The Mechanical by Ian Tregellis is a case of the scenario being better than the implementation (though not as bad as it could've been). The scenario: in the late 1400s, a Dutch alchemist manages to create quasi-robots, the titular Mechanica

Nazis, but they have supermen, vs British war mages who will gladly sacrifice children. Unpleasant all around. Nobody is sympathetic, nobody is even interesting, everybody is terrible, and I haven't met flatter characters in ages. Didn't en