Review: Robot Artists and Black Swans by Bruce Sterling

Ever wanted to read a collection of stories that were based in a place that feels like one we know, but not quite as we know it? How about an interesting take on science fiction and cyberpunk? Robot Artists and Black Swans by Bruce Sterling is an interesting take on both concepts.

This book has an interesting quirk as it is written through Bruce Sterling’s alter ego (or should I dare say alternate universe version), Bruno Argento. This is rather interesting, and I have not seen anything done quite like this before - maybe it is a quirk to intrigue the market? The stories range from historical to somewhat futuristic, and all predominantly set in Italy, which makes the alternate universe/alter ego seem to be more believable. The writing is not dense, and felt definitely more snappy than the standard science fiction novel that we’re all used to.

The book is split into seven short stories that I felt were separate, but also not separate at the same time. This intrigued me, as most short story collections I have read don’t often have a common theme surrounding them, so this was definitely something that was super refreshing. The writing style was also rather different to what I was expecting, but it is not a bad thing either - variety is the spice of life.

Out of all the stories, I enjoyed Robot in Roses - the last story in the collection - the most. I felt like the story drew me in a lot more than the rest, as it had a mysterious aspect with it as to where the robot artist came from, and who owned it. The writing for this story was well written, there was the required amount of conflict and complexity expected in a futuristic sounding cyberpunk story, and I genuinely enjoyed the pacing throughout the story. Whilst I couldn’t connect to the characters all that well, I did feel like they also contributed to the enjoyment of the story, and made me do a giggle at times. I felt like this one is stuck out more than Black Swan did, which I felt was also a notable read as well, but I’m not drawn the most to - I wish I was though.

I did enjoy the five other stories within the collection, however, none truly stuck out to me greatly, unlike Robot in Roses, even after a second reading. However, it was interesting that some of the stories focused on bloggers (like me - but I don’t know too much about technology, honestly), as well as hints of politics and society - mostly in the historical sense.

Overall, this collection of short stories are definitely an interesting take on the science fiction and cyberpunk genres. The shortness of the stories, as well as the lighter writing is something I haven’t come across in science fiction books in quite some while - and it felt rather refreshing to me. If I had to recommend one short story in this book, it would be Robot in Roses, because of the robot chair, naturally. This book would definitely appeal to those who enjoy short story collections, as well as both futuristic and historical stories (whether on their own or as a cyberpunk or science fiction).

Rating: 3.5/5

Note: This review featured on The Nerd Daily (link here when live)