Robopocalypse (by Daniel H. Wilson)

The penultimate category of the Read Harder Challenge was “a book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author.” And I will be honest that I didn’t want to read something overly literary (sorry Louise Erdrich) or depressing (sorry, so much indigenous literature). Sherman Alexie would have been perfect, except hard pass forever, I’m not sorry to that man.

Robopacalypse, by Cherokee writer Daniel H. Wilson, seemed perfect. Indeed, it’s a fast paced technothriller in a Crichton-style, which I have a soft spot for (though still grossed out that Crichton turned out to be a climate denier). In fact, Wilson even has written a sequel to The Androneda Strain! I have a soft spot for The Andromeda Strain, so I might even check it out. 

This was a fast, page-turning read, but I have some issues with the writing itself. I love reading oral histories, but if something is supposed to be spoken dialogue, I cannot handle the inclusion of phrases that no human would never actually say aloud. This book lulls you into a false sense of security with all these reasonable sentences (“We spread out in a circle and keep our distance,” okay, sure) and then suddenly you get “He runs one gnarled hand through his stiff black hair.” Who would describe something like that? Nobody. NOBODY. 

Speaking of editing, as you might have noticed above, everything is told in the present tense, even though some chapters are supposedly interviews or transcripts and they are all different POV characters. I suppose one could argue that the person compiling the whole chronology (one character) just loves the present tense. But when it’s supposed to be “a transcript” that kind of breaks the suspension of disbelief.  

And a side note: I appreciated the inclusion of Native characters, both Osage and Cherokee, and the exploration of the culture in a way that just made the characters richer. But, while there are female characters here and there, most of the POV characters (and the characters in general) are men. 

Still, overall this is a great, cinematic story somewhat let down by bad editing. I hear the sequel is better, and I may well give it a chance!