Twisted Metal (Penrose series)

 

Penrose is a world of intelligent robots who have forgotten their own distant past, a world where all metal, even that of their own wire-based minds, is fought over—a valuable resource to be reused and recycled. Now full-scale war looms, as the soldiers of Artemis sweep across the continent of Shull, killing or converting every robot to their stark philosophy. Only the robots of Turing City stand in their way, robots who believe that they are something more than metal. Karel is one such robot—or is he? Karel finds himself conscripted into the Artemisian army and sent toward the frozen kingdoms of the north, and toward the truth about the legendary Book of the Robots, a text which may finally explain the real history of this strange world, and perhaps of his own mind. In a completely alien but brilliantly realized landscape, here is a powerful story of superb action, barbaric cruelty, and intense emotional impact.