Autonomous by Annalee Newitz is a science fiction novel set in a future where corporate patent law and big pharma control society, leading to humans and robots often being indentured rather than autonomous. The story follows Jack, a pirate who reverse engineers drugs to make them accessible to all, but a mistake leads her to be pursued by a relentless team of enforcers, a human and a robot. The book delves into themes of autonomy, slavery, and the ethics of ownership, while exploring the relationships between the characters in a dystopian setting filled with ethical dilemmas and complex narratives.

Characters:

The characters are diverse but often criticized for being underdeveloped or unrelatable, leading to mixed feelings about their journeys.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is a mix of technical jargon and narrative that some readers found difficult to engage with due to its complexity.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot explores a future dominated by corporate control over pharmaceuticals, focusing on a pirate's quest to distribute drugs amidst the consequences of her actions.

Setting:

The setting is a near-future Earth shaped by corporate dystopia, focusing on issues of autonomy and social disparities.

Pacing:

The pacing varies throughout the book, with a compelling start but criticisms of slow sections and a rushed conclusion.

Sand had worked its way under Paladin’s carapace, and his actuators ached. It was the first training exercise, or maybe the fortieth. During the formatting period, it was hard to maintain linear time;...

Notes:

The story is set in 2144 where humanity has established colonies on other planets like Mars.

Jack, the main character, reverse engineers drugs to distribute to those who can't afford them, acting like a modern Robin Hood.

The book explores complex themes of autonomy, the nature of AI, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding drug patents and corporate control.

Paladin, a robot in the story, struggles with issues of gender identity and autonomy, exploring deeper questions about existence.

The narrative juxtaposes the struggles of humans with questions of robot rights and personhood, highlighting modern societal issues.

The setting includes a backdrop of corporate dystopia with powerful pharmaceutical companies controlling access to medication.

Jack's actions lead to a crisis when one of the drugs she distributes causes a deadly addiction, challenging her moral standing.

The dynamics of gender and sexuality are explored, including a controversial relationship between a human agent and his robot partner.

The world-building includes elements of indentured servitude for both humans and bots, echoing real societal issues about labor and autonomy.

The novel incorporates scientific and technical language that some readers found difficult, which may hinder immersion in the story.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Triggers may include depictions of violence, discussions of sexual consent, themes around indentured servitude, and homophobia.

Has Romance?

While there are romantic elements, particularly involving AI relationships, they are not the primary focus of the narrative.

From The Publisher:

Autonomous is the highly anticipated debut from science journalist and founder of the science and sci-fi blog io9 Annalee Newitz, a novel that explores humanity's technology and culture in a future where everything-and everyone-is a product.

Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap scrips for poor people who can't otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses as people become addicted to their work, doing repetitive tasks until they become unsafe or insane.

Hot on her trail, an unlikely pair: Eliasz, a brooding military agent, and his robotic partner, Paladin. As they race to stop information about the sinister origins of Jack's drug from getting out, they begin to form an uncommonly close bond that neither of them fully understand.

And underlying it all is one fundamental question: Is freedom possible in a culture where everything, even people, can be owned?

"Autonomous is to biotech and AI what Neuromancer was to the Internet."-Neal Stephenson

"Something genuinely and thrillingly new in the naturalistic, subjective, paradoxically humanistic but non-anthropomorphic depiction of bot-POV-and all in the service of vivid, solid storytelling."-William Gibson

Ratings (4)

Incredible (2)
Loved It (1)
It Was OK (1)

Reader Stats (17):

Read It (4)
Want To Read (10)
Not Interested (3)

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About the Author:

ANNALEE NEWITZ is an American journalist, editor, and author of fiction and nonfiction. They are the recipient of a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship from MIT, and has written for Popular Science, The New Yorker, and the Washington Post. They founded the science fiction website io9 and served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008-2015, and subsequently was Editor-in-Chief at Gizmodo and Tech Culture Editor at Ars Technica. Their book Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction was nominated for the LA Times Book Prize in science. Their first novel, Autonomous, won a Lambda award, and their new novel The Future of Another Timeline is out Sept. 2019.

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Autonomous

Annalee Newitz