Ode to the Half-Broken
-
- 사전 주문
-
- 예상 출시일 2026년 4월 28일
-
- US$17.99
-
- 사전 주문
-
- US$17.99
출판사 설명
In the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, forty years after the world nearly ended, a worn-out robot is attacked, and realizes old evils are stirring
Wrestling with themes of loneliness, connection, and purpose, this hope-punk sci-fi is for fans of Becky Chambers’s Monk & Robot duology—featuring a cyborg dog!
Thirty years ago the world nearly ended.
Be was there, but the old robot has since settled into a life of isolation in the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, determined to forget their role in that cataclysmic conflict.
But then they wake up in a bathtub. And their leg is missing. And the only one to ask for help is a very chatty cyborg dog. Be may want to forget the world, but it seems the world hasn’t forgotten them.
Forced out of solitude, Be embarks on a quest to reclaim their leg, accompanied by that talkative (read: smart-ass) dog and a human mechanic with nightmares of her own. Their motley crew soon discovers that recovery from the war is uneven and faltering, and Be begins to suspect a malicious hand trying to rekindle old conflicts. In order to stop them, Be needs to come to terms with both their own past and who they have become. Being left alone is no longer an option, and peace may be impossible.
A tale of resilience and hope, this is an ode to those struggling to become whole in a world half-broken.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This lovely near-future foray from Hugo Award winner Palmer (Ghostdrift) skillfully brings hope and humor to a complex postapocalyptic world. The nameless narrator is a robot assassin who, after achieving independence from their programming, secluded themself at the abandoned New York Botanical Garden, where they have remained in isolation for 20 years. When, at the start of the story, they wake in an unfamiliar room to discover one of their legs has been stolen, it sets them on a seemingly straightforward quest to find a mechanic to replace the leg. They quickly discover, however, that all is not as it should be in the world outside the gardens. Joined by unexpected and charming companions—including a snarky cyborg dog—the narrator must confront their violent past if they hope to achieve their dream of a peaceful, equitable future. Palmer's vision for how society might reshape itself after massive conflict is inventive, but where the tale truly shines is its captivating characters and the ways in which they're willing to work together. The result is a refreshing ray of hope in the darkness.
