Where's all the Giant Robots?

Tower75

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Good hellos to you all!

Wait, should there be a comma in there? "Good hellos, to you all!"? Anyway, sorry.

Question - where are all the novels about giant robots? It just surprised that I can't find more on that subject.

I know there's the Battle-Tech/Mech-Warrior series (there's about 30 years' worth of books there), but that's a specific series set in a self-contained franchise/universe.

I know there's a series written in the '90s called "war-strider", or similar.

There's also a known "Warhammer: 40,000" book about big stompers too.

I know that might seem like a lot, but when you consider the sci-fi genre, I'm surprised there isn't more stories about pilot-able (is that a word?) robots.

Goodreads can't even help me out.
 
I also am a fan of giant mechs. I used to play a lot of Armored Core, I liked the Iron Giant and I even had that Mazinga Shogun warrior toy as a kid. As far as serious fiction about giant robots goes, you probably don't see more of it because the giant robot concept is a bit more on the fantastical side of fiction due to physics limitations and energy costs.
Outside of hard SF type books you can still get a dose of giant robot entertainment from sources like Marvel. The Destroyer Armor used by Odin is somewhat impressive, especially as it's depicted in the comic. Iron Man's Hulk Buster armor might fit your bill as well. As long as you can suspend any doubts you have that are related to physics or biology those are enjoyable stories.
 
I also am a fan of giant mechs. I used to play a lot of Armored Core, I liked the Iron Giant and I even had that Mazinga Shogun warrior toy as a kid. As far as serious fiction about giant robots goes, you probably don't see more of it because the giant robot concept is a bit more on the fantastical side of fiction due to physics limitations and energy costs.
Outside of hard SF type books you can still get a dose of giant robot entertainment from sources like Marvel. The Destroyer Armor used by Odin is somewhat impressive, especially as it's depicted in the comic. Iron Man's Hulk Buster armor might fit your bill as well. As long as you can suspend any doubts you have that are related to physics or biology those are enjoyable stories.

Armoured core was a good game - though I personally prefer the "mech" over the "mecha", apparently there is a difference. I didn't know there was a strict rule for those terms. I just explained it as I like my mechs more BattleTech than Gundam.

Makes sense to me what you're saying; but to my mind, if people claim giant robots are too fantastical, then they they're not allowed to read anything that has FTL/worm hole technology, magic, aliens, super science, unicorns, teleporters, AI, or anything that falls within the term "fiction".
 
Gundam. Lot's of anime available and I read several Gundam books in the 80's and 90's. I'm sure there are more, but mostly in Japanese. How's your Kanji?

And there was just that Pacific Rim malarky.
 
How about this one?

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if people claim giant robots are too fantastical,
I don't think anyone claiming it. It's just maybe a bit niche for novels, though obviously popular comics and animation. I think it's a genre that suits a more visual approach?

Maybe there are loads of Japanese novels, I've no idea. I've only seen the visual orientated stuff. I read novels very widely (for over 50 years) and just haven't seen it in novel format.
 
There was Robotech the novels by Jack McKinney. I read them as a kid and enjoyed them...no clue how they have aged. Sounds like a good niche to get into if there's a demand for it...
 
Upon further examination, I have found quite a few novels/novellas on Kindle about this subject - the art work and general "look" of these books leads me to believe they're self-published, or perhaps published by niche publishers. Not that I'm against self-publishing, but perhaps this is evidence some what of the trend of giant-robot books. Or maybe it has no baring at all, what do I know?

I'll write my own. What's in trend nowadays? Steampunk, vampire, dystopia, faux-medieval stories with added stabby-stabby, booby-boob and dragons? I could work with that, no?
 
Steampunk, vampire, dystopia, faux-medieval stories with added stabby-stabby, booby-boob and dragons?


I think the stabby-stabby, booby-boob sub genre is out of fashion this year.
 

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