Automatic Noodle

Newitz (The Terraformers) serves up comfort food for the soul in this bite-size novel about a squad of enterprising robots. Staybehind, Sweetie, Cayenne, and Hands are military, fem, cephalopod, and kitchen bots, respectively, all contracted to San Francisco fast-food restaurant Burgers N More, a grimy front operation for crypto launderer Fritz Co. When Fritz Co slips town, the bots are left to fend for themselves. To pay off their contracts and prevent being sold as chattel, the group decides to revive the joint as a ramen restaurant, inspired by old military rations they find left over from the 2050s war between America and California. With help from homeless human Robles, whom they take in, the bots must first restore power to the shop (requiring a deep dive into city sewers), then teach themselves to cook. Soon customers are lining up for more. Then a deluge of bad reviews linked to accounts run by robophobes lead the bots to suspect American intelligence of attempting to destabilize the young California nation by seeding propaganda criticizing its recent extension of civil rights to robots. To defend themselves and their fledgling venture, the bots whip up a social media counterattack. Newitz packs this tale with simmering action, endearing characters, and political savvy, topping it all off with generous dollops of humor and imagination. It’s delicious. (Aug.)