The Robots of Gotham

Written by Todd McAulty

Narrated by Graham Winton

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781501989636

Reviews for The Robots of Gotham

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a big book, almost 700 pages. I took it out of the library almost 6 months ago but because no-one else in Winnipeg had placed a hold on it I kept renewing it. Now I had to read it because the Winnipeg Public Library system only allows 5 renewals even though no one else is wanting it. And I can't figure out why I waited so long. It really didn't take me that long to read it. There's enough action and derring-do to keep the reader turning pages so don't let the size of the book put you off.The world of 2083 isn't all that much different from the world of 2021 except that robots are sentient and able to reproduce. Many of them have taken over governing countries sometimes by force but sometimes by invitation. In the United States a recent invasion by robots has divided the country into three zones: the Free Zone with an elected human president, the Union of Post-American States with an appointed human as head of a corporate syndicate and the occupied states administered by a machine cabal but with plenty of humans in top posts. Barry Simcoe is a Canadian who runs a tech company. He has come to Chicago which is in the occupied states because the access to internet and other communications is supposed to be better than most other places on the North American continent. He finds that the reality is something less than the promise but then he doesn't really have much time to devote to business since he is trying to save people and machines and dogs and avert a pandemic and hide from a number of machines and people that he has angered. And, occasionally, he tries to woo a lady as well. It's highly unbelievable that one guy can pull off the feats he does but it is good fun. The ending makes it probable that there will be a sequel; I hope so and I promise it won't take me as long to read it when I do.I just have to mention the dog. I'm a sucker for stories involving dogs so when Barry and his robot friend Black Winter go to an abandoned building looking for a co-worker of Black Winter's and they hear a dog in distress I almost cheered. The dog was left behind when it's owners were evacuated from Chicago and it is almost dead from malnutrition and thirst. Barry and Black Winter manage to evade a killer drone, find the body of Black Winter's colleague and save the dog. Not a bad night's work.

[capewood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked the book a lot but it's got some issues that prevented me from giving it 5 stars.For one thing, I think it's too long. Some of the mind-numbing detail of the action sequences could have been eliminated. The main character, Barry Simcoe is a bit too perfect. He's more like a superhero than a Canadian businessman caught up in the war for Chicago. But this is not a serious criticism. The story is told in a tongue-in-cheek manner so the Simcoe character fits right in.There could have been at least one other character fleshed out a bit more. I'd have picked Mac, the woman real estate broker, who seems to be as resourceful as Simcoe, but doesn't have enough to do in the story.One last complaint. The story is told as a series of blog posts, mostly in 1st person by Simcoe. Since the posts would have naturally have been written after the fact (and are actually dated after the events), I never had the sense that Simcoe was in any real danger. Perhaps that's the problem with any 1st person narrative.On the plus side, the world of 2083 is vividly brought to life. Most of the world's countries are ruled by "Sovereign Intelligences", artificial intelligent machines, and fascists to boot. Then there are a raft of less intelligent machines roaming around, which humans (or at least Simcoe) are comfortable interacting with. The US has been attacked by a coalition of machine ruled countries (led by Venezuela) and is split into three sections, one controlled by the coalition (the northeast and upper midwest), one controlled by a break-away group and the rest, mostly the south and west by the US. Simcoe is staying at a Chicago luxury hotel trying to arrange new business for his Canadian telecom company when the hotel is attacked by a rouge US military robot. He escapes and in the process makes friends with a Russian medic (working for the occupying peace-keeping force) and a robot named Black Winter. The three of them discover a plot by some of the ruling machines to wipe out humanity, thus leading to heroics by Simcoe and to a lesser extant, the Russian. Black Winter is another character that isn't given enough to do.The book ends with a conclusion which works but story of these characters is sure not over. I'll gladly read the sequel.

[tottman_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A near future USA in a world where machine intelligences have taken over much of the United States as well as the rest of the world is the setting for Robots of Gotham by Todd McAulty. An outstanding debut novel with a well-realized and frighteningly believable world.The story is told through the eyes of Canadian businessman Barry Simcoe who arrives in Chicago to conduct some business when he finds that the war in Chicago isn’t quite as over as he thought it was. Barry finds himself saving a wounded diplomat robot and befriending a Russian doctor, a Chicago realtor, a Venezuelan soldier and a near-starving dog. If that’s not enough, he stumbles upon a plot that could mean the end of humanity.If this sounds like a lot going on, it is. But McAulty skillfully plays the story out so that it never feels overwhelming. Barry makes for a great protagonist as he is smart and uncommonly brave. McAulty has created a rich, complex world and he has filled it with compelling characters and a fascinating plot.The robot and machine characters are painted with the same care as the human characters, giving them depth, wit and purpose -- on both sides of the conflict. The story picks you up from the opening chapter and carries you relentlessly forward until the very end. There are enough twists and surprises to keep you engaged all along the way.I loved the characters in this book and the world it is set in. The action is exciting and believable. This deserves to be one of the biggest hits of the summer and it is going to make my list for one of the top books of the year. I can’t wait to see where McAulty goes next. One of my favorite reads. Any fan of science fiction, thrillers, or just good writing should pick this up. Highly recommended.I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

[dmclane_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a long book with many interesting adventures concerning the occupation of earth by machine intelligence. Set in Chicago with lots of local references, the adventures of a Canadian businessman sometimes thwarting the machine intelligences and sometimes working with them makes for an involved plot. There will probably be a sequel(s) as there are still many problems, issues, and plots to unravel and solve when the action of this portion of the story come to a marginally satisfactory conclusion.