First of all thank you to dreamscape audio and Netgalley for the ALC for Of Monsters and Mainframes!

I was hooked from the first binary code chapter, and honestly I had no idea the places this book would take me. From Dracula to werewolves, fishy fu-iends to ancient evils, this book delves into classic monsters aside its sci-fi and horror background. I found myself getting emotionally attached to a spaceship. Then a medical robot, and by the end of the book everyone else that made this journey outstanding.

The book is delightfully weird, wonderfully Heartwrenching, completely lovable and something unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Demeter’s tragic background leading up to the incredible finish is a roller coaster of emotions that will have you crying over a semi-sentient AI spaceship. The way Demeter, Stew, Agnes, Frank and everyone else seeped under my skin as I read this shows this book is a wonderful example of true found family and doing what it takes to keep your found family alive and together. I think this book has seeped into my bones and left its mark forevermore.

The cast that narrates this audiobook is spectacular. I felt truly immersed in the story every time I pressed play and it was really easy to tell who was telling what part of the story. Chris, Emana, Charlie, Eve, Zura, Cary and Gail all seem to have put their souls into reading this book, and I applaud all of them. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook for Of Monsters and Mainframes if you are an audiobook person!

Very fun & full of lovable characters. It’s an action-packed series of mysteries and folklore, with a fun scifi twist on the classic creatures. I do think it’s better enjoyed if the audience has also read Dracula, Frankenstein, and a few other staple fantasy/horror classics, which I admittedly haven’t, but it was still fun and fast-paced.

This was a very fun book. I liked the first half much better than the second, where we had a chance to get to know the characters including Demeter and Steward. The second half of the book had a lot going on and at times it was difficult for me to track the different characters (in audio) as several sounded similar and changes were quick. This felt quite zany - similar to 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', which I also enjoyed reading. Just enjoy the ride without trying to science out the story!

I loved the cover and loved the mash up of AI and classic novel monsters!

The audio version had 7 different narrators and during the first half of the book, and quieter times of the plot, the voices were fun. In particular I loved the attitude and over confidence of Steward! ('Tell me about your mother....') However, the action scenes, that were very dramatic, were more of a challenge - at times- for me to differentiate the characters. (mainly in the final 25% of the book where LOTS is going on)

'I speak with my most sarcastic voice modulation, but, Frankenstein doesn't seem to realize this.'

'If I had eyes, I'd roll them.'


Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

A routine spaceflight from Earth to Alpha Centauri should be just that - routine - for Varna Interstellar spaceliner's navigational AI, Demeter . It turns out to be anything but when all her passengers end up dead through no malfunction of her own. Once is unlucky. Twice, and then *thrice* is cursed. And all signs point to Dracula as the source. At risk of being decommissioned and scrapped, tormented by the other AI's taunts of "ghost ship" and plagued by an increasingly bizarre stream of paranormal entities, Demeter must team up with her onboard medical bay AI (Steward), host of plucky spider drones and some not-quite-human passengers to defeat the prince of darkness himself once and for all.

==

This is a wonderfully fun book that calls on schlocky, b-grade delights of early space operas and Hammer horror while being firmly rooted in the 24th Century. We have vampires, and werewolves, and cult of Cthulhu fishy ooziness and more - on a spaceship! Yes, it is messy, and there's blood and gore, and it could have been an earnest horror show, but instead this book leans into the utter improbability of it all and the AI character's documenting of the events skirts just the right balance between impersonal and absurd.

I was fortunate to be granted an ALC of the audiobook in addition to the ebook. The narrators do a fantastic job embodying the characters (although the binary codes at the start of each section did throw me for a while! At first I thought the audio file was corrupted!). Each chapter of the book was told from the POV of a different characters, and so too did the narrators, as they brought their chosen characters to life. I particularly liked the actors voicing Demeter and Steward, as they injected the right level of wide-eyed, slightly unhinged naivety and jaded sarcasm into each.


This is a b-movie in a book/audio book. And I meant that in the best way (because I love the old kitsch b-grade films). It's the sort of book that you'll either love or hate, and I, for one, love it!

~Many thanks to NetGalley, Bindery Books and Dreamscape Media for an ARC/ALC of this book. I have since purchased the audiobook through Audible. ~

What do you get when you cross Dracula with a sentient spaceship and its snarky medical AI buddy? Of Monsters and Mainframes delivers exactly that: a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud space opera(ish) told from the point of view of the starship Demeter and its delightfully dry AI counterpart.

This isn’t your average Dracula re-telling. Instead of haunted castles and dusty coffins, we’re cruising through the cosmos, where Demeter has a.. problem. And when a ship has a problem, that usually means everyone on board has a problem. The banter? Impeccable. The pacing? Lightspeed. And the horror elements? Think Dracula, plus a whole monster manual’s worth of surprises.

Barbara Truelove absolutely nails it, turning Demeter into both the setting and the star. It’s a clever twist that makes the ship feel alive, lovable, a little unhinged, and maybe even capable of love. And let’s be honest, what’s the point of an AI story if there’s no existential crisis or emotional breakthrough?

Packed with monster-movie Easter eggs and razor-sharp narration, this book is perfect for a plane ride, a road trip, or even just a walk around the block. Fair warning: you will laugh out loud in public!!

4.5 stars...first off thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this audioARC of the book. I really liked this one...it ticked all the boxes that I love! It's a sci-fi/monster novel and it was quite the adventure. The characters were great and well developed, the plot was believable and not dry, the narrators kept me excited and engaged the whole time. Lived the multiple povs. I felt like I was right there with them all. There was murder, mayhem, intergalactic travel, corrupt Mainframes, AI, love, loss, revenge, and monsters. Yes I would definitely recommend this and will be looking for more from this author. Great time!

Okay so this is a VERY different story/plot from anything I’ve seen. The author combines space sci-fi with classic horror characters like werewolf, vampires, and Frankenstein! A couple of sentient AI supercomputers manage a spaceship and encounter strange beings. They are challenged with protecting humans and the ship and must learn to “think” of through the horror and obstacles. It is HIGH sci-fi, not for all, but intriguing. Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the ALC gifted to me. These opinions are my own.

This book has a fascinating setting and structure.

The author gave the AIs unique voices that were interesting to explore. The character work was also solid and well done.

Unfortunately, the plot and pacing lost me by the end. By the middle of the story, the novelty had worn off and the latter half of the book felt repetitive and droning.

I wasn't totally sold at the beginning, but I'm so glad I stuck with it! The perfect blend of fantasy and sci-fi. I loved the Demeter and Steward relationship and how this was a spooky/cozy combo. The lore was interesting and I think Anges and Isaac are the perfect human(ish) companions to the robot’s stories!

Barbara Truelove’s Of Monsters and Mainframes is a wildly inventive mashup of space opera, gothic horror, and anxious AI snark that shouldn’t work but somehow absolutely does. Think Gideon the Ninth meets Murderbot, with a dash of Becky Chambers sincerity and Hitchhiker’s Guide absurdity.

The story centers on Demeter, a spaceship AI who keeps encountering unexplained deaths, monstrous passengers, and the occasional Dracula. With the help of a jaded medical AI (Steward), werewolves, mummies, and a Frankenstein or two, Demeter fumbles through mysteries she’s increasingly emotionally ill-equipped to handle.

The plot is chaotic in a charming way both episodic and dense with personality, even if not all arcs land cleanly. Character depth takes a backseat to vibes, but the banter and sheer originality carry it. Truelove’s prose is smart, hilarious, and sneakily moving.

If you like your sci-fi weird, witty, and full of spacefaring existential crises, this one’s worth the ride. Just don’t expect logic to be the co-pilot.

Demeter is a long-haul spaceship's AI, travelling between Earth and Alpha Centauri B Habitation 004, just trying their best as everything goes horribly wrong. It isn't their fault; it's the humans and organics running around inside them, dying for no sane reason, getting her labelled a ghost ship. Dracula kills all 312 passengers and crew, and now the other ships are bullying them. So begins the curse, with eldritch beings and monstrous horrors consistently messing up what once was a clear and pleasant flight path. And that rude medical robot is not helping things...
'Of Monsters and Mainframes' is a SF adventure blending classic horror with humour as the robotics/AI of the ship attempt to handle things no one at port will believe them about (if they even believe each other). This multi-perspective novel considers morality as Demeter the AI pilot, Steward the medical system, and their passengers work through what defines human or monster, how that figures into set conditions, and what life needs protecting or ending. Piracy, medical experimentation, monster hunts, this book manages to code these elements into a singular joyous narrative of one ship's travels and efforts to protect lives and end threats.
I loved this story. The emotional range caused by this book covered laughing aloud, curious disgust, and sadness. Immediately went to tell those around me how great this book is. It has a slowburn queer romance, found/forged family, and truly lovable ensemble cast.
Read the book before listening to the audiobook, and if I was raving about this book before, I am insufferable now. The changes in narrator tone play on the idea of internal monologue within AI vs the computerised voices they use to communicate with organic matter. Isaac's narrator is a bit jarring, as they use the same for both him as a child and an adult, but the multicast element is excellent. (Would recommend skipping part introductions though, unless you speak binary, as its just ones and zeroes for a few minutes at a time.)

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books/Ezeekat Press for an eARC of this book to review.

It’s been a long time since a book has made me laugh like this one did. In the best possible way.
An AI spaceship whose human population mysteriously keep getting killed off. Not once, not twice but three times! She warns the nickname The Ghost Ship and she is not ok with that. She’s also not ok with the AI medical bot meddling with her revenge plans.
Oh and who is she out to get revenge against? Dracula of course 😂 Because why wouldn’t Dracula be on an interstellar spaceship in the future?

We meet werewolves, Frankenstein (with a twist) and small sprinkling of humans and a handful of very sassy machines. Oh and of course an alien and a few Fishy Fuckers.

This was absolutely the funniest book I have read all summer and the dialogue between Demeter and Steward was so brilliantly written and performed by the narrators.

Not sure the chapters that were purely binary code were the best for an audiobook, but the rest of the book more than made up for it.

Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the Audio ARC

I LOVED this book!!! So funny and smart, I love how Truelove played with typical horror tropes and breathed new life into them (no pun intended!). It is so interesting to have some of the character perspectives be from an AI. All of the narrators did a wonderful job. I laughed very hard as they read the ones and zeros (I would have likely skipped this if I was physically reading the book but because it was audio I let it play through and it was so enjoyable.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 407
Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller
Audiobook Narrator: Gail Shalan, Emana Rachelle, Chris Devon, Zura Johnson, Charlie Albers, Cary Hite, Eve Passeltiner
Duration: 12 hours 52 minutes
Release Date: June 3, 2025

Demeter is a sentient passenger spaceship, who wants nothing more than to do her job flying humans around the galaxy. But it’s hard to hold your metaphorical shoulders high when your passengers keep getting murdered due to unforeseen paranormal events caused by actual vampires, werewolves, and, um, a Frankenstein. She also keeps getting gaslighted by Steward, her medical AI system.

I love a good sci-fi thriller and this one was just delightful! There are sentient, queer computer systems, real-life monsters, and adorably cheerful spider robots. Full of action, giggles, and feelings, this book has it all.

I especially enjoyed the full cast of narrators on the audiobook. They really brought this epic adventure to life.

Thank you, @BarbaraTruelove, @Dreamscape_Media, and @Bindery_Books for my free copies.

This book was such a weird wild ride. I knew it was going to be weird just based on the blurb, but it really surprised me. I didn't know I'd end up reading an AI monster love story inside a space travel thriller and I enjoyed every moment of it.

The monsters were so much fun and the way the AIs interacted with each other made me laugh. A lot. I loved how, throughout the book, they each got bolder and more "human" despite not really ever interacting with humans, at least not on the page. The introductions of each different monster character was done very well.

I listened to this book and you could tell each narrator was really working hard to give their character/section their all. Each monster was especially hilarious and well done and the AIs were robotic and human at the same time, in a good way.

I left this story wanting both more monster stories and space thrillers.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First, I want to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this audio arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book was such a quirky, unexpected, and unique story.
The concept was unlike anything I had heard before and that is what drew me to it, however, the execution left me a little lost at times and wishing it would move a bit quicker.
The ship’s AI definitely had my attention immediately and their banter with the onboard medical AI was my favorite part of the book. As they faced off against unlikely monsters, their quips and their determination to turn each other off mid-sentence had me laughing. The author also gave them beautiful, I guess you could say, heartfelt moments that made these AI characters well-rounded throughout.
Where I struggled with this book was the pacing and the backstory on the monsters. I felt like there were almost too many monsters, and not enough explanation as to why they were there or why Dracula was the ultimate big bad.
I will add, however, that the audio for this book was done so well, both with the cast of narrators and the added sound effects and ambience that I truly feel this is a case where the audiobook adds something special to the reading experience.
Overall, this book was fun, different, and an enjoyable time.
And I just want to give an extra special shoutout to the gorgeous cover art!

This book was chaos in the best way. You can't go wrong with merging a sci-fi soap opera of technology with the horror of a monster mash, and tie it with an LGBTQ+ bow. Thank goodness there were multiple narrators as well because I think I would have been lost without them. The structure of this book bounces around between the technology (computer voices and binary codes) and the monsters on board, allowing the story to unfold in an interesting way. Definitely a fun time!

A gamer's paradise with code sci fi with classic monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster.
So creative - I loved all the boundaries crossed, Truelove just went so hard on all of it.
Highly, highly recommend!

This was a super interesting premise of a spaceship with thoughts and feelings who is trying to solve the mystery of her crew and passengers. I loved how this played out and all the unique and unlikely characters that popped up. I love how this ended and it made me love the computer AI and gave me throwbacks to Aiden from illuminae. If you like space fantasy genre than this as a great story and is a quick easy listen. It has a great full cast narration and I enjoyed all the voices and interactions between the narrators. Go check this one out.

This was fun! It gave creature feature vibes, but on a spaceship. Demeters and Stewart's (the ships AI and the medical AI) sniping and fights were entertaining. The characters were fun. If you want a slightly campy good time with some laughs (for real, the line about Vlad Tepesh liking kebabs in all the wrong ways sent me. I laughed for a good long while), some insanity, and lots of crazy action you'll enjoy this.


While I enjoyed the story itself, I was not a fan of the audiobook. But that's definitely a me problem (I can't stand robot voices and humans making fake robot voices is somehow much worse. The chapters that were a strong of binary code were super painful for me. Also the lack of any kind of consistency between accents the narrators used for the same character kind of drive me nuts.)