Subjugation by the Robot overlords, as told through the blog of a Canadian businessman Barry Simcoe (who happens to be at or in all the places and events as they matter) and, interspersed with the news feeds of a Jamaican Thought Machine. Once the storyline premise has been set, it is a flat out joy to read. At many times Adamesque in humor; the cast of characters is diverse between occupants and occupiers, and the machine entities of both the malevolent and benevolent types. I may have to check out the Open Mic at Top Shelf Books to hear chapter readings of the follow-up to this story.
I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange for an honest review.
Publishing Date: Expected publication: June 19th 2018 by John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publisher’s Description: After long years of war, the United States has sued for peace, yielding to a brutal coalition of nations ruled by fascist machines. One quarter of the country is under foreign occupation. Manhattan has been annexed by a weird robot monarchy, and in Tennessee, a permanent peace is being delicately negotiated between the battered remnants of the U.S. government and an envoy of implacable machines.
Canadian businessman Barry Simcoe arrives in occupied Chicago days before his hotel is attacked by a rogue war machine. In the aftermath, he meets a dedicated Russian medic with the occupying army, and 19 Black Winter, a badly damaged robot. Together they stumble on a machine conspiracy to unleash a horrific plague—and learn that the fabled American resistance is not as extinct as everyone believes. Simcoe races against time to prevent the extermination of all life on the continent . . . and uncover a secret that America’s machine conquerors are desperate to keep hidden.
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