The Automation

This was an experimental read for me if there ever was one. Absolutely intriguing and wild, but also confusing. However, I believe that's the point.

Given how chaotic I found both the plot and the narration (told by the narrator with comments from the editor in the footnotes (both fictional, by the way)) insanely hard to follow, I'll leave descriptions up to the Goodreads summary. Perhaps this is something I would absorb more audibly rather than reading with my eyes. I would have trouble putting it all into words given I'm not quite sure what to mark as spoilers. It's quite intricate. There is also a website with a detailed FAQ on the book and characters which I think is a nice touch.

Ultimately, I'm not sure how I feel about all of this. It was interesting, that I can say with confidence. Whether or not I enjoyed it is still up for debate. It's stuck with me though, so I suppose that's what counts. My biggest issue was how unclear the chapters were marked. I'm somebody who has trouble stopping mid-chapter, so I read this faster than I might have not knowing where to put it down. That can be a good or bad thing depending on who's reading. For me, I think I would have taken in more with clear pauses so I could digest each section.

Readers super into mythology and detailed presentations will eat this up. I'm mostly left baffled, but I do like branching out of my comfort zone.

A huge thanks to the publisher for sending me a free copy of the book to read and review!