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Penrose #1
Twisted Metal
On a world of intelligent robots who seem to have forgotten their own distant past, it is a time of war as the soldiers of Artemis City set out to conquer everything within range on the continent of Shull, killing or converting every robot they capture to their philosophy, while viewing their own wire-based minds as nothing but metal to be used or recycled for the cause. Elsewhere, the more individualistic robots of Turing City believe they are something more than metal, but when the Artemisian robot Kavan sets out on a determined crusade to prove himself, even Turing City can't stand against him.Increasingly tied up with Kavan's destiny is Karel, a Turing robot with elements of Artemis' philosophy already woven into his mind ...as well as Karel's wife Susan, and their recently created child. Following the inevitable violence and destruction, Artemisian ambition focuses elsewhere and a journey begins towards the frozen kingdoms of the north ...and towards the truth about the legendary "Book of Robots", a text which may finally explain the real history of this strange world ...In a completely alien but brilliantly realized landscape, here is a powerful story of superb action, barbaric cruelty and intense emotional impact.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
16 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
About the author
Tony Ballantyne
75 books73 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Anthony Ballantyne, is a British science-fiction author who is most famous for writing his debut trilogy of novels, Recursion, Capacity and Divergence. He is also Head of Information Technology and an Information Technology teacher at The Blue Coat School, Oldham and has been nominated for the BSFA Award for short fiction.
He grew up in County Durham in the North East of England, and studied Math at Manchester University before moving to London for ten years where taught first Math and then later IT.
He now lives in Oldham with his wife and two children. His hobbies include playing boogie piano, walking and cycling.
Anthony Ballantyne, is a British science-fiction author who is most famous for writing his debut trilogy of novels, Recursion, Capacity and Divergence. He is also Head of Information Technology and an Information Technology teacher at The Blue Coat School, Oldham and has been nominated for the BSFA Award for short fiction.
He grew up in County Durham in the North East of England, and studied Math at Manchester University before moving to London for ten years where taught first Math and then later IT.
He now lives in Oldham with his wife and two children. His hobbies include playing boogie piano, walking and cycling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
July 18, 2013
Twisted Metal
My mind was twisted by my mother,
not too long ago.
Did she now that what she twisted
would leave me isolated and alone?
I am so unlike the others
who spit and shine their metal so.
Every kind of metal, not built strong for fighting,
but built to sit and preen and show.
War is now upon us and we cower and retreat.
We should have been twisted to not know defeat.
by Nikki
There is a war going on and different robots have different ideas. Their mind were twisted with wire to make them who they are by their mothers. Some for self gain, some to fight, some to follow, some to be leaders, and a few to be their own robot and to not conform.
Artemis is an idea. Artemis is of a mind that all robots should work for and be all about Artemis. No feelings of superiority or oneself. All should work to improve and uphold the ideas of Artemis.
Robots need metal and there is little where the war robots of Artemis come from and they are now moving, and conquering other factions of robots who care about their machinery and are not willing to stand up for themselves, but have lesser, unthinking, slave robots do their fighting for them.
The thought it took to come up with this robotic world is fascinating to me and it was great to see the author make this world interchangeable with ours as far as politics, war, roboticism, and so on.
The only problem I had was with one of the main characters, Karel, whose mind is twisted in a way we do not know as of yet and I couldn't come to grip with his attitude and station in life. He was always out of the loop because the other robots didn't trust him and it was frustrating to see him so helpless at times.
I would recommend this read, not just for the robots smashing and stealing their opponents electromuscle and snapping their minds, but for how each group of robots deal with their situations in a world where metal is obtained to rebuild oneself and to create new mind.
It was interesting to say the least. The next book is already out, but I will wait to see when the 3rd book is close to being released before I read it.
My mind was twisted by my mother,
not too long ago.
Did she now that what she twisted
would leave me isolated and alone?
I am so unlike the others
who spit and shine their metal so.
Every kind of metal, not built strong for fighting,
but built to sit and preen and show.
War is now upon us and we cower and retreat.
We should have been twisted to not know defeat.
by Nikki
There is a war going on and different robots have different ideas. Their mind were twisted with wire to make them who they are by their mothers. Some for self gain, some to fight, some to follow, some to be leaders, and a few to be their own robot and to not conform.
Artemis is an idea. Artemis is of a mind that all robots should work for and be all about Artemis. No feelings of superiority or oneself. All should work to improve and uphold the ideas of Artemis.
Robots need metal and there is little where the war robots of Artemis come from and they are now moving, and conquering other factions of robots who care about their machinery and are not willing to stand up for themselves, but have lesser, unthinking, slave robots do their fighting for them.
The thought it took to come up with this robotic world is fascinating to me and it was great to see the author make this world interchangeable with ours as far as politics, war, roboticism, and so on.
The only problem I had was with one of the main characters, Karel, whose mind is twisted in a way we do not know as of yet and I couldn't come to grip with his attitude and station in life. He was always out of the loop because the other robots didn't trust him and it was frustrating to see him so helpless at times.
I would recommend this read, not just for the robots smashing and stealing their opponents electromuscle and snapping their minds, but for how each group of robots deal with their situations in a world where metal is obtained to rebuild oneself and to create new mind.
It was interesting to say the least. The next book is already out, but I will wait to see when the 3rd book is close to being released before I read it.
February 24, 2012
When robots make a child together the husband provides the wire for the wife to twist into the shape of their child’s mind. The wife can choose much of the shape she twists, much is inherent in her, unconscious, and there may even be fragments of the The Book of Robots in there too. The wealthy ‘free’ society of the Turing robots is threatened by the quite familiar collective of Artemesia, who believe there is only metal and the individual is unimportant (yup, the state is all). Artemesia is on the move, destroying societies, torturing and murdering citizens and then melting them down to make more citizens of its own, if not transplanting their minds into common machinery. Robots originally generated from deep in the ground and some still do so now. Or is that really true? You can feel sure that if there’s talk of watchmakers (or blind watchmakers) here the whole debate has been turned on its head.
So we’ve got nature vs nurture in the larger quandary about free will and predestination; we’ve got a Communist’s wet dream of a society because the one thing that can’t be changed in our world, can here, because the minds can be made to fit the ideology; we’ve got an inversion of the kind of arguments with which Richard Dawkins and the Intelligent Design crowd would feel at home, all set in a world populated by robots engaged in the familiar human pastime of murdering each other for power, but excusing it with dogma. Plenty of twisted metal here, usually in the smouldering ruins of of the next city state the Artemesians have torn apart. So what more could you want? The next book please Mr Ballantyne.
There’s so much implicit in the title of this book, which hints at the philosophical layers underlying but not undermining rip-snorting robot total war. A thumping good read.
So we’ve got nature vs nurture in the larger quandary about free will and predestination; we’ve got a Communist’s wet dream of a society because the one thing that can’t be changed in our world, can here, because the minds can be made to fit the ideology; we’ve got an inversion of the kind of arguments with which Richard Dawkins and the Intelligent Design crowd would feel at home, all set in a world populated by robots engaged in the familiar human pastime of murdering each other for power, but excusing it with dogma. Plenty of twisted metal here, usually in the smouldering ruins of of the next city state the Artemesians have torn apart. So what more could you want? The next book please Mr Ballantyne.
There’s so much implicit in the title of this book, which hints at the philosophical layers underlying but not undermining rip-snorting robot total war. A thumping good read.
April 9, 2013
Any book described as 'Written in a deceptively simple style' on the cover is starting off on the back foot. It turns out that the prose isn't that bad, and the ideas developed in the novel around identity, free thought, and society should make good material for the rest of the series.
However, I just couldn't get over the fact that the novel is entirely about a robot society, but if you dropped the robot bits they're just humans. Whilst I admire the fact that Ballantyne can write some pretty decent and convincing robots, I just spent the novel feeling like I was in the movie Robots. It reminded me of the jarring feeling I get when I read about aliens who are just anthropomorphic characters overlaid with richly described morphologies. Doesn't work for me, but if you're a bit of a robot SF fan then you'll find lots to like.
However, I just couldn't get over the fact that the novel is entirely about a robot society, but if you dropped the robot bits they're just humans. Whilst I admire the fact that Ballantyne can write some pretty decent and convincing robots, I just spent the novel feeling like I was in the movie Robots. It reminded me of the jarring feeling I get when I read about aliens who are just anthropomorphic characters overlaid with richly described morphologies. Doesn't work for me, but if you're a bit of a robot SF fan then you'll find lots to like.
January 21, 2012
Why are the characters in this book robots when they behave exactly like people?
Clearly as a device to examine some aspects of the human condition at a level of remove.
Primarily questions of free will, ideology and the nature/nurture question.
On the planet Penrose (the name being a pretty big clue in itself that this book is about theories of mind) robot children a created by a mother weaving a new mind from the father's wire. In the process of weaving the parents can "hard code" ideology, memories and even love for another into the mind.
Each of the city states on the continent of Shull has its own philosophy that is to a greater or lesser extent built into its citizens. A war is therefore a very literal clash of ideologies.
Artemis is winning that war, proving its philosophy of individual submission to the greater good of Artemis the strongest.
The above may sound fairly dry but there is plenty of combat action (and more than a few atrocities) to keep the book moving.
Ultimately though the book poses some interesting questions but doesn't really seem to go anywhere towards answering them - perhaps because it’s the first book in a series (or maybe it does but I just didn't "get" it).
I found myself engaging in displacement activity rather than reading far too often to rate this better than "OK" despite the potential of the ideas.
Clearly as a device to examine some aspects of the human condition at a level of remove.
Primarily questions of free will, ideology and the nature/nurture question.
On the planet Penrose (the name being a pretty big clue in itself that this book is about theories of mind) robot children a created by a mother weaving a new mind from the father's wire. In the process of weaving the parents can "hard code" ideology, memories and even love for another into the mind.
Each of the city states on the continent of Shull has its own philosophy that is to a greater or lesser extent built into its citizens. A war is therefore a very literal clash of ideologies.
Artemis is winning that war, proving its philosophy of individual submission to the greater good of Artemis the strongest.
The above may sound fairly dry but there is plenty of combat action (and more than a few atrocities) to keep the book moving.
Ultimately though the book poses some interesting questions but doesn't really seem to go anywhere towards answering them - perhaps because it’s the first book in a series (or maybe it does but I just didn't "get" it).
I found myself engaging in displacement activity rather than reading far too often to rate this better than "OK" despite the potential of the ideas.
June 14, 2017
More like a 3.5 instead of a solid 3. Interesting ideas, somewhat poor execution. The beginning was very dry and boring, and hard to get into, but I'm glad I didn't quit. The later half of the book was much better, though with so many characters to track, at times it felt too complex. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I just couldn't connect with anyone in particular. Though I feel like the ideas about identity, individualism, the purpose of life and existence, etc. hold more weight compared to the characters and the "plot."
April 23, 2018
Overall, an interesting world developed that is inhabited only by robots. I found it somewhat jarring that he added in seemingly unrelated bits towards the end... these were obviously the prelude to the next volume in the series. Unfortunately, after reflection, I don't think I'll be following up with that volume. Although I'm somewhat serious about where it goes from here, there are to many other titles I want to read more.
July 10, 2023
This book is neat, but it feels more like a thought experiment than a believably living society. There are some interesting ideas there, such as the robots using whatever materials are readily available nearby to build their bodies, so the robots from different parts of the world are made of different stuff.
Read
March 11, 2020I gave up after a few chapters of being bored by blue-collar fishermen robots talking about inane shit. Nothing about it felt like they were robots, other than the prose reminded me of it by talking about the gears.
July 13, 2017
The book has some interesting ideas, and the storytelling is compelling, but I found the atmosphere way too depressing. It is a good book, but very dark.
October 31, 2016
Penrose is a world inhabited solely by sentient robots whose origins are so far distant they are no longer remembered. Like humans these robots are mortal, form relationships and produce offspring; this last being achieved by the ‘female’ robot ‘twisting’ metal from the ‘male’ to form the nascent brain of the child. They form nation states that come into conflict over resources (primarily metal ores) and exist in a civilisation that is a surprising but plausible mix of high and low technology. The book follows the fortunes of three robots caught up in these resource conflicts in a story that is unexpectedly strong in character development, maintains a strong pace and constantly surprises the reader with both its plotting and world building.
As described above it would be easy to be suspicious that this will be no more than a normal SF military thriller with humans replaced by robots that aren’t that much different to humans and this was very much my fear on starting Twisted Metal. Too often SF robots/androids come across as just faster, smarter humans in metal skins; they seem to think and act in much the same way as humans. This is often acceptable in SF stories where they are typically interacting with humans; examples such as Banks’ drones and Asher’s golems are fine if the reader doesn’t examine them too critically but ultimately they always seem to have much the same thought patterns as humans. Here Ballantyne has created a purely robot civilisation and so I was hoping for a bit more and, to a large extent, Ballantyne has delivered that.
These robots are no smarter than humans which is fine; it seems unlikely that you can cram significantly more intelligence into hardware limited by the space available. But they do have very much their own way of thinking with their own creation myths, the comforts of home symbolised by a hot forge, and attitudes towards things like pollution (organic growth) that are uniquely robot centric. And yet their motivations are still very human which is plausible considering they are driven by similar competition for relationships and resources.
All together Twisted Metal dispelled my fears and lived up to my hopes. I was quickly drawn into the world Ballantyne has created and he kept me turning the pages right up to a strong if somewhat predictable cliff hanging ending, leaving me looking forward to the sequel.
As described above it would be easy to be suspicious that this will be no more than a normal SF military thriller with humans replaced by robots that aren’t that much different to humans and this was very much my fear on starting Twisted Metal. Too often SF robots/androids come across as just faster, smarter humans in metal skins; they seem to think and act in much the same way as humans. This is often acceptable in SF stories where they are typically interacting with humans; examples such as Banks’ drones and Asher’s golems are fine if the reader doesn’t examine them too critically but ultimately they always seem to have much the same thought patterns as humans. Here Ballantyne has created a purely robot civilisation and so I was hoping for a bit more and, to a large extent, Ballantyne has delivered that.
These robots are no smarter than humans which is fine; it seems unlikely that you can cram significantly more intelligence into hardware limited by the space available. But they do have very much their own way of thinking with their own creation myths, the comforts of home symbolised by a hot forge, and attitudes towards things like pollution (organic growth) that are uniquely robot centric. And yet their motivations are still very human which is plausible considering they are driven by similar competition for relationships and resources.
All together Twisted Metal dispelled my fears and lived up to my hopes. I was quickly drawn into the world Ballantyne has created and he kept me turning the pages right up to a strong if somewhat predictable cliff hanging ending, leaving me looking forward to the sequel.
June 11, 2013
Alright, let's get the good bits out of the way first: The concept is pretty cool. The way that facets of the robot's life cycle and societies are gradually revealed is also pretty neat. It's decently done worldbuilding, and I can appreciate that.
Everything else is horrible.
I'm serious. I finished this book two days ago, and I'm still upset that it exists. I could just give you a bullet point list of everything that's wrong with it, but that would be boring, so I'll do it in Haiku instead.
Characters are just
Broken collections of traits
With no guiding force
Robots are strawmen
Theory of evolution?
Pff. Stupid robots.
The main character?
Ha! We don't need one of those.
Context is for squares.
The brains of robots
Don't use electricity
Powered by magic
Seriously, though. The whole book makes a point of explaining how the robots believe very firmly in their own evolution, despite the fact that they're robots and their whole life cycle is artificial compared to the rest of the planet which still has biological life on it. In most circumstances, this would be a funny little twist. Maybe they really DID evolve in this universe. Maybe carbon and silicon life evolved side by side or something. That would be kind of cool. And the fact that the robots believe in their own evolution and turn out to be correct would be a nice little twist to everyone reading who expected them to totally be created things.
But that doesn't happen (spoiler warning), and instead the book ends with an organic life form, presumably one of the creator race, coming down in a spaceship and saying hi, and all it amounts to is the robots being idiots for ever daring to think that something as complex as life could just happen naturally. Stupid robots!
Aside from the fact that the whole thing seems to be making fun of anyone who understands the theory of evolution, the book is long winded, disjointed, and worst of all, boring. The only reason I remember any of it is because I'm angry at it in general for wasting my time.
Everything else is horrible.
I'm serious. I finished this book two days ago, and I'm still upset that it exists. I could just give you a bullet point list of everything that's wrong with it, but that would be boring, so I'll do it in Haiku instead.
Characters are just
Broken collections of traits
With no guiding force
Robots are strawmen
Theory of evolution?
Pff. Stupid robots.
The main character?
Ha! We don't need one of those.
Context is for squares.
The brains of robots
Don't use electricity
Powered by magic
Seriously, though. The whole book makes a point of explaining how the robots believe very firmly in their own evolution, despite the fact that they're robots and their whole life cycle is artificial compared to the rest of the planet which still has biological life on it. In most circumstances, this would be a funny little twist. Maybe they really DID evolve in this universe. Maybe carbon and silicon life evolved side by side or something. That would be kind of cool. And the fact that the robots believe in their own evolution and turn out to be correct would be a nice little twist to everyone reading who expected them to totally be created things.
But that doesn't happen (spoiler warning), and instead the book ends with an organic life form, presumably one of the creator race, coming down in a spaceship and saying hi, and all it amounts to is the robots being idiots for ever daring to think that something as complex as life could just happen naturally. Stupid robots!
Aside from the fact that the whole thing seems to be making fun of anyone who understands the theory of evolution, the book is long winded, disjointed, and worst of all, boring. The only reason I remember any of it is because I'm angry at it in general for wasting my time.
May 11, 2012
A book all about robots with absolutely no human characters? Brilliant! Or so I thought... I really wanted to love this book, but in the end I could only like it.
I think it's fair to say the book certainly gets better as it goes along. I even considered bumping it up a star, because some of the battle scenes and revelations towards the end were really rather exciting. There's a few totally unexpected and enjoyable twists in there too.
Ballantyne constructs a clever analogy with his robot society, which I did think managed to nicely evoke many questions on our own state of affairs: Just how much are we in control of our own decisions? Are we genetically programmed from the get-go? Is life sacred, or just a fleeting and insignificant thing? I also loved the sneaky inverse of belief in evolution and creationism the robots had.
I didn't really like the way it was structured though. There were vital pieces of back story which I felt were unceremoniously stuffed into the story when it was handy for them to be. Seemed a bit like lazy writing to me. Some important details were left a bit bare too, like the twisting of minds - the process of making the minds mortal and sentient or not I felt particularly glossed over. But that wasn't too bad.
From reading the blurb, I was expecting robots to forcibly be converted to the philosophy of the others, which would've been interesting and exciting. Instead, they just ask the robots to join and they say 'ok!' Pretty lame. This seemed at odds with other themes in the book, such as the robots being undeniably who they are, and always true to how their mind was created.
I won't be in a rush to read the sequel, but the chances are I'll probably get round to it at some stage. Although not completely enamoured with Twisted Metal's world, in the end, it certainly wasn't a bad one.
I think it's fair to say the book certainly gets better as it goes along. I even considered bumping it up a star, because some of the battle scenes and revelations towards the end were really rather exciting. There's a few totally unexpected and enjoyable twists in there too.
Ballantyne constructs a clever analogy with his robot society, which I did think managed to nicely evoke many questions on our own state of affairs: Just how much are we in control of our own decisions? Are we genetically programmed from the get-go? Is life sacred, or just a fleeting and insignificant thing? I also loved the sneaky inverse of belief in evolution and creationism the robots had.
I didn't really like the way it was structured though. There were vital pieces of back story which I felt were unceremoniously stuffed into the story when it was handy for them to be. Seemed a bit like lazy writing to me. Some important details were left a bit bare too, like the twisting of minds - the process of making the minds mortal and sentient or not I felt particularly glossed over. But that wasn't too bad.
From reading the blurb, I was expecting robots to forcibly be converted to the philosophy of the others, which would've been interesting and exciting. Instead, they just ask the robots to join and they say 'ok!' Pretty lame. This seemed at odds with other themes in the book, such as the robots being undeniably who they are, and always true to how their mind was created.
I won't be in a rush to read the sequel, but the chances are I'll probably get round to it at some stage. Although not completely enamoured with Twisted Metal's world, in the end, it certainly wasn't a bad one.
September 12, 2014
Originality is a rare thing in fiction, but Tony Ballantyne manages to pull a new and metallic rabbit out of his (admittedly familiar) hat with his story of warring robots living in a world of metal whose divergent city states are falling rapidly to Artemis, a kind of alloy version of revolutionary China, where individuality is subsumed entirely to the state. The lives of numerous robots are swept up in this epic conflict as Turing City, the last independent realm, is crushed under the iron heel of Artemis – Karel, an immigration official whose mother did something odd when making his mind, Susan, his wife; Maoco O, a wardroid who learns the value of individuality; and Kavan, who leads the Artemisian armies and who is ruthlessly devoted to the city’s creed.
There’s a certain element of sleight of hand here, because this is not really SF, but a full-blooded fantasy story running on train tracks and clad in sheets of robotic steel. There’s much of what you find in fantasy in Twisted Metal: existential debate of a simplistic kind, braided storylines, a lost holy book and, of course, war. Fantasy’s playground is sweeping, continent rocking war, and Twisted Metal has that in spades. I’s SF credentials beyond its cast and technology are, by contrast, dubious, but as fantasy it runs just fine, with the winning characters the best of what that genre does so well, and a world that sticks to its own well-defined rules (how the robots breed is the most inventive aspect of the book, if the least convincing in SF terms).
It’s a great adventure, and at a certain level a good parable for the wars that shook our own world in the 20th century, but you can’t help but feel that a somewhat more sophisticated story could have been played out on the same stage.
There’s a certain element of sleight of hand here, because this is not really SF, but a full-blooded fantasy story running on train tracks and clad in sheets of robotic steel. There’s much of what you find in fantasy in Twisted Metal: existential debate of a simplistic kind, braided storylines, a lost holy book and, of course, war. Fantasy’s playground is sweeping, continent rocking war, and Twisted Metal has that in spades. I’s SF credentials beyond its cast and technology are, by contrast, dubious, but as fantasy it runs just fine, with the winning characters the best of what that genre does so well, and a world that sticks to its own well-defined rules (how the robots breed is the most inventive aspect of the book, if the least convincing in SF terms).
It’s a great adventure, and at a certain level a good parable for the wars that shook our own world in the 20th century, but you can’t help but feel that a somewhat more sophisticated story could have been played out on the same stage.
January 28, 2014
An intriguing start to what appears to be a planned series. This is the first time that I have encountered a sci-fi setting that is devoid of humanity, and it is interesting to see robot protagonists that do not come off as just seeming like humans in metal shells. The effort that this must surely have taken on Ballantyne's part says to me that this world is a long term creation. In spite of the clear differences in aesthetics and sensibilities, the characters of this setting are still very well developed and for the most part easy to relate to once you get over the sometimes jarring differences in their lifestyle and values compared with contemporary Western morals.
I also found the setting to be engaging, the robot ecology is quite detailed, even when it starts to incorporate organic elements later on in the book. The history conveyed is also quite striking, and you are left with the belief, like the robots themselves, that it is quite plausible that this world occurred on its own rather than being constructed by some outside force short of a deity of some kind (and the robots even seem to have one of those too!).
Overall I loved this book just because it was very fresh to me, not at all like Asimov's robot novels, and not like any other sci-fi that I have read. The plot was engaging and the style of writing was a good match to the story being told with a (dare I say it) machine-like economy and precision of wording. I look forward to the next instalment of the Penrose series.
I also found the setting to be engaging, the robot ecology is quite detailed, even when it starts to incorporate organic elements later on in the book. The history conveyed is also quite striking, and you are left with the belief, like the robots themselves, that it is quite plausible that this world occurred on its own rather than being constructed by some outside force short of a deity of some kind (and the robots even seem to have one of those too!).
Overall I loved this book just because it was very fresh to me, not at all like Asimov's robot novels, and not like any other sci-fi that I have read. The plot was engaging and the style of writing was a good match to the story being told with a (dare I say it) machine-like economy and precision of wording. I look forward to the next instalment of the Penrose series.
August 18, 2014
This was the next book for my York SciFi Book Club meeting, and I had to read it by a certain date, and that date was coming up fast, so I bit the bullet and hoped it wasn't too interesting to pull me away from my writing.
It was too interesting. In fact, it's one of those books that start to change the way you think and react to the world. Consider these examples:
I'm walking to work and I see this guy who's kind of stumbling down the street from what looks like substance abuse or some dreadful disease and I'm there thinking to myself: 'his circuits aren't tuned to optimal configuration'!
I'm walking, and I become aware of the rubbing of my coat against my jeans and that clinking of the zip, and I'm thinking to myself that I sound like a robot, marching along. Hmm.
This line pretty much sums the book up: 'a world of intelligent robots who have forgotten their distant past', and it's that kind of line that really hooks me, right from the start.
Didn't really like or understand the last part of the book, but still, it's one of those endings that make you think: 'Oh, I so want to read the sequel!'
It was too interesting. In fact, it's one of those books that start to change the way you think and react to the world. Consider these examples:
I'm walking to work and I see this guy who's kind of stumbling down the street from what looks like substance abuse or some dreadful disease and I'm there thinking to myself: 'his circuits aren't tuned to optimal configuration'!
I'm walking, and I become aware of the rubbing of my coat against my jeans and that clinking of the zip, and I'm thinking to myself that I sound like a robot, marching along. Hmm.
This line pretty much sums the book up: 'a world of intelligent robots who have forgotten their distant past', and it's that kind of line that really hooks me, right from the start.
Didn't really like or understand the last part of the book, but still, it's one of those endings that make you think: 'Oh, I so want to read the sequel!'
July 5, 2011
This was another of those audio books that was supposed to play in the background while I got on with other stuff but ended up demanding my full attention. I've been meaning to start reading sci-fi again for a while but nothing had really grabbed my attention. This book changed all that. Every time I had a few minutes to spare I would grab the iPad and start listening.
Penrose is a planet populated by robots. It is going through an upheaval with two philosophies battleling for supremacy. One side believes in individual freedom while the other believes in total contro by the state. All seem to have forgotten their origins and myths have been created to explain how and why metal became sentient.
I throughly enjoyed this book and will look out for the sequels
Penrose is a planet populated by robots. It is going through an upheaval with two philosophies battleling for supremacy. One side believes in individual freedom while the other believes in total contro by the state. All seem to have forgotten their origins and myths have been created to explain how and why metal became sentient.
I throughly enjoyed this book and will look out for the sequels
September 2, 2012
well that was definatley a book well worth the price. robots fighting for martial and philosophical dominance of thier planet. i thought the way new robots were created was well thought out and even the way they created the bodyshell was interesting. its more of a journey of the mind and less standard "robot war" type faire. still cracking though. when my local waterstones actually has the next one in stock i will definatley buy it
September 28, 2013
This was an awesome book. First I want to say thx to myfriend Jane for getting me this book. It was great. I cant wait to read the next book.
This book was so simple to read yet very well put together that it was deep and very thought prevoking. A world were humans dont exist. Only robots and all things steel. This is such a different book from anything I have ever read. I would recomennd this to anyone who is i to science fiction.
This book was so simple to read yet very well put together that it was deep and very thought prevoking. A world were humans dont exist. Only robots and all things steel. This is such a different book from anything I have ever read. I would recomennd this to anyone who is i to science fiction.
September 8, 2015
This book was indeed thought provoking. The writer went in directions I did not expect. The books major themes are all on loss, existence, emotion, how one is created, and choice, the biggest theme in Twisted Metal. I hope to read the sequel someday, for the writer leaves it completely open, leaving the readers wondering what will happen next. Will Karel reunite with wife Susan? What happens to Artimis? What else was in that abandoned building?
May 28, 2009
A pretty good book - strong writing, a nice twist of the reader's preconceptions and a fairly solid story. However, it does trail off a bit without a specific hook into a sequel (apart from the unnecessary epilogue) which leaves it feeling a little unsatisfying with lots of threads left hanging. Worth a read.
July 21, 2012
well... I guess it is ok. fascinating, strange and unique. I still don't get how the robot reproduce however. As for the character of Kavan, reminds me of Julius Caesar conquest of Europe, and his threat to march on Rome.
I've read Tony Ballantyne books before, and his affection for Van Neuman machines.
I've read Tony Ballantyne books before, and his affection for Van Neuman machines.
February 21, 2011
The writing is decent. The background and setting are pretty interesting. My main problem is that the book suffers from the same problem every AI story faces: the sentient robots act too human. Perhaps this is addressed in later books, but I'm not interested enough to continue.
May 11, 2015
I give it 5 stars because it has an amazing story, that is easy and fun to read, it has likable characters on all sides of the conflict, and it does a really good job exploring new Ideas, and it just really makes you think!
November 16, 2013
An entire world where all life is machine-based evolved that way - or is it really? The back story is actually the most interesting element of the novel. Interesting concepts but somewhat two dimensional in terms of characters.
November 3, 2016
It was okay (maybe) but I don't think I will continue with the series.
Not really sure why it gets such/some high stars but each to there own.
The last half is better than the first half but still not a page turner
Not really sure why it gets such/some high stars but each to there own.
The last half is better than the first half but still not a page turner
May 28, 2009
Best robot book since Asimov's I, Robot
March 18, 2013
'Twisted Metal' was an wonderfully unique piece of epic science fiction. I can't wait to read the sequel.
April 4, 2011
I enjoyed this book. At the beginning it was a light read but as the story progressed, the plot and characters became more in-depth and complicated.
April 5, 2011
Futuristic war among robots. Bonds that appear even in robots. Turning city bbeing overwhelmed by enemy robots while noble robot guards protect.
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