A review by vermidian
The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book is wildly inventive. I cannot stress enough how creative the world is and the world building involved. Sci-fi noir androids are a very specific vibe and I can't say I've read another book quite like it. In the world itself you have mutants of all kinds as well as hover cars, androids, and strange technologies of all kinds. But you also get the classic bombshells and the mission focus of a noir novel.

I will say, however, that the noir cliche stuff was not my particular cup of tea. I've been really enjoying A. Lee Martinez's other books and I LOVE robots and the whole free will schtick. Because of those things, I was really looking forward to reading this one but the noir vibe just didn't hit home for me. That's no fault of the book, of course - it's just personal preference. I also wished they had gone more into the philosophy end of Mack's free will and what made certain robots special and why they got free will while others didn't. I get why they didn't go into it - it didn't really have any bearing on rescuing the Bleakers and saving the city - but I would have liked more than what I got.

I kept thinking this book would make an EXCELLENT 2D animated movie and I would definitely recommend it.