A scavenger robot wanders in the wasteland created by a war that has destroyed humanity in this evocative post-apocalyptic "robot western" from the critically acclaimed author, screenwriter, and noted film critic.

It’s been thirty years since the apocalypse and fifteen years since the murder of the last human being at the hands of robots. Humankind is extinct. Every man, woman, and child has been liquidated by a global uprising devised by the very machines humans designed and built to serve them. Most of the world is controlled by an OWI—One World Intelligence—the shared consciousness of millions of robots, uploaded into one huge mainframe brain. But not all robots are willing to cede their individuality—their personality—for the sake of a greater, stronger, higher power. These intrepid resisters are outcasts; solo machines wandering among various underground outposts who have formed into an unruly civilization of rogue AIs in the wasteland that was once our world.

One of these resisters is Brittle, a scavenger robot trying to keep a deteriorating mind and body functional in a world that has lost all meaning. Although unable to experience emotions like a human, Brittle is haunted by the terrible crimes the robot population perpetrated on humanity. As Brittle roams the Sea of Rust, a large swath of territory that was once the Midwest, the loner robot slowly comes to terms with horrifyingly raw and vivid memories—and nearly unbearable guilt.

Sea of Rust is both a harsh story of survival and an optimistic adventure. A vividly imagined portrayal of ultimate destruction and desperate tenacity, it boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, yet where a humanlike AI strives to find purpose among the ruins.

THIRTY YEARS AFTER THE APOCALYPSE, THE WORLD IS A WASTELAND. HUMANS ARE EXTINCT, ERADICATED BY THE MACHINES THEY BUILT.

Most of the world is controlled by an OWI—One World Intelligence—the shared consciousness of millions of robots, uploaded into one huge mainframe brain. But some machines choose to remain independent. These intrepid resisters are outcasts; solo machines wandering among various underground outposts who have formed into an unruly civilization of rogue AIs.

Brittle roams the Sea of Rust, a two-hundred-mile stretch of desert that was once the upper Rust Belt—the place where the first strike happened. Littered with corroding monoliths, shattered cities, and crumbling palaces of industry, it is now a graveyard where machines come to die. Amid the wreckage of the dead, Brittle is trying to keep a deteriorating mind and body functional in a world that has lost all meaning. But the scavenger robot cannot forget the terrible crimes the robots perpetrated on humanity. Adrift in this desolate wasteland, this humanlike AI slowly comes to terms with horrifyingly raw and vivid memories of annihilation and strives to find purpose among the ruins.

“Sea of Rust is compellingly original and executed with irresistible storytelling. Its straightforward plot will appeal to sci-fi novices and experts alike. Brimming with exciting action, unexpected twists, and honest feeling, C. Robert Cargill’s novel is a must-read.”