Ode to the Half-Broken and Luminous: Two New Sci-Fi Novels Explore Robots in Very Different Ways

Ode to the Half-Broken and Silvia Park's debut Luminous are two new robot-themed science fiction novels read this month, with very different styles. In Suzanne Palmer's book, an old robot whose legs were stolen teams up with a half-dog half-robot, a human mechanic, and a group of liberated drones for an adventure; the tone is light and humorous, and it may suit younger readers. Silvia Park's story is set in a future 20 years after Korean reunification, where robots are everywhere, often abused, and sometimes dangerous, and the tone is heavy.