AI already got one evil upgrade, from goofy image-generation to world domination. Then the robot overlords leveled up even worse when they discovered actual magic spells granting them control over nature, assuring their hive mind’s past victory over the society of Gunnar Graves. He’s been secretly attempting magic himself, until one crisis sparks his power and sends him into a hidden society of human mages. Quippy banter and chosen-one concepts—and the story’s overt call-outs to fiction tropes—may tear at genre seams. But ultimately Clint Hall’s Steal Fire From the Gods casts readers into a compressed-epic tale of uncertain powers yet certain morality, plus elemental conflicts between human choice and technocracy.

Best for: Teen boys and young men, fans of light sci-fi/fantasy hybrids.

Discern: Androids-versus-mankind violence, one hero’s arm is painfully vaporized, post-traumatic stress by human combatants, traces of romance, assumed natural-law magic in the “real world” powered by surrounding life.