Guardian Angels and Other Monsters

January 15, 2018
Robotics enthusiast and wicked storyteller Wilson follows up a masterful fantasy novel (The Clockwork Dynasty, 2017, etc.) with a collection of 14 kindred, often creepy stories.Any fan of Wilson's should definitely pick up this paperback original, composed of stories clipped from pulpy collections like The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination (2013) and sprinkled with a few richly imagined anomalies. In the opener, "Miss Gloria," a robot named Chiron resurrects himself time after time until his ward can fend for herself. In the tear-jerker "The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever," an astrophysicist spends one last day with his 3-year-old daughter. A mechanical man questions the nature of his identity in "Jack, the Determined." Seemingly a master of many subgenres, Wilson can nod to cyberpunk in "The Executor," hard science fiction in "Helmet," and speculative horror in "Blood Memory." He grounds his characters, even in worlds disappearing before their eyes, by giving them identities through their occupations: we meet a meteorologist in "Foul Weather" and a taxonomist in "Garden of Life," both trying so hard to understand a world torn asunder by forces they can't understand. As one imagines he might, Wilson pays fan service to longtime readers with a Robopocalypse story, "Parasite," set in the trenches of war and starring Lark Iron Cloud and a lovely steampunk slice from the world of The Clockwork Dynasty, "One for Sorrow," starring the ever childlike avtomat Elena Petrova. These tales sound thrilling, and they often are, but Wilson has a special talent for wringing emotion out of his tech-tinged stories, from the love of a grandfather in "The Nostalgist" to the awful longing of an avatar who misses his true love in "God Mode." Wilson sticks the landing with "Special Automatic," a story that channels the movie My Bodyguard by way of a Frankenstein-ian automaton.A lush and imaginative collection of stories that brings real emotion to hard science fiction.

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Starred review from January 22, 2018
Wilson’s spectacular first collection brings together 14 original stories that explore artificial intelligence in its many incarnations, sprinkled with horror elements and wielding a decidedly humanistic edge. In “The Nostalgist,” an elderly man holds onto the memory of childhood in the best way he knows how. “God Mode” is a poignant tale of memory and longing surrounding an artificial world. In the heart-wrenching “The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever,” a single father and physicist must brace himself and his little girl for a cataclysmic event. In the tragic, disturbing “Special Automatic,” a bullied and abused teen boy uses the implant that controls his seizures to link his mind to a robot he built, giving himself more power than he ever could have dreamed. Also included are stories from the worlds of Robopocalypse and The Clockwork Dynasty. Wilson displays an aching humanity and literary sensibility that will satisfy his fans and win him plenty of new ones. This thoughtful, affecting collection will linger in the thoughts of readers long after the last page is turned.

February 15, 2018

Here are 14 stories that intersect humanity and artificial intelligence, showcasing emotional connections developed by programming or human interaction. A robot, charged with protecting a young girl, will do whatever it takes to help "Miss Gloria," no matter how many times he dies. The power of the mind, to remember and to forget, captures two people in moments of "God Mode." Wilson also incorporates two stories connected to his novels The Clockwork Dynasty and Robopocalypse. Smart writing and intriguing characters lend themselves to these well-crafted tales about future technology. VERDICT Wilson's first story collection highlights imaginative works in which AIs and humans connect, for better or worse. This is a boon to both Wilson's fans and sf readers seeking high-quality short fiction.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2018
From the author of The Clockwork Dynasty (2017) comes this fine short story collection. With every book, Wilson improves as a writer, and you'll find here some of his most expressive, dramatic, tender, and elegant prose. The stories focus on the relationships between robots and people (the author's primary theme in all of his fiction, to date), and you might think that would lead to a certain samenessbut, oh, how wrong you would be. Take the first three stories: Miss Gloria, about a robotic companion who will go to great lengths to protect a young human girl; The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever, about a discovery that threatens the future of the planet; and Jack, about an automaton that discovers it is not human. Each of these is vastly different in tone and plot, and each calls up different reactions from the reader (if you don't feel like crying at the end of Blue Afternoon, you should read it again). A beautiful collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)