Zev and Sterling are so cute, omg. This gay robot romance is such a good, short read (did it in one sitting) and I highly recommend it. It’s not complicated, and it doesn’t have to be, but the story is there, and it’s beautiful.

I present to you: gay robots.

“The Warm Machine” by Aimee Cozza is a queer sci-fi novella following a laborbot that sees a new military prototype on his construction site and becomes immediately preoccupied with it. It could almost be called an infatuation. But bots can’t feel, right? As the truth of their anomalous programming comes to light, the two are determined to find the mythical robot utopia of Root or be decommissioned forever.

The writing style of the book was a bit of a double-sided sword. On one hand, it was a little confusing to get into exactly what was being described, as our protagonist laborbot was using very specific technological language. On the other hand, I loved how other the characters felt. This wasn’t an instance of human minds in metal bodies, the robots felt like creatures that had entire other ways of thinking and viewing the world. For example, not being able to smell or seeing the world in 360 degrees because of their cameras. While it took me a second to get into what was being described, I loved the general vibe.

There was so much emotion in this story. Following the bots as they figured out feelings for the first time and the huge realizations of exactly what their feelings were for each other was an angsty delight. While it did feel like the jump to full feelings was a bit too quick for the general uptick, the exploration of the futuristic, city-in-levels world was enough to distract. I would have loved a bit more of that (but then I usually prefer full novels) but it was still enough to get a real sense of place.

My particularly favorite tidbit was at the end, with the in-world inserts explaining to consumers how to handle it if their housebot begins to have an existential crisis.

A great pick for anyone that loves robots, especially the gay ones!

This book is a great read pushing the boundary between humanity and robot in an industrial sci-fi setting as two robots come to learn whats outside the boundaries of programming.

This quick read had me invested right from the start. Reading this book we get to watch the two robots find each other, while finding themselves at the same time. The character growth each robot makes throughout really lets you connect to each character. You can’t help but root for these two and the sense of community and love they work to build.

I cannot fully relate how enjoyable this book was. It is well written. I throughly enjoyed following the bots journey into discovery of self, each other, and the world around them. The computer jargon used is logistic enough for the tech mind, but simple enough for the novice to understand. As you dive into the story, you find yourself excited for bots, and refusing to put the story down, fully following them in their pursuit of ‘root.’ Part of you cheers their discoveries and frowns at their failures. This is a book you don’t want to miss.
Personally, I would love to see other books written on the characters in this book. Excellent storytelling. Don’t miss out.