SFF Hot from Printers: New Releases discussion

A nice novelette, with an unusual machine rebellion https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/palm...

I also remind that a lot of works including this one have audio versions, the list of sources is on the Clarkesworld site. For this novelette I used Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxBFi...

This was a fun story, a worthy sequel to the also-good first story. I feel the author could easily turn this world into a full-length novel or series, though that would require some fleshing out of the world. What is going on with the alien species? It seems one is hell-bent on destruction while one is tolerant of humans so long as they believe that AIs are firmly under human control.

I don't think I've read any other stories where the AIs are self-aware yet seemingly have sub-human intelligence, or at least not much social awareness.

I enjoyed the idea that bots wanted to form human personas based on crew members in stasis.

Oleksandr wrote: "I also remind that a lot of works including this one have audio versions, "

Kate Baker read all the stories in that issue. Seems like a lot of work!

I've listened to half of the story so far. Will listen to the rest the next time I start cooking. I have to be doing something while listening or my mind wanders.

This looks good. Maybe I will get to it, Thanks!

Ed wrote: "Kate Baker read all the stories in that issue. Seems like a lot of work!"

TBH her reading is not for me - I cannot say exactly why, but I prefer other audiobook readers

I finally read this. I'm with Ryan: I liked both the first story and this one.

For some reason I kept thinking about Peter Watts's Sunflower Cycle stories (e.g. The Freeze-Frame Revolution). Of course, Watts is always dark, nihilistic and cynical, while Palmer's bot is spunky and optimistic, so there is not much superficial similarities, but both have similar claustrophobic feeling of an isolated space ship, and in both the stories begin with the protagonist waking after decades/centuries have passed.

While I liked these stories, I'm kinda hoping Palmer isn't planning of turning Bot 9 into new Murderbot: churning stories one after another until they all start to blend into each other.

I liked it as well, and agree I don't want it to become a big series. (If it works to pay the bills, I can't complain. I just won't read them.)

Antti wrote: "For some reason I kept thinking about Peter Watts's Sunflower Cycle stories.."

For me they were so different in mood and execution (in Palmer's story there is FTL travel, quirky sentient bots) that I'd never thought about their similarity, so thanks for a new POV

Do the Murderbot books decline in quality as the series continues? I read the first two but wasn't a fan.

My feeling is that they stay pretty much the same. They are fine, but are kind-of just spinning the wheels with nothing new to add. Which, again, is fine.

Ryan wrote: "Do the Murderbot books decline in quality as the series continues? I read the first two but wasn't a fan."

Novellas are roughly the same level, the novel (which won Hugo this year) for me was weaker, less focused

I really enjoyed this one - humans from a bit perspective can be quite amusing.
“Goddamned underwear”

Ed wrote: "My feeling is that they stay pretty much the same. They are fine, but are kind-of just spinning the wheels with nothing new to add. Which, again, is fine."

My feelings exactly. They stay exactly the same. So they don't get worse, but I find my enjoyment declining nonetheless.

With Bots of the Lost Ark...is it necessary to read the first one first?

Kristenelle wrote: "With Bots of the Lost Ark...is it necessary to read the first one first?"

Not strictly necessary, but I would recommend it.

Kristenelle wrote: "With Bots of the Lost Ark...is it necessary to read the first one first?"

The first one introduces characters in greater detail and also the second one makes some links to the first. So while they are standalone, better read one after another. They are both fun