The best books about androids

Who picked these books? Meet our 35 experts.

35 authors created a book list connected to androids, and here are their favorite android books.
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Book cover of Frances and the Monster

Ben Gartner Author Of The Eye of Ra

From the list on new action-packed middle grade with heart.

Who am I?

I love to read a good action-adventure story. I’ve also written a few. And I know that no matter how high the stakes, if there’s no heart in the characters then there’s very little engagement to make it any more memorable than a temporary thrill. I love thrills, but the stories that stick with you after the excitement of the moment is over, those are the true gems. Besides the fun of reading that type of book, maybe you even learn something about yourself or the world and come out a wee bit wiser than when you went in. And isn’t that a fantastic use of our imaginative powers?!

Ben's book list on new action-packed middle grade with heart

Discover why each book is one of Ben's favorite books.

Why did Ben love this book?

A visual and cinematic adventure that sweeps you through a pre-WWII version of Switzerland, this Frankenstein-inspired story is jam-packed with action and humor. The primary characters are all idiosyncratic in a memorable way—Frances, who lost an ear in a car crash; Fritz, the monkey juiced up on intelligence serum; and Hobbes, the android tutor. Even the secondary characters are crafted with heart and colorfully distinct in their own respects. The cliff-hangers and twists pushed the action along and I’m sure this will be a story kids read late into the night wanting to find out what happens next. I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

By Refe Tuma,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Frances and the Monster as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What would you do if you accidentally brought a monster to life and set him loose on your town?

Adventurous and charming, this middle grade twist on Frankenstein features a precocious main character who does just that. Perfect for fans of Serafina and the Black Cloak and the Greenglass House series.

Frances Stenzel was just trying to prove her scientific worth to her parents so they would take her with them to their scientific symposiums for once-instead, she reawakened her great-grandfather's secret and most terrible invention.

Before it can destroy the town, she sets off after it, with her pet…


I Heart Robot

By Suzanne Van Rooyen,

Book cover of I Heart Robot

Dave-Brendon de Burgh Author Of Betrayal's Shadow

From the list on speculative fiction by South African authors.

Who am I?

I was a bookseller specializing in SFF for around 13 years, during which I wrote two novels and many short stories, and I ran a review blog for many years. My love of SFF and Horror began when I was around nine years old, at which time I read Pet Sematary, which opened up the world of ‘grown-up’ books for me. I’m proud to say that I read more speculative fiction than anything else, and I love discovering new voices and visions in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.  

Dave-Brendon's book list on speculative fiction by South African authors

Discover why each book is one of Dave-Brendon's favorite books.

Why did Dave-Brendon love this book?

I was expecting the quintessential and stereotypical forbidden romance, and instead, what I read was one of the best explorations of humanity (in its various forms) I’ve ever encountered.

The novel explores how AI and androids might impact society in terms of art, politics, personal relationships, and much more. The author also has a way of making music important and beautiful – a difficult thing to do when it comes to being restricted to using text.

By Suzanne Van Rooyen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Heart Robot as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sixteen-year-old Tyri wants to be a musician and wants to be with someone who won't belittle her musical aspirations. Q-I-99, aka “Quinn,” lives in a scrap metal sanctuary with other rogue droids. While some use violence to make their voices heard, demanding equal rights for AI enhanced robots, Quinn just wants a moment on stage with his violin to show the humans that androids like him have more to offer than their processing power. Tyri and Quinn's worlds collide when they're accepted by the Baldur Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. As the rift between robots and humans deepens, Tyri and Quinn's love…


Book cover of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Guy Morpuss Author Of Black Lake Manor

From the list on speculative crime.

Who am I?

I grew up reading the crime and thriller books on my parents’ bookshelves. As a teenager I got into science fiction, reading everything I could. Speculative crime fiction mixes the best of both genres. You twist one aspect of the real world, add a dead body, and play with the consequences. I have written two novels that do this: in my first, I imagined a world in which five people share a body, and one of them is trying to kill the others; in my second, a killer who can turn back time. I love books that toy with reality in this way, and read all that I can.

Guy's book list on speculative crime

Discover why each book is one of Guy's favorite books.

Why did Guy love this book?

For me speculative fiction is about twisting one aspect of the real world, and then playing with the consequences. I love the way that Philip K Dick does this.

Some of his ideas seem absurd, but as a reader you quickly buy into them. This is not a traditional crime novel in any sense, but is about a bounty hunter tracking down escaped androids. As he confronts questions about his own humanity, it raises ethical issues for the reader as to what it is to be human.

Like all Dick’s works it is clever, entertaining, and thought-provoking.

By Philip K. Dick,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the eagerly-anticipated new film Blade Runner 2049 finally comes to the screen, rediscover the world of Blade Runner . . .

World War Terminus had left the Earth devastated. Through its ruins, bounty hunter Rick Deckard stalked, in search of the renegade replicants who were his prey. When he wasn't 'retiring' them with his laser weapon, he dreamed of owning a live animal - the ultimate status symbol in a world all but bereft of animal life.

Then Rick got his chance: the assignment to kill six Nexus-6 targets, for a huge reward. But in Deckard's world things were…


Sapo Saga

By Tony Laplume,

Book cover of Sapo Saga

J Lenni Dorner Author Of Writing Book Reviews as an Author: Inspiration to Make It Easier

From the list on created from the April blogging #AtoZChallenge.

Who am I?

I have taken part in the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge #atozchallenge since 2014. I volunteered on A to Z founder Arlee's group early on. I was elevated to co-host in 2017 and became the Team Captain in 2018. In 2019, I ran the "#AtoZChallenge Book Reviews, Tour, and Blog Hop!" My own book, Writing Book Reviews As An Author: Inspiration To Make It Easier, was created because of the challenge. I used my method of writing book reviews, broken down alphabetically, to create a month of blog posts. Then compiled those posts into a book. Authors depend on book reviews, but struggle to write them for others.

J's book list on created from the April blogging #AtoZChallenge

Discover why each book is one of J's favorite books.

Why did J love this book?

The recurring idea in Sapo Saga is that everyone wants to be remembered, or deserves to be.
“Iris” is the story in the book I enjoyed the most, because of the deep philosophy. It also has the character to which I could best relate.

It's a book that is easy to read and enjoy. I recommend it to readers ready for something different. There is a complexity to the story. The ending brings everything together, making it more enjoyable with a second read. The uncommon storytelling boomerangs the story plot. All of the fascinating characters make this book hard to put down.

By Tony Laplume,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sapo Saga as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Twenty-six perspectives collide to present a portrait of an epic showdown between good and evil as the world of Zala proves to be the last stand of the Sapo Order. The human who would become known as Ulysses appears and deposes the tyrant Reeve, but things only get worse from there... Soon, everything is lost, and blame is pinned on Sapo warrior Zuri. The truth is lost to history, Ulysses becomes legend, returns home to Earth, and finds that his family is a new kind of battleground. His son doesn't believe his stories, his daughter does, and his wife may…


Shakespeare's Planet

By Clifford D. Simak,

Book cover of Shakespeare's Planet

Jane Lindskold Author Of A New Clan

From the list on with non-humanoid aliens.

Who am I?

For me a story with richly developed non-humanoid aliens is mind-stretching. Much of modern Western culture starts with the ingrained concept that humans are at the top, whether by divine right or as the peak of evolution or whatever. Well-developed non-humanoid aliens—especially if they’re not super advanced or charmingly primitive—challenge this assertion. When that assertion topples, so do a lot of other preconceived notions. An abiding fascination in my work is for the “other,” from the wolves and Wise Beasts of my Firekeeper Saga (first book, Through Wolf’s Eyes) to expanding and exploring treecat culture with David Weber in the Star Kingdom book, and a lot in between. 

Jane's book list on with non-humanoid aliens

Discover why each book is one of Jane's favorite books.

Why did Jane love this book?

A human, a robot, and an alien who has proudly adopted the name “Carnivore,” find themselves stranded on a planet that may have its own agenda—certainly, something must be behind the phenomenon dubbed “The God Hour.” Add in the journal of a possibly insane man who is known only as “Shakespeare,” and you have not only a wonderful adventure story, you have the foundation for examining what makes a person a person.  

By Clifford D. Simak,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shakespeare's Planet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A human space traveler trapped on a remote planet must somehow unravel a confounding alien technology—or else surrender himself to a host of incomprehensible horrors

For thousands of years, Carter Horton has been traveling across the galaxy toward a distant world capable of supporting human life. At journey’s end, awakened from his millennia-long sleep by a curiously adaptive android, he is informed that his crewmates have all perished due to a system malfunction. But worse is yet to come: Horton’s sentient ship is refusing to return him to Earth, and a strangely cordial predator is waiting for him on the…


Genesis

By Bernard Beckett,

Book cover of Genesis

Mandy Hager Author Of The Nature of Ash

From the list on speculative YA fiction from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Who am I?

As a writer from Aotearoa New Zealand, I’ve always been interested in social justice and human rights, and my own writing explores such issues, including who holds the power and who exerts the control. By writing about real-world issues in a speculative future, it allows us to peel back the layers of conditioning and look at ourselves and our actions through the eyes of an outsider – which forces us to examine our best and worst human traits. I love the way speculative fiction can do this, and I love that it challenges us to do better.  

Mandy's book list on speculative YA fiction from Aotearoa New Zealand

Discover why each book is one of Mandy's favorite books.

Why did Mandy love this book?

If you’re into philosophy, this is the book for you! It explores the big questions about the origins of life and human consciousness, and what is it to be human and what makes a soul. Set in a distant future, on an island republic brutally policed to keep out survivors from the ruined world beyond its shores, Anaximander is put through a grueling examination to get into The Academy. I loved how it pushed my brain and went in places I wasn’t expecting. 

By Bernard Beckett,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Genesis as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The island Republic has emerged from a ruined world. Its citizens are safe but not free. Until a man named Adam Forde rescues a girl from the sea.
Fourteen-year-old Anax thinks she knows her history. She'd better. She's sat facing three Examiners and her five-hour examination has just begun. The subject is close to her heart: Adam Forde, her long-dead hero. In a series of startling twists, Anax discovers new things about Adam and her people that question everything she holds sacred. But why is the Academy allowing her to open up the enigma at its heart?
Bernard Beckett has…


Stealing Coal

By Laurann Dohner,

Book cover of Stealing Coal

K.A. Finn Author Of Ares

From the list on kick-ass heroes you don’t mess with.

Who am I?

I’m an Irish writer who is completely hooked on anything sci-fi related. I used to race home from school to do my homework as fast as possible so I could watch Star Trek: The Next Generation. The first character I ever wrote about began his life in my head as part of the Star Trek: TNG world before deciding he was too big and created his own. It’s still an area I am passionate about. Shows like Firefly, Dark Matter, Picard, etc are on my favourites list. I just love the endless possibilities with the genre. Endless exploration, hi or low tech, and incredible ships. What’s not to love?

K.A.'s book list on kick-ass heroes you don’t mess with

Discover why each book is one of K.A.'s favorite books.

Why did K.A. love this book?

I’ve read all of this series, but this was my favourite. I have a thing for kick-ass heroes who have a vulnerable side. I love characters who can be strong and fight to protect what’s theirs but can also be damaged, flawed, not perfect. I think it makes them far more interesting. Coal hits the mark on this. Big and strong, but seriously damaged.  It helps keep me more invested in his story and development. And yes – it does help that this book is hot!

By Laurann Dohner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stealing Coal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*** THIS IS A RERELEASE OF A PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED BOOK ***

Jill has learned the hard way that men can’t be trusted and sex only causes pain. In the lawlessness of space, women are a sexual commodity—to be used and abused. She’s doing a man’s job, with only her father’s brutal reputation and three androids to help keep her alive when she sees a massive, handsome cyborg chained to a freight table. The abusive crew plans to sell him to fight in gruesome death matches. It’s stupid, it’s insane, but Jill can’t leave him to such a horrible fate.

Coal…


Mockingbird

By Walter Tevis,

Book cover of Mockingbird

John A.A. Logan Author Of The Survival of Thomas Ford

From the list on spiritual freedom.

Who am I?

I've been searching for spiritual freedom since the age of four when I was sent to school. Soon I recognised books as an escape from the limitations of the physical world and into the dream world. Each of the five books below have made serious contributions to this psycho-spiritual escape plan, and have lifted my spirit to that higher dimension of freedom. I live in the Scottish Highlands, as my ancestors did, in a misted swirl of ghostly archetypes, mountains, deer, lochs, and brooding skies. Even here though, an escape tunnel is needed into the deepest realm of mind, where the stories and mystery hide away until the moment needed. 

John's book list on spiritual freedom

Discover why each book is one of John's favorite books.

Why did John love this book?

A future run by robots, with one robot above all others, and his only desire to be able to die, which he cannot achieve alone. All books forgotten, humans with no memory of how to read, until one lonely man teaches himself by watching old, silent, subtitled films from centuries earlier. He meets his rebellious female counterpart, and the idea of a future free of the state drugs, public human immolations, and mind-numbing rule by dumb robot, begins to take form. Is there time left to revive a barren, childless, thoughtless, hopeless world, and bring to life again the oldest of dreams? In any case, 'Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods.' 

I fear the future described in this masterpiece ever growing near, but the escape hatch from such horrors may lie here also in Tevis' pages. 

By Walter Tevis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mockingbird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This sci-fi masterpiece is “a moral tale that has elements of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Superman, and Star Wars” (Los Angeles Times Book Review).
 
In a world where the human population has suffered devastating losses, a handful of survivors cling to what passes for life in a post-apocalyptic, dying landscape. People wander, drugged and lulled by electronic bliss, through a barren landscape with no children, no art, and where reading is forbidden. From this bleak existence, a tragic love triangle springs forth. Spofforth, the most perfect machine ever created, runs the world, but his only wish is to die.…


Klara and the Sun

By Kazuo Ishiguro,

Book cover of Klara and the Sun

Therese Down Author Of The Estate Agent

From the list on lighting up your imagination and your soul.

Who am I?

I love stories grounded in realism - but which also explore that there may be more to life than meets the eye; reasons beyond reason, for the way we dream, love, and think, and which come from unexpected sources. I love books whose characters really 'live', and stay with me, long after I've finished reading. I aspire to create such characters. In my novels, I seek to explore important themes from perspectives that often pitch rationality against what it cannot explain, or dismiss. The fiction I most love does this – whether it exploits mythology, suggests life beyond life, or uses magical realism to add ‘other’ dimensions to the ordinary. "There are more things… Horatio…"

Therese's book list on lighting up your imagination and your soul

Discover why each book is one of Therese's favorite books.

Why did Therese love this book?

This astonishing novel from literary Nobel-prize-winning author, Kazuo Ishiguru, gripped me from page 1 and kept me in thrall, to the end.

It bloomed, slowly, but steadily, into a panoramic narrative, artfully focalised from a unique perspective. In a society growing resentful of the androids it has created, to be ‘friends’ to its neurally ‘uplifted’ children, one android, Klara, speaks with a voice - and evident ‘soul’.

Truly innocent, and movingly vulnerable, Klara trusts the sun - on whose energy she relies for life - to help her meet the needs of those she learns to love. But, can they love Klara? A beautiful, extraordinary story, written by an author unsurpassed in his narrative skill.

By Kazuo Ishiguro,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Klara and the Sun as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*The #1 Sunday Times Bestseller*
*Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2021*
*A Barack Obama Summer Reading Pick*

'A delicate, haunting story' The Washington Post
'This is a novel for fans of Never Let Me Go . . . tender, touching and true.' The Times

'The Sun always has ways to reach us.'

From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges…


Machines Like Me

By Ian McEwan,

Book cover of Machines Like Me

Peter McAllister Author Of The Code: If Your AI Loses Its Mind, Can It Take Meds?

From the list on where we expect AI to behave as our tool, but.

Who am I?

I am an engineer, scientist, turned technology manager who works in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and have gotten lost in Sci-Fi since I could first read. Now I want to share the stories that keep me awake at night.

Peter's book list on where we expect AI to behave as our tool, but

Discover why each book is one of Peter's favorite books.

Why did Peter love this book?

Adam is a limited edition robot who can pass for human (something I can’t do on a bad day). It takes a while for Adam to learn to be part of that world, but as time passes, he moves from being the slave of his owner Charlie to being better than him in every way (just ask his girlfriend!). I kept thinking of what would it be like to have a better version of me hanging around the house. It took slaves a long time to be recognized as people, how long for the robots?

By Ian McEwan,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Machines Like Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the Booker Prize winner and bestselling author of Atonement—”a sharply intelligent novel of ideas” (The New York Times) that asks whether a machine can understand the human heart, or whether we are the ones who lack understanding.

Set in an uncanny alternative 1982 London—where Britain has lost the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power, and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence—Machines Like Me powerfully portrays two lovers who will be tested beyond their understanding. Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a…


Perchance to Dream

By Charles Beaumont,

Book cover of Perchance to Dream: Selected Stories

Christopher Conlon Author Of He Is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson

From the list on not by Richard Matheson that his fans will love.

Who am I?

When I was about twelve years old I noticed a tattered old paperback in a box at a flea market. Titled Third From the Sun and Other Stories, it featured a colorfully bizarre illustration on the cover along with the author’s name: Richard Matheson. I bought the book—nearly fifty years later I still have it—and so began my journey into the works of one of America’s greatest fantasists. Decades later, I had the honor of working with the man himself, which ultimately led to the creation of my anthology, He Is Legend. Richard is gone now, but his timeless works live on.

Christopher's book list on not by Richard Matheson that his fans will love

Discover why each book is one of Christopher's favorite books.

Why did Christopher love this book?

Charles Beaumont was close friends with Richard Matheson, and they worked together on such projects as the Roger Corman Edgar Allan Poe films and Rod Serling’s original Twilight Zone. Beaumont’s stories are as rich and varied as Matheson’s, with delightfully witty language and fantastic plot twists. If you love classic Matheson short stories like “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” and “Death Ship,” you’re bound to love Beaumont.

By Charles Beaumont,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Perchance to Dream as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

That Charles Beaumont would make a name for himself crafting scripts for The Twilight Zone is only natural: for his was an imagination so limitless it must have emerged from some other dimension. So take one uneasy step and fall headlong into his world: a world where lions stalk the plains, classics cars rove the streets, and spacecraft hover just overhead. Here roam musicians, magicians, vampires, monsters, toreros, extraterrestrials, androids, and perhaps even the Devil himself. Perchance to Dream contains a selection of Beaumont's finest stories, including five stories that he later adapted for Twilight Zone episodes.

This volume contains…


The Plus One

By Sarah Archer,

Book cover of The Plus One

G. S. Prendergast Author Of Zero Repeat Forever

From the list on artificial heroes to fall in love with sci-fi.

Who am I?

As an avid consumer of science fiction, I’ve always been a fan of artificial intelligence in all its forms. Whether it is HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey or Data from Star Trek robots and computer minds, as well as genetically engineered humans such as the replicants from Blade Runner have always fascinated me. So much so that my first science fiction series, The Nahx Invasions, tells the story of a race of artificially created humanoids—The Nahx. Often in sci-fi, the robots and other AI are either positioned as villains or sidekicks. I wanted to put the AI front and center as the heroes and the books I’ve selected do the same.

G. S.'s book list on artificial heroes to fall in love with sci-fi

Discover why each book is one of G. S.'s favorite books.

Why did G. S. love this book?

If sci-fi is not really your thing, worry not! Charming robots have crept into romance too and as a romance, The Plus One doesn’t disappoint. The robot love interest, Ethan, is everything a woman could look for—attentive, handsome, intelligent. But is he too good to be true? I loved how this book took a sci-fi trope and rewrote it for a romance reader, while still addressing some of the fundamental questions raised by AI, in this instance, not just “what is human?” but also “what is love?”

By Sarah Archer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Plus One as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Refreshing and fun' Debbie Johnson 'Thoroughly entertaining' Love Reading 'You will end up wondering if robotic boyfriends might be better than trawling through Tinder' Heat 'Romantic, intriguing and absolutely hilarious' The Courier

'A fresh take on a common romance plot and we love it' Yahoo's Top Books for March

Dating is hard. Being dateless at your perfect sister's wedding is harder.

Meet Kelly. A brilliant but socially awkward robotics engineer desperately seeking a wedding date...

Meet Ethan. Intelligent, gorgeous, brings out the confidence Kelly didn't know she had and ... not technically human. (But no one needs to know that.)…