Automatic Noodle

by Annalee Newitz

A noodle shop built by robots

Regular price $18.54 USD
Regular price $30.90 USD Sale price $18.54 USD
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Awards & Recognition

  • Bestseller

    Instant USA Today bestseller

AlbakiReads Editorial

A noodle shop built by robots

In a near-future San Francisco recovering from war, deactivated robots return to an abandoned ghost kitchen and put their food-making skills to work. Their hand-pulled noodle shop becomes a point of connection with local customers, but a wave of one-star reviews threatens the business. The novella brings together questions of community, work, and belonging through the practical challenge of keeping a small enterprise open in a city rebuilding after conflict. Its compact premise pairs food service with the robots’ effort to make a place for themselves in a world not designed for them.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers interested in near-future science fiction centered on robots and everyday work.
  • For readers who enjoy stories about food businesses, community ties, and rebuilding after conflict.

Themes

Community and mutual supportWork and economic survivalBelonging and inclusionRecovery after war

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop, from acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz.

An instant USA Today and indie bestseller!

Indie Next pick Library Reads pick Best of the Year at Elle, Gizmodo, Reactor, Library Journal, and more!

You don't have to eat food to know the way to a city's heart is through its stomach. So when a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen, they decide to make their own way doing what they know: making food--the tastiest hand-pulled noodles around--for the humans of San Francisco, who are recovering from a devastating war.

But when their robot-run business starts causing a stir, a targeted wave of one-star reviews threatens to boil over into a crisis. To keep their doors open, they'll have to call on their customers, their community, and each other--and find a way to survive and thrive in a world that wasn't built for them.

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