Review: Robotic Ambitions

It’s pretty rare for me to find an anthology in which I love every story, but this one really hit it out of the park! Here are my per-story reviews:

Intro: Getting Martha Wells to write the intro is an amazing get! She also does a great job pointing out what we are saying about ourselves (humanity) with our AI/robot stories. (Mostly related to slavery) It reminds me A LOT about recent discourse about alien invasion narratives and what that says about collective guilt about colonialism. Brilliant intro and it resonates even more in 2026.

IT-WHO-DREAMS-UNDER-GREYCLOUDS IN THE- TOWNWITHIN-THE-CITY (Marie Croke) - This story is saying so many things. It is about capitalistic consumerism. It’s a metaphor for senescence. It’s kind of about slavery and why we consider it OK for robots and not (anymore) for humans. And it’s also very beautiful. A strong start to this anthology.

She builds quick Machines (Lyndsie Manusos) - I’m sure this kind of story has been told before, but I love the idea of the story of the shopkeeper/tool builder who is building for those having adventures. The author makes good use of this to bring us suspense, tension, and plot twists. Another great story!

Out There With Them (NV Haskell) - Martha Wells’ intro and recent conversations online have started to raise the concerns that have long been the province of SF stories: if AI is truly conscious, then is the AI replacement of a form of guilt-free slavery? Whether or not this was Haskell’s intention when writing the story, I read it as exactly what humans wish they could do to other humans who are their domestic slaves. It’s both a great read and heartbreaking.

Prospecting (Lavie Tidhar) - Regardless of any other qualities of the story, it makes me wonder what a “robotnik” is; I’d only ever heard it as the American name of Sonic the hedgehog’s nemesis. I’ve said in previous short story reviews that one one of the markers of a good short story is one that leaves you wanting me - wishing the story would continue. This is one such story. Tidhar creates such a compelling future with an interesting protagonist. I would love to see more.

The Caregivers (Marie Vibbert) - This story is so great on so many levels. It has commentary on the use of AI in caregiving, insurance companies, trusting older patients, and so much more. Excellent story!

The Town Full of Broken Tin Men (Danny Cherry Jr) - A great fusion of quite a few topics. To say more would give away too much, but I think the author was quite sly to have a hint drop early when the main couple is sitting through some evening entertainment. This one hit hard. This anthology is so great.

Ark (Liam Hogan) - There was something about the prose - both what was being said and what was left unsaid that led me to guess the twist. It was still delightful to read. Well done!

A Still Life (Elliott Wink) - This is such a beautifully written story. The truth of what is happening unfolds so slowly that each new revelation is both surprising and at the same time makes perfect sense given what is going on. I initially suspected a certain twist, but the truth was even more devastating. The ending was beautiful.

The City in the Forest (Premee Mohamed) - An incredibly cute story that seems to take place in a dark, but very reachable future.

An Incomplete Record of Database Deletions in Alphabetical Order (Mar Vincent) - I love these experimental ways of telling stories. This one is quite moving.

Built to Cheat (Derrick Boden) - Using a robot to examine the contradictions in what we consider “fair” is classic, but it also works so well in this story. Another masterful addition to this anthology.

The Big Book of Grandmamas (Sheree Renee Thomas) - The second story from the perspective of a human, rather than a bot. This one is both sad and hopeful. A beautiful inquiry into what makes us alive and what matters most.

Everything Else is Advertising (J Wallace) - I’ve been saying this quite a bit with a lot of the speculative short fiction I’ve been reading, but this story hits so much harder in 2026 that it’s depressing AF. WOW….

Alice and Lucy (Edward Daschle) - This story was beautiful and sad and also, somewhat hopeful. It hinted at a wider world that was living and breathing. I wanted to know more.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Izzy Wasserstein) - Wasserstein writes a story that could take place right now. I know I’ve certainly read news stories that contain elements of this story. And things seem even more dangerous now for trans folks than when this story was written. By setting this in the future, Wasserstein gets lifelike robots, but also hints at even further decay of society; a dark libertarian future appears to have taken hold. Also, some kind of massive recession/depression leaving tons of buildings empty enough for squatting to be a big problem for the society. It both has a perfect ending and leaves me wanting more.

A Lifeline of Silk (Renan Bernardo) - I love the creativity of the story. It’s almost incidental to the theme of the anthology (of robots/AIs gaining sentience) while also conforming to it at the edges. It’s a very sad story, probably one of the saddest ones in the collection so far, but incredibly well-written.

Little Fathers of Darkness (Jason Sanford) - At first I was a little worried that this story being from an established universe would make it impenetrable, but the author did a great job letting the reader know the little details they needed to understand the story. It was a bit of a surreal plot, but I enjoyed it.

A Sonata for Four Hands (Jennifer R Donohue) - I’ve said this before, but this story about AI and art hits even harder in 2026 than it did when first written. The universe created for the story is pretty amazing as well.

Tenets of Ascendance (OGHENECHOVWE DONALD EKPEKI AND SOMTO IHEZUE) - It is a long-standing SF trope that the rich will bugger off to a paradise and leave the rest of us here. The oldest example I know is Metropolis (the 1920s movie). Again, as we see the tech oligarchs actually planning for this with their island hideaways, this story hits harder in 2026.

Intersecting Datafields (Myna Chang) - It works so well as a metaphor on many levels, but really to say anything about this story, one of the shorter ones in this anthology, would ruin it.

A Fragility, A Shadow (Leah Ning) - This one is a little more science fantasy, but it doesn’t really matter. It explores ideas of making flawed bots as well as metaphors for aging. And it implies a fascinating history.

Insatiable Life (Kathleen Schaefer) - Both of the plot twists in this story were great! This is a pretty light story, especially for this collection, but still has some poignant ideas.

Ribbit (Mona West) - This was a very sad story and hard to read as a parent. The ending made me hitch up as if to cry.

How to get to be a three-thousand-year-old Mining AI (Nick Hartland) - Author takes a potentially heart-breaking issue and makes it funny.

An Android in the Desert (Rachel Gutin) - Told in a poetic fashion and merges the technical and the old fashioned.

• Robots
• Science-Fiction