This was an incredibly fun listen and made me think a lot about AI and robots. It is a lighter read but has some deeper themes all within a shorter book. Absolutely enjoyed the audiobook and kind of outside my typical genre.

Automatic Noodle is Annalee Newitz's cute and clever story about 'bots' fitting in to the northern California society in a post war, near future, world.

I enjoyed how Newitz fit in the concepts of figuring out how to establish a business and online reviews, and how the bots would exist alongside the humans and try to make a life for themselves here.

The audio version of Automatic Noodle is nicely performed by Em Grosland.

I have read and enjoyed this author before so I eagerly requested this one. The premise of a cozy science fiction story set around a noodle shop sounded amazing. However, I struggled so hard with the audiobook narration because the narrator gave such a flat dry performance. I would be open to trying to the physical copy because this very much felt like a case of the wrong format.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Cozy dystopian science fiction novella about robots opening a restaurant? Say less.

Automatic Noodle is about a team of abandoned food service robots that pull together to run their own restaurant. The setting is a far-off post-war future where America and Calfornia are a bit different.
The robots remind me a bit of the robots in Death of the Author, where they’re basically trying to survive and find their way in this different future.

I was expecting this novella to be a bit more cozy and light. And while there are notes of that toward the end, I actually got so much more from this novella. There are heavy metaphors, as the humans in this future aren’t exactly accepting of robots in their world.

I never thought a book could make me care so much about robots!!
But this group of robots and one human on a journey to open a noodle shop completely stole my heart.
The story was so unique and unexpectedly heartfelt.
I also loved the wide variety of topics it explored along the way!

Delicious meals, endless possibility, uncertain freedom, heartwarming found-family, life-after-loss, charming personalities - Automatic Noodle stole my heart, had my full attention (finished in under 24 hours), left my stomach grumbling and has me hoping for dear hope that this little novella has a whole slew of follow-up stories and books to come! While overall a satisfying conclusion, after finishing the story, I found myself wanting to read more about our eclectic crew of robots and what the future holds in store for them.

The reader is taken on a unique multi-POV journey and through each storyteller, we get to see their past, present and are given lil nuggets of hope as far as their futures. From political warfare to deep-rooted love for yummy cuisine to adversity from hateful groups to physical transformation to queer love and acceptance to a car that has an extreme distaste for the "misrepresentation" of mechanical folk in the Transformers films... this book may be short but it covers so much heart and soul and all the while with laughter and tears.

I couldn't NOT give this beautifully written story 5 stars; reading it felt like a warm, sumptuous meal on a cloudy San Francisco day. I'm now craving a bowl of hot noodles!

In addition to the masterful story-telling and writing, Em Grosland did a fantastic job of making the story feel layered with unique voices for each of the characters! I wholly believe I enjoyed this as much as I did (hugely!) in part to the incredible talents of the narrator.

Automatic Noodle is takes place in the 2060s about a rag tag group of robots having started their own noodle ship amongst a slew of targeted negative reviews. I really rooted for this group of robots; they were so earnest and genuine in wanting to just have purpose and had such passion for their shop and pride in their food/service. I loved how they never let setbacks get them down and were able to persevere through their problems which I found very uplifting.

I did think the ending felt a bit abrupt but I enjoyed it overall. I think the audiobook narrator did a good job.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy to review.

This was a cute, quick read. It has a lot of concepts and thoughts that could take you into a deep philosophical conversation. I enjoyed the characters and seeing glimpses into their backgrounds. I wish there was more. I have always found sci-fi interesting and love it when it also seems like a realistic plot.

This has me interested in other works by this author. Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced audiobook edition.

I received both the ebook and the audiobook from NetGalley.

This novella was about some robots who open a noodle shop in a future San Francisco. In this future, a war between California and the United States has ended, and robots in California have earned some rights and freedom. Ultimately, this novella is somewhat cozy, but there are definitely dark themes and undertones. The story itself was fine, but would have been more successful as either a short story (cut out a lot of repetition and filler) or a full length novel (more backstory on the robots and better world building). A big problem I had was how the author repeatedly and heavy-handedly hammered in certain themes about freedom and autonomy, racism, xenophobia, etc. A lot of that could have come out naturally in the story and been more impactful; instead it felt like a lecture and was just off-putting.

The audiobook was just okay. I don't think the narrator's voice really fit the story well. I also think that chunks of the book are hard to translate to an audio format-- like chat conversations between characters. In those cases, nothing was done to distinguish chats from normal dialogue, so transitions were rough and easy to miss. So, I'd recommend reading the book instead of listening to it to get the full experience.

In this cute, hopepunk novel, San Francisco is recovering from a devestating war when some group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned kitchen. Their handlpulled noodles make quite the stir, but when an enemy launches a 1-star review campaign, it causes a whole nother kind of stir for these robot friends. They have to pull together and rely on their community to make it in a world that wasn’t designed for them.

This type of book is my jam. Hopepunk. Found family. Worlds that aren’t built for the characters, but they carve out paths and figure it out anyway. Simply demightful. I tore through this one in just a couple of days, and now it’s back to waiting for whatever Newitz comes up with next. Maybe with a reread thrown in there in the meantime.

🤖 Bookish Thoughts
This might be one of my favorite sci-fi books I’ve ever read.
Automatic Noodle was everything a cozy sci-fi book should be. And while it’s technically a novella, it managed to cover so many themes. From hope as rebellion, comfort food, life after war, second class citizenship, racism, and the lives of sentient robots.

The found family between the crew was heartwarming and touching. You are immediately invested in them as individuals. The way they protected and cared for each other when no one else seemed to bother had me ready to cry 😭

The love connection between two of them was such a sweet surprise, but absolutely adorable.

Honestly, listening to this audiobook just made my day. I don’t believe this is a planned series, but I would absolutely read anything else set in this world.

🍜 What You Can Expect:
• Cozy sci-fi
• Post-apocalyptic setting
• Comfort food
• Found family
• Robot solidarity
• Queer joy
• Hope as rebellion
• Cozy revolution

📅 Pub Date: August 5, 2025
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

Delightful and cozy robotcore novella that made me feel a little bit better about the present darkness. Strong themes of found family, love and resourcefulness in the face of oppression, and navigating the nuance of individual goodness within warring groups.

I loved this so much! It's a sweet little story about working together and making community in a world not built for you. I was disappointed when it ended only because I wanted more of these character. I'll definately be looking up more of Newitz' work!

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Annalee Newitz for the opportunity to have listened and reviewed an early audio copy of this this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

This novella is was my first dive into Annalee Newitz books as someone who is trying to read more science fiction. Immediately the cover and description drew in me in and I’m very glad I requested it! I loved that this was a shorter novella but still felt like it had a well built world and storyline. I wasn’t expecting such a short read to have such well described world building! Learning about the history between robots and humans and California and America was very intriguing. It was very cozy and low stress but very enjoyable to read. I really like how each of the different characters had their own backstory and history that led them to being rebooted in that old storefront. I also really liked how they all came together to open this noodle restaurant and I enjoyed learning about the barriers to making it reality such as robots rights, human interference (@susieQ!!!), and financial difficulties. Despite the characters being robots, they felt very real and likable and even though I can never relate to some of their complaints and difficulties, it was still enjoyable, easy to understand, and made them feel more real. My only complaint was that I sometimes had a hard time following between the different characters and remembering who each one was but I will attribute some of that to having put this book down for a little bit in between reading bouts. Overall very enjoyable and I rate it 4 stars! Would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a quick, cozy sci-fi read 🤖

I do not typically like sci-fi, but gave this a shot since it's a novella, but I didn't care for it. Based on other reviews, readers of sci-fi should enjoy this.

Cozy sci-fi with a little more of a bite, though not very much of a plot. Come for the adorable and down on their luck robots trying to run a business in a country that doesn't particularly like them or want them to, stay for the quality exploration of the characters and their (somewhat brief) journey to moderate success! Readers of Becky Chambers will be well pleased with this story, and even fans of more mainline science fiction will probably enjoy the worldbuilding elements and fun characters.

Robots are free! A little. I mean... they can't have a bank account. Or own property. Or run a business. And they might get repossessed by the government and sold across the border. But they're totally liberated.

This cozy sci-fi setting echoes Reconstruction-era United States. The robot restaurant crew have varied backstories, motivations, and constructions. We cycle through their points of view each chapter. There's one human recurring character but the focus is on the robots.

Automatic Noodle is a chewy, flavorful story you want to savor. The audiobook narration is great and I plan to return for a second serving with the ebook. Delicious.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy.

The definition of feel-good sci-fi. On the surface, this novella is about robots in a near-future San Francisco trying to keep their restaurant running, but on a deeper level it's about community-building, the civil rights of marginalized groups, fighting disinformation, healing from trauma and so much more. Even though it touches on heavier topics, the story remains hopeful and a little strange, in the best way.

I was completely charmed by each of the robots in different ways. They all felt like they had distinct personalities and backstories, even in such a short piece, and the audiobook narrator did an excellent job. My biggest complaint is that is was so short, because I would've loved to stay with the characters for twice as long.

Give this to someone who loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built, and liked the idea of the TV show The Bear in theory, but found it too stressful in practice to actually watch an entire season.

Automatic Noodle starts with an intriguing premise, but for me, the execution didn’t quite land. The story touches on serious themes like war, trauma, citizenship insecurity, and bigotry, yet the light, cozy setting of a noodle shop undercuts their weight. It felt like there was a real opportunity to explore those topics with depth and grit, but instead, they were softened to the point of losing impact.

The tone and setting just didn’t match the message. The book had a sci-fi Legends & Lattes vibe; it was pleasant enough, but not what I would have liked to see given the themes at play. Without a strong plot to carry things forward, it ended up feeling more like a concept sketch than a fully developed story.

The audiobook was fine for what it was, competent narration that made it easy enough to get through. But it wasn’t distinctive or immersive enough to leave a lasting impression or make up for the issues I had with the story itself. It didn’t elevate the material in any meaningful way.

This may work better for readers who enjoy lighter speculative fiction with a slice-of-life approach, but I personally would have preferred a darker, more grounded take that fully leaned into the difficult issues it raised.

There are many reasons that Annalee Newitz’ Automatic Noodle felt like it was written for me specifically. It has cooking, which is one of my great loves and is a way I show love and feel worth when I am anxious. It has characters trying to live and be in control of their lives in a country with laws that don’t grant them full autonomy. Every one of these characters, whether we get their backstory or not, is a weirdo with enormous trauma just doing their best to survive. And in this life on the fringes of society, they are supporting each other and creating a safe space for their neighbors and friends. I cried so many times listening to Automatic Noodle.

After I read LB’s review, I toodled on over to NetGalley and requested the advance listener copy, narrated by Em Grosland, who also narrated Becky Chambers’s Monk and Robot novellas. His voice is comfortable and moves easily between the characters. There are some delicate, emotionally fraught moments that his voice brings to life with so much grace. In my very favorite books, I sometimes feel like I am surfing, and here there are fathoms of life and back story that we just brush against as we’re propelled forward.

In a near future San Francisco, the city is recovering from a war between California and the United States, which has left California an independent nation. Many robots were created as part of the war effort and those with the highest level of intelligence, Human Embodied Equivalent Intelligence (HEEI) (pronounced hee-eye), have been granted some civil rights, but not citizenship. Stay Behind, Sweetie, Hands, and Cayenne were created for particular kinds of jobs. Whether they were active in the war or not, with their modicum of freedom they have grown past the intentions of their creators. They are so much more than what they were designed to be and that resonated with me on a cellular level.

This book is full of hope and community. It’s also about trying to build a life when you have been granted some rights, but not citizenship. In a precarious legal and financial situation, the robots create a sanctuary for themselves, and then they extend it to others, humans and robots. Even with a hopeful end to the story, it still feels fragile, especially when combined with the current news. The robots are resourceful though, and learning new ways to be resilient. I’m going to have Automatic Noodle in all the formats.

I received this as an advance listener copy from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.