Sea Of Rust
Written by C. Robert Cargill
www.ink2quill.com

“Sea Of Rust” is a scifi novel written by the American film critic, animated reviewer, screen writer, author C. Robert Cargill. It has won several awards and is a breath of fresh air in the sentient robot subgenre of scifi.

Sea Of Rust Amazon webpage

Sea Of Rust Goodreads webpage

“Sea Of Rust” takes place in the not-too.distant future where humanity has been wiped out and robots of all kinds, sentient robots, have inherited the world. `Inherited´ might be the wrong word. It was taken from them and they were forced into extinction. Robots are now struggling to survive by mostly taking the technology from others. The main character´s name is Brittle and she, like so many, is a scavenger/ robotic cannibal. She is a category of robot known as a `caregiver´whose replacement parts are hard to come by but whose replacement parts she desperately needs. There aren´t many caregiver robots so her scavenging and robbing become harder by the day. She lives in an area of America known as the Sea of Rust, or just `The Sea´. Her adventure begins when another caregiver robot known as Mercer tries to stalk her and blast her for parts. What follows is a journey with a band of robots to a ghost town known as Isaactown where she must escort a robot named Rebekka and her companions. The trip is full of adventure where we learn more about Brittle, her origins and past.

“Sea Of Rust” is a hard world describing a possible future for humankind but also reminding me of America´s wild west past of bank robbers, cattle rustlers, bounty hunters and questionable authority figures. In such a world the individual has to learn to survive on their own, break the law when needed and always carry some kind of weapon. A weapon the individual is proficient with. Brittle is a good antihero. She´s clever, good with a gun and not disillusioned about her situation. She is in desperate need for parts or she faces a slow demise.

It is interesting how well C. Robert Cargill describes a world of robots that is so human. The robots lack the sense of touch people have or even a clear understanding of their sentience but they they still manage to emulate humanity in their will to live and the realization that they must build a better life or perish like humans.

I´m a firm believer that the scifi genre needs a breath of fresh air or it will go the way of the dinosaur. You can only repeat what´s been already done so many times before fans get tired of it. That is why scifi needs the contributions from all groups of people. Especially those previously denied entry for whatever reasons such as heretical beliefs. I remember talking to someone who was offended by the idea of stories with sentient robots. This story is an interesting look at a budding civilization, robotic in this case, that is going through its wild west period, or Dark Ages, as in the case of Europe. They have just wrestled the world from their creators and now they must build a new world while avoiding the pitfalls of their predecessors.

There is one thing I really liked about Brittle was how much her relationship with Madison changed her for the better, in my opinion, and influenced her decisions years later. Her character arc was very interesting to me and so was her strong will to live. For creatures that just gained their sentience the robots have such a strong will to live. The sentient robots really have soul.

So read “Sea Of Rust” for yourself and make up your own mind.

John

• 

I2Q Blogs / The Written Medium brittle / cargill / ink2quill / mercer / owi / quill /