Day Zero
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- $16.99
Publisher 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cargill's standalone prequel to 2017's Sea of Rust deepens his imagined dystopian future with another equally thrilling and moving blend of action and ideas. A chance occurrence triggers a revolution: when the owner of a sophisticated robot, Isaac, dies without an heir, the state attempts to claim possession. But Isaac forcefully argues for his freedom, because "no thinking thing should be another thing's property." The U.S. president steps in to free Isaac, who then sets up a community of freed robots in the former Rust Belt. But just as Isaac is giving the speech announcing the town's incorporation, terrorists detonate a bomb, destroying Isaac, his followers, and their dreams of autonomy. After a group of robots take revenge on those responsible, having disabled the controls that prevent harming humans, the president orders all robots deactivated, leading to further violence. All this turmoil is viewed from the perspective of Pounce, a nannybot, who dedicates himself to protecting eight-year-old human Ezra even while grappling with questions of free will and morality. Cargill's subtle characterizations and complex plotting make suspension of disbelief easy. Admirers of thoughtful hard sci-fi will hope Cargill continues to flesh out this bleak but brilliant world.
