Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz and Valet by J.P. Lacrampe
Two novels featuring robots set in different versions of future California are appealing readalikes.
Automatic Noodle was published in 2025 and has become a bestseller. I don’t think I’ve ever had authentic hand-pulled biang biang noodles in San Francisco or anywhere else, but they sound delicious. And except for human Robles and Cayenne, who has eight arms like an octopus and taste sensors, none of the workers at Authentic Noodle can taste them, as they’re robots. Staybehind was a military bot during the war between California and the United States. Sweetie presents as a human woman with three legs while Hands has a torso but no head or legs. Along with Robles and delivery van Sloan, they open and run a noodle restaurant.
Staybehind discovers a talent for decorating the restaurant while Sweetie connects with other robots in the city. Reviews are great, but only at first. A charming story set in future San Francisco, where robots who struggled during the war are now working for a more independent and happier future. Newitz has a new book out this month that sounds quite different but also intriguing: A Wall is Also a Road.
Valet is set in southern California in the future. I was expecting a funny book like Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories of the early 20th century but the humor didn’t really appear until about page 70. Cy is a robot, assigned by Mrs. Elizabeth St. Clair to optimize her son Grayson, 35, a ceramic artist who loves to party with his rich and equally unambitious friends. His late father founded AI+ Labs and his sister Charlotte is the acting CEO. Smug Elsa, a much newer model robot, assists their mother.
Cy is friendly with talkative older robot Larry, who’s in danger of being downgraded from valet to a mech bot. With Cy’s help, Larry heads down the coast in a boat to escape his fate. When Grayson learns that Charlotte wants to sell AI+ Labs, he plans to thwart her, with Cy’s help. The action really picks up when Cy, Grayson, Grayson’s dog, and engineer Livi leave the city and end up in a most unusual low-tech community. Cy is focused on keeping his battery charged when not using another of his unexpected skills, like setting a broken bone. Grayson is a more appealing character outside of San Francisco, both to the reader and Cy; he was probably utterly bored in his ultramodern, high-tech world. The setting reminds me a bit of Sourdough by Robin Sloan. Kevin Wilson blurbs this book, and his quirkiness and absurdity do make him a readalike as well.
While Automatic Noodle was a quicker, easier read, I really cared about the characters in Valet and got caught up in the story once the action picked up. Craving noodles now? Here’s a recipe to try: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/biang-biang-noodles-recipe.
Brenda
