On "Autonomous" and themes that work
A review of "Autonomous" (2017) by Annalee Newitz
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5)
Science Fiction: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5)
Literary: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5)
Vibe: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5)
The style is journalistic — concise, punchy sentences. It makes sense as Annalee Newitz worked in journalism. This works well in a crime thriller. Since a key component of crime thrillers are the reveals along the way, this review will be spoiler-free.
All the major characters are flawed people which makes it hard to root for any of them. At best, I want them to get therapy. At worst, I think they should go to prison. The book succeeds despite this which is a major feather in its cap in my opinion. Newitz occasionally plays fast and loose with the time scales of biology, but in a far less conspicuous way than in Children of Time (where it hides plot twist information).
Autonomous is an excellent book for illustrating themes. The major theme is right in the title — autonomy. We have servile robots who can become free. We have humans who take pills and lose their autonomy. We have people who battle with who they are. We have people and robots working outside the system of governments and laws, and we have people and robots basically following orders. Do genes determine who you love or who loves you? Does a brain? Are you truly autonomous if they do? Almost everything that happens in the book can be hung from the branches of the thematic concept. It’s especially good because the theme of autonomy immediately means it’s important if characters have agency or not — again, a place where Children of Time1 occasionally falls short.
It’s too bad that I failed to write this review before summer ended because this is a great summer read. If you just want a good sci fi thriller, it delivers. If you want something deeper, it’s there.
I don’t mean to pick on Children of Time, but I did use the book as an example where main characters lack agency.