Lovely as a bowl of noodles

Cozy has been a hot sub-genre in fantasy fiction in recent years. And I've been happy it's so. I'm equally happy when I find a cozy science fiction novel (and yes they do exist). So I was delighted the minute I saw Annalee Newitz's new novella, Automatic Noodle. Noodle is about robots operating a noodle shop who worry their shop could be shut down by one-star reviews. Yes, the restaurant is in a future, postwar San Francisco where California has separated from the rest of the U.S. and yes, there are robophobic folks who'd like to keep them from having any rights, but at the heart of the book is a community of robots coming together to create their own found family. And for me? Doesn't get better than that.

As the book opens robot Staybehind wakes up from shutdown. They don't know how long they've been shut down nor why, but they wake to the restaurant they've worked in flooding and empty of humans. The owners for whom Staybehind worked have disappeared and all they're left with is a number of other shutdown robots. After waking them up, Staybehind and the other assorted robots decide to get the restaurant operating again serving biang biang-style noodles. They face challenges along the way, but work together to make sure they all have a future.

I started by calling this cozy. It certainly is. But it's also a book that explores identity and connection in a challenging world and find hopes along the way. I recommend this and suggest you read it while savoring your own bowl of noodles.