- Publisher: Tor Books
- Publication date: September 19, 2017
- Duration: 10 hours 27 minutes
- ASIN: B0753K8CVK
- Print ISBN-10: 0765392070
- Print ISBN-13: 978-0765392077
- Author: Annalee Newitz
- Read by: Jennifer Ikeda
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz is set in a near future Earth where humans and intelligent robots have similar rights. Both can receive autonomy, and both can be purchased in indenture. The story follows two parallel tracks. In one, Jack, a drug pirate who reverse engineers and releases patented drugs to the greater public has found one of the drugs she copied is addictive and potentially deadly. In the second track, the robot Paladin is struggling with their identity and their relationship with their partner from the IP, Eliasz. They are trying to track down Jack and arrest or eliminate her.
Autonomous is well crafted tale showing concerns with patents and medicines and how corporate greed can prevent people from getting what they need to survive and thrive. How warping people’s psyche to make them ‘better workers’ is valued over those workers’ health and well-being. It also raises questions about sexuality and bigotry and who really has the rights to self-autonomy. A society that values profit over human (or non-human) lives, is not so unlike our own. A society that is willing to force conscious entities to do their bidding for low compensation.
Autonomous raises these concerns and these questions without being preachy about it. It is, first and foremost, a good story about people trying to do their jobs, trying to fulfill their role. Sometimes trying to figure out what that role may be. If you are looking for an entertaining read that makes you think about it for a while after you’re done, this is a good one.
Matt Truxaw is the author of the hard science fiction thriller “Plastiphobia: aka Plastivore” and his newest novel “Anthrophobia: A Teacher’s Tale” – released January 3, 2025.
They are both available on Amazon in Paperback, Kindle and are free to read with Kindle Unlimited.
When you read either, he would really appreciate a review/rating on Amazon or your favorite book seller/book reader site.
More about Matt:
He was born in Orange County California many years ago and he still lives there. He has been reading books for most of those years and writing up book reviews for the last few years. He gets most of his books out of the library so expect a lot of old science fiction classics book reviews and other science related reviews in addition to newer books he comes across.
If you want to be ‘in-the-loop’ on these and other works, you can follow his author’s page on Amazon or his Facebook page.
For more reviews and articles by Matt here on Amazing Stories (Click here).
