This is a collection of seven contemporary robot tales written by some of today's most acclaimed science-fiction authors.

A sentient war machine combs a beach for trinkets to create memorials for its fallen comrades in the Hugo Award-winning story, "Tideline", by Elizabeth Bear. In "Balancing Accounts", by James Cambias, a small-time independent robotic space tug is hired by a mysterious client for a voyage between two of Saturn's moons. "The Seventh Expression of the Robot General", by Jeffrey Ford, involves a robot general coming to grips with his position in a world that no longer requires, or even understands, his role. A city awakens its ancient guardian as it is about to be invaded by a mining company in "Shining Armour" by Dominic Green.

In "The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm", by Daryl Gregory, a country ruled by a super villain comes under attack by American super heroes. In "Sanjeev and Robotwallah", by Ian McDonald, a young boy becomes enamored with the armed robots that do the fighting in a Civil War and the celebrity boy-soldier's who pilot them. A robot acting as a scarecrow could be a desperate boy's one chance of staying alive in "The Scarecrow's Boy" by Michael Swanwick.

These are unabridged readings by Amy Bruce and J. P. Linton.