elusivity's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 STARS.
Audiobook version.
Combination of hardboiled detective with Golden Age science fiction.
Vividly written and entertaining. The mystery isn't particularly mysterious. The detective is more brawn than brains, more Sam Spade than Phillip Marlowe -- concrete-thinking, one-track minded by design, bullet-proof. More likely to throw himself into the melee to see what got thrown up, than observe or analyze from a distance. According to genre dictates, he kept getting beat-up as the plot progressed, increasingly injured, smart-mouthed. The science isn't particularly based on science, more like science fantasy. Convenient advanced gadgets pop up continuously to resolve potentially thorny issues. Loyal sidekick, saucy dame, villainous villains, innocent victims.
A fun, uncomplicated romp. Recommended.
Audiobook version.
Combination of hardboiled detective with Golden Age science fiction.
Vividly written and entertaining. The mystery isn't particularly mysterious. The detective is more brawn than brains, more Sam Spade than Phillip Marlowe -- concrete-thinking, one-track minded by design, bullet-proof. More likely to throw himself into the melee to see what got thrown up, than observe or analyze from a distance. According to genre dictates, he kept getting beat-up as the plot progressed, increasingly injured, smart-mouthed. The science isn't particularly based on science, more like science fantasy. Convenient advanced gadgets pop up continuously to resolve potentially thorny issues. Loyal sidekick, saucy dame, villainous villains, innocent victims.
A fun, uncomplicated romp. Recommended.
dfaulkenberry's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
titusfortner's review against another edition
I was looking for a science fiction detective story, this showed up on a list and got decent reviews so I tried it. The narrative voice was interesting and the audiobook narrator gave everyone a 1920s Chicago accent, which was interesting. The world was a little weird, but the robot protagonist who decided to become sentient had a lot of promise. Until a few chapters into the book took a weird turn that made me very suddenly lose all interest in continuing to read it. YMMV.
itssamu's review against another edition
3.0
A futuristic detective noir with robots, mutants, and aliens, set in a metropolis that feels alive. There's potential up for a plethora of great stories in this world, but this is a standalone, and the plot itself ends up being a little too simple and generic for all it has going for it.
polyphonic_reads's review against another edition
4.0
All cards on the table: I loved the Nick Valentine story in Fallout 4, which I've been playing recently, and I googled 'robot noire'. The Automatic Detective came up quite a lot. And for a good reason - it is EXACTLY what I've been looking for, and I am very happy to have discovered A. Lee Martínez.
This is a fun, almost Pratchett-esque, Atompunk book. I can be even more specific than this - if your idea of a good time is Old World Blues from Fallout New Vegas, you will LOVE this book. It plays with a lot of tropes of both noire and 50s pulp sci-fi, creating a very particular atmosphere, setting and characters. Such a vibrant, fun, feel-good book. I enjoyed it so much.
This is a fun, almost Pratchett-esque, Atompunk book. I can be even more specific than this - if your idea of a good time is Old World Blues from Fallout New Vegas, you will LOVE this book. It plays with a lot of tropes of both noire and 50s pulp sci-fi, creating a very particular atmosphere, setting and characters. Such a vibrant, fun, feel-good book. I enjoyed it so much.
finalstroke's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Book starts slow, but the third act really starts to running. It's my fav noir book.
joelevard's review against another edition
3.0
"Look, I wrote a detective novel!"
No one reads those anymore. People like more modern things nowadays. Robots and suchlike.
"Robots, eh?"
With just glance at her, I knew in a second that this dame was more trouble than she was worth, even if she did have the longest legs I had ever seen, right up to here.
"Just need to edit this a bit and..."
With just one scan, I knew in a microsecond that this biological was more trouble than she was worth, even if she did have the longest legs in my memory banks, right up to here.
"...there."
Um, why is your robot detective still talking about her legs?
"BECAUSE HE WAS PROGRAMMED THAT WAY OK."
Ok, whatever. Calm down.
No one reads those anymore. People like more modern things nowadays. Robots and suchlike.
"Robots, eh?"
With just glance at her, I knew in a second that this dame was more trouble than she was worth, even if she did have the longest legs I had ever seen, right up to here.
"Just need to edit this a bit and..."
With just one scan, I knew in a microsecond that this biological was more trouble than she was worth, even if she did have the longest legs in my memory banks, right up to here.
"...there."
Um, why is your robot detective still talking about her legs?
"BECAUSE HE WAS PROGRAMMED THAT WAY OK."
Ok, whatever. Calm down.
srturner's review against another edition
3.0
If you like noir, detective stories set in an anachronistic sci-fi universe, this is the book for you. Good story with solid writing. The book features a robot detective, a talking gorilla, an alien invasion, mutants and a beautiful blonde engineering genius. What's not to like?
lisaarnsdorf's review against another edition
Pretty classic noir PI story, complete with the gangster speak and the damsel (who isn’t in distress). But because the protagonist is a bot, and lots of the characters are as well, it lacks emotion (a main trait of the bots). I just wasn’t invested in the characters.