Robota (Hardcover)

by Doug Chiang (Author), Orson Scott Card (Author) "He awoke from a dream of graceful wooden sailing ships, threatened by flying metal discs like saw blades whirling in the air..." (more)
Key Phrases: hunter robots, Font Prime, Transept City, The Ghost

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
This is not an ordinary sf novel, nor a graphic novel, nor a conventional illustrated novel. Chiang, design director for the most recent Star Wars films, paints like a scion of N. C. Wyeth, Vincent Di Fate, Maxfield Parrish, and Arthur Rackham. Muscular heroes and monsters, dramatic angles and deep foci, glowing color, and wraithlike figures of malevolence are everywhere in his visual complements to a story that he invented and then asked Card, one of the best and most honored contemporary sf and fantasy authors, to write down. That story--of a world that alien robots, once allies of the planet's human natives, are striving to purge of all carbon-based life, only to be thwarted by a "reborn" human champion--resembles the Star Wars saga in being a myth of restoration, of getting an old dream (liberty and cooperation?) back on track. Also like Star Wars, it succeeds by being neat looking more than interesting. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Academy award winning artist Doug Chiang and best-selling sci-fi author Orson Scott Card join forces for an extraordinary publishing adventure: Robota. An original illustrated science fiction novel, Robota follows the fortunes of a strangely powerful amnesiac named Caps as he navigates an ancient, decaying world in which a dwindling human population battles a society of merciless robot warriors. Aided by talking animals and stalked by terrifying hunter robots, Caps slowly rises to fulfill an awesome destiny. Integrating word and image, Card's masterful storytelling is interwoven with 75 pieces of Chiang's wildly imagined, meticulously rendered art. Packaged in a dramatic metallic case, this unusual and powerful collaboration is tailor-made to thrill.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; Second Printing edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811840417
• ISBN-13: 978-0811840415
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #366,088 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Adventure, September 15, 2003

By	"skipowitz" (Norman, OK) - See all my reviews

Robota is an awesome sci-fi adventure in the world of, you guessed it, Robota. This book is most definitely not a Star Wars, Enders Game, Dune, Star Trek, Tolkien rip off. The book just felt original.

Robota is about an amnesiac, Caps, and his quest to find Font Prime, the ruler of the merciless robots who are searching out the remnants of biological life. However, humans are not the only biological species on Robota. Hunter Beasts (large, evolved, Monky/human hybrid creatures), monkeys, Jodphors (dinosaur creatures), and other fantastic creatures are all sentient. Even some of the robots are sentient. I thought this was very cool. There is a war going on between the biological and mechanical species of the planet. It makes for a really good story with plenty of twists.

My only problem with the book is the lack of depth at times. Robota often created more questions than answers. Why didnt they explain cubing more fully? What is the jewel? Tell me more about Beryls sister, Juomess family, the last human city, etc. However, I feel that this is one of the writer's intents. My imagination ran wild. I just wish Chiang and Card would explain a few more things. Hopefully, there will be a sequel because Robota ended too soon.

The book instantly grabs you with the awesome cover art. As you begin to flip the thick pages, you realize that you are holding an incredibly original story. Furthermore, you are sure to be amazed by the great pictures drawn by Chiang. The material quality of the book itself makes the purchase that much easier. This may sounds stupid to some, but I love the thick pages and large hardback binding. It made the book feel different and special.

I highly recommend it for fans of science fiction, art, and fantasy. Orson Scott Card is one of the only science fiction writers whose work I read. Frank Herbert is the other. I consider both to be masterful writers. Trust me, Robota is incredible.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome story and fantastic art!, October 23, 2003

By A Customer

This book is totally incredible and unique! I've never read a book like this before. Chiang's artwork is unbelievable and Card's prose is a joy to read. It's quick-paced, never boring and filled with fresh twists and turns that are not contrived.

I'm not generally a fan of this genre, but when a friend showed me the book I was totally won over! The artwork and story really captivated me and, as Robert Zemekis said on the back-cover quote: "...Robota transported me to places I could never go in real life." I especially loved the interesting creatures and personalitites. They aren't your usual rubber-stamped variety, but wonderfully rich. Juomes the hunter beast and Beryl were especially intriguing. This book left me wanting more!
I'm glad to hear that Chiang and Card are developing the story in other media. If those projects turn out as great as this, I'll be the first in line! I strongly recommend this book!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty and hollow, October 19, 2003

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Robota" is a lot like the robots in the story -- cold, lifeless, and lacking in personality. Doug Chiang's detailed artwork can't be faulted, and stops the book from being a total loss, but Orson Scott Card's accompanying novella is just plain bad.

It tells the tale of how robots conquered our world, destroying civilization and turning mankind into slaves in a vast jungle. On the world called Robota, a robot called Kaantur-Set rules through a living corpse called Font Prime. But one day a mysterious man with no memory arrives with a sentient monkey, encountering the "cubed" beasts and outlaw humans. And a revolution is formed against the robots...

Card should leave robot fiction in the realm of Asimov. Some authors can make robots seem real, through tiny nuances; Card doesn't have the subtlety to do that, and so his robots -- with the exception of the weird Elyseo -- are flat and completely unsatisfactory as a threat.

To make things worse, this seems like half a story rather than a complete one. All the REALLY interesting stuff, such as the jewel, "cubing" (turning animals into sentient creatures), the alien Olm, Font Prime's preservation, the destruction of our civilization and retaking of Robota, are mentioned but never dealt with. Which is a shame, because the actual novel is rushed and rather boring. The climactic battle sputters out before it really starts.

Caps is absolutely insufferable. He's merely dull when he has amnesia, but when he turns into a robot-human prophet he's impossible to like. Beryl is a warrior Barbie. Kaantur-Set is a cut-out villain, whose constant screeching makes him/her hard to take seriously. Only Elyseo (weird robot) and Rend (weird monkey) have any worthwhile personality.

The saving grace is Chiang's artwork. He's worked for years with Lucasfilms, and that shows. It's careful, detailed, nuanced and sometimes looks like a photograph taken in an action scene. Some of the pictures are beautiful, some are outright horrific. (Star Wars buffs may want to check out certain fight photographs, which resemble concept artwork for the movies)

Without Chiang's artwork, this book would have been utterly worthless. The novella is dull and pointless, but the pictures are pretty and vivid, really outstanding as illustrations. Taken together, the book is merely mediocre.