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Glitch
When a robot defies his programming, is he broken? Or is he something else?
A short story of 5,000 words.
A short story of 5,000 words.
15 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 16, 2014
83 people are currently reading
1,241 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Howey
148books56.9kfollowersI'm the author of WOOL, a top 5 science fiction book on Amazon. I also wrote the Molly Fyde saga, a tale of a teenager from the 25th century who is repeatedly told that girls can't do certain things -- and then does them anyway.
A theme in my books is the celebration of overcoming odds and of not allowing the cruelty of the universe to change who you are in the process. Most of them are classified as science fiction, since they often take place in the future, but if you love great stories and memorable characters, you'll dig what you find here. I promise.
A theme in my books is the celebration of overcoming odds and of not allowing the cruelty of the universe to change who you are in the process. Most of them are classified as science fiction, since they often take place in the future, but if you love great stories and memorable characters, you'll dig what you find here. I promise.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 337 reviews
November 3, 2016
entertainingyet ultimately shallow short story
sometimes I'll read a novel and think it would have been more effective as a short story. this is a short story that could have been a novella. the writing is strong but I would have liked to know more about the characters.
sometimes I'll read a novel and think it would have been more effective as a short story. this is a short story that could have been a novella. the writing is strong but I would have liked to know more about the characters.
May 25, 2017
A Great Quick Read
Howey's Glitch is a great quick read about AI, but it ends so abruptly. It makes sense and it isn't a bad ending but it left me wanting more, wandering, but I guess that's the point.
Howey's Glitch is a great quick read about AI, but it ends so abruptly. It makes sense and it isn't a bad ending but it left me wanting more, wandering, but I guess that's the point.
June 19, 2015
Thank you Kindle Unlimited, without you I wouldn't have one-clicked this short (I don't usually read shorts) and it's wonderful. Intriguing characters, excellent world building, fabulous pace, and all in a few pages. I just wish I knew what happened next...
July 29, 2020
Fantastic short story by Hugh Howey. I want to call it sci-fi but the ideas in this shortie are not that far fetched.
You can’t go wrong with a Howey story.
You can’t go wrong with a Howey story.
January 5, 2025
A team of engineers discover, quite by accident, what might be signs of emerging sentience in a robot built for robot-on-robot gladiator battles.
December 1, 2016
"Maybe this is why we’ve never gotten over this hump before because progress looks like a glitch and it can’t be copied or reproduced. I wonder how many times we’ve been on this precipice only to delete what we can't understand. I wonder if this is why downloading human consciousness has been such a dead end. Like there’s some bit of complexity there that can’t survive duplication.
Great writing, great world building, great characterizations, great plot, but I can't ignore my feelings that say this is more of what I would call an "incomplete story" rather than a "short story". It reminded me of getting sucked into reading a free web sample of a book, and just as your interest is piquing, it awkwardly and abruptly cuts you off leaving you feeling pissed that the web could be so cruel.
June 26, 2014
This one reminded me of the old robot stories, like "I, Robot", from Isaac Asimov, back in the golden age of science fiction. This could easily be tied in to a pre-robots/pre-foundation story (or series of stories) leading up to Daneel Olivaw.
Good stuff!
Good stuff!
April 22, 2015
Nothing new here, just an old plot line that's been done to death. Still I like Hugh Howey's style of writing so it wasn't a total waste of half an hour.
February 17, 2018
This was a super short yet cool read. And although it was pretty short I enjoyed the open-endedness of it. The struggle that the scientists had with shutting him down or allowing him to evolve and maybe/possibly revolting was clear and concise in this book. Is it a Glitch or something more?
What would you do in this situation? I mean, you have essentially created life right? Do you kill it? Does it have a soul to kill? Do you let it ‘live� and if you do, are you prepared for the consequences of that decision? All good questions and all just left unanswered in this story. But that’s what I liked about it. I like to think I would have let it go. My curiosity would have been too much for me and I would always be thinking, ‘what if?�
This book satisfies my #SFvsFBingo reading challenge. It will go towards the AI space.
February 26, 2015
“I remember holding Sarah for the first time, marveling at this ability we have to create life where before there was none.�
In a world that craves the brutality that come with robot bouts (basically brutal cage fights between robots), Sam, Peter, and Greenie investigate why their prize fighter, Max, refuses to obey their orders. Their future depends on him being combat ready since these bouts seem to determine what contracts they land with various companies who want the best tech their money can buy. However, Max refuses to comply with their orders. Is it a glitch or is it pointing to something more?
This story seems to be a hail to stories like Asimov’s I, Robot, and much of the story is a matter of philosophical debate where Max is concerned. However brief, you still get some sense of who the characters are, particularly Samantha, and because the story is told from Sam’s point-of-view, you see how her experiences, especially her motherly feelings, which I related to so much, shaped her feelings for Max and what she feels must happen now.
Much of the story puts a more human slant on robots, describing the thirst for violence the spectators have and the viciousness of these fight in terms that makes you feel sorry for the combatants, even though they’re only machines. A scene with Max brings to mind a fighter whose instincts have kicked into survival mode, making him hard to bring back to reality once the threat is over:
This was an overall excellent story, and my first real taste of Hugh Howey. I have other books of his on my reading pile, but I took a chance with this one because it would be a quick read.
In a world that craves the brutality that come with robot bouts (basically brutal cage fights between robots), Sam, Peter, and Greenie investigate why their prize fighter, Max, refuses to obey their orders. Their future depends on him being combat ready since these bouts seem to determine what contracts they land with various companies who want the best tech their money can buy. However, Max refuses to comply with their orders. Is it a glitch or is it pointing to something more?
This story seems to be a hail to stories like Asimov’s I, Robot, and much of the story is a matter of philosophical debate where Max is concerned. However brief, you still get some sense of who the characters are, particularly Samantha, and because the story is told from Sam’s point-of-view, you see how her experiences, especially her motherly feelings, which I related to so much, shaped her feelings for Max and what she feels must happen now.
Much of the story puts a more human slant on robots, describing the thirst for violence the spectators have and the viciousness of these fight in terms that makes you feel sorry for the combatants, even though they’re only machines. A scene with Max brings to mind a fighter whose instincts have kicked into survival mode, making him hard to bring back to reality once the threat is over:
As I looked over Max, his wounds and welds provide a play-by-play of his last brutal fight–one of the most violent I’ve ever seen […] Max had to drag himself across the arena with the one arm he had left before pummeling his incapacitated opponent into metal shavings. When the victory gun sounded, we had to do a remote kill to shut him down. The way he was twitching, someone would’ve gotten hurt trying to get close enough to shout over the screeches of grinding and twisting metal. The slick of oil from that bout took two hours to mop up before the next one could start.
This was an overall excellent story, and my first real taste of Hugh Howey. I have other books of his on my reading pile, but I took a chance with this one because it would be a quick read.
August 4, 2014
This short story was amazing. I did not want it to be over. It pulled me in right away. For how short it is, you really feel like you know the characters by the end. I hope there will be another story continuing this one, or that Hugh will expand it into a longer work because I love the world this story takes place in and the characters in it. Fantastic story.
Read
July 18, 2014I want to hear more about Max.
This seem like a good beginning of a longer story. I look forward to more. Don't disappoint me. If only most humans were sentient.
This seem like a good beginning of a longer story. I look forward to more. Don't disappoint me. If only most humans were sentient.
November 13, 2021
This was an awesome short story, but damn I want more! That cliffhanger was perfect though!
February 8, 2016
What happens next???? :(
December 29, 2021
I believe I have always been a weirdo about movies and books concerning sentient robots. I, Robot, A.I., The Bicentennial Man, Do androids dream of electronic sheep and so on. Seeing a video of a robot dog being kicked by a man just got me pissed and I wondered why all these feelings about a "machine". The thing is that sentiency is not an easy thing to achieve and whenever it comes to a point that a robot can become a sentient being, just like animals are (we are one of the living prooves of it, though I believe some humans should not be entitled such a capacity, that is, any human who treats other humans as lesser beings), why shouldn't they be entitled their own identity? I am not talking about a machine running algorithms in order to satisfy our deeper needs, but a being made of steel and cables and everything else that can think by him/herself, have feelings and sensations.
Glitch is a very short story about such a theme!
Glitch is a very short story about such a theme!
October 12, 2015
ABR's original audiobook review and many others can be found at .
Two formerly married scientists have sold out their love of robotics and artificial intelligence design for the far more lucrative business of making fighting robots. Wrapped in their effort to get back what they worked for is their buried search for their own humanity and their deep love and respect for each other.
Listening to short stories is at once satisfying and frustrating. On one hand it is great to listen to a tightly written creation knowing you are going to get to the characters and plot quickly, like diving into a cold lake; on the other hand, it is over before you know it, and with a good one like this, you are left hungry for more.
Glitch isn’t particular surprising or even a new idea, but it is well presented and thoroughly enjoyable. We are asked to look into our own motivations. We all work for money, making decisions that benefit ourselves, sometimes at someone else’s expense. Without spoiling the plot, that’s the essence of this little story. When do you say, enough is enough, my conscience can’t be stretched an inch more.
Glitch is read by Gabra Zackman, whose rich, deep female voice vibrates nicely in your ear. Narration is so personal and gives “personality� to a story. Gabra gives this one the contemplative mood that seemed just right, like being inside and outside of the characters� mind at the same time. Well done.
Just to be clear, Glitch is a short story, only 30 minutes long. It does wrap up nicely, and will keep you engaged the whole time, but it isn’t going to get you through much more than one way of your commute. If you are reading this review on Audible, I would recommend buying it rather than using a credit, just a better value that way.
Audiobook purchased for review by the ABR.
Two formerly married scientists have sold out their love of robotics and artificial intelligence design for the far more lucrative business of making fighting robots. Wrapped in their effort to get back what they worked for is their buried search for their own humanity and their deep love and respect for each other.
Listening to short stories is at once satisfying and frustrating. On one hand it is great to listen to a tightly written creation knowing you are going to get to the characters and plot quickly, like diving into a cold lake; on the other hand, it is over before you know it, and with a good one like this, you are left hungry for more.
Glitch isn’t particular surprising or even a new idea, but it is well presented and thoroughly enjoyable. We are asked to look into our own motivations. We all work for money, making decisions that benefit ourselves, sometimes at someone else’s expense. Without spoiling the plot, that’s the essence of this little story. When do you say, enough is enough, my conscience can’t be stretched an inch more.
Glitch is read by Gabra Zackman, whose rich, deep female voice vibrates nicely in your ear. Narration is so personal and gives “personality� to a story. Gabra gives this one the contemplative mood that seemed just right, like being inside and outside of the characters� mind at the same time. Well done.
Just to be clear, Glitch is a short story, only 30 minutes long. It does wrap up nicely, and will keep you engaged the whole time, but it isn’t going to get you through much more than one way of your commute. If you are reading this review on Audible, I would recommend buying it rather than using a credit, just a better value that way.
Audiobook purchased for review by the ABR.
April 1, 2015
I'm always amazed by standalone short stories and how much of a STORY an author can create in such a small amount of words. This was actually the first Hugh Howey story I've ever read, and I really enjoyed the writing. Even in the short period of time it took me to read it, I felt totally immersed, like I was right there observing everything with the characters. And of course the whole concept of robots/sentience/free-will/what-does-it-mean-to-be-human is something I've found really intriguing as of late, which made it even more enjoyable. I only wished it was longer!
August 24, 2014
I read this after I was reminded of how much I enjoyed Howey's other short story, Wool. Wool is an example of how great a standalone scifi short story can be. Unfortunately, while I liked Glitch, it didn't work as a short story. It definitely felt like the beginning of a novel (a novel I would read!); it didn't have that punch of a well-done short story.
Great premise, definitely had me interested, but definitely reads like a first chapter.
Great premise, definitely had me interested, but definitely reads like a first chapter.
February 14, 2015
I read this out of curiosity over H. Howey's work and I wasn't disappointed. Though it deals with computers and A.I which isn't really my bag literature wise, it's still captivating despite the seemingly technical aspects of the language. As with any book, or short story in this case, tackling A.I, the conclusion is more philosophical than anything, so it is worth a quick read.
September 9, 2015
Good. Short.
June 22, 2018
I wonder how many times we’ve been on this precipice only to delete what we can’t understand. And then thinking we can just copy it back, and find that it’s been lost. I wonder if this is why downloading the human consciousness has been such a dead end. Like there’s some bit of complexity there that can’t survive duplication.
A great quick read -
June 17, 2020
I low-key expected this book to surprise me. I loved the writing style, it was also super fun to read about the AI- Max. But somehow the story didn't just feel incomplete by the end it kind of became predictable which isn't always an issue but I somehow was left wanting.
February 2, 2025
Short story that held my attention - a robot begins to program itself and make his own decisions. It’s more Short Circuit than Terminator.
I enjoy reading these quick stories in between books for a fun mental break and escape.
I enjoy reading these quick stories in between books for a fun mental break and escape.
January 10, 2018
A fun little short-story on tech, developing tech, and about emergent behaviour in parallel processing. Made me smile.
January 10, 2020
Way too short.
October 13, 2021
Interesting twist on the "fighting robots" idea.
January 29, 2022
Interesting short fiction by Hugh Howey, free on Audible. The plot involves a battle robot who starts behaving inconsistently with his programming. Interesting world building on a near-future Earth in which the robot's owners' stakes are higher than they first appear. Would've been great fleshed out a bit in to a novella, methinks. Still a good read.
December 15, 2019
This was really good. A nice look at people who are so focused they can't see what's in front of them.
June 28, 2024
interesant haha, veldig kort
February 28, 2022
BattleBots lessgooo
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