In an alternate reality where technology has advanced much more quickly than in our own (due in part, at least, to Tesla winning the energy wars), a hardened detective works freelance for the NYPD with an synthetic (a robot of new design). The case they’re investigating has them scratching their heads when automatics (scaled down and pacified versions of the machines built to help win the First World War) take the lives of some cops on the take.

This book was slightly derivative of Asimov’s Robot Series (which is a bit synchronicitous as I just finished those books) but had the gritty backdrop of the 1930s and all its hardships. The alternate reality was rich and the evolution of metal men was interesting.

I may not finish the series, but I enjoyed this one.

This  could be the first in a fascinating series but this specific book is lacking that something that makes you say "Wow, great".
It's an entertaining story, i loved the concept and the world building but I think that some more character development would help.
I think there will be more in the next book but this one was an entertaining read but something was missing.
Many thanks to the publisher afor this ARC, all opinions are mine

Night Call is the first in an SF-noir alternate 1930s timeline PI murder mystery series by Brenden Carlson. Released 10th Nov 2020 by Dundurn, it's 336 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. 

This is an engaging book in a much beloved subgenre. I love the noir vibe. I love the androids and their often fraught interactions with humans. I really enjoyed the darkness (often literal) and desperation of the Lower City of NY.  There's a lot of Philip K. Dick and Asimov nuance floating around in the narrative and I really did enjoy reading it. With that being said, the book is not entirely unproblematic. There are several aspects I found myself struggling with. There is -so- much gratuitous violence. The main (human) protagonist Elias Roche murders witnesses, thugs, pretty much everyone, willy nilly. He's a very dangerous guy. I get that it's part of the gritty noir vibe, but in my opinion the author does a superlative job of calling up the mean streets of New York without the superfluous body count. There are very few females mentioned in the entire book (the female director of the FBI makes an appearance), there are some mentions of prostitutes, and various secretaries. Again, the author is adept enough that the omission is certainly intentional to better call up the 1930s noir vibe, but it seemed unnecessary in context. 

Other reviewers have done a good job of providing a precis of the plot, so I'll avoid going into details except to say that the denouement was a bit of a letdown given the otherwise generally good buildup. The language is rough overall (and somewhat anachronistic - I'm pretty sure 1930's cops didn't drop the "f" word nearly as often as occurs in this volume). 

I enjoyed the characterizations (especially Roche's android partner, Allen). I really really enjoyed the vibe (pitch perfect!). It's not flawless, but it certainly was well written and diverting. 

Four stars. I would recommend it unhesitatingly to fans of unredacted Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

Thanks to netgalley for giving an advanced copy of this book.

I like visualize some of the book that I read, and it's better when speaks about the past, and that's something I love about this, then there's the plot... I tried to like it but it was hard for me to get to it.

Review: 
Brenden Carlson’s Night Call is an ambitious novel that never quite finds its footing. While it boasts a slew of genre-appropriate components—enough to have any fan of cyberpunk or sci-fi noir chomping at the bit—the execution manages to fall flat more often than not. The setting is maybe too familiar, the stakes not quite high enough, and the overarching theme of classism and achieving equality between humanity and artificial intelligence, while there, lacks the depth that many readers now expect in a post Blade Runner world. Add to this an anti-hero who leans more toward anti than hero, forgettable cut and paste villains, and an emotional vacuum of an Automatic partner whose attempts at a cheeky, Odd Couple-esque relationship would put both Kirk and Spock to sleep, there is little for the reader to really grab onto. 

Where the novel manages to keep the reader pushing forward is in Carlson’s ability to effectively and continuously inject action into his scenes. While the cinematic style doesn't always present neatly in a novel format, especially after several pages worth of a shootout or chase scene, it can nonetheless prove very compelling, and maybe even a saving grace for those who are specifically looking for that kind of storytelling. It’s action packed, without a doubt, leaving the bad guys shot, the shooter vindicated, and a path a destruction always trailing behind—the exact things you would expect to see in a violent new/old world where the mafia and the police are in constant battle for control of the city, and where the leading man presents as an imperfect, alcoholic veteran who always shoots first and rarely even stops to ask questions later. 

Verdict: If you’re looking to scratch an itch that has been plaguing you since you first fell in love with noir-style science fiction, we feel your pain, but Brenden Carlson’s Night Call probably isn’t going to be the one to do it. While it stands on its own two feet as an action-packed, cinematic thrill-ride, it’s lack of depth and honest humanity leaves it falling short, reminding us more of the lost days of pulp fiction than the cherished cyberpunk genre fans have come to know and love.

I haven’t been this infuriated by a book in a long time. Nigh Call is, pure and simple, cop propaganda, and it would still be awful before the recent awareness of police violence. It goes out of his way to justify (and glorify) police officers torturing, maiming or killing suspects.

If that’s not enough terribleness for you, it sucks as a book too. 
The plot is a convoluted mess that makes no sense if you think about it. The foreshadowing is non-existent, leaps of logic abound, and you know who the bad guy is from the start because he’s mean to the protagonist.
The world-building doesn’t hold up if you look at it twice. You have robots that can get drunk but no internet. Racism and sexism disappear because everyone’s united in hating robots? Hilarious. Someone doesn’t the basics of oppression and power systems. The only female characters are secretaries and the head of the FBI who has two scenes, and the only person of color is a thug. 
The main character, Elias Roche, is a monster who feels no remorse for murdering people. Allen, his partner, exists solelly to criticize Roche’s behavior so every other character can go on a rant on how violence is necessary. Seriously. The narrative stops so side characters can go on and on about how you only have justice if you go around killing/hurting bad guys.
There’s nothing good or even redeemable about this book.

It's a solid 3 stars, maybe 3 and 1/3.
Let's begin by saying this was not my cup of tea. I thought it would have been more scifi than a cop book, and the constant use of overplayed cop-show clichés was a bit off putting: oh, the never-heard-of trope of the tired cop, who's a good cop with loose morals and methods who is so not like the bad cops and has a tragic past.
Nevertheless, the world-building was very interesting and the story compelling.

I was not a fan of this at all. It was a cool concept however, it wasn't for me. It was way too... si-fi-y for me. I'm not that deep into the genre yet. But If you like Sifi, you'll love this

When I read the synopsis of the book on NetGalley, I was hooked! A noir murder mystery and detective robots? You got my attention!

The pace of the book is OK, but there's very little surprise plot-wise. Most of the clues or the resolution are dropped in the lap of the main character, and there's hints and traces of world building be not enough information is revealed to my taste. I liked the use of famous figures, but way too few time is spent on the different categories and models of Automatics.

I recommend this book (which I received as an ARC through NetGalley) to people who like noir and steampunk settings and who are not afraid to embark on a new series.

Set in an alternative 1930s New York, a former police officer Roche and his new automatic (robot) partner Allen, need to keep a perilous peace in order to keep war from its streets.

This was a gritty novel. The alternative setting worked quite well, but ultimately it also left me with a lot of questions. Especially about the world above where the super-rich have fled the turmoil that is common New York City. A lot of automatics also to keep track off. Green eye/blue eye/red eye. How autonomous are they? What freedoms do they have?

While the setting was interesting, the noir-ness of the novel didn’t really speak to me, and I don’t think I would read more in the series.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really tried to read this book but I just couldn't get into it. Nothing about this book was absorbing enough for me to continue reading. I did not finish this book. 

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for this free copy.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Brenden Carlson's Night Call is the start of a series following Elias Roche, former cop now Mafia enforcer. Set in an alternate history 1930s New York where robotics are commonplace assets, Elias is saddled with an Automatic partner as he investigates the murder of multiple cops and why the FBI is covering it up.

I was very much intrigued by this premise of a scifi noir in the 30s Mafia era. I think the characters Carlson introduced were compelling, and the concepts of the way Carlson's alternative New York worked and looked  were very intriguing. I actually really liked Elias, Sinclair, Toby, and Allen. 

What worked against this novel was the pacing. I was expecting something high-octane and fast-paced, but found the entirety of the novel to be consistently slow going. Especially for a murder mystery with near-constant danger, I was surprised and a little disappointed that I never felt that edge-of-your-seat anticipation that I had been hoping for. 

Overall, there is a lot of room for Carlson to expand this world and I would be interested in continuing the series.

DNF'd @ 25%

Night Call by Brenden Carlson sounded like it was going to be great as an alternate 1930s sci-fi noir. I don't know about you, but that should have been exactly up my alley. Unfortunately, I ended up giving this one up. The world-building is very flat, nowhere near as robust as it ought to have been, and the characters voices are the same way. I just wasn't interested in forcing myself to continue on with it.

Night Call is a sci-fi murder mystery that takes place in a futuristic version of 1930s New York. The main character, Elias Roche, is an ex-cop turned mafia enforcer. He is called upon when a violent murder is covered by the FBI. He and his new robotic partner, Allen, work together to find who is responsible for the crime.

This book intrigued me for a few reasons:
1. I thought the cover looked very cool.
2. I had never read anything like this before.

So in an attempt to expand my horizons, I picked out this ARC. I had an unsettling feeling in the first few chapters as if I had seen this story before. I soon realized I may have not read anything like Night Call, but I had certainly played a game like this. The plot and themes felt similar to the PlayStation 4 game, Detroit: Become Human. And let me say, I am not fond of that game.

Throughout this book, we see that all of humanity is treated as equals. However, that does not apply to humanity's robotic counterparts. We see themes of racism, classism, and the robots seem to constantly be misgendered in an attempt to dehumanize them. Roche constantly reminds people that the robots are an "It. Not he." The number of times Elias corrected others when they gave pronouns to the robots began to get on my nerves.

I immediately did not like the main character, Elias. While he may have been an ex-cop, the lines were most certainly blurred throughout the book. He was essentially a mercenary hired by the police, but he felt like he was a police officer from the very beginning. There are exhibits of Elias Roche using excessive force and making many other infractions, which is addressed by his partner, Allen. Had I known the main character was like this, I would have definitely not requested this book.

Aside from me not liking Elias Roche, the characters were very flat and two dimensional. They had little depth and I felt no connection to them at all. Not only was there no connection to the characters, but I barely had a sense of the surroundings. The setting was hardly described throughout the story. Because of this, I had a very hard time being interested in the book. All of these elements made the book forgettable.

I thought overall it was an ok novel, it was a bit slow for me through the middle. Interesting from start to end overall, but I’m not a huge fan of books I have to “work through” to the finish. #thewalkingshadows

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy for an ARC review.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

<b>2.25 stars rounded down to 2.</b>

I'm a big fan of Blade Runner. When I saw <i>Night Call</i>, I thought it would provide me with the same: an action-packed detective noir with androids and morally gray characters. I didn't expect much philosophy, but I thought it would be loads of fun. Gangsters in 1930s alternate New York? You know you've got me.

<b>Unfortunately, the novel quickly loses its charm. The fun is all flash; one moment you're dazzled, and then the next you realize there's nothing concrete behind it. Just smoke.</b>

I really did enjoy the worldbuilding in this novel. It's got a retrofuturistic feel, like it's straight out of the sixties. Things aren't explained too in depth but I liked the ideas. There are different types of robots (Automatics), and the ones with the most advanced AI are shunned because they have a penchant for violence.

<b>In the beginning, I enjoyed the action scenes too. But they also felt... meaningless. What are the deeper stakes? I don't know. Just keep running and shooting. This felt like a B-movie in those aspects.</b>

The plot is your standard murder mystery with a sci-fi twist. A rogue Automatic has killed a restaurant full of people... but wait, his brains were pulled out! That's impossible! Who programmed him into doing such a thing? <b>And even though there were established consequences, I couldn't feel the urgency or gravity of the plotline. Things weren't interesting to make me want to read more.</b> The pacing was super weird too.

Which leads me to my next issue: the characters. I get it, you know. Old-school noir and murder mysteries are often more plot-focused than character-focused, so you get a big chunk of flat characters with super basic motives. <b>But if your plot is boring, then your characters have to at least be interesting to make up for it, and <i>Night Call</i> unfortunately didn't manage that.</b> Does that sound harsh? Well, maybe I'm too used to contemporary thrillers that manage to have twisty mysteries and complex character psychology at the same time.

The protagonist, Elias, is your average tough guy. He's an ex-cop who freelances for the police because he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He's biased against Automatics and lives a fast and hard existence of working (shooting and getting shot at), drinking, and gambling. And then one day, he's put on a case where his partner is an Automatic. Gasp! Allen, his robot partner, is hyper-intelligent but naive.

Yeah, you've read this story before. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. But Allen and Elias don't have a fun relationship like you'd expect out of buddy cop flicks. It's just... strained. And forced.

<b>Oh, and there are no significant female characters. So I'm removing a star just for that.</b>

<b>TL;DR No.</b>

I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character but I am a sucker for a good noir sci-fi and this ticked all the boxes. Backstory and world-building is nice and it is a very realistic New York City setting.

This one is a sci-fi mystery and crime novel based in the 1930s. Think Men in Black but instead of the Aliens you have the Androids and Robots.
That's what attracted me to the book, it reminded me so much of the In Death series, which In Death series is based in Future, this one is in the Past.

Its 1930s, it's a world of Robot labour and discrimination, free energy, and multicooprations that have all the power. Along with world wide Great Depression going on.

Elias Roche, former police officer turned Mafia enforcer, works to maintain a tenuous peace between the two parties. 

"Accustomed to settling disputes with the business end of a gun, Roche must expand his repertoire after a violent murder is covered up by the FBI. With the Mafia insisting they’re innocent of the crime and the police powerless to help, Roche and his new Automatic partner, Allen, must root out those responsible before the situation sparks a war in the city streets." 

At first I hated how there was excessive force and undue violence used by Elias. For just about no reason he kills potential witnesses. There is one part where some thugs were trying to rob him and okay he fights them like a pro and all. But he didnt need to kill them. He seems to love breaking the law where it isnt even needed and is very reckless. 

All of this btw is later addressed by Allen and we get to know that Elias has some major issues.

The way how Allen takes so much of the stuff literally,  brought a little bit of humor into the story. Overall the story was intriguing enough to keep me hooked. The suspense was good enough though the process of the whole reveal caused a bit of confusion. 

The world building was very good and I couldn't help but get the Men in Black vibes.

I love the partnership between Elias and Allen. They balance each other perfectly. I'm very curious to know more about Allen and his kind now.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Night Call by Brenden Carlson

Summary

Elias Roche is a consulting detective in 1933.  He’s been through a world war more partners than he can count.  It’s never a good thing when he receives a night call from the police commissioner, and now he’s investigating the slaughter of several police officers by what is called a Red Eye.  His new partner is a robot that he has named Allen.

Roche quickly realizes that Allen isn’t your ordinary robot.  He is much more intelligent and observant. The two of them quickly realize that this robot who has committed the crime doesn’t have the required neural interface to complete the job. With the help of some of his war buddies, Roche and Allen get to the truth of the matter.

Thoughts

My first thought was that this novel was a perfect combination of an Isaac Asimov novel, a Philip K. Dick novel, and a James Cagney movie.  After reading roughly a third of the novel, I contacted the librarian in charge of ordering science fiction and fantasy and insisted she ordered this novel for our shelves.

Elias Roche is not a great person; he doesn’t even like himself.  Readers will find themselves cheering Roche on no matter his circumstances, and they will fall in love with his robotic counterpart, Allen, immediately.  What’s not to love about a pretentious robot who doesn’t even realize how sassy he is?

This novel was full of well written action and internal conflict.  I am already excited for the next installment in this series.  I truly applaud Carlson for this beautiful work of fiction he has created.

Thank you to Net Galley for this advanced reading copy.

I wanted to love this book, but I had a hard time getting into it. The character connection just wasn’t there.