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timinbc's review
4.0
As others have said, this is fun and also a good story. And a tad thought-provoking as we follow the protagonist's moral development.
My previous Martinez was "Emperor Mollusk vs. The Sinister Brain," which was a very silly (but fun) tribute to pulp fiction. This one is much more of an "ordinary" story.
A few ideas may have been lifted from Iron Man and perhaps James Bond's Q, but I have no problem with that.
Credit Martinez also for not rolling out a new unbeatable, invulnerable character every chapter, only to have that character knocked off eight pages later. There are some VERY capable characters, including our hero, but they all have their weaknesses.
Ditto for the idea that somehow humans quickly got used to having a lot of their fellow humans mutated, often into something quiet weird. Nicely handled.
Looking forward to the next one from Lee M.
My previous Martinez was "Emperor Mollusk vs. The Sinister Brain," which was a very silly (but fun) tribute to pulp fiction. This one is much more of an "ordinary" story.
A few ideas may have been lifted from Iron Man and perhaps James Bond's Q, but I have no problem with that.
Credit Martinez also for not rolling out a new unbeatable, invulnerable character every chapter, only to have that character knocked off eight pages later. There are some VERY capable characters, including our hero, but they all have their weaknesses.
Ditto for the idea that somehow humans quickly got used to having a lot of their fellow humans mutated, often into something quiet weird. Nicely handled.
Looking forward to the next one from Lee M.
rainjrop's review
2.0
About three quarters of the way through, I realized I was reading an extended version of a season finale of Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, mutagen and everything. The plot ended up rather cliche and cartooney, trying to be both a detective novel and a Sci fi book and not doing a stellar job of either.
Lucia was the character with the most personality and she was sadly absent from the second half of the book except for her genius inventions.
As the hero, Mack's willingness to torture and maim people for information was disturbing and just had me shaking my head. His general apathy was not quite balanced by one or two moments of introspection.
The writing style was casual, which I don't automatically hate, but I was disappointed in this case. The sentences were choppy and jerky and he used the vocab of a third grader. The prose felt dumbed down and awkward in places.
Disappointed it wasn't better.
Lucia was the character with the most personality and she was sadly absent from the second half of the book except for her genius inventions.
As the hero, Mack's willingness to torture and maim people for information was disturbing and just had me shaking my head. His general apathy was not quite balanced by one or two moments of introspection.
The writing style was casual, which I don't automatically hate, but I was disappointed in this case. The sentences were choppy and jerky and he used the vocab of a third grader. The prose felt dumbed down and awkward in places.
Disappointed it wasn't better.
vengefuldime's review
3.0
I like the over-the-top city with way more problems that it can deal with, allowing many different avenues to strange characters. As promised, I do see robots (hulking and otherwise), a talking gorilla, psychics with color-coded eyes, a mouse detective, a guy with four arms, a socialite inventor, and many other characters. I like Mack a lot- although he is often stating that he doesn’t care (while he clearly does), it worked overall because of the noir tone. The excess makes it fun, ironically playful. His strength and willingness for violence make him stand out more, while still not negating his compassion for those kind to him. The romance is… there. I knew how it was going to go, but I still wish it didn’t. While I am not for the assumption that robots should be asexual (and aromatic, although unsaid) because of their creation, sometimes I wish they could escape obligatory “romance” arcs. The plot is straightforward, although it slogs a bit in the middle. Again, what you see is what you get, so if you enjoy it it works well. The characters are simple but effective, although that leaves most of the flashiness for the setting. I’m not sure why there were a few pop culture references (which didn’t work for me). Still, I had a pretty good time in Empire City.
cutenanya's review
4.0
This is like reading Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon only this time with a robot instead of a human as Sam Spade. Interestingly, though Mack to me is more a human than a bot, as he thinks like a human, acts like a human, and so I guess that detracts me a little from the novels because I expected Mack to act more like a bot than a guy, you know like R2D2.
The plot is not what I expected but I really like Mack and Lucia Napier is awesome, in fact too awesome to be true. I mean what else to ask for when a girl has it all, but then this girl in not into any man but a bot. Although I think the romance (if you can call that romance) is not really necessary, it's fun it's there and I think the partnership between Mack and Lucia Napier will be awesome. I just hope there are more stories involving the pair. Unfortunately, it seems this book is a standalone.
My one complaint about this book (aside from Mack being too human) is that since the book is so short and the world building sort of complex, I feel there is not enough time to do all the things, making the world building seem a little confusing and incomplete. It'd be so much better had Martinez split the book into a trilogy, or at least write a longer book so that there will be deeper exploration into the world.
The plot is not what I expected but I really like Mack and Lucia Napier is awesome, in fact too awesome to be true. I mean what else to ask for when a girl has it all, but then this girl in not into any man but a bot. Although I think the romance (if you can call that romance) is not really necessary, it's fun it's there and I think the partnership between Mack and Lucia Napier will be awesome. I just hope there are more stories involving the pair. Unfortunately, it seems this book is a standalone.
My one complaint about this book (aside from Mack being too human) is that since the book is so short and the world building sort of complex, I feel there is not enough time to do all the things, making the world building seem a little confusing and incomplete. It'd be so much better had Martinez split the book into a trilogy, or at least write a longer book so that there will be deeper exploration into the world.
shalini_gunnasan's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to the audiobook for this. The narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life. It's fun and funny, with interesting worldbuilding, drawing both on Noir tropes and new ideas. Loved this and definitely will be a future re-listen.
vkelt's review
adventurous
fast-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
This was such a fun and unique story! A 1950s-style sci-fi noir story where the detective is Mack Megaton, who was like a mashup of Murderbot and Hellboy, this dangerous machine that was made to cause so much harm but decides not to. He just wants to keep his head down and work as a cabbie while trying to figure out the whole Free Will thing. But when Mack’s neighbors go missing, he feels compelled to search for the missing family when the police won’t, and he soon finds himself embroiled in a much bigger story.
There was so much to enjoy here, primarily a fantastic setting in Empire City, a sort of technotopia version of Gotham, where robots, humans, and mutants all live amongst each other. The ’50s noir leaps off the page, creating an immersive world that feels both historical and futuristic. Mack’s a great main character, but the side characters all shine, too:
There was so much to enjoy here, primarily a fantastic setting in Empire City, a sort of technotopia version of Gotham, where robots, humans, and mutants all live amongst each other. The ’50s noir leaps off the page, creating an immersive world that feels both historical and futuristic. Mack’s a great main character, but the side characters all shine, too:
- a talking gorilla with a love of literature
- a genius socialite and her robo-butler
- a therapist who specializes in robots with the Free Will glitch
- a chain-smoking rat as an overworked police detective
- rival gang leaders who aren’t afraid to crack skulls (or robot armor) in pursuit of their goals
Plus the various everyday people Mack encounters during his search, all just trying to get by in Tomorrow’s Town. The dialogue was very much straight out of the noir playbook, and so were the characters, but in a way that really enhanced the setting.
For me, the strength of the novel was how well all these bizarre elements came together in a really coherent story that was extremely entertaining. In the past few years, one of my biggest complaints for new releases has been what I call “all trope, no substance,” where it feels like the author just picks a bunch of tropes but never properly develops them, leading to a very shallow story. The Automatic Detective could’ve read like a bunch of tropes in a trench coat, but instead, the author really pulls everything together and makes it work. There's a sincerity and a commitment to the bit that I really appreciated, and it all added up to a fun reading experience.
For me, the strength of the novel was how well all these bizarre elements came together in a really coherent story that was extremely entertaining. In the past few years, one of my biggest complaints for new releases has been what I call “all trope, no substance,” where it feels like the author just picks a bunch of tropes but never properly develops them, leading to a very shallow story. The Automatic Detective could’ve read like a bunch of tropes in a trench coat, but instead, the author really pulls everything together and makes it work. There's a sincerity and a commitment to the bit that I really appreciated, and it all added up to a fun reading experience.
greaydean's review
4.0
What a fun book. Noir Sci-Fi. In the sense of aliens, invented future science, a detective in the underworld. And not a bad mystery as well.
sraedi's review
5.0
This is the first book that I read by A. Lee Martinez which I picked up from the library on a whim. Since then I have grabbed and devoured anything by him that I could get my hands on, including short stories that he posts in his blog. This book is narrated by a robot who feels like the odd robot out, wants equal rights along side humans and often struggles with his programming while trying to find his path in life. I found him.. very relate able. Mystery, humor, science.. What's not to love?
cwebb's review against another edition
3.0
Empire City - humans, mutants, androids. Weird tech all around. And a cab-driving android has to play detective after his neighbors are abducted.
It is a fun romp through a weird city.
My first book by A. Lee Martinez was "Gil's All Fright Diner" and I really liked it. So much that I started reading a bunch of his other books. Sadly, it was a bit hit-and-miss: some just weren't as good and full of humor, so I stopped reading everything. Then I stumbled across a used copy of this book and had to get it.
I have to rate it somewhere inbetween, it's funny and action-packed, but the jokes do get repetitive and for some it just doesn't make sense that a biologoical would regularly make them.
If the main character would have made it into a detective series, I'm not sure if I would read the rest of it.
It is a fun romp through a weird city.
My first book by A. Lee Martinez was "Gil's All Fright Diner" and I really liked it. So much that I started reading a bunch of his other books. Sadly, it was a bit hit-and-miss: some just weren't as good and full of humor, so I stopped reading everything. Then I stumbled across a used copy of this book and had to get it.
I have to rate it somewhere inbetween, it's funny and action-packed, but the jokes do get repetitive and for some it just doesn't make sense that a biologoical would regularly make them.
If the main character would have made it into a detective series, I'm not sure if I would read the rest of it.