Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Absofreakinglutely delightful. (That's for the benefit of all of our 8-year-olds in the audience.)

I honestly didn't know what to expect with Cargill's latest, be it great Fae fantasy or great Robot SF, but having just re-read Sea of Rust and getting a taste of pre-and-current robo-apocalypse in Day Zero, all tied in with a much later timeline of Sea of Rust, I really can't get much happier than this.

It's not just the time. It's the characters. Ezra and Pounce are GREAT together. An eight-year-old boy and his pet/caregiver robot tiger. You know. Calvin and Hobbs.

Only this one goes a bit beyond target practice with the kid in the backyard.

No spoilers, but after we get to fall in love with these guys, we ALSO get a full robo-apocalypse.

I'm sure I won't be the only one WISHING that this might be turned into a movie or, better yet, a full-blown TV series. It is EVERYTHING good. Loving, creative, desperate, ethical, and bloody. And underneath that, it has all the best aspects of some of the classics that came before it.

For those of you like myself who think that Speilberg's AI was an underrated masterpiece, I've got a special treat for you here in Day Zero. That charm, all the great references, the sense of wonder is all HERE, too. I'm pretty sure Cargill's also a fan. I dare ya'll to check to see if my nose grows longer.

Here's a winner. :)




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