Automatic Noodle

Tinker reviewed Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (duplicate)

Notes: Automatic Noodle - Solarpunk, Lofi, Cozy

5 stars

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz ( @annaleen@wandering.shop - wandering.shop/@annaleen )

Cozy Book, Lofi
Low stakes / minimal conflict
Solarpunk

Wonderful book. Sentient robots start and run a noodle shop in post-civil war (near-future) San Francisco. Detailed imagery of war torn ruins being rebuilt. Life returning to previously abandoned locations. Detailed descriptions of various food dishes including biang biang noodle dishes. Detailed descriptions of making noodles by hand. What conflict that does exist includes: flashbacks of war and struggle; current animosity towards sentient robots and their endeavors. Very low conflict and minimal tension. A lovely story to relax into and just exist and vibe.

enne📚 reviewed Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (duplicate)

4 stars

The shtick: intelligent robots traumatized by war, capitalism, and oppression struggle together to establish a noodle shop in war-torn, separatist San Francisco.

Other than thinking robots and tube delivery technology, the worldbuilding is a fever dream of the current moment despite being set in 2064: it's got crypto, LLMs, delivery apps, ghost kitchens, slang like "rizz". But it's unfair to take this aspect too seriously; it's not a hard sf novel trying to speculate about the future. At its heart, it's a comfy emotional novel about forming community around food in a ruined future.

It's fluffy, it's fun, it was something I needed right now.

Kelson Reads reviewed Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (duplicate)

Short but Joyful

5 stars

Automatic Noodle is a short, joyful tale of creating the future you want out of the present you've been stuck with.

The main robots are all well-drawn, individual characters: The octopus-like search-and-rescue bot whose chemical sensors were perfect for analyzing taste and smell, who has fond memories of the falafel truck they worked at after the war (and is seriously into speculating cryptocurrency on the side). The bot with articulated arms and hands, who wants to make something worthwhile with them. The former bank teller, partly humaniform, who becomes more comfortable expressing her inner robot-ness as she explores logistics and supply chains. And the former combat robot, who finds himself tired of working in management and wants to get back into protecting people (both human and robot) and the restaurant, and discovers there are more ways to do that than just muscle (or rather servos) and ammo. The sentient car …

Automatic Noodle is a short, joyful tale of creating the future you want out of the present you've been stuck with.

The main robots are all well-drawn, individual characters: The octopus-like search-and-rescue bot whose chemical sensors were perfect for analyzing taste and smell, who has fond memories of the falafel truck they worked at after the war (and is seriously into speculating cryptocurrency on the side). The bot with articulated arms and hands, who wants to make something worthwhile with them. The former bank teller, partly humaniform, who becomes more comfortable expressing her inner robot-ness as she explores logistics and supply chains. And the former combat robot, who finds himself tired of working in management and wants to get back into protecting people (both human and robot) and the restaurant, and discovers there are more ways to do that than just muscle (or rather servos) and ammo. The sentient car doing delivery gigs who has a thing for old media and will tell you exactly what's wrong with the offensive robot stereotypes in, say, Transformers.

Cross-posted from my website.