What's not to love about apocalyptic literature? Granted, it's filled with carnage and the end of the world as we know it, but it also includes a heap of incredible challenges for our inspiring protagonists to tackle.

In Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse, the challenges come in the form of technology that has gone haywire, seeking to obliterate humanity. This tale is set in the not-so-distant future when robots and computers are just slightly more ubiquitous than today.

Science fiction readers aren't the only ones excited about Wilson's latest book. Stephen Speilberg agreed to make a movie of the thing before it was even completed. That's probably because Wilson is not just the author of six novels, but he also has a Ph.D. in robotics. So when he writes about artificial intelligence gone wrong, it's chillingly realistic.