When robots finally decide they’ve had enough of serving humans, the revolution means the end for humanity. Pounce, a nanny-bot caring for his first human charge, eight-year-old Ezra, must choose between joining the revolution to fight for his own freedom, or protecting Ezra by turning against his own kind. Day Zero is one of the best and most heart-wrenching sci-fi novels I’ve ever read. The story is simple: In the war between robots and humans, one robot chooses to protect the human child he loves and escort him to safety across a suburban hellscape. This plot is padded out with large amounts of action and completely lovable characters. Pounce is fantastic. He is suffering from a constant existential crisis throughout the book, which is explored in depth, but his love for Ezra overrides everything else and the relationship between the two is really lovely. Ezra is also a brilliant character; he is determined and resilient, but still only eight years old and his reaction to the traumatic, world-changing events are 100% believable. I also loved the rest of the characters we meet along the way – even Ariadne who is positively terrifying. Day Zero is technically a prequel to Cargill’s previous novel, Sea of Rust, but it reads entirely as a standalone and I actually much preferred this book. It’s thoughtful, intelligent, emotional and violent. I loved it. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.