I absolutely loved Of Monsters & Mainframes!
Thank you so much to EzeekatPress, Bindery Books & Barbara Truelove for the opportunity to read this exhilarating ARC!

It was fun, heart warming, cozy, and at times not so cozy. A wild adventure in space with humans, AI, monsters and aliens, and some of them who turn out to be the most incredible found family I loved getting to know.

Once I had a chance to get stuck into reading this story I was hooked and time flew by. I remember thinking that so much had happened but not once did the story feel like it was dragging on too long! I was swept up in it all, and this is one of my most favourite NetGalley ARCs I have ever read!

Of Monsters & Mainframes is a fantastic space opera that will firmly hold a special place in my heart and on my shelves once my preorder arrives!

What a fun and adventurous read! Think space pirates meets all the classic horror monsters. Dracula, werewolves, Frankenstein, and more. I adored all the little Easter eggs and the clever nods to the classic books. The heartwarming and hilarious supercomputers/AI’s, Demeter and Steward make this a perfect read for fans of the Murderbot series. Found family and epic missions are a big part of the story. Such an entertaining tale and it even had me translating binary code. I hope this ends up the first in a series cause I am going to need more Steve.
(Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an e-arc, all thoughts are my own!)

This was SO FUN. It is unlike any book I have ever read and likely you will ever read so let me just ATTEMPT to verbalize it.

This is a lifetime-spanning campy, hilarious, horror-esque, sci-fi adventure book. Your main character is a sentient spaceship named Demeter. You follow Demeter long her journey of having "back luck" on her intergalactic voyages. She still manages to collect a rag-tag group of human, somewhat human, and not human at all travelers along the way.
It is ridiculous, and goofy but has so much heart.

My biggest tip for reading is to be open-minded and ready for a silly goofy time. (I also feel like I should mention that werewolves, Frankenstein, and Dracula are involved. )

Also thank you Netgalley and Bindery Books for the e-arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bindery books for an eArc in exchange for a review!

This was one of the most unhinged and weirdest books I have ever read, but in a good way. I was a bit skeptical about the genre blending with sci-fi and fantasy elements going into the book, but I was pleasantly surprised as to how it turned out. I got attached to Frank and Steward almost immediately after they were introduced and I thoroughly enjoyed reading their POVs. I also loved the subtle representation the book had as well.

One thing I think the book struggled with was the pacing. I was not very invested in any of the characters until around 50% of the way through because nothing was really happening. I would also put into account that since the beginning of the book was purely through Demeter's POV, it kind of read flat but that may be because it was being told through the point of view of an AI. I also think there was a lack of character development and instead we just got crazy thing after crazy thing going on instead. There wasn't really a direction in the plot at all until the last 2 parts where all the characters were all together.

Overall, I do think this was a fun and wild read!

This was so deliciously weird. I think if you enjoyed In The Lives of Puppets by T J Klune, you will like this!

Told predominantly from the perspective of two bickering AI's on board a ship destined for Earth from Alpha Centauri, Of Monsters and Mainframes is a cosy yet slightly gory tale of found family, mystety and mayhem.

This book was so much fun, I don't think it will be for everyone but I loved it. My highlights were Frank (what an interesting backstory they had!!), as well as Demeter and her endless waring with Steward. (I love them, for real).

I also really enjoyed how this book had many LGBT characters who were just allowed to exist without their sole purpose being a romantic plot line. It felt nice and refreshing as much as I did love the snippets of romance we did get!

Overall, a really fun and unique scifi! (4.5 stars rounded up to five)

Rating: <b>A+</b>

I didn't know if I was ready to write a review but I don't wanna let it bake too long in case I forget what I wanna say! Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Surprise Australian Author.

Of Monsters and Mainframes is a book I went into blind, thinking it was like a Dracula retelling in space, but really it's not. The Demeter is a large non-combat inter-space passenger vessel that travels mainly between Alpha Centauri B and Earth. On one of it's routine voyages the AI managing the ship gets an alert that something is wrong and finds all the passengers dead. That's the fault of Dracula, who travelled across from who-knows-where and killed everyone. After he escapes onto Alpha Centauri B, the Demeter makes it its mission to kill him.

This book has so much soul. I have never felt so attached to a machine in any other book I've read. I really especially loved the interactions throughout the book between Demeter and Steward, Demeter and the STMS, with the Hades ship and with Agnus and Isaac. The author put so much love into all these characters that it brought them to life on the pages. I almost cried twice in this novel, firstly when we get a TTRPG like review of the 2000-day journey from Alpha Centauri B to Earth as Agnus and Isaac age from like 9-13ish, and right at the end when we see the characters' story conclude. You can really see the author's own game-design experience come through here, and I won't lie that it really felt like I was reading their own experience of playing 1000-year-old Vampire.

I laughed so many times, like when the STMS, frustrated at Demeter's late docking notice, added 0s to its name and so it got misnamed almost constantly. I was truly surprised by this modern and refreshing space opera that was just such a joy to read.

I loved seeing the characters as they aged - things get really dark for Demeter and you genuinely feel frustrated and upset at the turns in the story. I also respected that we see Agnus age - you rarely get a novel with a protagonist older than 25 or even 30, let alone a small queer romance where the love interest is also a woman in her 50s/60s! (Immortality aside.) I enjoyed all the separate elements and different protagonists and POV chapters we had through this 400-page novel. Each character has a small connection to each other and it doesn't feel manufactured like a k-drama, or done on-the-fly; it genuinely felt like the author had planned everything and each part of their story was meant to be.

I will admit that the middle to later part of the book felt like it dragged a little and in the conclusion we did get a bunch of POV retellings; I would have loved to not experience the conclusion second- or third-hand.

I chewed through this in less than a week and just loved every minute of it. While cheesy, it's just fun and lighthearted while not shying away from gore and horror. This book is enjoyable, funny, and so easy to recommend to my friends. I can't wait to see what else Barbara Truelove writes. Thank you from another Australian (reader).

thank you to netgalley and bindery books for the arc <3

mmmm ok so. i picked this book up for the absolutely feral description and genuinely. yeah. it delivered a silly book that kept me interested and somehow invested in robot spaceships and every monster type in the solar system and etc etc.

i had some issues with some of the character development being,, unearned. agnus' 'realizations' and some of the "im an AI so i can do xyz in 4.632 seconds and save the day" was annoying at times, but maybe that's because i'm more impressed w tangible events than numbers.

i feel like robot enthusiasts and those who love 10000 random fight scenes will have a wonderful time,, and also anyone who had a deep love of wall-e! i think i learned to love robot spaceships a little more,, and genuinely enjoyed the interconnectivity between all the events in demeter's treacherous past.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice mix of dark legends and new technology. I was rooting for each of the characters including Demeter and Steward and loved the love they had between them.

4.5 rounded up

This really scratched my snarky-sentient-ship itch!! If you like Murderbot Diaries (for the sparky AI that will do anything to protect it's crew) or Gideon the Ninth (for the absurd space opera vibes), you have to check this one out.

I loved this so much, I couldn't put it down once I started it. This was a very fun read with a delightful cast of characters - and I liked that we got a handful of short story-like arcs that all came together in the end.

My only note is that I wanted more Frankenstein!! And I felt like we didn't fully wrap up their story at the end. But otherwise, no complaints - an absolute joy to read.

Thank you to Bindery and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When choosing this book, I thought the description of the book was interesting. It sounded like a new and exciting idea having the main perspective of the book come from a computer AI. I was also drawn to the cover of the book. It reminded me a lot of the "Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley. The premise was interesting and I love science-fiction/fantasy books, but I had a hard time getting into this one.

The pro's: The book had humor and excitement at times. It was interesting reading from the A.I. perspective. It was innovative and I cant think of another book out there that has attempted this. The story line moves along well at times and overall, It was a decent book. I think most people out there would enjoy it.

The con's: The book was slow paced at times. I think it jumped around a lot and the character development wasnt that great. I think thats one of the issues of having the book coming from the POV of a computer. Its hard to develop the other characters and embrace them. I also think the A.I. development was lacking. It was monotone and very "computer" like (which is to be expected).

Overall, I didnt hate the book, but I will say it was not one of my favorites. I would love to see what else this author can come up with. I give the author an A+ for innovation and coming out with an idea that hasnt really been done before.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy for my honest review.

The monster and machine found family in space I never knew I needed! This was a fast paced, fun ride from start to finish. My favorite part was the relationship between Demeter and Steward, but I enjoyed every character and all the twists and turns.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this! I follow Barbara on tumblr and already know her writing style through Blood Moon -which I adored-, and this novel is exactly what I expected from her. It's funny, it's weird -the good weird- it's a bit gory, it's fast-paced and easy. The characters are excellent, neither black and white, and each povs are a delight to read - I particularly adored Stewart, the sassy medical IA, and Steve, the freaking alien/mummy/whatever the hell he is.

A really nice reading, truly.

This is a rollicking sci-fi with a unique premise. It blazes off to a fast start and does not stop. I loved Demeter, Steward, and the rest of the human and not-so-human characters.

I can’t believe this book had me tearing up about the emotions of an AI spaceship command program. Of Monsters and Mainframes was a fun, silly, sci fi romp with a side of anthromorphized tech. I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters, especially lesbian werewolf Agnus. My only complaint is that the plot could have been stronger and flowed more smoothly. It felt like the ideas were *almost* there it just needed to be tightened and restructured a bit. I definitely would still recommend this book for anyone in the mood for some light hearted sci fi.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!

I loved this unique story. It was a fantastic sci-fi tale, so different than anything I've read in a long, long time. Give me all the sci-fi monsters!

Intergalactic space travel from the view of the spaceship's AI, add some monsters and you get this book.
I simply loved it, I enjoyed every minute of it!
The cast of characters and the POVs really worked for me and it was a quick, enjoyable read!

This was a really fun book. Part 1 is told from the perspective of the ship, Demeter. She's flying her passengers between Earth and Alpha Centauri when something happens and they all die. She swears that it's Dracula - but that's silly because Dracula doesn't exist. The ship's medical AI, Steward, and the humans think that something's wrong with Demeter and she's malfunctioning.

She gets another chance and on her next run there's a werewolf who kills almost everyone. Again, no one believes Demeter. She's able to save two children who she bonds with as they finish the journey to Earth.

As the story progresses, we keep meeting more monsters. The story is also narrated by Steward (the medical AI) and Agnus, one of the children that Demeter saves, as well as interludes by different characters. It took a little getting used to, but over all, I enjoyed the narration style. The character development was done very well. At first, Demeter and Steward hate each other. As the story progresses, they learn to work together and appreciate what the other is able to do.

The pacing of the story was a bit slow and repetitious. The first few sections were just "monster - everyone dies - no one believes Demeter" and repeat. The different parts come together at the end and it mostly worked, but at times, it was a struggle to get there.

The writing was awesome. There were so many funny parts that had me laughing. The character interactions were great and I enjoyed how the author included the different monsters and their backstories in this sci-fi world.

Overall, it was a fun and enjoyable book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

4 stars due to plot holes, rounded up to 5 because I don’t care, I *adored* this. Yes, at times it was hokey and cutesy. Other times it was utterly illogically random. At no point is the origin of vampires or “Steve” mentioned, nor how coincidental it is that all these monsters met and created a found family or even exist in the same universe.

But wow was it fun. I loved Demeter, and Steward too, and each of their little foibles, and the growth of their relationship was beyond brilliant. Agnus and Mina finding another brutal killer monster to love and appreciate them was somehow beautiful in its completed arc.

And that cover is bloody brilliant.

My thanks to NetGalley for an ARC — I’ve already preordered a physical copy of my very own (and another to sell in the shop). May everyone find and love this adorable monstrous gem!

what in the world did i just read (complimentary). this took some of my absolute FAVORITE aspects of gothic horror/popular characters but added this campy feel to a modern world of AI (what am i even explaining rn??) and made it such an amazing experience. like, this is probably the most unique book i have ever read and i need something else by truelove to fill the void!!!!

Of Monsters and Mainframes is a fantastic book. It is engaging and fun and full of adventure. This book is unique. I absolutely love this story. The book is well written and the plot flows quickly. The characters are interesting and wonderfully quirky. I could not put the book down and I highly recommend it.