The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez
by Chadwick Ginther - Friday Jan 18 2008 4:55 pm
Posted in: Reviews, Staff Pick, SciFi & Fantasy, Mystery & Crime

A. Lee Martinez is at his best when he ignores the "rules". In combining a pulp science fiction setting with crime noir sensibility, he has crafted his strongest fiction since his blisteringly good debut Gil's All Fright Diner.

Gil's was such a strong debut that In the Company of Ogres and The Nameless Witch, both fine and entertaining stories in their own rights, suffered under the expectations, and desires of fans to see more of Duke and Earl,Gil's' werewolf & vampire leads.

Gil's was such a strong debut that A Company of Ogres and The Nameless Witch, both fine and entertaining stories in their own rights, suffered under the expectations, and desires of fans to see more of Duke and Earl,Gil's' werewolf & vampire leads.

Now with Mack Megaton, robotic cabby turned shamus, Martinez has created a protagonist that can rival Duke and Earl and will have fans clamouring for more of futuristic Empire City as much as they wish to see Duke and Earl return to Rockwood.

Empire City is a vision of the future we imagined in the fifties: hover cars, robots, mutants. And while these never materialized in our world, they did in Empire city, while many of the actual scientific advances we achieved like personal computers, are noticeably absent.

Mack was built to destroy mankind, and while he had a change of heart(or programming), the police installed destruct mechanism hidden in his chasis keeps him on a short leash. All Mack wants to do is keep his head down, drive his cab, and become a citizen. Unfortunately when his neighbours get kidnapped, Megaton finds himself in over his head, mired in a conspiracy that goes back to the founding of Empire City, a puzzle that it will take more than fists to solve.

Don't forget to check out Martinez's official website and blog, and if you haven't read it yet, I was lucky enough to get an interview with author back in October.

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