I liked how he improved (in his writing) from the first book to the second. Little things like how he shifts between different character's points of view from chapter to chapter (which he does in both books) he does better in the second. And I think the second one had a better build of the overall tension which made the resolution at the end feel more earned than the first one. Not to knock the first book, but I was impressed that this writer learned and improved.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      And I thought the first novel was terrifying.
      Note to self: Be nice to emerging AI technology. Stay far away from it, and be nice.

      This one is a deeper look into the blurring of technology and biology, and it is kind of terrifying. What is the definition of 'human'? Of 'robot'? Of 'conciousness'?

      10/10 would recommend.
      But keep the lights on when you read it.
    • 2/5
      In the first book in the series, Robopocalypse. The world as we knew it had been decimated, humankind had been pushed to its very limit. But the humans had won, just, and the supreme artificial intelligence Archos, was thought to have been destroyed.

      But it hadn’t died.

      Scattered across the world, the code that made the entity has survived. It is now starting to regroup, infiltrating new robotic machines with the single intention of wiping humanity from the planet. The few humans left are regrouping and learning to fight the new threat of apocalypse. Mathilda, the girl in the first book who could intercept the communications from from Archos is looking for her brother. She can sense the new threat that is rising, but is it too little too late?

      There was some of this that I liked; the post-apocalyptic world he has created is realistic, brutal and gritty. The technology is plausible and frankly terrifying. All that said, the thing that lets this down for me is the plot. It feels disjointed and the various threads, rather than coming together, seem to unravel somewhat. Shame really because the first book I had quite enjoyed and was hoping for the same or better.
    • 3/5
      A mildly entertaining read - not nearly as good as "Robopocalypse". Since the uniqueness was not there, the author seemed to try to make up for it with complexity, outlandishness, and graphic violence. It did not work very well.
    • 4/5
      I like this guy. The first two entrants in the series (Robopocalypse & Robogenesis)offer great plotting, excellent characterization, plenty of action and great pace,plus there's a third installment coming soon. Lends new weight to the term apocalypse and the fears of artificial intelligence gone awry.

      One of the most disturbing future Disaster series to come off the presses in years.
    • 3/5
      The world is in ruins following the events of Robopocalypse. Archos-18 was defeated, or was it? Other mega AIs scramble to life as well. The Freeborn, humans, and a strange intermingling of man and machine all try to find their place in this new world they thing free of the looming threat of the AI supercomputer. They soon discover they're wrong, and again the fight is on to survive.

      Robogenesis picks up pretty well right after the events of Robopocalypse. Though at first we're with some new characters in Russia. We're reintroduced to characters from the first book as they're thinking the war is over and can start moving on with life. Things don't go well though, and the characters slowly realize the war never really ended, and eventually everyone is reunited, and some new characters are brought in as well on both sides.

      I absolutely loved Robopocalypse. I was excited to read Robogenesis and see where the story went. This books feels like a middle book in a trilogy, especially the way it ended.

      There was very little happiness for the characters in the book. I can only think of two events that were really happy. And I happen to like some happy in my books, even post-apoc end-of-world war stories need some happy in them in my opinion.

      I think my favorite character this time around might be Houdini. Loyal and faithful Houdini. A close second would be Nine Oh Two, is almost more human than the human characters, and definitely more human than the other freeborn.

      Overall, it's a good book. I don't think it's as good as the first one, but if there's a third book in the series I'll definitely keep reading!


    • 4/5
      I have wanted to read Robopocalypse since I first heard about it. Before I knew it, the sequel is being released. I have still not read the first book but want to now after reading this one. This is another book that I took a chance with having not read the first one. I was afraid that it would be so, so. Luckily, I am not one of those people who won't read a book unless I have read all the others in the series. Or I might have missed out on how awesome this book turned out to be. I liked the realistic feel to the story. As If I could see this really coming true. This book has that great sci-fi aspect to it without coming off as gimmicky. I like the way this book was laid out. It was spilt into sections. Each one focusing and giving a voice to one of the three main characters, Lark Iron Cloud, Mathilda Perez, and Cormac Wallace. This helped me to keep everyone straight in my head and focus on what was happening in that moment, especially since I had not read the first book. This book would make a great television show.
    • 5/5
      I was lucky to get an advanced copy of this book which comes out in June. This is the sequel of Robopocalypse and picks up right after the end of that book. It had been awhile since I read that one so I was happy how the author would give enough background during the story to remind me of what happened previously. An easy 5 star book for me. We get to revisit our favorite characters from the first book while meeting some new ones. If you enjoyed the first book you will love this one!
    • 4/5
      Another enjoyable read from DH Wilson provided you do not worry too much about the politics. My concern is that this book supports an ends justify the means argument. I am not sure if Wilson intended to write the AIs from this perspective as this would be a predominant belief among roboticists (of which the author is a member) or if this was simply an unexamined assumption by the author. In summary an enjoyable post-apocalyptic romp with transhuman characters, the sort of story I enjoy while simultaneously really worrying about the underlying assumptions and politics.
    • 2/5
      A homicidal AI and a genocidal AI play a game of world domination using humans as pawns. That's about all there is to this. It's pretty much an 'action-packed' video game in book form. The details pass unbelievable on the way to absurd. The one that bugs me the most is the inexhaustible batteries. I'm sorry, but calling them 'superbatteries' or 'Rob batteries' does not exempt them from the second law of thermodynamics. You can get away with this in fantasy (albeit bad fantasy) by calling it 'magic', but you need better techno-babble for science fiction. The one redeeming aspect of the series is that it presents a view of Life that is not restricted to the biological. Life, in these books, can be embodied in meat or metal, or a synthesis of the two. This isn't a new idea, but it's an interesting one.
    • 5/5
      This is the 2nd book in the series and it is just as intense if not more. I love Daniel H. Wilson and his robots! I always feel extremely exhausted after reading his books. Exhausted in a good way! The ride through this book was crazy and I couldn't wait to see how it ended...but the war is not over. Can't wait for the next book in this robot war (and the movie) series!
    • 5/5
      loved it. hope there is another one
    • 3/5
      My Thoughts:Initially I had trouble staying focused on the story. The beginning was slow and the story wandered around a lot. Plus there are a lot of characters, some new and some returned from the first book, and multiple narrators.I should have liked this book a lot more than I did, but I never fully engaged in the story. I usually enjoy apocalyptic stories and expect them to be bleak and depressing, which this was, but it was more gruesome than I like with a lot of violence and graphic descriptions of fights and battles.This is a very action driven novel with bold characters that come to life, but not a lot of character development. I had trouble relating to them or even liking them. I could only vaguely remember those from the first book and was struggling to understand the bigger picture.This is not to say it was a bad book, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. The writing was good and all the action sequences would make a good movie, but as a book it was difficult to follow.This is the second book in a trilogy and I would recommend reading book one first. Readers that like a lot of action and fight scenes will enjoy this one. Be warned, the ending is left open for a third book. And yes, I will most likely read that one too.Audio Production:Narrators: MacLeod Andrews, Emily Rankin and Mike ChamberlainAn ensemble cast usually makes it easier to follow the audio version, but it didn’t help me with this book. While the voices were fine, the pacing was too slow for an action novel. Perhaps in an attempt to sound robotic, the narrators spoke slowly and deliberately, but that only made an already long story feel much longer. I also have a print copy and alternated between formats. This was one of the rare times I found it easier to read in print.
    • 4/5
      Robogenesis - "I may be a simple man, but I am very good with an axe"

      Ebook provided by NetGalley in exchange for honest review

      My anticipation to read this was off the scale and Daniel H Wilson delivered in style and showed he is far more than just a one trick Terminator.

      This was certainly not ‘more of the same’ with the evolution and escalation of both action and intelligence over Robopocolypse propelling the story to true mind-blowing proportions.

      What is similar, and thankfully more thoroughly explored, is the sense of grey that exists in the war between man and robot especially as man begins to resemble robot and vice versa. The controlling parasites from the end of the first book are carried over here and represent the first step to the machines becoming more organic and also allow us to see the opinions of both man and machine to this evolving hybrid.

      We are also treated to a deeper look into the individual A.I’s, which is not something I was expecting. Much like children then are raised and made not born a certain way so we have a number of different ‘brains’ out there. All raised differently, on different programs, different training, there is no way to know how one will act in relation to human society, and as we see the humans becoming more machine, we also get to see a much more human element to the A.I.s.

      I feel like this is the Empire Strikes Back of the series. It’s a bit darker than the first, a little more bleak, somewhat more in depth and introspective. I am still looking forward to the finale but I don’t have the same hopes for humanity that I did after the first.
    • 4/5
      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.