A thrilling adventure in a world one step away from total subjugation by machines
After long years of war, the United States has sued for peace, yielding to a brutal coalition of nations ruled by fascist machines. One quarter of the country is under foreign occupation. Manhattan has been annexed by a weird robot monarchy, and in Tennessee, a permanent peace is being delicately negotiated between the battered remnants of the U.S. government and an envoy of implacable machines.
Canadian businessman Barry Simcoe arrives in occupied Chicago days before his hotel is attacked by a rogue war machine. In the aftermath, he meets a dedicated Russian medic with the occupying army, and 19 Black Winter, a badly damaged robot. Together they stumble on a machine conspiracy to unleash a horrific plague—and learn that the fabled American resistance is not as extinct as everyone believes. Simcoe races against time to prevent the extermination of all life on the continent . . . and uncover a secret that America’s machine conquerors are desperate to keep hidden.
Genre: Science Fiction
After long years of war, the United States has sued for peace, yielding to a brutal coalition of nations ruled by fascist machines. One quarter of the country is under foreign occupation. Manhattan has been annexed by a weird robot monarchy, and in Tennessee, a permanent peace is being delicately negotiated between the battered remnants of the U.S. government and an envoy of implacable machines.
Canadian businessman Barry Simcoe arrives in occupied Chicago days before his hotel is attacked by a rogue war machine. In the aftermath, he meets a dedicated Russian medic with the occupying army, and 19 Black Winter, a badly damaged robot. Together they stumble on a machine conspiracy to unleash a horrific plague—and learn that the fabled American resistance is not as extinct as everyone believes. Simcoe races against time to prevent the extermination of all life on the continent . . . and uncover a secret that America’s machine conquerors are desperate to keep hidden.
Genre: Science Fiction
Praise for this book
"An epic novel of man vs. machine, full of action, political intrigue, and unexpected twists. Todd McAulty has given us a fresh, compelling take on life during a robot apocalypse." - Jeff Abbott
"Todd McAulty has imagined a fascinating geopolitical future, filled it with some very cool technology, and thrown in healthy helpings of intrigue and action. The result is a page-turner that kept me riveted from the opening lines to the final chapter. Highly recommended!" - David B Coe
"If Johnny 5 had a baby with the Terminator, the result would be The Robots of Gotham a book that explores the consequences of world domination by our Robot Overlords. (And, lest we forget the badassiest of them, our Robot Overladies.) Drones, dinosaurs, and doggies--with a plague thrown in for good measure!--the barter is banter, and death is cheap. With man against machine, machine against machine, man against man, unlikely alliances must be forged across all species, rational or otherwise. For all its breakneck world-building, constant questing, and relentless wheeling and dealing, The Robots of Gotham is deceptively deep-hearted: a novel about, of all things, friendship." - C S E Cooney
"Todd McAulty has done the incredible. Delivered a rich and credible near-future world, where Thought Machines control, well, almost everything (and are themselves astonishingly diverse and cool), and used all this to create the most human SF story I've read in a very long time. I love everything about The Robots of Gotham. I want more, McAulty. MORE!" - Julie E Czerneda
"The Robots of Gotham is a crackling good adventure, stuffed with cool action sequences. It also features serious and intriguing speculation about the potential of Artificial Intelligence, for good and bad. And it's an engaging read, with absorbing characters, and, of course, lots and lots of nifty robots." - Rich Horton
"Adventure, mystery, action, sinister intrigue, clever heroics, and robots--what more do you need? I couldn't put it down." - Howard Andrew Jones
"Soldiers, spies, diplomats--and that's just the machines. Wait until you meet the wise-cracking hero and his dog. Wildly inventive, outrageous fun!" - Kay Kenyon
"J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that’s a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sanford. All one-of-a-kinds. Don’t miss anything J.D. writes." - James Patterson
"When the robot apocalypse comes, I hope it's this much fun. Like The Martian and Ready Player One, The Robots of Gotham is set in a high-tech near-future where something has gone terribly wrong, and it's navigated by a hero who's quirky, resourceful, and as likable as they come. Read it for the rock'em-sock'em-robot action--read it for the deft world-building with its detailed taxonomy of intelligent machines--read it for the sobering parallels to modern-day issues and threats. Or just read it because it's a helluva good ride." - Sharon Shinn
"The Robots of Gotham is a thrilling ride through a nuanced, post-singularity world populated by a frightening and fascinating array of smart machines. Read this and you'll come to the same conclusion I did: The world belongs to robots, we're just living in it." - Daniel H Wilson
"Todd McAulty has imagined a fascinating geopolitical future, filled it with some very cool technology, and thrown in healthy helpings of intrigue and action. The result is a page-turner that kept me riveted from the opening lines to the final chapter. Highly recommended!" - David B Coe
"If Johnny 5 had a baby with the Terminator, the result would be The Robots of Gotham a book that explores the consequences of world domination by our Robot Overlords. (And, lest we forget the badassiest of them, our Robot Overladies.) Drones, dinosaurs, and doggies--with a plague thrown in for good measure!--the barter is banter, and death is cheap. With man against machine, machine against machine, man against man, unlikely alliances must be forged across all species, rational or otherwise. For all its breakneck world-building, constant questing, and relentless wheeling and dealing, The Robots of Gotham is deceptively deep-hearted: a novel about, of all things, friendship." - C S E Cooney
"Todd McAulty has done the incredible. Delivered a rich and credible near-future world, where Thought Machines control, well, almost everything (and are themselves astonishingly diverse and cool), and used all this to create the most human SF story I've read in a very long time. I love everything about The Robots of Gotham. I want more, McAulty. MORE!" - Julie E Czerneda
"The Robots of Gotham is a crackling good adventure, stuffed with cool action sequences. It also features serious and intriguing speculation about the potential of Artificial Intelligence, for good and bad. And it's an engaging read, with absorbing characters, and, of course, lots and lots of nifty robots." - Rich Horton
"Adventure, mystery, action, sinister intrigue, clever heroics, and robots--what more do you need? I couldn't put it down." - Howard Andrew Jones
"Soldiers, spies, diplomats--and that's just the machines. Wait until you meet the wise-cracking hero and his dog. Wildly inventive, outrageous fun!" - Kay Kenyon
"J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that’s a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sanford. All one-of-a-kinds. Don’t miss anything J.D. writes." - James Patterson
"When the robot apocalypse comes, I hope it's this much fun. Like The Martian and Ready Player One, The Robots of Gotham is set in a high-tech near-future where something has gone terribly wrong, and it's navigated by a hero who's quirky, resourceful, and as likable as they come. Read it for the rock'em-sock'em-robot action--read it for the deft world-building with its detailed taxonomy of intelligent machines--read it for the sobering parallels to modern-day issues and threats. Or just read it because it's a helluva good ride." - Sharon Shinn
"The Robots of Gotham is a thrilling ride through a nuanced, post-singularity world populated by a frightening and fascinating array of smart machines. Read this and you'll come to the same conclusion I did: The world belongs to robots, we're just living in it." - Daniel H Wilson
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