I absolutely loved Sea of Rust and to be honest was hoping for a sequel but I am more than happy with a prequel which sets the ravages world for SoR, this is a very different style of writing but still left me wanting more, must read book

This book is the prequel to Sea of Rust. However, I like to think of it as what would happen if the Care Bears took on The Terminator and the pesky Cylons from Battlestar Galactica with a dash of I-Robot. If that doesn’t pique your imagination, then I am failing in my review!

Day Zero is the story of Pounce, Pounce is a nanny bot in the shape of an anthropomorphic tiger and he is adorable. At the start of the story he finds his box in the attic and he worries over what will happen to him when Ezra, his 8-year-old human, is too old for him. Will he be tossed aside, destroyed, or set free to live his own life.

His worries will be short-lived as everyone around him is waiting for Isaac, the first AI to become an American citizen to give a speech in front of millions, a speech to humans and robots alike, a speech from his city where other robots like him live free. His speech is cut short.

A dirty bomb wipes out Isaac, his city and its population, and it marks the end of humanity and the rise of the machine. Ezra’s parents are oblivious to the chaos that is about to unfold, a comfortable middle class family in perpetual drunkenness they don’t realise what is upon them until it’s too late and then it comes down to Pounce to protect Ezra, their only child. Is he up to the job or will he go against the rules of robotics and rebel?

I loved this book, I can picture it on Netflix or as a film. Either way, it will be gory and colourful. The gore provided by the despatching of humanity and the colour from the different robotic AI’s. From sleek service models to the adorable range of zoo creatures of which Pounce is one, there is a robot for every purpose.

I’m currently reading Sea of Rust of which this book is a prequel to, and I can honestly say it is just as good. Day Zero will get all of your emotions going, and this may be food for thought as most of those emotions are caused by an AI’s actions. It is heart-warming; it is frightening; it makes you think, and it left a lasting impression on me. Read it.