The Automatic Detective [Paperback]

A. Lee Martinez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2008

Even in Empire City, a town where weird science is the hope for tomorrow, it’s hard for a robot to make his way. It’s even harder for a robot named Mack Megaton, a hulking machine designed to bring mankind to its knees. But Mack’s not interested in world domination. He’s just a bot trying to get by, trying to demonstrate that he isn’t just an automated smashing machine, and to earn his citizenship in the process. It should be as easy as crushing a tank for Mack, but some bots just can’t catch a break.

When Mack’s neighbors are kidnapped, Mack sets off on a journey through the dark alleys and gleaming skyscrapers of Empire City. Along the way, he runs afoul of a talking gorilla, a brainy dame, a mutant lowlife, a little green mob boss, and the secret conspiracy at the heart of Empire’s founders---not to mention more trouble than he bargained for. What started out as one missing family becomes a battle for the future of Empire and every citizen that calls her home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Martinez (In the Company of Ogres) tickles the funny bone in this delightful, fast-paced mishmash of SF and hard-boiled detective story. Mack Megaton drives a cab in the mutant-infested technotopia of Empire City. It's a step down for a massive killing machine created for world domination, but kindhearted Megaton has bucked his programming, and when his secretive neighbors, the Bleakers, go missing, he begins a search. Young Holt Bleaker has something in his mutant blood that makes him valuable to aliens poised to invade Empire City, and only a giant robot—a robot like Mack Megaton—can break him out of the fortress where he's held prisoner. Soon plans go awry when sinister psychic Grey subverts Megaton's programming, but he finds an unlikely ally in Lucia Napier, an outrageously beautiful and talented media star and roboticist. Eccentric characters, all of whom are clever twists on stereotypes, populate a smart, rocket-fast read with a clever, twisty plot that comes to a satisfying conclusion. (Feb.)
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Review

“Martinez tickles the funny bone in this delightful, fast-paced mishmash of SF and hard-boiled detective story. . . . A smart, rocket-fast read with a clever, twisty plot that comes to a satisfying conclusion.”---Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Automatic Detective

“Martinez crafts a private eye in the best tradition of hard-boiled futuristic detection, with plenty of beautiful babes and evil geniuses, and written in classic wise-cracking first-person narrative.”---Booklist on The Automatic Detective

"Reformed warrior robot Mack Megaton searches for a missing family---and a moral purpose---in a city of exotic mutants. . . . Mack's smash-and-grab mission acquires some satisfying philosophical heft."---Entertainment Weekly

“A terrific debut. The fast-paced plot is full of memorable incidents and wonderful observations.”---Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Gil’s All Fright Diner

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765318342
• ISBN-13: 978-0765318343
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A. Lee Martinez was born in El Paso, Texas. At the age of eighteen, for no apparent reason, he started writing novels. Thirteen short years (and a little over a dozen manuscripts) later, his first novel, Gil's All Fright Diner was published. Since then he has published or is about to publish five additional novels, including the forthcoming Divine Misfortune. His hobbies include juggling, games of all sorts, and astral projecting. Also, he likes to sing along with the radio when he's in the car by himself.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Maltese Falcon meets I, Robot, March 15, 2008

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Automatic Detective (Paperback)

Martinez is back in top form! I had been rather disappointed in "In the Company of Ogres" for its lack of plot although it had plenty of wisecracks, and disappointed a bit in "A Nameless Witch" for being a bit too solemn - but here in "Automatic Detective" we are back to having novel characters, a fast-moving plot, AND all the wisecracks, in a book as original as Martinez' first, "Gil's All-Fright Diner."

Saying that it's original doesn't mean there isn't any history to it. In order to get the most possible fun out of reading this book, you have to read some of the inspirations behind it. Most obviously, Isaac Asimov's "Caves of Steel" and any Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler - but also Asimov's "I, Robot" stories. For the Hammett, seeing the movie will do; for the Asimov, you definitely need to read the books; the movie called "I, Robot" will NOT cut it. One of the things to note in the robot stories is the sexism of the times back then implicit in the characterization of Susan Calvin, the robot engineer - so that you can see just how much fun Lucia Napier really is! Also, besides those, you should read Alfred Bester's story "Fondly Fahrenheit" (it's been anthologized lots, for example here: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester). All reet!

I can detect other influences here - classic Harry Harrison and Larry Niven, including Gil the ARM, for example - but I don't want this to sound too much like an academic analysis, so I'll leave you to do those comparisons yourself.

As the editorial and other reviews mention plenty about the plot, I won't repeat it all here. Instead, I'll just give you some examples of the things I particularly liked. The sly turns of phrase:
"Moriarty Asylum for the Criminally Inventive was the cold, dark box where they locked away all the great evil geniuses."

The characters: Jung, who is a gorilla full citizen - his favorite reading is Jane Austen - is changing from his cab driver's uniform, complete with bow tie, into clothes to go out to a nightclub, and says to Mack, "Let me get out of this monkey suit."

The critters: a yellow fuzzy hybrid of a dachshund and a pillbug, which rolls into a ball and plays with kids.

There's also a little girl genius, thugs both robot and human, little green men, aliens, a shrink for robots... lots of great characters. The plot gets solved as satisfyingly as any mystery, and there's a great ending in the classic tradition (which also happened to remind me of the ending of Will Shetterly's "Chimera" Chimera - if you like this book, try that one too!)

Family reading alert: safe for teens, even young ones, if they happen to have the vocabulary to have long since made their way through all the available juvenile fiction and are starting to browse the grown-up science fiction area. There's no sex, very little that anyone could characterize as bad language, and while there is the violence one might expect in a hard-boiled detective mystery, it is mostly robot-on-robot violence and not too graphic. I mention this not because I think there's anything wrong with sex, cursing, and violence if they have a legitimate place in the plot, but I know that many parents would like their kids to have limited exposure to those, especially if they already get too much on TV.

In short: great read, fast-paced, funny, and I'd love to see a sequel.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beats Driving a Cab, July 21, 2008

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Automatic Detective (Paperback)

This fun and offbeat novel is not necessarily unique because of its mix of sci-fi and detective noir, which has been done before. It's unique because of Martinez's unconventional milieu and setting, as this book takes place in a world that could only be described as retro-sci-fi. The story is set in a near-future based on the 1940s or 50s and harkens back to the sci-fi pulps that were actually written in that era, when even the most adventurous authors could have never imagined our modern wired world and instead concocted clunky flying cars and huge fightin' robots. Thus Martinez has grounded the novel in the true era of detective noir and its weirdly outdated future. The story features a super-advanced robot named Mack Megaton who becomes a reluctant detective in order to find some human friends who have been kidnapped in a bizarre conspiracy, while hanging out with pulpy characters like criminal masterminds, streetwise molls, and grizzled cops.

The best parts of the story concern Mack's thoughts on moving from cold robot logic to slippery human sentimentality, and Martinez does a great job with this subtle philosophical theme. Meanwhile, the action is fun and fast-moving, and fits perfectly within the pulpy world that Martinez has created. But the novel is also a bit monochromatic as the retro-sci-fi backdrop can't quite hold together an ambitious conspiracy among aliens, mutants, norms, and robots; and there are a few plot holes here and there that do some damage to the storyline, particularly regarding Mack's run-ins with the cops. But readers who are willing to forgive a few lapses in focus will still find a fun and very unique story with cool characters and a lot of rip-roaring action. [~doomsdayer520~]

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Familiar but entertaining, April 13, 2008

By 

Acontius "Acontius" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Automatic Detective (Paperback)

Isaac Asimov's CAVES OF STEEL was the first science fiction/detective story hybrid that I read, and that was well over 20 years ago. I've always liked this genre mix, so I was happy to find THE AUTOMATIC DETECTIVE.

This action-comedy is an entertaining read, but sf devotees will gripe about the shredding of "real" science. In fact, the "science" of the book seems to be lifted right out of Silver Age GREEN LANTERN and other comic books.

Though Mr. Martinez treats the ideas he borrows respectfully, he does rely upon them too much. After all, his plot is an over-used formula, so he should fill it with more fresh variables of his own.

If this had been trimmed by about 80 pages, the pacing and the humor would have made for a more enjoyable reading adventure. Too many of the action scenes seem repetitive, though the briefer ones are exciting the first time through.

Despite its flaws, THE AUTOMATIC DETECTIVE manages to convincingly create a sentient robot, exploring with intelligent humor some of the themes only hinted at by STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION'S Data, who also strove to understand his own gift of free will.

Bring it to the beach or to an airport. Definitely an amusing way to fill some leisure time, planned or otherwise.