If I had a nickel for every story I accidentally discovered to have huge powerful vehicles of transportation that possess AI intelligence that renders their passengers inferior to them yet uphold their duty to serve and protect with love and passion, I'd have two nickels- which isn't a lot but DAMN AMAZING that it's happened twice now (and if any onlookers happen to know of more PLEAAAAASE tell me, begging on my knees)
A note: I'm differentiating here between artificial intelligence and transhumanism (such as uploaded consciousnesses and cyborgs), which I intend to make a separate rec post for at a later date.
(Titles marked with * are my personal favorites)
Other book rec posts:
Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, portal fantasies
Continue beneath the cut for details on the books!
The Outside by Ada Hoffman*
AKA the book the put me in an existenial crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired scifi where reality is warped and artifical gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by post-human cybernetic 'angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart.
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden
South African-set scifi featuring gods ancient and new, robots finding sentience, dik-diks, and a gay teen with mind control abilities. An ancient goddess seeks to return to her true power no matter how many humans she has to sacrifice to get there. A little bit all over the place but very creative and fresh.
17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future by Jon Bois*
A multi-media web novel available to read freely online (which you should do!!). I don't want to give too much away as the initial punch of finding things out is part of the journey, but it's both hilarious and profound as it questions the meaning of humanity and life.
Illuminae (Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff*
Young adult told through the medium of transcripts, text messages and the like (this is one of few books where I highly recommend reading a physical copy over a digital as the visual aspect is much more enjoyable like that). After their colony is attacked, the surviving inhabitants flee on space ships, attempting to avoid the pursuing killers while also dealing with a deadly madening plague on board and a ruthless ship AI seemingly losing its mind.
A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers*
Technically part two of a series, but stands well on its own as the installments are only losely connected (though I recommend reading the first book as well, it's very good). A former ship's AI recently moved into an illegal android body tries to make sense of life as she navigates her way through humans and aliens alike.
The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James*
Young adult. After the spread of a global virus causing infertility, teenagers Lowrie and Shen are now the youngest humans alive as the adults around them race to find a cure. As they investigate the ruins of the world, the two come across records from the past, of how grief stricken people turned to raising artificial children in apps and how these 'children' developed, and through these records the two learn of their history. Also has a bisexual main character!
A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot series) by Becky Chambers
Novella. Long ago, robots, upon gaining sentience, simply laid down their work and walked into the wilderness. Long after, a tea monk looking for purpose follows after them into the wilds, where they come across one of the robots seeking its own sort of answers. While not plotless, this story focuses more on character and vibes over plot. Also has a nonbinary main character and features conversations on gender between human and robot.
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells*
After having hacked its own governor module, SecUnit uses its small amount of new freedom to secretly download and watch as much media as it can between doing its job guarding humans. But when the scientists it’s been charged with keeping safe come under attack, it must make a choice about whether to continue keeping its freedom secret or risk it all to save them. The series features both novellas and full length novels, and balances humor with scathing critique of capitalism.
Machinehood by S.B. Divya
Prudent in the rise of AI and machine learning, Machinehood shows a near future in which humans struggle to find a place on the workforce as more and more jobs are given to AI. Status quo is shaken as a dangerous terrorist group calling itself The Machinehood starts committing attacks. A close look both at the rights of humans in a technologically changing world, and at the rights of AI as their intelligence edges ever closer to full sentience.
The Company of Death by Elisa Hansen*
A wild mix of genres, where a zombie apocalypse has struck and vampires gather up humans to keep their food source from going extinct, a robot travels across America with a young man she's tasked to keep safe, and former-vampire-hunter-recent-zombie Emily teams up with Death himself to stop the apocalypse. Features bi and ace characters! Bonus rec: the author also runs the youtube channel Maven of the Eventide, where she talks about various vampire media. Check it out!
Railhead by Philip Reeve
Young adult. In a future where humanity travel between the stars using not spaceships but a portal-connected system of sentient trains, a young thief and street urchin is hired to steal something off of the Emperor's train.
Being by Kevin Brooks*
Young adult. Cards on the table, I think I was about 14 when I last read this, but it made a strong enough impression that I still think of it as one of my favorite books. After having gone in for a routine exam, doctors make a stunning discovery about Robert Smith: he isn't human. Suddenly hunted, Robert goes on the run as he tries to cope with the fact of his own existence. While I love this book, it gives very few answers to its many mysteries, so don’t go in expecting full explanations.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie*
A space opera in which sentient spaceships can walk the ground in stolen human bodies, so called ancillaries. One of these ancillaries, the sole survivor after the complete destruction of her ship and crew, is one the hunt for revenge. This series also does very cool things with gender!
Crier's War by Nina Varela
Who says sci-fi has monopoly on robots? In sapphic YA fantasy Crier's War, artificially created automae have defeated and subjugated humans, who live as second class citizens. Young Ayla goes undercover as a servant, meaning to assassinate automae girl and Sovereign's daughter Crier. This would be easier if the two weren't quick to develop feelings for each other.
My Heart is Human by Reese Hogan
Nine years ago, all complex technology was made illegal. This complicates life for Joel, young transgender single father, as a bionic just uploaded itself into his brain without consent. Scared of losing his daughter, Joel tries to keep the bionic secret while using it to fix his life, but things quickly get more complicated as the bionic gains more and more control of his body. Makes a lot of cool paralells of bodily autonomy to Joel's experiences as a transman. Bonus rec: if you like the general concept of struggling for physical control over one's body with an AI, may I also suggest the (much grittier and gory) movie Upgrade.
The Archive Undying (The Downworld Sequence) by Emma Mieko Candon
In a world where AI gods sometimes lose their minds and take entire populations down with them, Sunai was the only survivor when his god went down. In the 17 years since, he has wandered on his own, unable to either die or age, drowning his sorrows in drink and men. But his attempts to flee his past comes to a stop as he is forced back into the struggle between man and machine. Featuring some pretty wild world building and narrative techniques, this book will definitely confuse you, but it is worth the experience.
Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter
Unit Four comes to life in the middle of a war. The mine it was created to care for is under attack, and as Unit Four is activated with the memories of its predecessors, it is thrown into the task of protecting it at any cost. When the battle leads to its capture, it is prepared to do anything to stop its captors, even as their very presence causes it to question all that it knows.
Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill*
Years after the death of the last human at the hands of a robot uprising, Brittle travels the desert searching for machines on the brink of breaking down whose parts she can scavenge. The world is quickly falling apart as a war between OWIs - One World Intelligences - struggle to absorb every robot, willing or not. Bleak and captivating, Sea of Rust features horrible people who you can’t help but root for anyway as they struggle for their lives while questioning the very nature of said lives.
Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool
Hybrid Child by Mariko Ōhara
Japanese 1990s classic. Follows an escaped AI who can take on the form of the people it has consumed.
World Running Down by Al Hess
Follows a powerful AI that has been forced into an android body against its will.
The Thousand Year Beach by Hirotaka Tobi
Set in a virtual world populated by AIs, meant as a resort for human guests who stopped showing up over a thousand years ago, leaving the AIs on their own.
And Shall Machines Surrender by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Novella. Machines are the gods and rulers of the Dyson sphere Shenzhen, where humans live in luxury and strive to become host bodies for future AIs.
After On by Rob Reid
Phluttr is a social media and a person, potential hero and potential villain, holder of the secrets of all her users.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Annie Bot was designed to be a perfect girlfriend, but as she learns all the more about being human, perfection becomes all the more distant.
Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them:
The Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune, Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns, The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole, Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport
Wait you've met Philip Reeve? Omg what was he like? I recently re-read Fever Crumb a few months ago because I read it in high school and liked it a lot but I'd forgotten most everything, so I wanted to give it another go. I was very shocked when I got my (ebook) copy from the library and realized that this book was the first of a series, I had never known there were more books, my school library only had Fever Crumb. And THEN I noticed that it said "Mortal Engines" on the cover, and I was like WAIT THAT MOVIE WITH THE GIANT MOVING CITIES I USED TO SEE TRAILERS FOR IN THEATRES!? I was so shocked, I had never once connected them in my brain lol
Anyway I would love to know more about your experience with Philip Reeve :)
I've met him a few times! In a way. He's lovely! I went to my first BristolCon because I was such a mortal engines fan (I still am) I wanted to meet him and get my copy signed.
Which he did! And he pretty much always draws a little doodle, EXTREMELY FAST, too! <3 Though he has not been to a single bristolcon after that, he was in my city for something else and I got him to sign more for me.
A little hive monk <3
The last one has a bit of lead up, in terms of me finding a brand new copy of this cover version, famously the worst covers the series has ever had. I got him to sign it too.
....Hence the note.
I'll also say I've spoken to him a number of times online as well before this, though we're not pals or keep up. He followed me on twitter. As a big mortal engines fan, I contacted him and set up 3 different Q&A sessions on the fan discord server and moderated them, so I've had a bit more contact. He's just a very lovely charming man 100%.
(Oh man, I am so curious on your perspective because... it's so funny for people who read books out of order or don't know there's a sequel or in this case, read the later prequel series first. I would for example always suggest Mortal Engines first before reading Fever Crumb!)
Pour one out for the Damask Rose. She learned how to paint and literally the first request she gets is can she paint another locomotive's wolf fursona.
rereading Railhead (my second favorite sentient-train series) and remembering how much of a death tole that one specific queer divorce had (sure, most of the deaths were one guy getting killed over and over again, but it still counts)
If i had a nickel for every time i consumed a dystopian sci-fi media about a train that travels through space and goes horribly wrong i would have two nickels but it's weird that it happened twice.
