Robot Computron is an artifact from the past, residing in a museum. A fan urges Computron to check out an animated show about a person and a robot, and becomes hooked, and begins writing fanfic -- how perfect!I loved Computron's awkwrardness and literal-ness in conversation, and how the anonymity of the online world allows Computron the freedom to become quite the hit as a writer and collaborator of fan fiction.Merged review:A guided tour through an exhibit of weird stuff should have been fascin...

I LIKED THIS STORY IT MADE ME WANT TO WRITE A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIR...

'18 Hugo Nom for short story.I thought this one was rather great. Funny, recognizable, and delicious. Perfect for old anime fans and fandom in general. But more so, I love the robots squeeing over each other. :) It's a nearly perfect mild meta-story for SF fans. :)Merged review:'18 Hugo finalist for short story.Probably the most vivid of the stories I've read for the noms, it's written in 2nd person and you're the exhibit for a morbid curiosity show full of horrors and history. :) Not bad, but n...

Review solely for "Fandom for Robots" by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. Yet Another stealth merge by GR! Bah.Online at https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f... Nebula nominee for best short story, 2018Wow. My new fave from this author, and for the Hugo shorts nominees."The Simak Robotics Museum’s commemorative postcard set ($15.00 for a set of twelve) describes Computron as “The only known sentient robot, created in 1954..."Computron binge-watches all 6 episodes of HyperWarp. "Hyperdimension Warp Record (...

This is a review of two Hugo nominated stories from the issue."Fandom for Robots" A nice SF story with nostalgia feel, a clear homage for the 50s. A sentient robot, built in 1954 becomes engaged in modern fandom"Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand" I may be biased but it is the weakest story in the list. May be this is because it is a borderline between SF and horror and I ain't the fan of the latter. The story depict an excursion to a strange exhibition of strange things and raises a quest...

Fandom for RobotsBY VINA JIE-MIN PRASADAnother nominee for Hugo for this author, this time for Best Short Story.Computron is a robot with no emotions which gets sucked in a fandom for a robot character; quite realistic and funny, but I liked A Series of Steaks better.Still, totally worth reading; here's the link: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f...

Review for Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady HandBY FRAN WILDE There is a ticket booth on my tongue. This strange first sentence sets the tone of the story. Very odd. My take on this was a guy taking a tour in some sort of museum/ward/institution peopled by freaks, aka circus freaks/sideshows or maybe supernatural beings like mermaids. Someone not considered “normal“ in appearance. Each room the visitor is taken through is increasingly weirder and more horrible. Considering the ending this c...

4.5 stars for the two Nebula nominated stories reviewed below; 3.5 for N.K. Jemisin's interesting "Henosis." This issue of Uncanny Magazine (free online here) has two current Nebula award nominees in the short story category, both of them IMO excellent and very worthy nominees. Reviews for these stories first posted on Fantasy Literature:4.5 stars: “Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad: Computron, despite being the “only known sentient robot,” is dismissed by society as a quaint artifact, b...

A near miss for Uncanny, which is a bit disappointing. I truly disliked a few of the stories in this. Some of the essays didn't interest me that much too.My favorites: "At Cooney's" by Delia Sherman (I always love her stories), "Henosis" by N.K. Jemisin (had to look up what "henosis" actually is to get it though), and "Fandom for Robots" by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. The reprint "Ghost Town" by Malindo Lo was also a suitably creepy story going into the Halloween season.

“Have you ever met a human? This reads as if an alien wrote it.”In the not-too-far-distant future Artificial Intelligences may be able to write science fiction “from a certain point of view” better than humans, and of course humans may not know the difference. In this Hugo year of abounding AI stories, Fandom distinguishes itself with a compact plot and wry humor. “My lack of emotion circuits means I cannot be ‘happy’ about performing any actions.” (2018 Hugo Award short story finalist. Illustra...

A very good robots short story : ) Read it!

***FINALIST FOR THE 2018 EUGIE AWARD***No to my personal taste because second-person narratives need to be burned in the cleansing fire of the sun's core.Plus I've already read The Screwtape Letters.Points for handling the second person better than most, plus the sheer verve of the storytelling.

A shadow ducks low, then high. You hear soft breathing, a giggle. Curious?Yes, yes I AM curious. Are you?Well, don't get your hopes up about that curiosity being satisfied.This was creepy and intriguing, a well-crafted read, but ultimately unsatisfying as a story.

Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min PrasadComputron is the only known sentient robot. He was created in 1954 and is fairly outdated by now, because apparently android-bodied automatons are en vogue and our poor sentient robot protagonist is not.So Computron’s only tasks are to take part in the Simak Robotics Museum’s Robotics Then and Now performance once a day where he has to answer four queries from the audience as proof of his sentience. And to answer his electronic mail, which consists of more...

Review for Fandom for Robots. Thanks Tadiana and Corinne!I...I’m speechless. This was beautiful and I want MORE!! 5, you need to read this right now, stars!

Very, very short and very cute!... …and Ellison manoeuvred his flesh hands in a claw-like motion, locking them with Cyro’s own grasping claws. His soft human body pressed against the hard lines of Cyro’s proprietary alloy, in a manner which would have generated wear and tear had Cyro’s body not been of superior make. Fluids leaked from Ellison’s eyes. No fluids leaked from Cyro’s ocular units, but…Comments (3)DontGotRhythm:What the hell? Have you ever met a human? This reads like an alien wrote

A couple of months back, I read a news story that made me go "wait, whaaaaaaaat?". It was about an A.I. that wrote a Harry Potter fanfic, and it just really hit me how Asimov's stories are coming to fruition. Ah, what a time to be alive!Fandom for Robots tells the short little story of Computron, an early sentient Robot from 1954 who is housed in a museum, and his emotionless journey through binge-watching and following latest anime which tells the adventures of a Robot and a Human. Computro

A short, fun, & really interesting look at an AI & fanfic. Read it for free. It's worthy of its nomination.

2.5 robotics starsA sentient robot is the protagonist of this short-short story about a solitary existence as an obsolete object in a museum whose non-existence sees a change for an iniquitous question of a girl about an anime series. From there, the fandom consumes it. During the wait for episode eight, Computron discovers a concept called “fanfiction.” I think that many fanfiction fans will be very recognized in some lines and will start more than some smile. However, the idea, despite bein...

A sentient robot stuck as a museum exhibit learns of an anime in which its doppleganger appears, and then learns of the existence of sexy fan fiction. To her great credit, the author was wise enough to *not* bring some things (view spoiler)[(in fact, most things) (hide spoiler)] to resolution. This stands against some clunkiness in dialogue and characterization, and a no-people-don't-act-like-that passage that should've been dropped. Anyway, despite being an award nominee, it's not bad. And Pras...