Letters to Our Robot Son

It’s always a delight to encounter Australian genre fiction – as a big fantasy and science-fiction reader, I may be biased, but if you ask me, there is simply not enough of it being published in Australia. We have a lot of wonderful literary and general fiction, but are underrepresented on the fantasy and sci-fi shelves (at least, that is the case for adult readers – kids and teens are blessed with more from local authors). Fortunately, we have a new addition to the sci-fi shelves that is not only by an Australian but also has a distinctly and proudly Australian setting.

Letters to Our Robot Son follows Arto, a sophisticated robot who wakes up one day in a town abandoned by humanity, with no understanding of what happened to them. The only sentient robot in what was once New South Wales, Arto has nothing but a cryptic letter from his father (a.k.a. creator) and a sense that he was intended for a larger purpose. But, regardless, he approaches the world around him with unshakeable positivity and open-heartedness. At first, Arto’s only companion is a stray black kitten he dedicates himself to looking after, but then a strange airship flies in over the mountains, raising the question – is humanity really gone? And if they’re coming back, should Arto be trying to help them, or to stop them?

Letters to Our Robot Son manages to be sweet and funny while grappling with hard truths around climate change and capitalism. Through the quest of one kind-hearted robot, Cadance Bell questions the future of humanity and explores both the beauty and cruelty of which people are capable. This is a moving read, peppered with exciting action sequences and futuristic technology that will delight any lover of sci-fi. Perhaps most importantly, this is a hopeful book that acknowledges the dire state of the world in the 21st century, but suggests that doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

Readers who loved Becky Chambers’ Hugo Award-winning A Psalm for the Wild-Built should absolutely pick this up (and join me in crossing my fingers that Bell will soon be receiving a similar honour!).