Automatic Noodle

By Annalee Newitz

Book Overview

A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop, from acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz.

An instant USA Today and indie bestseller

Indie Next pick Library Reads pick Best of the Year at Elle, Gizmodo, Reactor, Library Journal, and more

You don't have to eat food to know the way to a city's heart is through its stomach. So when a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen, they decide to make their own way doing what they know: making food--the tastiest hand-pulled noodles around--for the humans of San Francisco, who are recovering from a devastating war.

But when their robot-run business starts causing a stir, a targeted wave of one-star reviews threatens to boil over into a crisis. To keep their doors open, they'll have to call on their customers, their community, and each other--and find a way to survive and thrive in a world that wasn't built for them.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250357462
• ISBN13: 9781250357465
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Tordotcom
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A fun concept poorly executed

The book, while a very creative concept, is not very well executed. 1. The allegory of using robots in place of different groups in society that represent different races, genders, etc. translates rather poorly when the author cannot choose whether they are humans or robots at all. Numerous times in the book the robots have decidedly human desires, feelings, thoughts, and actions. Why on earth would a robot be interested in kissing to begin with? Survivors guilt for a robot does not make much sense. Why are robot deaths treated as massive issues when robots uniquely can back themselves up? It feels like the author read Murderbot and tried to write in the same vein but missed a lot of the points Murderbot made. Moreover, the allegory falls flat when it tries to invoke discrimination. Race and gender based discrimination is a tough subject to write about, but using the robot proxies and using terms like "robophobic" was laughable at best. Conceptually, trying to convince the reader to side with you by stating lines about "robots taking peoples jobs" in the year 2026....are you serious? This was a tone deaf take or an extremely out-of-touch one from a San Francisco resident who has no idea the impact of the technology they sold their city out for. 2. The characters themselves are confusing. It feels like the author really wants to force me to like them but doesn't actually take the time to flesh them out as people, but instead as baggage/trauma OR as an interest to move the plot along. There is the cooking bot who likes cooking. Here is war robot who went to war. That is about what we get for development. 3. The use of modern language in any fiction is risky at best, but is a cardinal sin in SciFi. Are you honestly telling me that in approximately 40 years, we are still going to say things like "vibes", "cringe", "rizz", and "troll"? For context, that is tantamount to assuming we would be using the same lingo of the 1980's today.

So sweet!

This is a perfectly sweet little story about found family, sticking together no matter what, learning to let friends help and comfort and being able to move on from the past to a wonderful future. I love all the quirkiness of the different food service bots, even the sadness of Stay Behind because he will do anything to protect his friends. This was so much fun to listen to, a little slice of a future that seems pretty dark with all the previous fighting and California separating from the rest of the US and how sentient bots have some rights but still there is a lot of prejudice towards them but still with hope. Usually it is cozy fantasy but this fits perfectly into cozy sci-fi and will definitely lift your spirits as you cheer these fantastic bot on and root for them against the mysterious prejudiced online attacks against their wonderful little restaurant. I know I would want to go see it for myself and eat the wonderful noodles that Hands makes! I would recommend this book, both reading or listening to it on audiobook. The narrator, Em Grosland, does a wonderful job in bringing the bots and other characters to life in that little restaurant that brings everyone together. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this fantastic audiobook!