The first book in a while I put down for a while
2.5 out of 5 stars
It’s true. I’m sure that some of my followers will say that I’m too nice and that I give every book and four and a five star rating. But sometimes a book just rubs me the wrong way for one reason or another. Sometimes I can pin it on something going on in my life and other times its just the way that the author writes (and only once it’s been the narrators fault).
Autonomous was one of those books for me. I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t know if there was a real compelling reason to fall for the main character, but I couldn’t find one that kept me interested. I think it was a combination of the world that was created (I felt like I was thrown into a book two) and the people in it.
The science and math in it were intriguing but sometimes a little too much. I’m not sure if this is sold as “hard science fiction” but I might qualify it as that. There were things that were explained that I found myself saying, “but why?” I just couldn’t figure out why they were included.
The time in between action and adventure felt a little too long too. I don’t need it to be Michael Bay explosions every 5 seconds, but sometimes I need a little reason to keep reading on. Suspense can be great when timed correctly. Sometimes it can go on to long and goes into what I always call the “Steven King” effect. Long for the sake of being long. This had some of those flaws. Some reader will love the long and drawn out scientific and technological descriptions and long winded reasons for doing certain things, but it’s just not my cup of tea.
Overall, I wanted to like this book, I really did. But it just fell short for me. Maybe I’ll pick it up in a year and love it. Who knows?
Book Description:
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz, Jennifer IkedaNarrator: Jennifer Ikeda
Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
Published by Macmillan Audio on September 19th 2017
Genres: Science Fiction
About the Author:
Annalee Newitz is an American journalist, editor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction. She is the recipient of a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship from MIT, and has written for Popular Science, Wired, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian. She also founded the science fiction website io9 and served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008–2015, and subsequently edited Gizmodo. As of 2016, she is Tech Culture Editor at the technology site Ars Technica. Autonomous is Annalee’s first novel.
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It’s funny, because I’ve been asked why my ratings are usually always 4 or 5 star, that I was too nice!! I remember initially thinking that I was just lucky with the books, but the more I thought on it I realised that it’s simply because I know what I like!!
This one didn’t appeal to me when I first saw it and now I’m glad I went with my gut!! Great review.