ARC Review: Of Monsters and Mainframes

Publish Date: June 3, 2025
Published by Bindery Books

Thank you to Netgalley and Bindery Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review

This one of the best and most unique sci-fi stories I've ever read. Murderbot meets Dracula meets Star Trek. I could not put this book down. Completely original, yet filled with nostalgia and optimism. This book was a literary glass of cold lemonade on a hot day.

This book played on the common trope of an AI-led future, but instead of leading towards the typical dystopian "AI takes over the world," it asks the question: What if the AI loved? What if the AI had feelings and thoughts and desires? What if the AI wanted to protect the people it was in charge of? Demeter and Steward were absolutely charming characters, and the language describing their interactions as AI machines capable of distinct and independent thought was brilliantly crafted.

Normally when authors use multi-POV, there comes a point where one has trouble remembering who is telling the story. I never had that problem with this book. Each voice is clear and distinct, and I found myself thoroughly enchanted by all of them.

I cannot wait for this book to come out- I will be recommending it to everyone I know.