Ambrose Bierce

• Biography

  Ambrose Bierce (1842–ca. 1914) was an American journalist, short-story writer, and poet. Born in Ohio, he served in the Civil War and then settled in San Francisco. He wrote for Hearst’s Examiner, his wit and satire making him the literary dictator of the Pacific coast and strongly influencing many writers. He disappeared into war-torn Mexico in 1913.

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• Praise for Books

  “Robots through the Ages is pure science fiction gold. Classic and new stories filled with weird science, adventure, wild twists, and awesome fun! Silverberg and Schmidt have a winner here!” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author

  “Robert Silverberg and Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s anthology is an indispensable collection of stories about Robots through the Ages. The reader receives a terrific overview of the history of robot tales from such stories as Jack Williamson’s ‘With Folded Hands,’ which grows more chilling and prophetic by the day; Robert Silverberg’s masterful Nebula-Award winning tale of robots and ‘Good News from the Vatican’; and Connie Willis’s amusing mystery that presents an intriguing ‘Dilemma’ to Isaac Asimov and a coterie of robots. At the same time, this book offers the joy of discovering never-before-published gems by writers like Seanan McGuire and Ken Scholes. This is a delightful and informative book for anyone interested in robotics, AI, or science fiction.” —Sheila Williams, Hugo-winning editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine

  “Robots through the Ages ponders questions that arise in the face of evolving innovation, including how technology has changed over time.”  —NPR’s Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson

  “You might know the reveal, but how it all comes together is fascinating.”  —The RetroRockets Podcast

  “Sci-fi nerds and robotics geeks will find joy in this collection. The anthology includes a wide variety of robot tales. Silverberg and Schmidt do a great job of showing trends and attitudes toward the subject through history. They have selected stories about the fear of new technology as well as incorporating robots and AI into our daily lives.” —San Francisco Book Review

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  • Robots through the Ages

  • Edited by Robert Silverberg and Bryan Thomas Schmidt

    Introduction by Robert Silverberg

    Read by Leonard Nimoy, Stefan Rudnicki, Jesse Vilinsky, Bronson Pinchot, Jim Meskimen, Peter Ganim, James Anderson Foster, Neil Hellegers, John Pirhalla, Steven Jay Cohen, Matt Godfrey, Noah Michael Levine, Dan Bittner, Scott Aiello, Tim Campbell, and Natasha Soudek

  • Release Date: 7/25/23

  • Formats: Retail CD Audiobook, MP3 CD, Digital Audiobook, Hardcover, eBook, Trade Paperback

  A remarkable collection, Robots through the Ages includes stories from some of the best writers of science fiction, both old and new.

  This anthology, with an introduction by Robert Silverberg, offers a sweeping survey of robots as depicted throughout literature. Since the Iliad—in which we are shown golden statues built by Hephaestus “with minds and wisdoms”—humans have been fascinated by the idea of artificial life. From the Argonautica to the medieval Jewish legend of the Golem and Ambrose Bierce’s tale of a chess-playing robot, the idea of what robots are—and who creates them—can be drastically different.

  This book collects a broad selection of short stories from celebrated authors such as Philip K. Dick, Seanan McGuire, Roger Zelazny, Connie Willis, and many more. Robots through the Ages not only celebrates the history of robots and the genre of science fiction, but the dauntless nature of human ingenuity.

  • Robots through the Ages

  • Edited by Robert Silverberg and Bryan Thomas Schmidt

    Introduction by Robert Silverberg

    Read by Leonard Nimoy, Stefan Rudnicki, Jesse Vilinsky, Bronson Pinchot, Jim Meskimen, Peter Ganim, James Anderson Foster, Neil Hellegers, John Pirhalla, Steven Jay Cohen, Matt Godfrey, Noah Michael Levine, Dan Bittner, Scott Aiello, Tim Campbell, and Natasha Soudek

  • Release Date: 7/25/23

  • Formats: Retail CD Audiobook, MP3 CD, Digital Audiobook, Hardcover, eBook, Trade Paperback

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