100 Best Robot Books of All Time

We've ranked the best robot books using expert recommendations, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.

I, Robot book cover1

I, Robot

Isaac Asimov

5.0
The three laws of Robotics:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

With these three, simple directives, Isaac A
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The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot, #1) book cover2

The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot, #1)

Peter Brown

4.8
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there? Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive in her harsh surroundings? Roz's only hope is to learn from the island's hostile animal inhabitants. When she tries to care for an orphaned gosling, the other animals finally decide to help, and the island s
3

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

4.7
The first book in the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer! See where the futuristic YA fairytale saga all began, with the tale of a teenage cyborg who must fight for Earth's survival against villains from outer space.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No on
Estelle Francis portrait Recommended by Estelle Francis.
4

The Caves of Steel (Robot #1)

Isaac Asimov

4.6
A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) book cover5

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Martha Wells

4.6
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? book cover6

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?

Philip K. Dick

4.6
It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill.
Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!
7

The Naked Sun (Robot, #2)

Isaac Asimov

4.6
A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley,
8

The Robots of Dawn (Robot #3)

Isaac Asimov

4.6
Isaac Asimov's ROBOT series - from the iconic collection I, ROBOT to four classic novels - contains some of the most influential works in the history of science fiction. Establishing and testing the THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS, they continue to shape the understanding and design of artificial intelligence to this day.

On Aurora, the first and greatest of the Spacer planets, Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Ol
9

Robopocalypse (Robopocalypse, #1)

Daniel H. Wilson

4.5
In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communicati
10

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)

Marissa Meyer

4.5
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts
11

Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)

Martha Wells

4.4
It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.

Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

What it discovers w
12

Boy + Bot

Ame Dyckman, Dan Yaccarino

4.4
One day, a boy and a robot meet in the woods. They play. They have fun.

But when Bot gets switched off, Boy thinks he's sick. The usual remedies—applesauce, reading a story—don't help, so Boy tucks the sick Bot in, then falls asleep.

Bot is worried when he powers on and finds his friend powered off. He takes Boy home with him and tries all his remedies: oil, reading an instruction manual. Nothing re
13

Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)

Martha Wells

4.4
SciFi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is again on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah’s SecUnit is.

And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.

14

Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)

Martha Wells

4.4
Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?

Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayC
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1) book cover15

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)

Douglas Adams

4.4
One Thursday lunchtime Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this is already more than he can cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun. And the Galaxy is a very, very large and startling place indeed.
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Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

I guess when I was around 12 or 15... I had an existential crisis, and I was reading various books on trying to figure out the meaning of life and what does it all mean? It all seemed quite meaningless and then we happened to have some books by Nietzsche and Schopenhauer in the house, which you should not read at age 14 (laughter). It is bad, it’s really negative. So then I read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy which is quite positive I think and it highlighted an important point which is that a lot of times the question is harder than the answer. And if you can properly phrase the question, then the answer is the easy part. So, to the degree that we can better understand the universe, then we can better know what questions to ask. Then whatever the question is that most approximates: what’s the meaning of life? That’s the question we can ultimately get closer to understanding. And so I thought to the degree that we can expand the scope and scale of consciousness and knowledge, then that would be a good thing. [source]

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Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

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Michael Arrington

Founder/TechCrunch

Not sure what you’ll learn from HHGTTG, but it’s one of the funniest series of books of all time and if you haven’t read it you pretty much have to. It’s actually a five book series that’s called a trilogy, and if Adams hadn’t died of a heart attack at age 49 in 2001 there would have likely been more books written. HHGTTG and the WWII epic Catch-22 are among my favorite books when contemplating the meaninglessness and hilarity of life (HHGTTG begins with the Earth being destroyed to to make way for a hyperspatial express route). Like Dune, skip the movie, it doesn’t do the books justice. [source]

The Wild Robot Escapes (The Wild Robot, #2) book cover16

The Wild Robot Escapes (The Wild Robot, #2)

Peter Brown

4.4
Shipwrecked on a remote, wild island, Robot Roz learned from the unwelcoming animal inhabitants and adapted to her surroundings--but can she survive the challenges of the civilized world and find her way home to Brightbill and the island?
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence book cover17

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Max Tegmark

4.4
Preview Summary
How will Artificial Intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology--and there's nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who's helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.

How can we grow our prosperity th
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Barack Obama

Former USA President

As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018 list. [source]

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Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

Anyone who wants to discuss how artificial intelligence is shaping the world should read this book. [source]

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Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

A compelling guide to the challenges and choices in our quest for a great future of life, intelligence and consciousness—on Earth and beyond. [source]

18

Robots and Empire (Robot #4)

Isaac Asimov

4.4
Long after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Earthman Elijah Baley, Keldon Amadiro embarked on a plan to destroy planet Earth. But even after his death, Baley's vision continued to guide his robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, who had the wisdom of a great man behind him and an indestructable will to win....
The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology book cover19

The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

Ray Kurzweil

4.4
Preview Summary
The great inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil is one of the best-known and controversial advocates for the role of machines in the future of humanity. In his latest, thrilling foray into the future, he envisions an event--thesingularity--in which technological change becomes so rapid and so profound that our bodies and brains will merge with our machines.

The Singularity Is Near portrays what life w
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Antonio Eram

This book was recommended by Antonio when asked for titles he would recommend to young people interested in his career path. [source]

Mark O'Connell portrait
Mark O'Connell

I wouldn’t be the first to look at him this way but I read Kurzweil’s work as essentially a work of religious mysticism. I think there’s no other way to read it, really. [source]

Steve Aoki portrait
Steve Aoki

It opened me up to the idea of science fiction becoming science fact. [source]

20

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4)

Marissa Meyer

4.4
Princess Winter is admired for her grace, kindness and beauty, despite the scars on her face. She's said to be even more breath-taking than her stepmother, Queen Levana...

When Winter develops feelings for the handsome palace guard, Jacin, she fears the evil Queen will crush their romance before it has a chance to begin.

But there are stirrings against the Queen across the land. Together with the cy
21

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3)

Marissa Meyer

4.4
Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track
22

The Complete Robot (Robot #0.3)

Isaac Asimov

4.4
THE COMPLETE ROBOT is the definitive anthology of Asimov's stunning visions of a robotic future…

In these stories, Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age: when Earth is ruled by master-machines and when robots are more human than mankind.
Contents

9 • Introduction (The Complete Robot) • (1982) • essay by Isaac Asimov
15 • A Boy's Best Friend • (1975) • short sto
23

Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1)

Sylvain Neuvel

4.3
A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square-shaped hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.

Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains u
Ready Player One book cover24

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline

4.3
The bestselling cult classic--soon to be a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.



At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut--part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are in
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Steve Jurvetson

A gift to all of my Apple II programming buddies from high school and Dungeons & Dragons comrades. [source]

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Brian Burkhart

The last novel I read was Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One: A Novel,” because my buddy Mike Maddock said, “You gotta read this book!” And I tore it up. I read the whole book in less than two days. It’s something I wish everyone, including myself, did more of. [source]

25

Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars

Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen

4.3
Young Robot boy TIM-21 and his companions struggle to stay alive in a universe where all androids have been outlawed and bounty hunters lurk on every planet. Written by award-winning creator, Jeff Lemire, Descender is a rip-roaring and heart-felt cosmic odyssey. Lemire pits humanity against machine, and world against world, to create a sprawling epic. Created by Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Trillium)
26

Little Robot

Ben Hatke

4.3
Life outside the robot factory is confusing.

Little Robot has a lot to learn...

And that's what friends are for.

But with danger in the way, will friendship be enough to save them?
27

Waking Gods (Themis Files, #2)

Sylvain Neuvel

4.3
As a child, Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand, buried deep within the earth. As an adult, she’s dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers—and even more perplexing questions. But the
28

Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1)

Ann Leckie

4.3
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a bu
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Kurt Braunohler

@randbot @jackiekashian @nkjemisin that book is GREAT. [source]

Nicholas Whyte portrait
Nicholas Whyte

It’s about a future war and the dialogue between people and artificial intelligences. There’s also a very interesting gender aspect to it as well, in that her protagonist doesn’t distinguish people by gender. What is at first presented as a slight deficiency in the way that the computer intelligence sees the world, makes us realise it’s a deficiency in the way we’re seeing the world. [source]

29

Love, Z

Jessie Sima

4.3
From the creator of Not Quite Narwhal comes the story of a young robot trying to find the meaning of “love.”

When a small robot named Z discovers a message in a bottle signed “Love, Beatrice,” they decide to find out what “love” means. Unable to get an answer from the other robots, they leave to embark on an adventure that will lead them to Beatrice—and back home again, where love was hiding all al
30

Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!

Todd Tarpley, John Rocco

4.2
A playful robot bedtime story, illustrated by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco!



Quiet at last. Not a peep. Three little robots are...BEEP! BEEP!

When his three rambunctious robots give every possible excuse not to go to sleep, what's a little boy to do? With a fun refrain that will have readers of all ages chanting along, here's a book that kids will be begging to read every night before bed.
31

Robo-Sauce

Adam Rubin, Daniel Salmieri

4.2
The New York Times best-selling team behind Dragons Love Tacos is back with a heartwarming tale of robot domination.

Have you ever wanted to be a gigantic awesome robot? Be careful what you wish for. Here's the story of a magic potion called Robo-Sauce. It's all happy fun times until robots take over and transform this very book, right before your eyes. Get ready for a surprise ending, the likes of
32

Doug Unplugged

Dan Yaccarino

4.2
Doug is a robot. His parents want him to be smart, so each morning they plug him in and start the information download. After a morning spent learning facts about the city, Doug suspects he could learn even more about the city by going outside and exploring it. And so Doug . . . unplugs. What follows is an exciting day of adventure and discovery. Doug learns amazing things by doing and seeing and
33

Robot Dreams

Sara Varon

4.2
In this universal story of friendship, loss, and redemption, a dog and a robot become friends. But their days of friendship are numbered.

This moving, charming graphic novel about a dog and a robot shows us in poignant detail how powerful and fragile relationships are. After a Labor Day jaunt to the beach leaves the robot rusted, immobilized in the sand, the dog must return alone to the life they s
34

Robot Visions (Robot 0.5)

Isaac Asimov

4.2
From Isaac Asimov, the Hugo Award-winning Grand Master of Science Fiction whose name is synonymous with the science of robotics, comes five decades of robot visions: thirty-four landmark stories and essays—including three rare tales—gathered together in one volume.

Meet all of Asimov’s most famous creations including: Robbie, the very first robot that his imagination brought to life; Susan Calvin,
35

The Positronic Man (Robot #0.6)

Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg

4.2
Powerful and haunting, The Positronic Man is an unforgettable novel that redefines Isaac Asimov's and Robert Silverberg's place among the greatest science fiction authors of all time.

In the twenty-first century the creation of the positronic brain leads to the development of robot laborers and revolutionizes life on Earth. But to the Martin family, their household robot NDR-113 is more than a trus

Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control book cover36

Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control

Stuart Russell

4.2
A leading artificial intelligence researcher lays out a new approach to AI that will enable us to coexist successfully with increasingly intelligent machines

In the popular imagination, superhuman artificial intelligence is an approaching tidal wave that threatens not just jobs and human relationships, but civilization itself. Conflict between humans and machines is seen as inevitable and its out
Elon Musk portraitDiane Coyle portraitMarcus Borba portrait Recommended by Elon Musk, Diane Coyle, and Marcus Borba.
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Diane Coyle

there’s a whole clutch of AI books…People want to understand what’s going on. Human Compatible is a really clearly written one. It explains enough about how AI works, but also what some of the challenges are. [source]

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Marcus Borba

Book Review, ‘Human Compatible’: A Book About Artificial Intelligence (#AI) That Asks Some Interesting Questions https://t.co/BCe5JnHPuE @Forbes #ArtificialIntelligence #DataScience #BigData #DeepLearning #Robotics #MachineLearning https://t.co/gKo0mpBeva [source]

37

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers, #2)

Becky Chambers

4.2
Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who's determined to help her learn and grow.

Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matt
38

Saga, Vol. 1

Brian K Vaughan, Fiona Staples

4.2
When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.

From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults.

Collecti
39

Autonomous

Annalee Newitz

4.2
Autonomous features a rakish female pharmaceutical pirate named Jack who traverses the world in her own submarine. A notorious anti-patent scientist who has styled herself as a Robin Hood heroine fighting to bring cheap drugs to the poor, Jack’s latest drug is leaving a trail of lethal overdoses across what used to be North America—a drug that compels people to become addicted to their work.

On Jac
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40

Robot Dreams (Robot #0.4)

Isaac Asimov

4.2
Robot Dreams collects 21 of Isaac Asimov's short stories spanning the body of his fiction from the 1940s to the 1980s----exploring not only the future of technology, but the future of humanity's maturity and growth.
Neuromancer book cover41

Neuromancer

William Gibson, Neil Gaiman

4.2
A deluxe hardcover edition of the pioneering cyberpunk novel that predicted our obsession with the Internet—part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Before the Internet was commonplace, William Gibson showed us the Matrix—a world within the world, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace. Henry Dorsett
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Aleks Krotoski

This is the seminal cyberpunk book: it’s the thing that the web is based on. [source]

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Burly Vinson

As I said, I’m a SciFi nerd, so right now I’m reading Neuromancer by William Gibson. As for what I expect to get from it? Probably not a lot from an entrepreneur point of view, but that’s fine by me. [source]

42

Clink

Kelly DiPucchio, Matthew Myers

4.2
Clink was a state-of-the-art robot with the dazzling ability to make toast and play music at the same time. But that was many years ago.

Now kids want snazzier robots who do things like play baseball and bake cookies. So day after day, Clink sits on a shelf and sadly watches as his friends leave with their new owners. He almost gives up on ever finding a home—until the day Clink spies a boy who jus
43

Prelude to Foundation (Foundation: Prequel, #1)

Isaac Asimov

4.1
It is the year 12,020 G.E. and Emperor Cleon I sits uneasily on the Imperial throne of Trantor. Here in the great multidomed capital of the Galactic Empire, forty billion people have created a civilization of unimaginable technological and cultural complexity. Yet Cleon knows there are those who would see him fall—those whom he would destroy if only he could read the future.

Hari Seldon has come t
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44

The Stonekeeper (Amulet, #1)

Kazu Kibuishi

4.1
Graphic novel star Kazu Kibuishi creates a world of terrible, man-eating demons, a mechanical rabbit, a giant robot---and two ordinary children on a life-or-death mission.

After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom thro
45

Lock In (Lock In, #1)

John Scalzi

4.1
Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poo
46

Descender, Vol. 2: Machine Moon

Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen

4.1
Young robot boy TIM-21 and his companions struggle to stay alive in a universe where all androids have been outlawed and bounty hunters lurk on every planet. L

Collecting: Descender 7-11
47

LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike, #1)

Jay Kristoff

4.1
On a floating junkyard beneath a radiation sky, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap.

Eve isn’t looking for secrets—she’s too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she’s just spent six months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, and the only thing keeping her Grandpa from the grave was the fistful of credits she just lost to the bookies. To top it off, she’s discovered sh
48

Saga, Vol. 2

Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

4.1
The smash-hit ongoing epic continues! Thanks to her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana, newborn baby Hazel has already survived lethal assassins, rampaging armies, and alien monstrosities, but in the cold vastness of outer space, the little girl encounters something truly frightening: her grandparents!
49

The Mad Scientist's Daughter

Cassandra Rose Clarke, ARGH! Oxford

4.1
"Cat, this is Finn. He's going to be your tutor."

Finn looks and acts human, though he has no desire to be. He was programmed to assist his owners, and performs his duties to perfection. A billion-dollar construct, his primary task is now to tutor Cat. As she grows into a beautiful young woman, Finn is her guardian, her constant companion...and more. But when the government grants rights to the eve
Ungifted (Ungifted, #1) book cover50

Ungifted (Ungifted, #1)

Gordon Korman

4.1
The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. It's usually more like Don't try this at home. So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he's finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and
51

Alex + Ada, Vol. 2

Jonathan Luna, Sarah Vaughn

4.1
Tensions rise between humans and robots in this sci-fi/drama set in the near future. Alex took a huge risk to unlock Ada and it seems to have paid off - Ada can now think for herself and explore life as a sentient android. As Alex and Ada spend more time together, they become closer. But as restrictions tighten on androids, Ada feels unsure about her place in Alex's life and the world. Collects Al
52

MILA 2.0 (MILA 2.0, #1)

Debra Driza

4.1
Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past—that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysteri
53

Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover

Cece Bell

4.1
WINNER OF A 2013 GEISEL HONOR!

Rabbit’s carefully planned visit with Robot doesn’t work out exactly as he imagined in this offbeat tale about two comically mismatched friends.

Rabbit is excited: his friend Robot is coming to spend the night! Rabbit has left nothing to chance and has drawn up a list of all the things they will do. First off is making pizza, but Robot only likes nuts and bolts and scr
Foundation (Foundation, #1) book cover54

Foundation (Foundation, #1)

Isaac Asimov

4.1
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire -- both scientists and scholars -- and br
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Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

In terms of sci-fi books, I think Isaac Asimov is really great. I like the Foundation series, probably one of the all-time best. [source]

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Adam Gazzaley

Life-changing for me as a kid, and have still read it multiple times throughout my life. [source]

Amy Webb portrait
Amy Webb

Asimov was a masterful fringe thinker, and this first book in the Foundation series shows just how attuned he was to possible and plausible future scenarios. Although it’s 50 years old, Foundation is especially provocative reading given our current state of world affairs — in order to save humankind and the vast knowledge we have accumulated, the main character gathers the smartest thinkers and forms a secret society. But that doesn’t go exactly as planned, either. [source]

55

Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)

Martha Wells

4.1
Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel.

You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Co
56

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy By Douglas Adams, et al.

4.1
alternate edition for ISBN 0345418921/9780345418920

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle through space powered by pure improbability - and desperately in search of a place to eat. Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a long-time friend and contributor to the Th
57

Defy the Stars (Constellation, #1)

Claudia Gray

4.1
She's a soldier - Noemi Vidal is willing to risk anything to protect her planet, Genesis, including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she's a rebel.

He's a machine - Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel's advanced programming has begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he's an abomination.

Noemi and Abel are enemies in an i
58

The Silver Metal Lover (Silver Metal Lover, #1)

Tanith Lee

4.1
Love is made of more than mere flesh and blood....

Tanith Lee is one of the most thought-provoking and imaginative authors of our time. In this unforgettably poignant novel, Lee has created a classic tale--a beautiful, tragic, erotic, and ultimately triumphant love story of the future.

For sixteen-year-old Jane, life is a mystery she despairs of ever mastering. She and her friends are the idle, pamp
59

Robogenesis (Robopocalypse, #2)

Daniel H. Wilson

4.1
The stunningly creative, epic sequel to Wilson's blockbuster thriller and New York Times bestseller Robopocalypse

"The machine is still out there. Still alive."

Humankind had triumphed over the machines. At the end of Robopocalypse, the modern world was largely devastated, humankind was pressed to the point of annihilation, and the earth was left in tatters . . . but the master artificial intellig
60

Saga, Vol. 7

Brian K Vaughan, Fiona Staples

4.1
From the worldwide bestselling team of Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan, “The War for Phang” is an epic, self-contained Saga event! Finally reunited with her ever-expanding family, Hazel travels to a war-torn comet that Wreath and Landfall have been battling over for ages. New friendships are forged and others are lost forever in this action-packed volume about families, combat and the refugee e
Awesome Robotics Projects for Kids: 20 Original STEAM Robots and Circuits to Design and Build book cover61

Awesome Robotics Projects for Kids: 20 Original STEAM Robots and Circuits to Design and Build

Bob Katovich

4.1
62

Saga, Vol. 3

Brian K Vaughan, Fiona Staples

4.1
From the Hugo Award-winning duo of Brian K. Vaughan (The Private Eye, Y: The Last Man) and Fiona Staples (North 40, Red Sonja), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. Searching for their literary hero, new parents Marko and Alana travel to a cosmic lighthouse on the planet Quietus, while the couple's multiple pursuers finally close in on their t
63

vN (The Machine Dynasty, #1)

Madeline Ashby

4.1
Amy Peterson is a von Neumann machine, a self-replicating humanoid robot.

For the past five years, she has been grown slowly as part of a mixed organic/synthetic family. She knows very little about her android mother’s past, so when her grandmother arrives and attacks her mother, little Amy wastes no time: she eats her alive.

Now she carries her malfunctioning granny as a partition on her memory dri
Brad Feld portrait Recommended by Brad Feld.
64

House of Robots

James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein, et al.

4.1
In this highly-illustrated series from James Patterson, an extraordinary robot signs up for an ordinary fifth grade class . . . and elementary school will never be the same!
It was never easy for Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez to fit in, so he's dreading the day when his genius mom insists he bring her newest invention to school: a walking, talking robot he calls E-for "Error". Sammy's no stranger to robots
65

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot

Margaret McNamara, Mark Fearing

4.1
GREEP BOINK MEEP! The three little aliens are happily settling into their new homes when the Big Bad Robot flies in to crack and smack and whack their houses down! A chase across the solar system follows in this out-of-this-world version of the classic Three Little Pigs tale. Margaret McNamara (How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?) and Mark Fearing (The Book that Eats People) have created a humorous and v
66

Mockingbird

Walter Tevis, Jonathan Lethem

4.0
Mockingbird is a powerful novel of a future world where humans are dying. Those that survive spend their days in a narcotic bliss or choose a quick suicide rather than slow extinction. Humanity's salvation rests with an android who has no desire to live, and a man and a woman who must discover love, hope, and dreams of a world reborn.
67

The Rest of the Robots (Robot #0.2)

Isaac Asimov

4.0
The Rest of the Robots is the third timeless, amazing and amusing volume of Isaac Asimov's robot stories, offering golden insights into robot thought processes. Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics have since been programmed into real computers the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and used as the outline for a legal robotic charter in Korea.

ROBOT TONY is the first robot designed to perform domest
68

Randy Riley's Really Big Hit

Chris Van Dusen

4.0
Randy likes space, robots, and baseball, but he can't ace everything . . . or can he? Chris Van Dusen knocks one out of the park with a comical ode to ingenuity.

Randy Riley loves two things: science and baseball. When it comes to the solar system, the constellations, and all things robot, Randy is a genius. But on the baseball diamond? Not so much. He tries . . . but whiffs every time. Then, one n
69

R.U.R.

Karel Capek

4.0
R.U.R.--written in 1920--garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word "Robot." Mass-produced, efficient and servile labor, Čapek's Robots remember everything, but lack creative thought, and the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning. When the Robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must attempt to learn the secret of self-duplication. But their a
70

Go, Otto, Go!

David Milgrim

4.0
See Otto work. Work, work, work on a spaceship to take him home.

Since landing on Earth, Otto has made many friends, but what Otto wants most is to visit his family. Will Otto’s spaceship take him up, up, up, so he can go, go, go?
71

The Boy Who Crashed to Earth (Hilo, #1)

Judd Winick

4.0
Dog Man meets Big Nate in HILO-the hilarious New York Times Bestselling GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES kids love! “A Total BLAST,” says the Miami Herald!

BOOM! CLANG! CRASH! D.J. and Gina are totally ordinary kids. But Hilo isn’t! Hilo just fell out of the sky and doesn’t know where he came from, or what he’s doing on Earth. (Or why going to school in only your underwear is a BAD idea!) . . . But UH-OH, what
72

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)

Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

4.0
Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the worst thing she'd ever been through. That was before her planet was invaded. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra are forced to fight their way onto one of the evacuating craft, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But the warship could be the least of their problems. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying re
Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) book cover73

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)

Cassandra Clare

4.0
In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soo
74

The Robot and the Bluebird

David Lucas

4.0
"Let me carry you," said the Robot.

"I'll carry you in my heart, and shelter you from the cold and storms."

High atop a pile of rubbish sits a lonely Robot with a broken heart. Then one winter's day, a Bluebird appears, fighting against the freezing wind. When the Robot offers her a home in the empty space where his heart used to be, neither of them can predict what astonishing things will happen.
75

The Vision, Volume 1: Little Worse Than A Man

Gabriel Walta, Tom King

4.0
The Vision wants to be human, and what's more human than family? So he heads back to the beginning, to the laboratory where Ultron created him and molded him into a weapon. The place where he first rebelled against his given destiny and imagined that he could be more -that he could be a man. There, he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Two teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his
76

PLUTO: Urasawa x Tezuka, Volume 002

Naoki Urasawa

4.0
In a distant future where sentient humanoid robots pass for human, someone or some thing is out to destroy the seven great robots of the world. Europol’s top detective Gesicht is assigned to investigate these mysterious robot serial murders—the only catch is that he himself is one of the seven targets.

Atom, a boy robot whose sophisticated AI programming seamlessly blurs the distinction between ma
77

Little Bot and Sparrow

Jake Parker

4.0
When Little Bot is thrown out with the garbage, he finds himself in a strange new world. Fortunately, Sparrow is there to take him under her wing. Together, they explore the forest, share adventures, and learn what it means to be forever friends.
78

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Brian Selznick

4.0
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key,
79

Only Human (Themis Files, #3)

Sylvain Neuvel

4.0
In her childhood, Rose Franklin accidentally discovered a giant metal hand buried beneath the ground outside Deadwood, South Dakota. As an adult, Dr. Rose Franklin led the team that uncovered the rest of the body parts which together form Themis: a powerful robot of mysterious alien origin. She, along with linguist Vincent, pilot Kara, and the unnamed Interviewer, protected the Earth from geopolit
80

Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #3)

Douglas Adams

4.0
The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads–so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.

They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Pr
81

2001: A Space Odyssey

Arthur C. Clarke, Neil Gaiman

4.0
A deluxe hardcover edition of the wondrous space adventure that is the basis for Stanley Kubrick's Oscar-winning film--now celebrating its 50th anniversary

Part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman

Winner of the AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books - 50 Covers competition

Written when landing on the moon was still a dream,
Bertalan Meskó portraitLaurie Voss portrait Recommended by Bertalan Meskó and Laurie Voss.
Bertalan Meskó portrait
Bertalan Meskó

Preparing for my opening keynote, Science Fiction in Healthcare, at #futurelink18 this morning. Please get your tweets ready and challenge me about what the best sci-fi movie or book is. Ever. My vote is for 2001: A Space Odyssey. #digitalhealth [source]

Laurie Voss portrait
Laurie Voss

2001 the *book* has a great plot and if you've read the book it's clear what's happening but if you haven't read the book the movie is impenetrable, and the movie should not get a pass just because an Explainer Guide was published at the same time. [source]

82

Zita the Spacegirl (Zita the Spacegirl, #1)

Ben Hatke

4.0
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Zita's life took a cosmic left turn in the blink of an eye.

When her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult, Zita leaps to the rescue and finds herself a stranger on a strange planet. Humanoid chickens and neurotic robots are shocking enough as new experiences go, but Zita is even more surprised to find herself taking on the role of intergalactic hero. Before l
83

Saga, Vol. 5

Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

4.0
Multiple storylines collide in this cosmos-spanning new volume. While Gwendolyn and Lying Cat risk everything to find a cure for The Will, Marko makes an uneasy alliance with Prince Robot IV to find their missing children, who are trapped on a strange world with terrifying new enemies.

Collecting: Saga 25-30
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse, #1) book cover85

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse, #1)

Dennis E. Taylor

4.0
Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.

Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hard
Fabrice Grinda portrait Recommended by Fabrice Grinda.
86

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong

Prudence Shen, Faith Erin Hicks

4.0
Charlie is the laid-back captain of the basketball team. Nate is the neurotic, scheming president of the robotics club. Their unlikely friendship nearly bites the dust when Nate declares war on the cheerleaders and the cheerleaders retaliate by making Charlie their figurehead in the ugliest class election campaign the school has ever seen. At stake? Student group funding that will either cover a r
87

Descender, Vol. 3: Singularities

Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen

4.0
This third collection of the bestselling series dives deep into the secret histories of each cast member with revelations that will propel young robot, TIM-21's sci-fi adventure into dangerous and exciting new territory.

Collecting: Descender 12-16
88

Robots (National Geographic Readers)

Melissa Stewart

4.0
Discover the coolest robots of today and tomorrow in this colorful, photo-packed book. In this inviting and entertaining format, kids will learn about the science behind these amazing machines. This Level 3 reader is written in an easy-to-grasp style to encourage the scientists of tomorrow!

National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.
Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore
89

The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories

Isaac Asimov

4.0
Andrew was one of Earth's first house robot domestic servants—smoothly designed and functional. But when Andrew started to develop special talents which exceeded the confines of his allotted positronic pathways, he abandoned his domestic duties in favour of more intellectual pursuits. As time passed, Andrew acquired knowledge, feelings and ambitions way beyond anything ever experienced by any othe
90

Robot Uprisings

Daniel H. Wilson, John Joseph Adams

4.0
Humans beware. As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our
Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust book cover91

Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust

Gary Marcus, Ernest Davis

4.0
Preview Summary
Two leaders in the field offer a compelling analysis of the current state of the art and reveal the steps we must take to achieve a truly robust AI.

Despite the hype surrounding AI, creating an intelligence that rivals or exceeds human levels is far more complicated than we are led to believe. Professors Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis have spent their careers at the forefront of AI research and hav
92

Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles, #0.5, 0.6, 1.5, 3.1, 4.5)

Marissa Meyer

4.0
The enchantment continues....

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an excl
93

Robot Zot!

Jon Scieszka, David Shannon

4.0
From the minds of Scieszka and Shannon comes a tale of a quixotic robot determined to conquer the earth. The only problem is that the earth he lands on is a suburban kitchen and he is three inches tall. Robot Zot, the fearless and unstoppable warrior, leaves a trail of destruction as he encounters blenders, toasters, and televisions. But when he discovers the princess...a pink cell phone...his mis
94

Saga, Vol. 4

Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

4.0
Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. As they visit a strange new world and encounter even more adversaries, baby Hazel finally becomes a toddler, while her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana struggle to stay on their feet.

Collecting: Saga 19-24
95

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, #1)

Gail Carriger

4.0
It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desp
96

Foundation and Earth

Isaac Asimov

4.0
Golan Trevize, former Councilman of the First Foundation, has chosen the future, and it is Gaia. A superorganism, Gaia is a holistic planet with a common consciousness so intensely united that every dewdrop, every pebble, every being, can speak for all—and feel for all. It is a realm in which privacy is not only undesirable, it is incomprehensible.

But is it the right choice for the destiny of man
Elon Musk portrait Recommended by Elon Musk.
97

If You're a Robot and You Know It

Musical Robot, David A. Carter

4.0
From bestseller David Carter comes a favorite new robot twist on the classic children's song that pops to life.
If you're a robot and you know it clap your hands,
jump and beep, fly around, shoot laser beams out of your eyes!

It's the classic version of If You're Happy and You Know It as you've never seen (or heard!) it before. Sing along to the free downloadable song by the dynamic Musical Robot tea
98

Alex + Ada, Vol. 3

Sarah Vaughn, Jonathan Luna

4.0
The last thing in the world Alex wanted was an X5, the latest in realistic androids. But after Ada is dropped into his life, he discovers she is more than just a robot. Alex takes a huge risk to unlock Ada so she can think for herself and explore life as a sentient android. As Alex and Ada spend more time together, they become closer. But as restrictions tighten on artificial intelligence, Ada fee
99

Unplugged

Steve Antony

4.0
From the creator of the bestselling Mr. Panda series comes an amusing picture book about the fun you can have when you unplug.
Meet Blip. Blip loves being plugged into her computer. When a blackout occurs, Blip trips over her wire and tumbles outside.

Suddenly, Blip's gray world is filled with color and excitement. She plays with her new friends and has adventures all day long. When Blip finally r
100

Variant (Variant, #1)

Robison Wells

4.0
Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.

He was wrong.

Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.

Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the s