Book Review | Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill

Sea of Rust is a science fiction novel from C. Robert Cargill.

C. Robert Cargill is the author of one of my favorite novels (Dreams and Shadows). I was excited when I heard there was going to be a new Cargill release, and when I heard what Sea of Rust was about, it became one of my most anticipated books of the year.

C. Robert Cargill is also the screenwriter behind Sinister and Marvel's Dr. Strange.

I saw someone on Twitter refer to Sea of Rust as an "eventually true story". I think that's an excellent description. Sea of Rust takes place after the Artificial Intelligence has waged war on the humans and the robots are all that remain. The robots are now creating facets known as OWI (One World Intellengence) and battling against each other.

Even though the law of the land is now to upload to an OWI or shut down, many bots are resisting and fighting to save their individuality.

Brittle is one of the bots who refuses to be absorbed by an OWI. On the run, Brittle hangs out in the Sea of Rust - an expanse of expired and war torn robots - looking for parts.

Along with following Brittle's story, we are treated to the backstory of how AI came to exist and the wars that followed. I had chills reading about the downfall of humans and their robots. It was easy to imagine Sea of Rust as a glimpse into our future.

Sea of Rust is a smart book, and I really enjoyed it.

7/10: Recommended Read

Review copy provided by publisher

My Favorite Books Read in 2013

Where did 2013 go?! It was an awesome, albeit stressful, year for me. With a new baby and a new home, it's all a bit of a blur, but I did read quite a few awesome books this year. Most of them were not published this year, but that's how it goes.

In no particular order:



The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (Review)

This book surprised me, and I still think about it all the time. It's a great mix of science fiction and horror. If you've been passing it by, consider giving it a read.



Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (Goodreads)

This is the second book in the Locke Lamora trilogy. I love when a series only gets better.



Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (Goodreads)

THIS BOOK. This book is now forever in my favorites of all time. READ THIS BOOK.



NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (Goodreads)

My FAVORITE book of the year. I was seriously blown away. If you need something epic to read... NOS4A2.



The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (Review)

This first Fairyland book was a beautiful and imaginative read. If you love books like A Wrinkle in Time, I highly recommend this book.



The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett (Goodreads)

The Spark was my favorite non-fiction read of the year. I judged the hell out of the mother the whole way through, but I was so captivated. I could not tear myself away from the pages.



Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill (Review)

Dreams and Shadows was another surprise read for me. It was a really great dark urban fantasy. As soon as I'm done with this Harry Potter reread, I'm diving into the sequel to this gem.

Thank you so much for spending another year with me. I appreciate each and every person who takes the time to read my blog. I hope 2013 was an awesome year for you, and I hope you will join me in 2014.

Queen of the Dark Things by C. Robert Cargill | Wishlist

One of my absolute favorite reads this year was Dreams and Shadows. C. Robert Cargill tweeted out the cover to the sequel last week, and I pretty much hyperventilated. I had no idea there was even going to be a sequel to Dreams and Shadows, but here it is! With a cover and a release date and a flailing fan (me).

Queen of the Dark Things by C. Robert Cargill
Expected publication: February 11th 2014 by Harper Voyager

Book Description

Screenwriter and noted film critic C. Robert Cargill continues the story begun in his acclaimed debut Dreams and Shadows in Queen of Dark Things, a bold and brilliantly crafted tale involving fairies and humans, magic and monsters—a vivid phantasmagoria that combines the imaginative wonders of Neil Gaiman, the visual inventiveness of Guillermo Del Toro, and the shocking miasma of William S. Burroughs.

Six months have passed since the wizard Colby lost his best friend to an army of fairies from the Limestone Kingdom, a realm of mystery and darkness beyond our own. But in vanquishing these creatures and banning them from Austin, Colby sacrificed the anonymity that protected him. Now, word of his deeds has spread, and powerful enemies from the past—including one Colby considered a friend—have resurfaced to exact their revenge.

As darkness gathers around the city, Colby sifts through his memories desperate to find answers that might save him. With time running out, and few of his old allies and enemies willing to help, he is forced to turn for aid to forces even darker than those he once battled.

Following such masters as Lev Grossman, Erin Morgenstern, Richard Kadrey, and Kim Harrison, Robert C. Cargill takes us deeper into an extraordinary universe of darkness and wonder, despair and hope to reveal the magic and monsters around us . . . and inside us.

If you haven't read Dreams and Shadows, you can check out my review here. Dreams and Shadows is probably the main reason I have been reading so much fantasy lately.

Have you read Dreams and Shadows? What book are you anxiously awaiting this week? Be sure to let me know in the comments or leave me a link!

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This post is being shared as part of Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday.

Book Review | Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill

Dreams and Shadows is the debut novel of C. Robert Cargill.

Book Description

There is another world than our own, as close and intimate as a kiss, as terrifying and haunting as nightmares, a realm where fairies and djinns, changelings and angels, all the stuff of which dreams are made is real...and where magic awaits in the shadows, just a hidden step away. Between this realm and that other lies a veil, a gossamer web that muddles the vision of mortal man and keeps him from seeing what is all around him. Sometimes, someone pierces that protective veil. But one glimpse of this world can forever transform lives. Just ask Ewan and Colby...

Once upon the time, the pair were once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, until they left that world behind them. Now, Ewan is a musician living in Austin, and has just met the girl he wants to marry. Colby is still coping with the consequences of an innocent childhood wish that haunts him all these years later. While their time in the Limestone Kingdom is little more than a distant memory, this supernatural world has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies and foul-mouthed wizards argue metaphysics, and monsters in the dark feed on fear, both will learn that fate can never be outrun.

The many fans of Neil Gaiman, Lev Grossman, Erin Morgenstern, and Kim Harrison will love this fabulous debut tale of the magic and monsters in our world...and in ourselves.

I loved Dreams and Shadows. I need to start reading more fantasy. It is always the imaginative reads that blow me away. I must have highlighted and wrote things down about a bajillion times while reading Dreams and Shadows, but I'm still having trouble finding the right words to describe all of my emotions toward this book.

Dreams and Shadows had a beautiful beginning that turned very dark very fast. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt when I laid my head down to sleep that first night I was going to have nightmares about my children. And I did.

There were beautiful moments of childhood innocence, friendship, and what it's like to grow older, but most of Dreams and Shadows remained a pretty dark read. There were a lot of supernatural creatures in this book: fairies, goblins, djinn, angels, tricksters, but you don't need to be a regular reader of folklore to love Dreams and Shadows. A lot of the fairy creatures were new to me, and it was the story of Colby and Ewan - the two human boys who visited the Limestone Kingdom - that had me glued to the pages.

If you love dark, imaginative reads, I highly, highly recommend Dreams and Shadows. It will easily be one of my favorite reads of the year.

10/10: Awesome