Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2020 Challenge - Regular
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28 - A book with a robot, cyborg or AI character
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Sheri
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Dec 05, 2019 08:10AM
Emily, not really, there’s space exploration but not much mention of computer tech beyond that. It could work for a (fictional) world leader though. Or a made up language
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Emily wrote: "Anyone robots, cyborgs or AI characters in Dune?"For robots, AI, and cyborgs in Dune, you would have to go to the Butlerian Jihad trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. In Dune itself, the status quo is that thinking machines are outlawed, and some humans like the Mentats have taught themselves to do some of the same processing that a computer would have in their own brain.
Therese wrote: "I don't like this genre and every list I check, I have 1 book that I have read because I had to do it for last year. I was wondering whether The Time Machine or The Invisible Man by HG Wells would ..."Neither book features a robot or AI.
I know you’re trying to cull from your TBR, but there is a cozy mystery series by Donna Andrews that features an AI named Turing Hopper, which I thought was pretty good. It starts with You’ve Got Murder.
I know Cinder is full of robot/AI characters but I am probably going to read the third book, Cress for this prompt. From the description it is unclear whether the robot characters have a place in Cress. Anyone who knows: will those characters make an appearance here? I don’t want to read this and later find out it doesn’t really fit.
Mod
I feel like Iko was pretty prominent in Cress too. Been a while, but I recall that
Nope sorry, The power is about biological powers, no ai/cybernetics/robots involved.
Emily wrote: "Anyone robots, cyborgs or AI characters in Dune?"Emily--and for others--here are links to lists of novels with his sort of thing in them. The first one has a range of times for them in case you're doing some other challenge where you might want books from certain eras, etc.
These are NOT GR lists so are going to include scifi only, but note that at least one includes Cinder along with some hardcore scifi.
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best...
The following list is of books about robot uprisings:
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/19-best...
Both of these come from this site, and I'm guessing he has other lists: https://best-sci-fi-books.com/
I'd have linked a scifi group here but due to an inordinate amount of spam it just went private so you'd have to actually join and then say why, so not worth it if you're not a big scifi reader or, like me, not a big one anymore but a nearly lifelong scifi reader (in spurts or here and there, but lots and lots of it from ages 10-18 or so).
ETA here is a list of picks, both print and film, of scifi that people who work in AI like
https://www.businessinsider.com/best-...
Sheri wrote: "Nope sorry, The power is about biological powers, no ai/cybernetics/robots involved."😭
I'm going with Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax It has a robot in it. Has anyone read it? Disagree/Agree?
I have a feeling this is gonna be a "no" too, but would Frankissstein: A Love Story work. I see it mentions AI...
Would Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman work for this?
Sarah, it looks like the Frankissstein would work, to me. There seemed to be an implication that the dolls would eventually gain sentience which would put them in AI territory, and even without the sentience they could probably be considered robots if they moved and spoke. Presumably at least one would be featured enough to be considered a character.
Colleen wrote: "Would Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman work for this?"Absolutely, any of the books in that trilogy would work well
So, it might be a stretch, so it depends on how flexible you are with your prompts, but for those of you who like YA... I read Mechanica by Betsy, Cromwell 2 years ago and i liked it. Its a Cinderella retelling, and while the character itself if not robot/cyborg, she has those little mechanical bugs and at one point finds a mechanical/robot horse.... anyways im not doing it justice, it was my first ventures into the world of steampunk, and it might for if you count the horse as a robot. :)
Kelsey wrote: "I'm planning to read Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang. The collection includes his novella "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" which apparently has a prominent AI character. Score!..."Machines Like Me was terrible.
But what about An Absolutely Remarkable Thing?
Sarah wrote: "Urgh...not my favourite.Please tell me The Power fits this one?"
Nope, but it does pass the Bechdel Test
and
fits the 7 Deadly Sins category as well (lust, greed, pride)
and
I'd put in the World Leader prompt as well as it's a history of future leaders.
and I'm almost positive
It includes social media...
Disclaimer: I'm in a huge Brandon Sanderson fan, and a scifi fan.I know Skyward has been suggested, and I highly recommend it. One of the characters is (view spoiler) and absolutely charming! It's YA, but highly readable for adults.
The sequel, Starsight, was released at the end of November. I only allowed myself chapter 1, because I'm going to read it for this prompt.
If you want adult fiction, all three books in the Troy Rising series by John Ringo—Live Free or Die, Citadel, and The Hot Gate—contain multiple AIs with a variety of personalities (including dysfunctional).
Alicia wrote: "Also, I have read a few Gail Carriger. Someone posted one of her series in the Listopia. I don't see anything in the discription that says anything about cyborgs. Anyone know about this?"The Finishing School series by Gail Carriger contains "mechanicals" (Victorian-era robotic servants) and "mechanimals" (robotic animals). One mechanimal is a non-speaking sidekick to the protagonist, who nevertheless has a well-developed personality. It's a fun series, but I do recommend starting at the beginning, with Etiquette & Espionage. It's a young adult alternate history, steampunk-influenced series with werewolves and vampires.
What do people think about including Sleeping Giants in this one?
Mod
I think that would work
I had been considering re-reading some of my Asimov, with my favourite Daneel in it. I guess this is the perfect prompt
Johanna wrote: "I know this will be my least favorite prompt. But I have hadCinder on my TBR list. I think this is the year to read it."Same here! I have had it sitting on my shelf since it came out and have yet to actually pick it up! This will be the year!
Sheri wrote: "Sarah, it looks like the Frankissstein would work, to me. There seemed to be an implication that the dolls would eventually gain sentience which would put them in AI territory, and even without the..."That's good enough for me!
Not my genre at all. Would any of the Kindgom Keepers books work? Holograms that come to life?
I just finished Velocity Weapon and it's a great fit for this prompt. One of the main characters, Bero, is a smartship AI (and my favorite character in the book).
I've had Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on my TBR for years and I'll use this prompt to finally tackle it.
Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is good for this (and a great book). And anything from Gillian Rubinstein's Space Demons trilogy would also work if you fancy some classic vintage Australian YA (fun review here: https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/2...)
I am reading
, which has bots for the "Great God Dolos".
I knew this one was going to be hard for me. I just decided on The Cut-Up Man: And other Posthuman Cycle stories since it's four short stories.
Audible Originals has an AI book this month!
For people unfamilar with this genre, I'd recommend the novella All Systems Red. I've yet to meet a human being who doesn't love Murderbot, and it's a well-written, award-winning and charming story. In addition, it's really short, so it can easily be read in one sitting.
If no one has suggested it yet, The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney came out in August of 2019. Without giving too much away (which is hard!) there is a MC who is a robot/AI & I recommend that one.
Terri wrote: "Not my genre at all. Would any of the Kindgom Keepers books work? Holograms that come to life?"Sounds like AI to me
I'm dreading this prompt as well, but I actually really enjoyed Cinder and it's a fast read. Thinking of re-reading, but then again I want to push myself, so I may read another of the options.
Sarah wrote: "I'm dreading this prompt as well, but I actually really enjoyed Cinder and it's a fast read. Thinking of re-reading, but then again I want to push myself, so I may read another of the options."The sequels all feature Cinder. There's also Wires and Nerve, which is a graphic novel about Iko, the android from Cinder.
Origin by Dan Brown has an AI character that is an integral part of the plot. Good option for someone who isn't interested in sci-fi.
For anyone interested in the history of robots in literature, Project Gutenberg has The Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward S. Ellis for free. It’s the first American “robot” novel from 1868. I don’t know what to call it, android was first used in 1886 and robot in 1921. I haven’t read it yet but it may appeal to Steampunk fans.
I'm almost done reading
for this challenge. It has an AI character named Bob and it's a very fast moving story too. I have only 100 pages left to read. It's also the first book in a series.
Drakeryn wrote: "Murderbot time!A few other recs:
Neuromancer - classic cyberpunk
Silently and Very Fast - a smart house that becomes a smarter house. great if you want something ch..."
I also recommend Neuromancer (book 1 of the Sprawl trilogy). Admittedly, it can be a bit hard to follow, but it's a sci-fi classic and worth the effort. Where was this challenge in 2018 when I read the entire trilogy??
I'm halfway through Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax and loving it! One of the main characters is an AI social companion. The book also works for the Set in Japan prompt.
Mirawyn wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Also, I have read a few Gail Carriger. Someone posted one of her series in the Listopia. I don't see anything in the discription that says anything about cyborgs. Anyone know about t..."The Finishing School Series is definitely worth reading, and fits this prompt very well. They could also fulfill several other prompts, including "a book you picked because the title caught your attention," "a book with a three-word title," and "a book with at least a 4-star rating on Goodreads" (books 2-4).
For those not super excited about this prompt,
has a named robot/AI character. Not a main character by any means but since it was a named character, I felt less bad about using this book for this prompt.
I've started a copy of Quantum Leap: The Beginning which I hope meets this prompt. Anyone remember the TV series? Its got Al the hologram in it and Ziggy the "hybrid computer".
I'm not sure I'm truly getting the spirit of this prompt.What do you think about counting Sourdough by Robin Sloan in this prompt? The main character programs a robot arm to work in the kitchen.
Also, I started reading Tin Men by Christopher Golden for this prompt, but now I'm not so sure I'm doing this right. The main character is a solider who works with the Army powering a remote army, where he and his soldiers are in a bunker controlling a robot army. So the robots are significant, but I wouldn't necessarily call them a character. They are controlled by a character.
Would you count either of those or should I go back to the drawing board? I can use both of these for other prompts, so I won't be mad it they aren't right.
I read Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn which is a Star Wars book
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Donna Andrews (other topics)Frédéric Beigbeder (other topics)
Neal Shusterman (other topics)
Brandon Sanderson (other topics)
Andromeda Romano-Lax (other topics)
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