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A review by stellarian
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
4.0
I thought a lot about whether I should give this book four or five stars, and in the end I rated my enjoyment of the book instead of its quality, because I’m not sure I’m qualified to rate its quality. (I feel like I should know much more about Economics to fully appreciate everything in the story.)
I would say that Autonomous is about many kinds of slavery, from addiction, to programming, to being trapped by an emotional situation, to the evolution of capitalism enslaving large parts of the population of the world. There are no easy solutions offered, no complete and comforting emotional resolutions in the flawed relationships portrayed. There’s just the world, governed by greed and unjust interpretation of the law. Some people are given the opportunity to try to cope with the outcome of bloody economic warfare, and some are not.
As such the book is depressing, but not entirely so. These are people after all, whether they’re humans or machines, and they live their lives as best they can, making their mistakes and finding their joys. After finishing, I feel neither elated nor crushed - not even really satisfied - but I loved the meticulous worldbuilding and characters. It’s just this lack of emotional clarity that prevents me from giving the book a 5. Your mileage may differ, of course.
I would say that Autonomous is about many kinds of slavery, from addiction, to programming, to being trapped by an emotional situation, to the evolution of capitalism enslaving large parts of the population of the world. There are no easy solutions offered, no complete and comforting emotional resolutions in the flawed relationships portrayed. There’s just the world, governed by greed and unjust interpretation of the law. Some people are given the opportunity to try to cope with the outcome of bloody economic warfare, and some are not.
As such the book is depressing, but not entirely so. These are people after all, whether they’re humans or machines, and they live their lives as best they can, making their mistakes and finding their joys. After finishing, I feel neither elated nor crushed - not even really satisfied - but I loved the meticulous worldbuilding and characters. It’s just this lack of emotional clarity that prevents me from giving the book a 5. Your mileage may differ, of course.