
Member Reviews

Thank you to L’il Factory and NetGalley for this ARC
This book is about a sentient, slightly lonely robot sent out into the wide universe to search for life. How does a sentient go on in a lonely search all alone, with no one (sort of) by his side, what kind of person does the robot become, is what we see like remnants of its maker that have made him?? is he truly fully his own being.
It's cute, the beginning to me was strong, the science kind of lost me due to how abruptly it got thrown at us, but I was mostly lost towards the end because I felt not the last of explanation but I feel like a clear chunk of what lead from point A to point B might have been edited out.
If the author does write a longer form of this, I would love to read this.

This is quite different from what I typically read. This is quite an emotion-driven story. The writing is quite good and easy to just go with the flow.
#NetGalley #Burns

This is a lovely, weird little story. Much of it put me in mind of Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries, but this definitely had its own little spin that kept things interesting. I loved many of the passages in this story, and the variance in dialogue. The prose generally was quite refreshing, but I honestly kind of wanted it to really go in on the weirdness of the concept. Still, this was a quick and enriching little read!

Burns is a quiet, evocative exploration of our deep need for connection, a meditation on purpose, fleeting time, and the quiet triumphs that shape us.
The writing is solid, but the ending left me wanting more. It arrives suddenly, almost jarringly, and doesn’t quite deliver the closure I hoped for. Still, the journey is worth it: moving, thought-provoking, and ironically deeply human.
ARC provided by L‘il Factory via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!
This was charming! It fell into a Wallee sort of story line which I enjoyed, and the tongue and cheek humor and personality given to the robot was really fun.

An interesting sci-fi novella, Burns is a philosophical exploration of the self and of autonomy. This is quite an insular story, with a lot of the dialogue being between Burns and themselves. I am always a fan of stories that begin in a point of action, and I loved the choice for that here. Without spoiling anything, I was instantly empathizing for Burns, and feeling their anger with them.

Burns, a sentient search droid contemplates life in a bizarre, uniquely funny and touching story.
I could absolutely be reading into this more than it’s there, but Burns made me think of someone struggling with loneliness, and fondling brief glimpses of happiness that continually are stripped away. A droid with a mundane repetitive life, who eventually battles… something. Is it a metaphor for an internal struggle, is it a metaphor for cancer, I’m not sure but I keep thinking about these things are he was dealing with it. It felt like the droid dealing with getting older and learning death is inevitable… until it ends happily.
It’s an interesting and quick read, which at times felt a little too deep into scientific speech but it moves on pretty quickly.
I received this ARC for an honest review from L’il Factory and NetGalley.

I received this copy for an honest review from the kind publisher and author David Polfeldt.
The premise is what drew me in about a sentient droid sent to find life. yup sign me up especially when said droid is sassy, introspective and mostly depressed.
The lonely feel here and scope of the broader world which is hinted at is the best aspects of the book. For me it falls down on not moving from one plot to the next quick enough, but then maybe this is the point of the story as a whole.
An enjoyable if short read.

In this sci-fi novella, we follow Burns, a droid who has been sent out into the universe to look for life. His only companion is a pet called Cooper.
I very much enjoyed Burns' musings. Some of the more scientific speak lost me a little, but all-in-all this was a delight, and the ending was perfection.