Ode to the Half-Broken

Suzanne Palmer
Publisher: Daw Books
May 26 2026
EAN: 9780756419585
ISBN: 0756419581
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Synopsis: "A refreshing ray of hope in the darkness." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

As seen on LitHub's "May's Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books"

In the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, forty years after the world nearly ended, a worn-out robot is attacked, and realizes old evils are stirring

Wrestling with themes of loneliness, connection, and purpose, this hope-punk sci-fi is for fans of Becky Chambers's Monk & Robot duology--featuring a cyborg dog!

Thirty years ago the world nearly ended.

Be was there, but the old robot has since settled into a life of isolation in the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens, determined to forget their role in that cataclysmic conflict.

But then they wake up in a bathtub. And their leg is missing. And the only one to ask for help is a very chatty cyborg dog. Be may want to forget the world, but it seems the world hasn't forgotten them.

Forced out of solitude, Be embarks on a quest to reclaim their leg, accompanied by that talkative (read: smart-ass) dog and a human mechanic with nightmares of her own. Their motley crew soon discovers that recovery from the war is uneven and faltering, and Be begins to suspect a malicious hand trying to rekindle old conflicts. In order to stop them, Be needs to come to terms with both their own past and who they have become. Being left alone is no longer an option, and peace may be impossible.

A tale of resilience and hope, this is an ode to those struggling to become whole in a world half-broken.