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An extra cozy and heartfelt sci-fi novella. I loved getting to know the robots behind the titular Automatic Noodle. Each of them was well-developed despite the short length of the novella; I really felt like I knew the ragtag crew! Warning: this title will also make you super hungry. Newtiz's ability to describe food is honestly unparalleled. I need to try biang biang noodles immediately.

Excited to recommend this to my patrons interested in cozy sci-fi and queer found families.

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3.5 rounded up.

This is a tight little novella exploring personhood, finding one's place, and post-war/revolution recovery against a backdrop of four sentient robots setting up a hand-pulled noodle restaurant in the newly-independent nation of California. Newitz has built a fascinating near-future world and does a great job of allowing the worldbuilding to unfold naturally. The bots are all full of personality, clashing and coming together with lots of spirit, and by the end I was quite invested in the success of their noodle shop. Some of the greater message is pretty heavy-handed and some of the dialogue feels a little stilted, but still an enjoyable read.

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Automatic Noodle is a delightful, cozy sci-fi novella that packs a punch. I appreciated how well written the robots were with distinct personalities, emotions, and dreams. I also felt that this story had plenty of depth with the robots facing discrimination for being other, making an apt metaphor for the current political climate. On a lighter note, be prepared to have snacks ready because the descriptions of food will have you hungry by the end. I really enjoyed the narration by Em Grosland. The narration kept me engaged and rooted in the story. I felt Grosland did well using different voices to represent different characters. Overall, this was a really enjoyable read and audiobook experience

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It took me a while to get past some initial confusion and get into this story. I've seen this story described as cozy, but disagree on that. The plot serves as allegory for a class system and the treatment of different races. You'll want to discuss this one with a book group or friend.

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Fun concept of robots running a restaurant after the owners disappear, within a hostile post-war California. Most of the story is set within the restaurant, but we get glimpses of the world outside. I found these glimpses the perfect balance, not over explaining the world they inhabit, but making me curious about the world.
We explore each of the robot's stories, learning what they were built for, and how they have each found (or continue to find) new interests. Yet many of them are essentially indentured workers, trying to pay off what they 'owe'. They also live in a society that is suspicious and even hostile to robots, which forces the robots to hide the fact that the restaurant is entirely robot owned.
I loved the descriptions of food (I need to eat a bowl of noodles now) and the relationships between the robots.

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This novella is set in 2064 where California has just won a succession war with the United States, who’s viewed by them as an evil nation. Sentient, mechanical robots have been deployed to help in the war effort and now post-war live as second class citizens scrambling to find some way to make a living and pay off debts incurred in their creation.

In an abandoned, run-down kitchen, an ex-military robot reboots after months of having been dormant and turns on the other handful of robots with he had been working. Their fraudulent, scam-ridden human owners have fled the scene and abandoned the robots as waste.
The robots, each with quirky individualized personalities, decide to band together try to make a go of the kitchen on their own. The chef decides on the challenge of cooking biang biang noodles having been impressed by the method that the dough gets slapped repeatedly on a surface to turn out the signature, chewy and delicate Asian noodles.

Humanity discovers the robot’s delicious food, and the robots discover their human characteristics of friendship, loyalty, teamwork and community. Heartwarming!

Thanks to Tor Pubishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

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Would recommend for readers of Becky Chambers and Murderbot. I loved the crew of robot characters -- their range of personalities, and their (all-too-human) hopes and dreams for the future made this dystopian tale hopeful in its own way. Absolutely recommend, and I'm curious to try more from this author in the future.

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This was delightful! This cozy sci-fi novella follows a group of robots who open a noodle shop in a newly-independent California.

For being such a short read about a deceptively light subject, this book packs a punch. The war for Californian independence may be over, but despite promises of equality, these bots face still face an uncertain future. Follow them as they band together to build something of their own - something they are proud of and that gives them an opportunity to work for themselves instead a corporation. If you enjoy reading about characters finding their identity and building a found-family, pick this up soon!

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Oh my gosh, I’m gonna be thinking about this one for a long time (including anytime I eat noodles in the future.) Automatic Noodle is soooo beyond cozy while still broaching themes such as war, autonomy, and the worth of all beings.

I am seriously impressed at how much substance this author was able to pack into 160 pages or so. I fell in love with the abandoned robots and was ready to go to war for them (SuzyQ - you’re a b*tch!!) As somebody that worked in the restaurant industry for a decade, I loved the camaraderie between the robots as they worked to make their robot-owned restaurant a success.

Taking place in a near-future, I appreciated the social commentary woven into this story and will definitely be revisiting this one again. I also just LOVE a novel and this is a damn good one. Check this one out if you love sci-fi, noodles, and robots (how could you not?!) 🤖 🍜

**Thank you to TorDotCom and NetGalley for the eARC of this cozy, delicious title!!**

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This book absolutely melted my cold, bitter heart.

It was a quick read, less than 200 pages, and I flew through it. I honestly wish it were longer, but I do appreciate that the story is succinct and has absolutely no filler. Though I am admittedly biased and love anything about robots and androids. The bots in this were so lovable, each with their own distinct appearance, personality and backstory. And their friendships with each other were adorable and sweet. I also loved the dialogue. (Example: “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I knew you were going to be a trashcan about it.”)

The plot was legit, and lest you think it was all sunshine and rainbows, this takes place in a post war society in which California has separated from the rest of the country and is trying to recover. Topics like identity, freedom and bigotry come into play as the robots attempt to open their own restaurant as free citizens.

The bots become a little family as they support and encourage each other through this intimidating venture, and I was rooting so hard for them! There were many heartwarming moments throughout, such as Hands the robot discovering packets of Ramen noodles for the first time and realizing a love for the culinary arts.

Another bot, Sweetie, is finding her real identity and gradually changing her appearance to match who she really is instead of who the humans wanted her to be.

Meanwhile, another robot called Staybehind was designed to fight in the war, before robots were recognized as citizens. He was traumatized by bad memories and his story is one of the more grounding aspects of the book.

But my favorite bot was definitely Cayenne, an absolute cinnamon bun shaped like an octopus. I pictured Cayenne sort of like Codsworth from Fallout 4, but more squishy and feminine, and able to change colors!

One thing I did notice in this advanced copy was that there were a few times when the various bots’ pronouns were inconsistent, but that will likely be fixed before publication.

I highly recommend this! It’s one of my favorite reads of the year so far. Even with the occasional serious or sad moment, it was overall a wonderfully cute and delightful experience. And it made me want delicious noodles very badly!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Biggest TW: Racism, Depression, Mention of SA

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I really enjoyed this book.
I couldn’t help but root for the robots and I liked the sense of community they built.

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When I realized this book was set in future that had California separated from the US in a long a bloody war, I was, understandably I think, a little wary. The world is looking very dark a full of terrors right now. Automatic noodle shows that there is hope at the end of the long battle. Whatever happens, there will always be delicious spicy noodles. Newitz brings together a cast of outsiders and societal cast offs to do something productive to better their situation. They respect the terrifying realities of war, the effect on sentient beings, and still manage to create a post war world that feels real and hopeful. I can’t wait to get this in the hands of my customers!

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Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for an early e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

2.5/5 stars
Soo this one was just fine for me. For the most part I was enjoying this story in a passive way; I wasn't attached to any of the characters, I wasn't particularly enjoying the format of the story, but I could and did get behind the story itself of a bundle of robots pulling together a restaurant and building a community atmosphere around them.
But in the end, this book felt unfinished. Physically actually unfinished - like it ended at the 80% mark, not the 100% mark. We were gearing up with the conflict that had been plaguing the bots for the majority of the book - the negative reviewer tirade from anti-bot folks - was actually coming to a head, but after Staybehind decided to do what he did it just... ended. leaving SO many strings dangling, unsolved. And don't get me wrong, I can enjoy an open ending like the next person, but this felt TOO unsolved. Like we were missing the ending few chapters unsolved.

I would necessarily recommend this one, but if you like the idea of murderbot meeting the Kamagawa Food Detectives, maybe try this one out.

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4.5 rounded up. I do love a cozy robot tale, and somehow making a post-war California a cozy setting is quite the feat. Following the robots as they carve their own cozy haven in this world was a fun time overall, and I am definitely craving noodles after this book! Charming and lighthearted, Automatic Noodle is an enjoyable and fast paced cozy science fiction! A huge thank you to Tor/Forge and Netgalley for the eArc in exchange for my thoughts!

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In the fairly near future, a group of robots who'd worked together in the past come together to open a restaurant of their own, wanting to make food that is actually good rather than the corporate slop they'd been making at their previous jobs. Things go really well at first, but then someone (or something) starts one star review bombing them on social media. Will this crew be able to regain their initial popularity, or will the bad reviews put them out of business? Will they ever discovery who (or what) is doing this to them? Why doesn't time travel exist yet so I can try these noodles?

I quite enjoyed this book. It's an endearing story, cozy dystopian slice-of-life-ish sci-fi mystery-of-sorts, and if you're like me and do reading challenges each year, this fits so many common prompts! The characters are lovable and relatable, and I grew attached to them. The story is pacy and kept my interest; this is a quick, low stakes, cozy read that I'll definitely read again, and I'll be getting my own copy once the book is released.* I have no complaints about this book, so it gets five out of five stars!

*I received a temporary digital copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion, which you have just read. This book broke a reading slump, I'd definitely recommend it!

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Automatic Noodle was such a delightful and refreshing read! A team of robot chefs wake up in an abandoned restaurant and decide to bring it back to life and give it a new spirit. This was cozy, heartwarming, and still timely and relevant. It's a must read!

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This excellent sci-fi novella follows a group of Human Equivalent Intelligence (HEI) bots who start their own noodle restaurant when their bosses abandon them. A malicious anti-bot review bombing campaign threatens to destroy their business, but their skills-- and their community--help them win out in the end. I think fans of Becky Chambers will find a lot to love in this one. If you're looking for a fun, found family sci-fi novella, this is it.

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My thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of this science fiction novella telling of a time in the not so distant future, where 4 bots, created to fight in a war, join together to form a restaurant, one that has far reaching consequences that none of them processed in their plans.

I have two nephews who are handsome, smart, funny, and love what they like. Unfortunately neither one likes to read. As the loving, cool Uncle, I try, but it is hard, and I don't want to make them think that reading is a chore, or something that needs to be forced on them. One of them loves to cook, so he will look at recipes. The other loves to eat, so he will seek out new places in his Brooklyn, as he calls it, and is willing to try anything. Well except crack a book. I'm always on the lookout for things that might interest them, and in this new novella, I think I have something good. Robotic AI, kids like that. A future that seems close to now, in more ways than one, maybe. Cooking and a love not only eating, but the feeling of companionship that food can give. Not only am I warm, I think I am at the proper temperature for both those boys. And for anyone who likes a light story, full of strong characters, interesting ideas, and well, hope. Automatic Noodle by writer, journalist and foodie Annalee Newitz is a story of a future, a last restaurant at the end of the block, a dream for electronic restaurateurs, and a love of food, and for each other.

The time is a future that is not that far away is seems. The great state of California has escaped the oppression of the country known as America, fighting a war that left devastation and many new social problems. Including what to do with AI bots who were created to fight a war, that left them behind. Four of this bots have been lucky to find a job, though business it seems is not good. Waking up after a long shutoff period, the four bots find themselves in a flooding restaurant, owned by a company who has fled their creditors. Working together they stop the flood, and with help from a stateless human acquire power to charge themselves, and power to run their business. Needing to work to save themselves from being sold as assets, the four decide to make a run at making real food, not stuff just sold under different names to different places. They choose to specialize in pulled noodles, and soon they are in business. Which is going well, until they start to get bad reviews which could lead to them being separated, or worst.

I'm not sure what I expected but I really enjoyed this story. Things have been so bleak, this story really came at the right time and lifted my spirits, and made me enjoy reading again. Though the story about breaking off from America seems a little too happening right now. This is a novella, but packs more character development and world building ideas than books three times the size. The characters are great, bots with a past, with failures, with loss, but found for the first time and united in a dream to make noodles. Noodles that change both the bots around them and the humans who share the neighborhood. The story is good, the depiction of technology, the world, the food, I really can't find a quibble with this in anyway.

We need more books, novellas short stories like this. Showing us stronger together, fighting the power or stupid anyway they can. Community science fiction. Call it what you will. A really good story, that is a lot of fun, with characters I want to read more about. Hopefully my nephews will join me on this adventure.

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I absolutely loved this book and ended up reading it in one sitting. From the very first page, I was pulled into this quiet but powerful story of a postwar San Francisco and the robots who wake up and decide to build something new—not just a noodle shop, but a sense of purpose and community. What really stuck with me was how each robot character had their own personality and history, and how they formed a chosen family while figuring out how to exist in a world that didn’t exactly make space for them.
It’s a story about food, friendship, and resilience—but it’s also about what it means to redefine yourself beyond the role you were programmed to play. The writing is cozy and hopeful without being overly sweet, and there’s a lot of heart packed into this novella. Automatic Noodle was such a refreshing and emotional read, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for something that’s both comforting and quietly revolutionary.

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Cozy and comforting- definitely fits into my wheelhouse and the wheelhouse of other people I know! Certainly something I would recomends to Becky Chambers fans or cozy fantasy fans who are trying to branch out into the sci-fi world. Pacing a novella is often difficult, but I found this did so particularly well. 100% recommended, but be aware that it will definitely make you want a good plate of noodles while you read it.

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