Day Zero

“I can't change what is happening to the world, but I can change how it affects one human being. And to me, that's all that matters.”

Pounce, robot domestic companion for eight-year-old Ezra, finds himself at the wrong side of a robot revolution nobody saw coming and still determined to keep his little human charge safe in the face of a true Kill-All-Humans situation. Using skills he didn't even know he had, Pounce and Ezra work together in trying to find someplace safe in the middle of the world ending around them.

This was so unexpectedly good! I picked it up thinking it was going to be some grimdark jaunt through a post-war countryside, and it kind of is that, don't get me wrong. But it was unexpectedly lighthearted and endearing, even while it was simultaneously dark and sad. There's also quite a bit of ruminating on what it means to be a robot with free will, and whether the urge to protect Ezra was coming from genuine love or instilled duty.

The book is sad, funny, tense, and exciting all at once, and I loved the experience. This is a prequel to a series I haven't read yet though, and I've heard the next book isn't as good. I'm still absolutely going to give it a try, though.