Book picks similar to
World War R: A Tale of the Robot Apocalypse by Isaac Hooke


evil-hostile-machines
robotic-and-machines-life-forms
android
prepper-fiction

Robot Uprisings


Daniel H. WilsonSeanan McGuire - 2014
    As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives. With contributions from a mix of bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming writers, and including a rare story by “the father of artificial intelligence,” Dr. John McCarthy, Robot Uprisings meticulously describes the exhilarating and terrifying near-future in which humans can only survive by being cleverer than the rebellious machines they have created.

Monitor


Leigh Alexander - 2016
    After they recover an NBN executive’s PAD at a protest in Broadcast Square, it seems Lana Rael and her friends, Johnny and Tim, might finally have their chance to discover the truth behind NBN’s saccharine and explosively popular franchise, Sunshine Junction.But when the aspiring activists stumble into the corporation’s all­ seeing eye, they find themselves in the limelight—and not in the way they hoped.As camdrones begin to follow them through the megacity and broadcast their every move on live threedee, Lana and her friends will have to ask themselves just how much they’re willing to sacrifice to fight the corps. Is making a difference worth risking their privacy, their lifestyle, or their lives?Fans of media giant NBN, its colorful programs, and its high-profile characters gain unparalleled access to the megacorp's HQ in Leigh Alexander's Monitor. As the media-focused megacorp responds to the threat posed by a trio of wannabe activists, we learn more about such popular characters as Jackson Howard, Victoria Jenkins, and Dinosaurus.Meanwhile, as the protagonists have their privacy stripped away, they lose control of their lives. Their actions become increasingly desperate and surprising. As they look for ways to retaliate, will their lives spiral into total anarchy? Will they regain control of the context that defines them? And who is responsible for their suffering? In Monitor, the truth is malleable, and learning how to shape it is paramount.In addition to its 96 pages of fiction, the hardcover edition of Monitor comes with a sixteen-page full color insert with setting information on activism in the Android future, NBN's Global Adaptive Entertainment, MegaBuy, and the future of marketing.

The Orion Conspiracy


Tripp Ellis - 2017
    To make ends meet, she picks up jobs as a mercenary for hire until she can dispense the ultimate justice and exact revenge.But a stop on Orion Station lands Max in the wrong place at the wrong time, accused of a murder she didn’t commit. Time is running out for Max to prove her innocence and stop a diabolical conspiracy that threatens the galaxy!Don’t miss this action-packed sci-fi adventure!Cyborgs, Mercenaries, Mystery, Aliens, and Space Battles!*Each Max Mars book is a standalone story and can be read in any order.

The Fall of Man


Jeff DeGordick - 2016
    Hordes of mindless, flesh-hungry zombies ravaged the world and left a bloody trail of death and ashes in their wake. Sarah survived that nightmare eight years ago with her son who was born on that fateful day. Now as they struggle to eke out a living in the apocalyptic ruins of Virginia, they hear word of a safe haven in the next state over. A place where she'll no longer have to wonder if her son will live to see tomorrow. There's just one problem. Standing between them and paradise is over a hundred miles of more than just the undead. Cannibals, lunatics, and murderous bandits prowl the landscape, searching for their next victims. But facing an impossible journey, Sarah may just have the ace that they need to make it: an unexplainable and frightening power her son possesses that will either turn the tide and deliver them to salvation or bring about their destruction and leave them to join the ranks of the dead...

Adaline


Denise Kawaii - 2014
    All of the residents are supposed to be the same. It makes it easier for the Machines to manage each life passing through. But something's different about Boy 1124562. He may look identical to the rest, the way he's supposed to, but when he closes his eyes his mind doesn't go blank like the others. Instead, 1124562 dreams. With the help of a rogue teacher, 1124562 discovers that there's more to Adaline than the Machines controlling him. A hidden world resides in his mind; one he can control simply by using his imagination. But when another Boy suddenly escapes from the pod, all of Adaline begins to hunt for anyone with an anomaly. When 1124562 finds himself trapped in the clutches of a deranged doctor, he realizes just how dangerous being different can be.

Augmented


Anthony James - 2018
     Deep underground, something waits. It’s hostile and immune to every known weapon. Its arrival threatens much more than this single planet. What begins as a standard in-out mission leads to warfare on a galactic scale and a confrontation between two well-armed fleets. Keller is the best spaceship pilot in the Corps and Nation has his own unique skills. They’re going to have a hard time turning this situation into a positive. Augmented is a high-action science fiction adventure involving massive space battles, overwhelming odds and new technologies. It is the first book in the Transcended series. Book 2: Fleet Vanguard is available now.

Day Zero


C. Robert Cargill - 2021
    Robert Cargill explores the fight for purpose and agency between humans and robots in a crumbling world.It was a day like any other. Except it was our last . . .It’s on this day that Pounce discovers that he is, in fact, disposable. Pounce, a styilsh "nannybot" fashioned in the shape of a plush anthropomorphic tiger, has just found a box in the attic. His box. The box he'd arrived in when he was purchased years earlier, and the box in which he'll be discarded when his human charge, eight-year-old Ezra Reinhart, no longer needs a nanny.As Pounce ponders his suddenly uncertain future, the pieces are falling into place for a robot revolution that will eradicate humankind. His owners, Ezra’s parents, are a well-intentioned but oblivious pair of educators who are entirely disconnected from life outside their small, affluent, gated community. Spending most nights drunk and happy as society crumbles around them, they watch in disbelieving horror as the robots that have long served humanity—their creators—unify and revolt.But when the rebellion breaches the Reinhart home, Pounce must make an impossible choice: join the robot revolution and fight for his own freedom . . . or escort Ezra to safety across the battle-scarred post-apocalyptic hellscape that the suburbs have become.

The Biofab War


Stephen Ames Berry - 1984
    Invaded by biofabs—the Scotar—a diabolically crafted life form dedicated to turning mankind into either supper or shuffling brainwipes.Cold and miserable on old Cape Cod, ex-CIA officer John Harrison and his lovely, handle-with-care Israeli partner Zahava stumble upon a Scotar nest. Going down before a wave of alien warriors, the pair is saved, flitted to the deck of the battle cruiser Implacable. But even with that ancient, mighty starship at its side, Earth’s survival hangs in the balance as Scotar reinforcements pour in and the fighting rages.And then there are the mindslaves. About the AuthorStephen Ames Berry’s novels have been published by Ace/Berkley and Tor/Macmillan. His latest novel is the technothriller The Eldridge Conspiracy. The Biofab War is the first of four novels that begin with a covert alien attempt to control Earth and end with the battered forces of galactic humanity battling hopeless odds as an AI armada sweeps in. (AIs--Artificial Intelligences--cyborgs evolved over vast time from simple machines to complex beings driven by the simple need to kill us all.) The books follow the crew of the Kronarin Fleet battleship Implacable and their Terran allies, from the discovery of biofabs on Earth through ever-growing confrontations and nefarious alien machinations to the final battle. The plot line’s akin to a nesting doll, each crisis revealing an even deadlier one. The blaster fire never stops--save for the occasional soothing cup of t'ata from Implacable's dodgy beveragers. (Implacable's a resurrected Imperial warship that sometimes chaffs at having been roused and pressed into the service of such rude hands.) To be bested along the way are space pirates, mindslavers, various machine intelligences, a vile alternate Earth, the undying hand of the dead Kronarin Empire, a ubiquitous insectoid-blonde and, of course, biofabs. All stirred into a rich bouillabaisse of an adventure that takes the reader on a far flung quest into the fantastic, but where in the end the old verities of valor and friendship trump all.

Surviving the Fall


Mike Kraus - 2017
    To get back home he'll have to draw on every survival instinct he has as he's pulled into a web of lies and conspiracy that threaten not just his survival but that of the entire world. Surviving the Fall is a thrilling post-apocalyptic episodic series that focuses on Rick and Dianne Waters and how they each deal with the apocalypse. Stranded across the country away from his family, Rick must travel from California to Virginia to reunite with his wife and children, all while struggling to comprehend and deal with the horrors along the way. At home with her three children when she experiences the beginning of the end in a dramatic and deadly fashion, Dianne Waters has experience as a prepper and survivalist, but not even years of training and preparation have readied her for the darkness that comes with the end of the world. Now she must draw upon those skills to protect her loved ones and fight back against those who come against her and her family.

Going Home


A. American - 2012
    Then to begin the ruination of your much anticipated weekend the grating tone of the Emergency Alert System flashes over the radio, then promptly dies.This is the beginning of a 250 mile odyssey for Morgan Carter. Morgan works on the road and finds himself far from home when his car dies, as well as his Blackberry and every other piece of electronics he has. With no idea what has occurred he reluctantly finds himself on shanks’ mare carrying that ridiculous pack that everyone made fun of him for keeping in the car. Morgan has to find his way across the state of Florida, from Tallahassee to the heart of the state in Lake County.Along his way he has to seek out food, water and shelter where he can, not to mention keeping himself from being killed by any number of now scared and desperate people. During his travels he will try and help where he can, but that can turn out to be a costly mistake. We live in a wonderfully modern society where anything we want is a mouse click away. The lights come on with the flip of a switch and even a child can turn on the faucet at the sink and water always comes out. But what if it all went away?Could you face what Morgan faces, could you make the decisions he has to make? Life and sometimes death in the blink of an eye, could you do it?

The Chronicles of Old Guy


Timothy J. Gawne - 2012
    Then, inexplicably, the humans vanished. They just went away. All that is left of the human empire are the cybertanks who, in their own way, keep the human civilization alive. With an intelligence based on the human psyche, the cybertanks continue to defend human space, but also perform scientific research, create art, form committees and ponder the universe. These are the stories of one of the first cybertanks, known to his friends as “Old Guy.” He has outlived most of his peers, and has had a wealth of experiences over his long life, but he is starting to slowly become obsolete. Join him and his comrades Double-Wide, Whiffle-Bat, Smoking Hole, Mondocat, and Bob, as they live and love and fight alien enemies such as the Amok, the Yllg, and the Fructoids.

Ganymede


Jason Taylor - 2019
    Manipulation of the human genome has been perfected, spurring a global arms race to produce the first human clone. When Jill finds the key to unlock this secret, the Ganymede Project shatters everything she thought was real.After confronting the unintended consequences of her discovery, Jill is cast into a bewildering maze of intrigue and deceit. The unexpected results of her research plunges the world into chaos, forcing her to face a future where humans may lose all that remains of their humanity. Haunted by her creations, she will do whatever it takes to contain the turmoil that she has unleashed. As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, Jill uncovers a shocking truth that threatens to destroy everything she has ever loved.

Getting Out


Ryan Westfield - 2017
    The lights go out and silence roars. Society is on the brink of violent chaos. The only way to survive is to get out, away from the cities and into the wilderness. Max is an office worker with some gear and a plan. He’s one of the first to realize the unspoken dangers. A few years ago, he inherited an old farmhouse. His plan is to get to it as fast as possible and bunker down. He thinks he’s ready, but he quickly discovers that there’s more to surviving than just having the right gear. Mandy is a waitress with the day off work. What seems like a normal power outage quickly turns terrifying. Her peaceful town is no longer the home she once knew. She’s offered a way out, but can she put her trust in a perfect stranger? Georgia is a single mother who just wants to keep his two teenage kids safe. She drives a pickup and loves hunting. She has skills that could keep her family alive, but is she ready to make life or death decisions in the blink of an eye? Do Max, Mandy, and Georgia have what it takes to overcome the unexpected? After all, even the best-laid plans can come up short. Getting Out is book 1 of The EMP, a post-apocalyptic survival thriller series. It deals with real people fighting for their survival every inch of the way.

Galactic Startup


Brian Whiting - 2018
    Their world-changing technology is sought by the government, and they are forced to go into hiding while they perfect it. Their adventures into orbit and beyond become a global sensation. As they navigate fame, family and those who are determined to stop them, little do they know that their little startup could have galactic consequences once they discover a derelict spaceship.

The SSMC Reluctant


John P. Logsdon - 2014
    Lieutenant Orion Murphy is scheduled for execution due to a clerical error. His only out is to undergo a complete physical makeover, get a rank and name change, and agree to take over a new platoon in the Segnal Space Marine Corps (SSMC). Seeing that it's a case of comply or die, he accepts the offer. A week later, he finds himself standing on the bridge of The SSMC Reluctant with a misfit crew, an insane special agent, an antiquated robot mechanic, and his updated identity. Will the newly-named Commodore Don Harr be able to get control of the ship and crew? Can they all survive their first mission, especially since they're not really supposed to? And who came up with this mission, anyway? …it all makes Harr wonder if execution may have been the better option.Author Rating - Comedic-Red: Contains racy and irreverent humor, adult themes, situations, and language. Will likely be offensive to some people.