DNF -did not finish. I decided not to keep reading this novel because I did not connect with the writing and plot. Thank you, netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

The writer's into for Autonomy suggests it’s a bittersweet take on a thwarted romance between a human and an AI, and the problems inherent in that. And whilst that is part of the novel, I wonder if that sells it incorrectly. Its broadly the tale of Salton, an academic adviser/counsellor in a future Canadian campus where Canada is the front line of defence for an assimilating USA against Russia who suddenly can access the Northern territories via a melted Arctic (this is a scenario that has captivated me since an ex-SAS member suggested it to me in a future-proofing seminar). Conservative USA has outlawed abortion and Salton is dragged into an impossible situation to try to solve and already a quarter of the book has passed before she encounters the AI in the US immigration booth.

This is not really a criticism. By this point I was sold on the writing and lead character, manoeuvring her way through what felt like a satirically heightened by plausible future. A poor person trying to pull herself up through academia, with a best friend who always remains that best friends (a cleverly played Trans character whose identity is only an issue in as much as the conservative nature of society might turn on them at any point).Once the AI, Julian, comes into Salton’s life she has a change, she has an inner voice that is an inquisitive best friend and booster (I imagine there must be people out there with relentlessly positive voices in their head). And the relationship part is lovely, as the world falls apart around here and suddenly a global pandemic rears its head.

The introduction wrings its hands in advance of this. It was completed in March 2020, just as the actual pandemic unfolded. It is also broadly a fantasy/satirical virus in as much as it appears to be spread in a ocular fashion – leaving a fair bit of room to talk about what you can see or not see. At this point Salton’s AI pal finds a way for someone as poor as her to best survive the upcoming pandemic, which shifts the storyline to a different mode, and shunts the AI out of the story.

So I don’t think this is a grand AI – human romance, rather a picaresque, near future novel about what we do to survive. Salton moves between loves here, her unrequited friend, the AI and her final husband – all are flawed as romances, all offer things and take them away. At the heart of it is this strong character, forged by childhood precarity and disinterest in a world that has next to no time for her as someone who is poor, and as someone who is a woman (it is quite clear that the Autonomy questioned in the title is hers – not the AI). Perhaps it was my recent reading but it reminded me a bit of a slice of Isabel Allende, a humanist portrayal of someone making mistakes but owning them, someone who makes judgements but isn’t all that judgemental (or has at least been taught by life to be fatalistic). I probably would have liked more of the journey, I certainly would have liked more of Julian the AI, and I am not sure what the appetite for pandemic fiction is these days. But whilst it wasn’t the book I expected, it was one I rather enjoyed picking at, the frayed corners of a fully rounded flawed character negotiating an end of the world.

AUTONOMY 📚 (ARC)

In a near future ravaged by illness, one woman and her AI companion enter a dangerous bubble of the superrich. In 2035, a fledging synthetic consciousness "wakes up" in a lab. Jenny, the lead developer, determined to nurture this synthetic being like a child, trains it for work with people at the border of the American Protectorate of Canada. She names it Julian. Two years later, Slaton, a therapist at a university, is framed by a student for arranging an illegal abortion. She follows the student to America and is detained at the border, where she meets Julian in virtual space. After a week of interviewing, he decides to stay with her, learning about the world, the human condition, and what it means to fall in love. Meanwhile, a mysterious plague is spreading across the world. Only the far-seeing and well-connected Julian can protect Slaton from the impending societal collapse. Autonomy is an ambitious, philosophical novel about the possibilities for love in a world in which human bodies are either threatened or irrelevant.

I was kindly selected by @netgalley to read this ARC. I found the cover really interesting and was excited to start reading it! I find the start of the novel a bit slow. I think if it was shortened I would have definitely got into it a lot quicker. Overall I did enjoy the book and I found it very easy to read. I wouldn’t say I was enthralled by it and I never really felt any attachment to any of the characters but it was nice enough. It was very well written and easy to follow though! I would say I enjoyed it but wouldn’t be in a hurry to read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Autonomy” by Victoria Hetherington is a brave speculative science-fiction novel, but unfortunately it is also a disappointing one.
A lot of different concepts are thrown into the mix in “Automomy”, not always successfully. The consequences of climate change, a surveillance society, AI, class differences and women’s rights. There is also a worldwide plague which, as the novel was written pre-Covid, adds a potent topicality to the book. It is basically a love story, but the story tries to be a lot of other things too which harms the novel, making it unfocused and rambling.
Lead character Slaton veers from boring to annoying and often acts bizarrely; as a character she isn’t interesting enough to carry the entire novel. Other characters were more interesting and we should’ve seen through their eyes more.
“Autonomy” had the potential to be a excellent novel, but sadly due to a lack of focus it doesn’t fulfil its potential.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ARC of Autonomy by Victoria Hetherington. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have read it and give feedback.

This story is set in a future rife with new technology, the effects of climate change, and surveillance (although it’s only touched on at times). It follows Slaton as she interacts with a new kind of AI, and what happens to herself and those around her when she introduces him to the outside world. Quickly falling into a love story, Autonomy gives a grim look at a possible future for humanity, and it's one that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

There were things I liked about this story. The effects of climate change and a new plague was fascinating, and I found them very believable. Class differences is also a favourite of mine in science fiction writing, and this, too, felt believable. I also liked the small aspect of immortality Hetherington introduced, albeit if only for a moment. It was an interesting take on how the rich dealt with a failing world, one that I wished had been explored a little more.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of things that didn’t work for me. First and foremost, the editing and formatting of my ARC was truly awful. It made the book near-unreadable, honestly. I don’t know if this is because I’ve been spoilt by previous ARCs, but this had no indentations, repeated letters, sentences that ended halfway through one line and continued on the next… the list goes on. In terms of the writing and characters, they were fine. Things that could have been tweaked, should have (the amount of times Slaton shrieked is baffling), and I found her generally unpleasant and quite bland. I found myself wishing it was dual-POV so I could follow a different person at times. Peter was… gross, if I’m honest.

I suppose I found myself liking the ideas behind the story more than the execution itself. Maybe a less broken ARC would have made it a little easier for me, but I doubt it would have given this a four star review from me.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
I'm not really sure how I feel about Autonomy...
I really liked the premise and I really expected to love it.
I sadly didn't end up loving it...
One of the good things about the book was the writing style, I really liked it.
In the end I just wasn't the biggest fan of the plot or the characters.

3.5 rounding up

Autonomy takes a bit to settle in to; Hetherington doesn't seem to have a solid voice for the first quarter of the story. Right when I was starting to feel cozy in my understanding of what was happening, we find ourselves ripped to another direction and we land in almost an entirely different book. There are a lot of things going on in this one and it doesn't feel fully fleshed out, but it still works? I wish there was more world building overall.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Every year I stumble across a few books that stick with me. This is one of those.

I’m going to be thinking about it for a long time.

Slaton is a 30ish woman in the near future where climate change has grossly changed our planet, women have lost many rights and a mystery illness is starting to spread.

In trying to help a college student she counseled, Slaton is detained by the US/Canadian border patrol and interviewed by an AI, Julian.

She and Julian form a strong attachment and he follows her home after her release.

As society shifts even more into an era of struggle, Julian helps Slaton land a rich husband as a matter of survival but then promptly becomes jealous and disappears from her life.

The wealthy community Slaton finds herself in continues to live life like nothing is happening in society until they can no longer hide from the illness and it all falls apart. Julian reappears to help Slaton. But how much can he help?

Autonomy is a beautiful and gripping novel; a heart wrenching dystopian tale about love, and survival, and what it means to be human. Think modern-world-gone-slightly-wrong in a 1984 hyper-surveillance sort of way, mixed with all the philosophical and emotive qualities of The Little Prince.

Set in the near-future, perhaps one of the most chilling elements of reading this—and certainly the one that made it hit so close to home—was how undeniably plausible every element was. Technology that permeates every facet of life so thoroughly that inconceivable iterations are mentioned only in passing. Worsening climate events that are only exacerbated by global political tensions. Casual and uncontested loss of rights for some in drastic ways, while others see advancement and recognition like never before. And an illness causing global catastrophe, which only exacerbates class differences. Rather than leaping into a startlingly unfamiliar political climate, every element of Autonomy feels oh so familiar, in a way that's haunting enough to make it seem almost prophetic. Parts of this hurt in a way that makes it impossible not to confront modern surroundings.
And yet, the physical setting was primarily a background for the emotional one. Reading Slaton's character arc felt like (forgive my use of cliché) watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. It was messy and heartfelt, she made regretful decisions again and again, and yet the range of experiences she felt were profound and touching. Each character was given such depth and dimension, and Hetherington certainly did not shy away from any of it—neither the good, the bad, nor the ugly. I cared about every single one of these characters, human or otherwise.

So seldom do I read books that fill me with the immense and overwhelming desire to turn back to the beginning and start them again; after I have read the ending just one more time, I intend to do just that. I devoured this in one go, and I found myself reading the last few pages in tears (bittersweet). Autonomy is an immediate favourite.

"We inhabited a present that felt in some ways like the future I had imagined as a kid, but a bizarre, embarrassing future that nobody in the past would have wanted. And wasn't I lucky, to live out what might be the final days of the "before," prior to the spoils of the postmodern world turning foul, raining fire."