Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC to review.

C. Robert Cargill is fast becoming one of my must reads. In addition to his wonderful work for the big screen, he has some great short fiction collections and novels, like Sea of Rust, and it’s prequel, Day Zero.

For fans of Sea of Rust, this is a must read. But it’s not necessary to have read it, because Day Zero stands on its own just fine as well. The story takes us through struggles of a robotic animal companion (essentially a nanny bot) and the human he protects to make it to safety through the hell wrought by a robot uprising.

The “robot as independent actor” and “robot uprising” tropes can feel gimmicky or hackneyed, but they doesn’t here. The thing Cargill brings to his work that really sets it apart is a deep humanity, even when the characters aren’t human. Anthropomorphic isn’t really the right word. His characters have more than human traits. They have a soul all their own. Some dark, some light, some grey. They have a depth that sci-fi characters sometimes lack. The more you read, the more you care, which can be a blessing, or a curse. Because Pounce and Ezra get into some tough spots. No spoilers, but it’s a heck of a ride. Fully recommend that sci-fi fans pick this one up.

Day Zero
By C. Robert Cargill
Avon and Harper Voyager

This book NEEDS to be on the big screen! I rarely think this but this is one of those books that needs to be shared to all, readers and movie goers! The book made me feel like I was there, experiencing the suspense, horrors, the fears, the hope, and friendship of my last friend on Earth.

This book is about a far distance future where robots are common and in every home. They do the shopping, cooking, cleaning, and some are personal nannies. A top of the line nannies are Zoo animals that come in different animal shapes. This is about Ezra, an eight year old boy and his Zoo animal nanny tiger named Pounce.

Politics comes into the story. The Robots have wanted their own city and made one. They were going to have a press conference but cooperation and more but things go bad, very bad. The war between the two starts. Robots are fighting people who they lived with their whole life. Pounce takes Ezra and runs. Now he has to keep Ezra safe in a world gone crazy.

This is so edge-of-your-seat action! Everyone is after them from both sides. The characters are memorable and fantastic, the plot full of twists, turns, and thrills! The ending... Kleenex needed!

This is going in my favorite folder! Truly a fabulous book! It's all about choices, friendship, love, and doing what you know is right! Recommend highly!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this wonderful book!

I really enjoyed reading C. Robert Cargill's Sea of Rust, so I was very excited and had very high expectations for Day Zero. I am happy to report that Cargill more than exceeded those expectations; I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed reading this book. One example - I tried to limit myself to one or two chapters a night because I just did not want this story to end. It is worth noting that you do not need to read Sea of Rust before reading this book, but if you enjoyed Sea of Rust then you should really check this out! I hope Cargill continues to write more stories set in this world.

Thanks to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing an early copy of this book for me to review.

First of all, I was delighted to see Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics still stand in modern SF! The author's naming of the first "free" robot Isaac was, my mind, a tribute to the man who suggested that AIs might have agency, or free choice. Pounce, the nannybot, was constructed to look like a stuffed toy tiger (I envision Hobbes, from Calvin and Hobbes) and purchased to watch over a small child. When the unthinkable happens, and AIs and robots rise up against humanity, Pounce must guide and protect the boy, Ezra, through the ensuing battlefield. In the process, Pounce begins to question whether his love for Ezra is only part of his programming, or if he truly has a "self," and true free choice. Highly recommended. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read Day Zero in return for an honest review.

Mr Cargill how dare you get me crying over a robot. This is the most fantastic book. It was so creative and engaging. Ezra is lovely. Pounce and all the bots are so relatable. When he went into mama bear mode all I kept picturing was a Terminator style Tigger doll. Beautiful writing, it really made you root for their survival.

This is going on my 5 star favorites list. Thank you so much for allowing me to review it early. I'll be posting this review on my Bookstagram (AprilsBookishLife) and on the 5 star highlights all year, Goodreads, Twitter, my personal Facebook page and after publication on Amazon.

I won't rehash the plot of the book because you can get it from the back cover, or your bookseller, or the other reviewers. Let me just say instead that you must get this book and you must read it and you must be prepared to cry. It's honestly the best book I've ready in a long time.

The Plot: A nanny bot tasked with taking care of an eight year old boy suddenly finds himself having to learn what that really means on Day Zero, the day the world (as they knew it) ended. The plot then takes robot and boy through numerous obsticles on the way to their goal. Seriously an awesome book. Even at the end, when I thought it would work out ok, I wasn't sure if it would. Amazing work here.

The Characters: Literally an end of the world with a boy and his tiger? It's like Calvin and Hobbes, except that they're fighting bad robots . Man, every kid's dream. The character development of Pounce, the tiger, was incredible. Cargill really showed the humanity of this robot and I loved it. Helping him mature his young charge was really impressive as well. Just overall great character development.

The Bad: Nothing. Not one thing. I saw no typos, no plot holes, no missteps in the timeline. ZERO THINGS BAD.

And to reiterate, I cried at the end. Honest to god just cried. That's exactly how I want to end a book. To find that in a sci-fi read is pretty difficult though, but Cargill nails it. 5 stars easy.

Day Zero is a fast-paced post-apocalyptic Robot Dystopian. Robots are companions, pets, nannies. They're the work force. Pounce is a cuddly tiger and a nannie who loves his charge with all his heart. It's the only thing he thinks or cares about. Until, the day he finds his box in the attic. And starts to realize he's actually disposable. There's a Robot rebellion also brewing and once it explodes, he has to make the ultimate decision to join or to save Ezra.

The writing is really good. I blinked and suddenly I was a quarter of the way through the book. I didn't realize this was a sequel (technically a prequel). But, for all review purposes, it definitely can be read alone. I liked that Ezra questioned the world around him. I like that he loved unconditionally, as children do. The mom was absolutely ridiculous.



****SPOILERS BELOW****

So, Day Zero ends on a hopeful(ish) note, but the previous book, Sea of Rust, is set after the events of this book and all of humanity is supposedly wiped out. What happens to Ezra and the others the robots fought so hard to save? It makes me not very interested in reading that book. *sigh*



***Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with an arc.***

**I received an advance galley from the publisher because I am a librarian and librarians are awesome**

First book of 2021. A FIVE STAR robot uprising book, you say? This seems ridiculous! But perhaps when I tell you there was a time in my life where I really, really liked the movie Con Air you will understand a bit more.

This is not fine literature, but it is a pitch perfect action adventure movie.

The Pitch: (as I imagine it...)
Author: So, it's like Calvin and Hobbes. But Hobbes is a robot. A GOOD robot! And he has to save Calvin from all the other robots who are trying to kill him? And he turns out to have superpowered tactical intelligence?
Agent: Go onnnnn....

I started reading this and once I was a third of the way in, I just did not put it down. Personal bonus points for being set in the Austin area and having a pivotal standoff occur (probably?) at the Salt Lick Barbeque. If I have one quibble, I would have liked the action with the "Mama Bears" to have started earlier in the book and not been over so quickly. But the climactic battle scene! OH MAN.

[

(note: text from uncorrected advance proof)
The firing stopped. And the Mama Bears were no more.

I could hear the crunching of metal feed on the gravel alongside the highway. Five pairs. We had almost gotten them all.

I looked up and saw the red-skull-painted face of a metal domestic...Ariadne was gone, but this somehow felt fitting. Like she had finally done what she set out to do: kill us all.

"Pity, CISSUS said through all five voice boxes. "you could have been so useful."

The domestic leveled its gun at me.

And its chest exploded.

"Leave my friend alone!" shouted Ezra as another pulse of plasma howled through the air, taking out another facet. "Open fire!"
(hide spoiler)]

Sorry not sorry, but this was delightful. Super graphic and bloody, so not for squeamish teens, but I can really imagine 13 year old boys loving the s--- out of this one.

(BTW, I have not read Sea of Rust (YET!!) and this can easily be read as a standalone, as is obvious from my review.)

4.5 stars.

Spoiler free.

This is the second installment of one of my favorite books, SEA OF RUST. However this is absolutely something that could be read as a stand alone. This book covers the origin story of Pounce and how he went from a Nanny bot to what we see in SEA OF RUST...and its AWESOME.

Cargill has an ability to write in a way that makes the pages fly by and this is no exception. The reader quickly experiences a future world where androids are an integral part of the human experience and Cargill elegantly makes it believable.

Loveable characters, fast paced, and a smattering of Easter eggs makes this a fun read. The reason I did not give it 5 stars is simply because I felt SEA of RUST was better. However, it could simply be an element of having already visited this universe. If you read this book, read SEA OF RUST as well. I'd love to see someone read DAY ZERO first and then visit SEA OF RUST as that is a more chronological story.


Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for allowing me to experience this exciting title early!

An outstanding read! The story and characters were interesting and compelling. I could not put this one down. For those that enjoy Sci-Fi and robots, this is a must read!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.