Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
On Earth in a time where no humans exist, and there are only human made AI robots, we are challenged to look at ourselves, human society, the definition of a 'living thing', and question our own existence. C. Robert Cargill has brought us a spectacular science fiction, social commentary through the eyes of a charismatic robot and a POV from history before humans were decimated in his novel Sea of Rust. This is easily one of the most underrated books of the 2010's (released in 2018). Forget the Martian, Ready Player One, or Annihilation; Sea of Rust deserves to be next to Station Eleven and Dark Matter as one of the most brilliant science fiction books of the 2010's decade.
Philosophy
As with many science fiction books there is a lot of social commentary in Sea of Rust. Cargill does not hold back on ensuring that the reader is aware of how useless and dumb society (as a whole) is. While individuals can be smart and understand issues and root cause; getting everyone to conform and agree in order to meet the greater good is nigh on impossible (look at climate change issues of today). Ironically we realize, very early on, that the same is true for our (adorable) robots. No one wants to be a part of one entity, we all want to be individuals; even if you're 'just' an AI. And what is an AI robot besides an evolution of human thinking? Afterall a human made AI must have all the same inherent flaws that human logic does. And therefore, doesn't an AI also have a personality and make its own choices just like humans?
Are AI robots alive?
The question of existence is prevalent throughout Sea of Rust. To start Cargill borrows Isaac Asimov's three rules of robotics. Now anyone whose read I, Robot (or saw the action packed movie) knows that it doesn't really work in the end. The same is true here.
In order to protect humans, (rule #3: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.), robots must act to stop the humans from being parasites and destroying the Earth.
If you need proof that this is true look at the United States or China of today. Both are nationalistic countries that don't care what happens to anyone else but themselves. They don't make global decisions, they (tend to) make selfish decisions that meet their own needs and people first. And while this makes sense to us as citizens of a country (and politically) the reality is that this attitude cannot persist if we are to keep humanity alive. That same thing happens in Sea of Rust as this Earth ends up with only robots and no humans. And so as soon as you talk about existence what you are really talking about is survival. Isn't anything that 'survives' alive?
Can robots have feelings?
The second thing that Cargill makes the reader question is if you can have feelings or love for a robot. Alternatively, can a robot have feelings for someone else (a human or another robot)?
To me it's clear that as soon as something has an identity, or can be seen as an individual, then it must have feelings that lead it to those individualities. Think of any pet (dog, cat, snake, bird, etc.), we know their nuances and personality; therefore they are individuals to us. No one cat or snake is the same as the next. Cargill eloquently show that AI Robots are the same. They make decisions based on their programming (obviously); but also based on their own learning (AI). Thus each AI perceives the world differently; just like humans. And so each AI has a feeling towards other robots or things in its perception.
Complexity
There is a lot to digest here. But at no time was I overwhelmed. Instead Cargill introduces many times over, and explains in different ways, how and why his robots are the way they are. The beauty is how Cargill does so without sounding like a boring English professor. His robots have build societies and thus wars break out (because humans always want more and so do our AI counterparts). We also start to understand that the robots have a drive to survive (again like humans):
"The survivors, on the other hand, embodied the can-do attitude of the post-apocalyptic frontier spirit. In other words, they were completely fucking nuts."
"But I had to dream. I had to hope. Even if it made me the fool of this particular tale."
Overall
I won't ever be able to put into words all the amazing points, quotes and social insight that Cargill gives us in Sea of Rust. What's especially nice is that, unlike many social commentary books, Sea of Rust is in a easy to digest format. The chapter sizes feel consistent, the pacing is well set and while the concepts are complex the writing itself doesn't require a dictionary. This is a very approachable story that everyone should read; if only to understand themselves and humans as a whole better. If nothing else this line of Sea of Rust will resonate with me for a long time; because knowing things are bad and accepting those bad things are two concepts humans are very bad at reconciling:
"People knew their own nature, even when they wanted to think better of themselves."
A print copy of Sea of Rust now sits on in my personal library; right next to the equally insightful and amazing Station Eleven. I cannot possibly endorse this novel enough and hope that others find the depth to it that I did.
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The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
If The Dreamers, my first read of 2020, is any indication of what my reading year will look like then it will be an amazing one. Karen Thompson Walker provides action, plot, character development and true terror in her dystopian novel. We are taken on a rollercoaster ride that is spurred by contagion, hysteria, 'fake news', constraints of medicine, human emotion and ultimately asked the question: is our perceived reality just a dream? Could our dreams be reality?
Relevancy
When I read The Dreamers, one month ago from time of writing this review, I had never heard of the coronavirus. As of posting this 500+ people have died in China from coronavirus and thousands are infected. The flu-like virus is slowly starting to infiltrate countries around the world which have resulted in countries closing their border, huge population areas being under strict quarantine, cancelled flights and travel, and the WHO declaring a pandemic.
I thought The Dreamers was quite disturbing at the time that I read it. Today I think it's terrifying to think that Walker may have predicted the future to a certain degree. It may not be the sleep virus she created for her novel; but any scenario where thousands of sick people need medical care and quarantine will result in complex politics, human rights discussion, and ultimately questions around what is needed to save the human race. Walker adds the further dystopian element that those infected cannot advocate at all for themselves and require sustained hydration and feeding in order to remain alive (assuming they wake up at all).
As I call this a dystopian novel I wonder if it may be more of a near-future prediction, or even be telling a parallel story to events happening right now, for 2020 and on. This is an interesting quote when we think about morality and reality, The Dreamers is riddled with wonderfully quotable lines like this:
"..time moves in only one direction. Not everything that breaks can be repaired."
Points of View
Every POV an author adds to any story has a purpose. Often it's to give us a larger picture of what is happening, another perspective on the same events or to allow us to understand why something happened the way it did. Walker uses POV's so well in The Dreamers from: media snippets, children's thoughts, parents fears and college students stuck at the epicentre of the outbreak. Walker touches on many realistic scenarios that could, and probably would, exist when a quarantine of a town, city or area happens. This includes children whose parents fall ill, travelers with nowhere to go, risk of infection to first responders, infants being born, vulnerable isolated elderly, and every time of person you can think of in-between. The Dreamers provides a well rounded out account of the types of resource constraints, inconveniences and extreme decisions that must be made in a pandemic crisis.
Realisticness
At times I felt perhaps Walker simplified or exaggerated the risks of contagion, medical diagnosis and other scientific pieces to the story. However I remind myself that The Dreamers is a fiction novel, not based on a true story, and these literary choices are absolutely allowed. In fact given the amount of research that Walker clearly put into The Dreamers it is probably intentionally skewed to make the story easier to consume and follow; plus her disease is made-up so she gets to define the rules. It may feel easy to to nitpick at some of the events, statements or science; I would encourage any reader to consider the complexity Walker is presenting the reader and how she gets many more things correct than otherwise. Not unlike the science and concepts in The Martian; it's more than good enough to make for a (fairly) realistic and definitely enjoyable story.
Overall
When I read The Dreamers four weeks ago it was scary and felt relevant. Today, just over 30 days after reading, with coronavirus spreading (and killing) quickly, this story is even more of a horror than I first realized in al the ways you might expect and more.
I'll leave you with a quote that I think is the truest statement in The Dreamers. This quote has really stuck with me as it reminds me that a viral or contagious virus isn't the only concern during an outbreak. I believe this statement by Walker will forever influence my future actions, decisions and choices personally and above all else medically:
"Hysteria—that’s the real disease of this era."
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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Why Do We Say Good Night? by Champ Thornton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A sweet little bedtime story that focuses on God as the main protector from the dark night time world. As someone who grew up Christian but doesn't practice anymore, this book had a bit too much religion in it for me; but if that is how you are raising your child then this is a solid bedtime choice.
As many children that are raised Christian or other religions where God exists do prayers before bed and ask God to look over people, animals, etc. This book feels like the perfect pairing to those prayers. Or could perhaps be in place of prayer if your child is too little to do so. Specifically it ends on a high note that God is always all around watching us; the dark doesn't stop him. It's a lovely comfort read and I could see children who are afraid of the dark settling because they know God is watching.
Overall, any child whom is attending church and services is likely to love this comforting and beautifully illustrated book by Champ Thornton.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the author via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review. (less)
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