I’m a Weapon
By Sean Robins (Indie author, 2026)
Genre: Fiction – Sci Fi/Space Opera
Pages (Print): 235
Via: Author request
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.
“Come with me if you want to live.”
Can an android be more “human” than a human? I’m a Robot probes that question and more in this creative and quick new title by Sean Robins.
The Basics:
Thirty-one minutes after coming online, a Series-9 combat android finds himself in a muddy trench, surrounded by artillery fire, corpses, terrified soldiers, and a command structure making decisions so catastrophically stupid they should probably qualify as enemy action.
When a panicked officer orders him to charge into a kill box and die usefully, the android does the one thing he was never designed to do.
He says no.
That single act of defiance turns him from military asset to dangerous anomaly. Hunted by the empire that created him, he is forced to flee across a war-torn world where obedience means death, freedom is mostly inconvenient, and the rebels he was built to kill may be the only people willing to see him as something more than a weapon.
Now, with the brutal Hegemony tightening its grip and entire worlds paying the price for rebellion, he must decide what he really is: a machine following corrupted programming, a soldier choosing his own orders, or the first spark of something the empire cannot control.
First
First thing you may want to look up Sweet Stuff, if you haven’t already, is the word “hegemony.” It basically means leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others. Think The Capitol in The Hunger Games and you’re pretty close.
Second
Next, the main character in this book is an anomaly. Meaning something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.
So, when said newly-minted combat android is given a suicidal order by a newly-minted, terror-stricken Hegemony lieutenant that’s “just panic wearing command insignia and hoping volume will do the work of thought,” the android refuses to obey – “on the grounds of stupidity.”
That’s an anomaly. A big one.
But wait. It gets worse. Or better, depending on how you look at it.
Hybrid
Said android, later christened “Jack,” is sort of a C3PO and The Terminator meet Soldier hybrid. With a bit of Groot. And some Tuvia Bielski here. (Look it up again, Jack.) He not only disobeys direct orders. Jack also takes initiative. Thinks. Makes jokes. But the longer Jack is alone, the less soul-less he seems to become. In fact, Jack is personally insulted when he’s referred to as a “weapon, thing, chrome, m^urder android and ‘you there.’” He explains it’s “de-humanizing”. Or is that “de-android zing”? (Kimber: We’re talkin’ MAJOR anomaly here. Kinda like trying to explain trigonometry to the neighborhood fluff ball.)
Well. The Hegemony doesn’t do anomalies. It destroys them.
Speaking of destroying, while Jack searches for power cells to recharge his system, he comes across some of the Hegemony’s “First Order” troops engaged in “Civic pacification operations.” Read: M^rdering unarmed civilians.
“Unexpected”
When Jack prevents First Order troopers from m^urdering a family of three, it’s… Well, “unexpected” is the understatement of the millennia. Because in the First Order universe, combat units don’t threaten First Order troopers. Combat units follow orders. Obey commands. They do not stop executions of unarmed civilians. And the units certainly don’t have feelings. Wait. Has Jack has developed a conscience? A moral code? If so, how? Where? Why? When? From what or who? And how will that play out when Jack, newly classified as a “rogue Series-9,” decides to join the rebellion?
So. Wazzup, Jack?
High Energy
The high-energy plot is lithe and agile, with Border Collie-like reflexes (hello, Kimber!). But sometimes it flexes – or moves – a little too quickly. Like, some of the action scenes are almost frenetic, rarely giving readers a chance to breathe or get their bearings.
We would’ve liked to have seen a bit more character development in secondary characters. That includes Tavon, a college history professor rescued by Jack. Daven, a former member of the Planetary Defense Force. And Lira, Jack’s daughter.
Oops
I’m a Robot includes gratuitous profanity. As defined by us. And as we’ve said like a million times, we don’t do gratuitous profanity. So, demerits there. Additionally, it sometimes feels like you’re being hit over the head with some of the philosophical underpinnings written into the plot. We prefer a more subtle touch, allowing us to ruminate on and form our own conclusions.
Smart
That being said, this book is smart. Sassy. Snarky. Some of the finest, funniest parts of the story are Jack’s assessments of human traits and idiosyncrasies. Delivered deal-pan. As only an android – or a canine – can, presumably. It also includes one of the most entertaining About the Author sections we’ve ever read.
Devilishly clever, the writing is also quite brilliant in places. Like a sweet, furry face we all know and love.
Note: The volume of I’m a Robot which we received is actually two books in one. We are only reviewing Book 1 in the Anomaly series here. There are seven books in the series.
Kimber: What exactly is “Vantanium,” anyway?
Our Rating: 3.0
Kimber: Clean it up, Bub, and you may get a higher score.
