paperback, 304 pages
Published Sept. 4, 2018 by Tor Books.
Autonomous features a rakish female pharmaceutical pirate named Jack who traverses the world in her own submarine. A notorious anti-patent scientist who has styled herself as a Robin Hood heroine fighting to bring cheap drugs to the poor, Jack’s latest drug is leaving a trail of lethal overdoses across what used to be North America—a drug that compels people to become addicted to their work.
On Jack’s trail are an unlikely pair: an emotionally shut-down military agent and his partner, Paladin, a young military robot, who fall in love against all expectations. Autonomous alternates between the activities of Jack and her co-conspirators, and Elias and Paladin, as they all race to stop a bizarre drug epidemic that is tearing apart lives, causing trains to crash, and flooding New York City.
The first 100 pages of this had me hooked, but then it all fell apart. The plot was boring, the writing grew really procedural and stale, and the Jack/Threezed half of the narrative didn’t hold up to the first few sections about Eliasz and Paladin. I appreciated the book’s themes and message about autonomy, but… lukewarm at best.
While I enjoyed the story — and don't regret reading this at all — I had an incredibly hard time rooting for the agents. Also, I know the story takes place in a dystopian future, but slavery makes a comeback?! 🤢 Woof.
