Review: Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez

by Chriss Cornish published: October 23, 2008 No Comments

This Book Is About

Even in Empire City, a town where weird science is the hope for tomorrow, it’s hard for a robot to make his way. It’s even harder for a robot named Mack Megaton, a hulking machine designed to bring mankind to its knees. But Mack’s not interested in world domination. He’s just a bot trying to get by. When Mack’s neighbors are kidnapped, he sets off on a journey through the dark alleys and gleaming skyscrapers of Empire City. Along the way, he runs afoul of a talking gorilla, a brainy dame, a mutant lowlife, a little green mob boss, and the secret conspiracy at the heart of Empire’s founders – not to mention more trouble than he bargained for. What started out as one missing family becomes a battle for the future of Empire and every citizen that calls her home.

My Thoughts On This Book

Automatic Detective is a great example of cross-genre done well. It’s a nicely balanced mix of science gone mad, robots, gangsters, genetic mutations, dangerous dames, and flying cars.

I really like that the main character doesn’t start out as a hardboiled detective; he’s a cab driver who began ‘life’ as a killer death robot. It’s a fresh approach to see the main character becoming a detective as part of the plot.

I also think it’s great that the sci-fi setting for Automatic Detective is futuristic but not set in the future. No actual time frame is directly mentioned, but you get the feeling it’s a 1950s city-of-the-future. And the setting definitely has that fun 50s sci-fi b-movie flavor beneath all that gritty noir.

If Automatic Detective were a mixed drink recipe it would read, “3 parts noir detective, 2 parts sci-fi, 1 part 50′s sci-fi movie, garnish with giant alien robots, serve hot.”

I also really like that A. Lee Martinez touches on the social and psychological implications of sentient robots, both from a human and a robot perspective. One of the primary characters is Mack Megaton’s court appointed psychologist whose entire professional career focuses on machine intelligences.

The plot is a good, fast paced, fun read. Completely different in substance from the author’s better known comic fantasy books, but still with that slight tongue-in-cheek smirk about it. I enjoyed Automatic Detective and I’ll certainly be re-reading it in the future.