Robopocalypse : I, Robot Reinvented
Binder's I, Robot in a Modern Setting
Robots and technology taking over the world; that is one of the most common and cliched ideas exploited in pulp science fiction or horror. We can credit Eando Binder for first coming up with this mentality in his short story called I,Robot. While, Adam Link didn't necessary take over the world, it did retaliate and rebel against the humans around him. From that premise, we get Daniel H Wilson's Robopocalypse.
In Robopocalypse, the main culprit is an Artificial Intelligence named Archos that is tampering with basic technologies that are chip controlled, from cars to dolls and toys. The devices have one thing on their mind: destruction of their human masters, thus creating an ultimate war between man and machine. I was addicted to this book from the beginning and I couldn't possibly put it down. It's fast paced and filled with the same thrill and excitement when reading a Michael Crichton novel. Even better, the science in Robopocalypse has a basis. Daniel H. Wilson has a PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon and many of the robots are based off of actual prototypes.
I have to admit, immediately after reading this book, I was filled with a bit of tech- paranoia, but that just proves how effective it was. Essentially, Robopocalypse reminds us that although man created technology, without caution technology can conquer man.