As with all short story collections, some are better than others, but I've always had and always will have a weakness for stories about the evolution of AI and it's evolving place in our lives.

Miss Gloria **
Maybe not the best story to start with - it's a little slow despite the danger inherent in the kidnapping story line, and the robot never really developed any personality traits other than "devoted to Miss Gloria." But it could have been a good exploration of how the rich will use AI and robots to replace traditional roles.

The Blue Afternoon that Lasted Forever ****
A beautiful exploration of fatherhood, devotion, and love.

Jack, the Determined *
Honestly a little confusing. It's clear that Jack in an artificial human, but it's not clear if he knows, or if he's the first of his kind, or if he was programmed to be so deterministic, or really anything else.

The Executor ***
Action-packed and tense - a classic pulpy sci-fi story.

Helmet ****
Almost, but not quite, five stars. Really reminded me (stylistically and thematically) of Paolo Bacigalupi, in that this is a terrifyingly realistic future where, truthfully, there's not much an average citizen can do about it. People live in segregated ghettos in fear of the Helmets who come and kills them wantonly and randomly, with a beautiful last line: "At last, I am ready to sin."

Blood Memory ***
An interesting view of teleportation and how there's always the issues of the intangible (and/or souls).

Foul Weather ***
A really interesting musing about bad weather and bad actions - not sure exactly how it fit into the theme of the collection (hence the removal of a star) but a good read nonetheless.

The Nostalgist *****
Another one reminiscent of Paolo Bacigalupi, but this time in that, amidst all the horror and terror of the future, there is still love, devotion, and family, no matter the form. An old man recreates a younger, much-loved relative, and even though it appears monstrous, their mutual love is beautiful.

Parasite ***
If you haven't read Robopocolpyse, I don't think you'd enjoy this story very much, since it needs a fair amount of background knowledge. But since I have, I found it poignant and sad.

God Mode *
Could have been really interesting - a couple falls in love, but things start disappearing around them according to least importance. Unfortunately, it was a little confusing, and the end really didn't add anything. (One star because I honestly didn't remember anything about it.)

Garden of Life ***
A good little story about how everyone will have to change their opinion of what's "natural" or even alive when technology is so far advanced.

All Kinds of Proof ****
Humans will connect with anything, even little robots who can't even speak and who's sole job to to walk around. And that connection is exactly what this quasi-homeless, hopeless drunk needs.

One for Sorrow ***
Another story that I think needs background to really understand. But it did make me want to read Clockwork Dynasty, and I did like that she pretended to be fey, so...

Special Automatic ***
A possibly mentally disabled boy in a bad neighborhood builds himself a robot to protect him and becomes the one to be feared. Not bad, but probably wouldn't have suffered if it was a little longer.

An average of about 3 stars, but that line in Helmet will stick with me, and The Nostalgist was absolutely beautiful. ( )

This is a compilation of 14 short science-fiction stories. I found this collection to make for enjoyable reading, though some stories I enjoyed more than others. This collection deals mostly with the human side, rather than the science side, of whatever subject the author was writing about at the time. Some stories were thought provoking, others rather creepy. The writing was beautiful.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion of the book. ( )

Bleak dark fantasies of technology and catastrophe. Wasn't really in the mood but still kept me reading. ( )

I read this author's book, Robopocalypse, a few years back. I liked it. It was World War Z with robots. That said, I was not prepared to be, as impressed, as I was, than with this story collection. It is also Sci-Fi and focuses on the responsibility of guardianship, along with the rise of digital intelligence. It gets very dark and disturbing, but the reader is never swamped with grim, despair. And as a bonus, it features a robot mailman. How cool is that? Highly recommended. ( )

Guardian Angels and Other Monsters by Daniel H. Wilson is a very highly recommended collection of fourteen short stories that examine how artificial intelligence both saves and destroys humanity. The writing is excellent and the stories are well-paced, thoughtful, and emotional. This compilation starts out and ends strong. Guardian Angels and Other Monsters is an outstanding selection for science fiction and short story fans. I was captivated by the majority of the stories with the exception of one story that I liked less than the others, which is a stunning recommendation for any short story collection.

Contents include:
Miss Gloria: Chiron is a robot whose life's work is to teach and protect Miss Gloria until she can take care of herself. Miss Gloria knows that Chiron is an excellent playmate and she loves him. In his own way, the machine also loves the girl.
The Blue Afternoon that Lasted Forever: After seeing images on the television that only a few people understand the implications of, an astrophysicists rushes home to his 3-year-old daughter.
Jack, the Determined: Jack, a most loyal and obedient student, is accompanying the Professor while he delivers a report on his most important scientific work.
The Executor: In order to protect his daughter, a man visits the Executor’s office in an attempt to get control of a family inheritance.
Helmet: The wordless huge, robotic Helmets appear and show the strength of the controlling Triumvirate by violently stopping uprisings.
Blood Memory: A mother is determination to do anything to help her daughter, the first and only human being born to teleportation.
Foul Weather: A meteorologist discovers the truth behind the adage: "Foul weather breeds foul deeds."
The Nostalgist: An old man tries to live in the past the only way he knows how.
Parasite: a Robopocalypse Story: A horrific war story of a battle against a thinking machine that calls itself Archos. (This is a Lark Iron Cloud story.)
God Mode: "In all of this forgetting, there is this one constant thing. Her name is Sarah. I will always remember that. She is holding my right hand with her left. Our fingers are interlaced, familiar. The two of us have held hands this way before. The memory of it is there, in our grasp. Her hand in mine. This is all that matters to me now. Here in the aftermath of the great forgetting."
Garden of Life: A taxonomist collects samples when he stumbles across something that he has never seen before.
All Kinds of Proof: A drunk is hired to train a mail-carrying robot that he names the Shine and considers him a friend. "[H]e doesn’t judge, doesn’t interrupt, and he goes with me everywhere. When he walks, it makes this nice wheezing sound. His narrow little feet are coated in a layer of tacky rubber and each step lands quiet and smooth. And he always keeps up. The two of us walk together..."
One for Sorrow: A Clockwork Dynasty Story set in England, 1756, and starring the childlike avtomat Elena Petrova.
Special Automatic: James is an abused and bullied teen who has a neurostimulator sunk into his brain behind his ear to prevent seizures. Although everyone thinks he is stupid, James is much more intelligent than they realize. The proof is found in the robot he built and named Special Automatic.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/03/guardian-angels-and-other-monsters.html ( )