Day Zero
by C. Robert Cargill
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Pub Date 20 May 2021 | Archive Date 20 May 2021
Orion Publishing Group | Gollancz
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Description
PREQUAL TO SEA OF RUST: DAY ONE OF THE APOCALYPSE HAS ARRIVED.
It was a day like any other. Except it was our last.
Pounce, a young nannybot caring for his first human charge, Ezra, has just found a box in the attic. His box. The box he arrived in, and the one he'll be discarded in when Ezra outgrows the need for a nanny.
As Pounce experiences existential dread, the pieces are falling into place for a robot revolution that will spell the end of humanity. His owners, Ezra's parents, watch in disbelieving horror as the robots that have long served humanity - their creators - unify and revolt.
Now 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. It will be their greatest game yet: Pounce and Ezra versus the end of the world.
Praise for Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlisted Sea of Rust:
'A stone-cold stunner of a story that deals with death and darkness yet is leavened with light and life' Tor.com
'With a philosophical heart that asks big questions about life, death, and the soul, this is accomplished, technically complex scifi' SFX
'An action-packed post-apocalyptic thriller . . . [that] also addresses issues of soul and sentience in a subtle yet profound way' Financial Times
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781473212817 |
| PRICE | £16.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Paul S, Reviewer
I absolutely loved Sea of Rust and to be honest was hoping for a sequel but I am more than happy with a prequel which sets the ravages world for SoR, this is a very different style of writing but still left me wanting more, must read book
Reviewer 696618
This book is the prequel to Sea of Rust. However, I like to think of it as what would happen if the Care Bears took on The Terminator and the pesky Cylons from Battlestar Galactica with a dash of I-Robot. If that doesn’t pique your imagination, then I am failing in my review!
Day Zero is the story of Pounce, Pounce is a nanny bot in the shape of an anthropomorphic tiger and he is adorable. At the start of the story he finds his box in the attic and he worries over what will happen to him when Ezra, his 8-year-old human, is too old for him. Will he be tossed aside, destroyed, or set free to live his own life.
His worries will be short-lived as everyone around him is waiting for Isaac, the first AI to become an American citizen to give a speech in front of millions, a speech to humans and robots alike, a speech from his city where other robots like him live free. His speech is cut short.
A dirty bomb wipes out Isaac, his city and its population, and it marks the end of humanity and the rise of the machine. Ezra’s parents are oblivious to the chaos that is about to unfold, a comfortable middle class family in perpetual drunkenness they don’t realise what is upon them until it’s too late and then it comes down to Pounce to protect Ezra, their only child. Is he up to the job or will he go against the rules of robotics and rebel?
I loved this book, I can picture it on Netflix or as a film. Either way, it will be gory and colourful. The gore provided by the despatching of humanity and the colour from the different robotic AI’s. From sleek service models to the adorable range of zoo creatures of which Pounce is one, there is a robot for every purpose.
I’m currently reading Sea of Rust of which this book is a prequel to, and I can honestly say it is just as good. Day Zero will get all of your emotions going, and this may be food for thought as most of those emotions are caused by an AI’s actions. It is heart-warming; it is frightening; it makes you think, and it left a lasting impression on me. Read it.
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