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Autonomy
In a near future ravaged by illness, one woman and her AI companion enter a dangerous bubble of the superrich.
It's 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 to 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.
It's 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 to 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.
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First published February 8, 2022
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About the author
Victoria Hetherington
5 books45 followersVictoria Hetherington is the author of five books: three science fiction novels including Amazon First Novel Award shortlisted and critically acclaimed MOONCALVES (Now or Never, 2019) AUTONOMY (Dundurn Press, 2022), and HOTEL PSYCHE (Rare Machines, 2026) and two books of investigative journalism: INTO THE MIST: FINDING CF-JDO (Kestrel Publications, 2022) and FRIEND MACHINE: ON THE TRAIL OF AI COMPANIONSHIP (Sutherland House; Canadian launch Fall 2025, American launch Spring 2026.)
Hetherington's digital fiction experiment titled I HAVE TO TELL YOU (0s&1s, 2014) was reviewed in places like the LA Review of Books, HTMLGiant, Ploughshares.
Hetherington's first novel MOONCALVES (Now or Never Publishing, April 2019), has been called a "a stunning debut," (The Globe and Mail) "A stylish puzzle of a story...both singular and absorbing" (The Toronto Star) as "filling a particular, and dark, societal need" (Quill and Quire); "a work of great thematic depth" and whose central relationship "I completely loved and about whom I have had to restrain myself from writing paragraph after paragraph" (The Ex-Puritan), and more. According to The Vancouver Sun, "The arrival of Hetherington’s unique narrative voice may announce the coming of a new genre. You may be tempted, if you are as impressed by this debut as this reviewer is, to see Hetherington as the millennial generation’s persuasive answer to Atwood."
Hetherington's second novel, AUTONOMY, was published Spring 2022 with Rare Machines/Dundurn Press. Described by Giller-winning author Michael Redhill as "a beautifully written and profoundly enthralling novel that made me wonder if Joan Didion had started writing literary fiction," the book was called "a remarkable work of fiction" in the Vancouver Sun. Liz Harmer, author of The Amateurs, said "Hetherington's vision is bleak, but their glittering prose gives even the most monstrous realities of late-capitalism an unsettling glimmer." Noted critic Steven J. Beattie wrote that AUTONOMY is "a philosophical rumination on the nature of human agency in the guise of a dystopian narrative about technology and a global pandemic." From the Toronto Star: "Over punchy, effortless chapters Hetherington spins a delectably serpentine tale." The book has received additional praise from Quill and Quire, CBC The Next Chapter, the Literary Review of Canada, and others.
Brought to life by voice actor Sierra Kline and OrangeSky Productions, AUTONOMY is now available as an audiobook on Audible.
Equal parts tragedy and enduring, generational love, INTO THE MIST (Kestrel, 2023) tells the true story of a Saskatchewan aviation mystery six decades in the making. This is Hetherington's first nonfiction book. INTO THE MIST has received positive press from CBC Regina, CTV Saskatoon, and noted historians including Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan Bill Waiser, OC and Will Chabun. The book was launched cocurrently with an exhibit featuring the recovered plane wreckage at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum.
Hetherington's investigative nonfiction book, FRIEND MACHINE, has garnered praise from world-class thinkers on both sides of the AI debate. According to Dr. Roman Yampolksiy: "“Empirically rich and prophetic, 'The Friend Machine' exposes how algorithmic companions turn ‘lucrative loneliness’ into a subscription economy. It compels us to confront whether we are ready to outsource love itself to code that never sleeps.” Dr - Dr. Erik Brynjolfsson wrote that “The Friend Machine is a vivid, unsettling glimpse into how AI companions are already rewriting the rules of love, trust, and what it means to be human. Hetherington takes us to the front lines of AI companionship: a space where technology meets our deepest human needs. It’s gripping, unsettling, and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how AI is already reshaping love, loneliness, and the social fabric itself."
Hetherington's digital fiction experiment titled I HAVE TO TELL YOU (0s&1s, 2014) was reviewed in places like the LA Review of Books, HTMLGiant, Ploughshares.
Hetherington's first novel MOONCALVES (Now or Never Publishing, April 2019), has been called a "a stunning debut," (The Globe and Mail) "A stylish puzzle of a story...both singular and absorbing" (The Toronto Star) as "filling a particular, and dark, societal need" (Quill and Quire); "a work of great thematic depth" and whose central relationship "I completely loved and about whom I have had to restrain myself from writing paragraph after paragraph" (The Ex-Puritan), and more. According to The Vancouver Sun, "The arrival of Hetherington’s unique narrative voice may announce the coming of a new genre. You may be tempted, if you are as impressed by this debut as this reviewer is, to see Hetherington as the millennial generation’s persuasive answer to Atwood."
Hetherington's second novel, AUTONOMY, was published Spring 2022 with Rare Machines/Dundurn Press. Described by Giller-winning author Michael Redhill as "a beautifully written and profoundly enthralling novel that made me wonder if Joan Didion had started writing literary fiction," the book was called "a remarkable work of fiction" in the Vancouver Sun. Liz Harmer, author of The Amateurs, said "Hetherington's vision is bleak, but their glittering prose gives even the most monstrous realities of late-capitalism an unsettling glimmer." Noted critic Steven J. Beattie wrote that AUTONOMY is "a philosophical rumination on the nature of human agency in the guise of a dystopian narrative about technology and a global pandemic." From the Toronto Star: "Over punchy, effortless chapters Hetherington spins a delectably serpentine tale." The book has received additional praise from Quill and Quire, CBC The Next Chapter, the Literary Review of Canada, and others.
Brought to life by voice actor Sierra Kline and OrangeSky Productions, AUTONOMY is now available as an audiobook on Audible.
Equal parts tragedy and enduring, generational love, INTO THE MIST (Kestrel, 2023) tells the true story of a Saskatchewan aviation mystery six decades in the making. This is Hetherington's first nonfiction book. INTO THE MIST has received positive press from CBC Regina, CTV Saskatoon, and noted historians including Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan Bill Waiser, OC and Will Chabun. The book was launched cocurrently with an exhibit featuring the recovered plane wreckage at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum.
Hetherington's investigative nonfiction book, FRIEND MACHINE, has garnered praise from world-class thinkers on both sides of the AI debate. According to Dr. Roman Yampolksiy: "“Empirically rich and prophetic, 'The Friend Machine' exposes how algorithmic companions turn ‘lucrative loneliness’ into a subscription economy. It compels us to confront whether we are ready to outsource love itself to code that never sleeps.” Dr - Dr. Erik Brynjolfsson wrote that “The Friend Machine is a vivid, unsettling glimpse into how AI companions are already rewriting the rules of love, trust, and what it means to be human. Hetherington takes us to the front lines of AI companionship: a space where technology meets our deepest human needs. It’s gripping, unsettling, and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how AI is already reshaping love, loneliness, and the social fabric itself."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
January 15, 2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Science Fiction
This science fiction story is set in 2035. Julian is a synthetic/A.I. that has been created in a laboratory by the lead developer Jenny. Julian is trained to work at the border of the American Protectorate of Canada. When a therapist (Slaton) at a university is accused of helping a student with her abortion (which is illegal at that time) she is detained at the border and she meets Julian in virtual space. The A.I will stay with her to learn more about humankind and their world. A strong bond forms between the two but the question is how far will it go?
This novel has a quite fascinating concept. Although it is not the first time I see such a concept of A.I. that is interested to understand humankind and their feelings. Maybe to be one of them as well. Movies such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) and Bicentennial Man (1999) featured such a concept. In the latter, there is a huge romantic aspect between the A.I. and a human female. I think Autonomy has less romance between the main characters and more of a strong friendship. The synopsis says it is a romance. But I didn’t feel that relationship was passionate enough to be termed romantic.
I liked the author’s writing style. There are many philosophical questions and answers between the characters. The story is focused around Julian or in his presence until Slaton gets married to Peter. From that point, Julian disappears from the story and it becomes more about the married couple. Then towards the end, he reappears again. I liked the futuristic world that the author created. All the problems and challenges that people faced at that time were addressed. There is a plague that humanity has to deal with! And it plays a major part in the second half of the novel. The author did a great job with the ending of the story. Overall, this was an entertaining read.
Many thanks to the publisher Dundurn Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.
Genre: Science Fiction
This science fiction story is set in 2035. Julian is a synthetic/A.I. that has been created in a laboratory by the lead developer Jenny. Julian is trained to work at the border of the American Protectorate of Canada. When a therapist (Slaton) at a university is accused of helping a student with her abortion (which is illegal at that time) she is detained at the border and she meets Julian in virtual space. The A.I will stay with her to learn more about humankind and their world. A strong bond forms between the two but the question is how far will it go?
This novel has a quite fascinating concept. Although it is not the first time I see such a concept of A.I. that is interested to understand humankind and their feelings. Maybe to be one of them as well. Movies such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) and Bicentennial Man (1999) featured such a concept. In the latter, there is a huge romantic aspect between the A.I. and a human female. I think Autonomy has less romance between the main characters and more of a strong friendship. The synopsis says it is a romance. But I didn’t feel that relationship was passionate enough to be termed romantic.
I liked the author’s writing style. There are many philosophical questions and answers between the characters. The story is focused around Julian or in his presence until Slaton gets married to Peter. From that point, Julian disappears from the story and it becomes more about the married couple. Then towards the end, he reappears again. I liked the futuristic world that the author created. All the problems and challenges that people faced at that time were addressed. There is a plague that humanity has to deal with! And it plays a major part in the second half of the novel. The author did a great job with the ending of the story. Overall, this was an entertaining read.
Many thanks to the publisher Dundurn Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.
July 17, 2021
Autonomy confuses me. From the start it blasts off into a lot of different narrative directions, without really following through on any of them.
It's the near future. Canada has "temporarily" let itself be annexed by the US, as Russia is closing in from the north. Not that anybody believes the US will eventually relinquish control of Canada. Women's rights are swiftly being reversed, specifically regarding the legality of abortions. It's a surveillance state, where everyone swaddles their smart phones in a scarf, and write notes on paper to avoid governmental eavesdropping.
Slaton, a young woman working at a university as a therapist, is framed by one of her students for helping her have an illegal abortion. Slaton accompanies the student to the US border. Slaton is detained there, as she has taken some drugs offered to her. There she is introduced to an AI called Julian, who is to monitor her.
A bewildering amount of different sci-fi concepts get thrown into the story, and while they are related, they never feel part of a living world. None of the ideas feel like they're properly thought through, they are just as easily forgotten.
For example, the surveillance? It's mentioned in the first quarter of the book, and then fades into the background. Besides Slaton being picked up at the US border, there is barely a hint of oppression.
I never got a grip on the character of Slaton - she makes decisions that make little sense from a logical or emotional viewpoint, she is guided by what the plot necessitates. For example, when she takes the bus towards the border, she apparently accepts a pill from some random guy on the bus, and falls ill. I have no idea why she would take the drugs in the first place.
Slaton and Julian like eachother a lot, eventhough their relationship never feels very convincing. Then Julian disappears for quite a while, and he only returns in the rush that is the ending.
The writing itself isn't the problem. It's filled with lovely lyrical touches.
Overall the book feels unsure where it's going or what it's trying to say, and it has the hallmarks of a storyteller that has lost control.
(Thanks to Rare Machines for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
It's the near future. Canada has "temporarily" let itself be annexed by the US, as Russia is closing in from the north. Not that anybody believes the US will eventually relinquish control of Canada. Women's rights are swiftly being reversed, specifically regarding the legality of abortions. It's a surveillance state, where everyone swaddles their smart phones in a scarf, and write notes on paper to avoid governmental eavesdropping.
Slaton, a young woman working at a university as a therapist, is framed by one of her students for helping her have an illegal abortion. Slaton accompanies the student to the US border. Slaton is detained there, as she has taken some drugs offered to her. There she is introduced to an AI called Julian, who is to monitor her.
A bewildering amount of different sci-fi concepts get thrown into the story, and while they are related, they never feel part of a living world. None of the ideas feel like they're properly thought through, they are just as easily forgotten.
For example, the surveillance? It's mentioned in the first quarter of the book, and then fades into the background. Besides Slaton being picked up at the US border, there is barely a hint of oppression.
I never got a grip on the character of Slaton - she makes decisions that make little sense from a logical or emotional viewpoint, she is guided by what the plot necessitates. For example, when she takes the bus towards the border, she apparently accepts a pill from some random guy on the bus, and falls ill. I have no idea why she would take the drugs in the first place.
Slaton and Julian like eachother a lot, eventhough their relationship never feels very convincing. Then Julian disappears for quite a while, and he only returns in the rush that is the ending.
The writing itself isn't the problem. It's filled with lovely lyrical touches.
Overall the book feels unsure where it's going or what it's trying to say, and it has the hallmarks of a storyteller that has lost control.
(Thanks to Rare Machines for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
September 8, 2021
This is nominally science-fiction because it takes place in the near future but it doesn't feel like conventional spec-fic at all; the technical details of the technologies that affect the characters are quickly skipped over. This reads more like poetry, or philosophy. It's not about technology but about the possibilities for existence in a world of great inequalities. A reflection on the possibilities of love in a world in which lovers may have no bodies; a refelection on the economic possibilities for women in a society with a huge chasm between its wealthy and its urban. Full of insight and emotion and jarring realizations.
January 27, 2022
First of all I want to say thank you to the Dundurn Press for the ARC of this amazing book. And thank you to Victoria Hetherington for writing it.
It’s one of those books that you love, and at the same time are uncomfortable with, plus add in a dash of horror due to how close this dystopian novel is to our current reality.
My most favourite thing about Autonomy is that the tension and the plot is carried through the relationships of the characters. Rather than it be an in your face, and an over the top drama the story is built, and you are taken through it by Slaton’s experience with those around her. The horror of slowly losing your right to privacy, of women no longer being allowed the choice of what they do with their body (and Slaton’s experiential reaction to that), the realization that all your efforts to improve your life and the world through your work have become impossible, that the world felt the most free when you were a child, and humanities endless forward motion of progress is our downfall.
Victoria is a gorgeous writer. I stopped and re-read paragraph’s because I wanted to hang onto the beautiful prose. I think the true writers gift is to observe the world around them and create a body of work the encourages deep though/ reflection while telling an engaging story. Autonomy captures that perfectly. I found myself lost in the narrative, but then being forced to think about the very raw and real themes of climate change, abortion rights… and yep our current global pandemic.
Please preorder a copy of this book. Amplify Victoria, and oh.. enjoy Julian, because I feel like that’s the secret hero of this tale. Happy reading !
It’s one of those books that you love, and at the same time are uncomfortable with, plus add in a dash of horror due to how close this dystopian novel is to our current reality.
My most favourite thing about Autonomy is that the tension and the plot is carried through the relationships of the characters. Rather than it be an in your face, and an over the top drama the story is built, and you are taken through it by Slaton’s experience with those around her. The horror of slowly losing your right to privacy, of women no longer being allowed the choice of what they do with their body (and Slaton’s experiential reaction to that), the realization that all your efforts to improve your life and the world through your work have become impossible, that the world felt the most free when you were a child, and humanities endless forward motion of progress is our downfall.
Victoria is a gorgeous writer. I stopped and re-read paragraph’s because I wanted to hang onto the beautiful prose. I think the true writers gift is to observe the world around them and create a body of work the encourages deep though/ reflection while telling an engaging story. Autonomy captures that perfectly. I found myself lost in the narrative, but then being forced to think about the very raw and real themes of climate change, abortion rights… and yep our current global pandemic.
Please preorder a copy of this book. Amplify Victoria, and oh.. enjoy Julian, because I feel like that’s the secret hero of this tale. Happy reading !
September 24, 2021
"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."
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.
ARC Provided by the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.
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.
ARC Provided by the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.
February 19, 2022
Delicious prose. The type of writing that makes you stop and mourn that your own will never be so wonderfully syrupy or rich.
Loved this as a Torontonian. The references to the Bluffs. Spadina and Bloor. The University (take your pick). It evokes such a level of intimacy. I might see these people on the street, or sitting across from me at Futures. Or I might not. It's a dystopia set in 2035-38, after all.
Fantastically relevant. Not sure that I can describe this as a joy to read-- but I devoured it. I'll have to sit with it for a while. Gender. Class. Politics. And the oldest of questions: what does it mean to be human?
Loved this as a Torontonian. The references to the Bluffs. Spadina and Bloor. The University (take your pick). It evokes such a level of intimacy. I might see these people on the street, or sitting across from me at Futures. Or I might not. It's a dystopia set in 2035-38, after all.
Fantastically relevant. Not sure that I can describe this as a joy to read-- but I devoured it. I'll have to sit with it for a while. Gender. Class. Politics. And the oldest of questions: what does it mean to be human?
February 4, 2022
AUTONOMY by Victoria Hetherington is a sci fi novel which is a genre that I hardly ever read! It’s set in the future, year 2037, and about a woman, Slaton, who meets an AI companion named Julian. As an illness ravages around Slaton she tries to find love and survive.
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I loved the first part of this book as we learn about this future world and Slaton’s place in it. I loved the Canadian setting and the budding relationship between Slaton and Julian. The plot takes a turn as Slaton meets another man and after that I found myself disengaging from this story. A quick read that kept me intrigued to find out if the plot would come around but at the end I was left thinking that’s it? Maybe I was expecting too much.
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It was still fun to branch out and try a sci fi which isn’t one of my usual genres. Looking back on a couple of the sci fi books I read last year one of them was my lowest rated book of the year and another was one of my top 10 faves. So you just never know. It’s so fun to find out!
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Thank you to Dundurn Press for my gifted review copy!
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I loved the first part of this book as we learn about this future world and Slaton’s place in it. I loved the Canadian setting and the budding relationship between Slaton and Julian. The plot takes a turn as Slaton meets another man and after that I found myself disengaging from this story. A quick read that kept me intrigued to find out if the plot would come around but at the end I was left thinking that’s it? Maybe I was expecting too much.
.
It was still fun to branch out and try a sci fi which isn’t one of my usual genres. Looking back on a couple of the sci fi books I read last year one of them was my lowest rated book of the year and another was one of my top 10 faves. So you just never know. It’s so fun to find out!
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Thank you to Dundurn Press for my gifted review copy!
July 27, 2024
what a waste of $23.99. this book was nothing short of disappointing and disgusting! i can’t even believe this got published… plot was all over the place, romance between julian and slaton was so… weird? forced? traumatizing? hated reading about sex big time👎 the way the author wrote about sex was incredibly vulgar and gross and embarrassing…
the book tried to be seven different genres all at once and it didn’t excel in any of them. if goodreads would let me give this book zero stars i would.
the book tried to be seven different genres all at once and it didn’t excel in any of them. if goodreads would let me give this book zero stars i would.
September 13, 2022
I wanted to like this much more than I did. There are just too many different themes, and none of them explored deeply enough for my taste. Each scene in itself is fine - interesting, even. But put together, the narrative felt shallow and lost its gleam.
October 15, 2022
Too all-over-the-place for me, even though the prose was solid.
January 6, 2024
5/5
Things I liked:
- Beautiful, haunting prose, brutal in its poetry of the mundane crumbling before our eyes. This is the author's greatest skill, and it reminded me a lot of Jeff Vandermeer (another speculative author I love).
- This book's topic is tackled in a very abstract and subjective way, presenting the action in a very distorted lens. I wouldn't say the narrator is completely unreliable but there's a few moments where her own biases drive the story in a specific way and you forget what else has been going on in the background, as the world falls apart with plague and climate catastrophies. This enhances the story's world in this story in a unique, indescribable way.
- While one might argue that the main character is not consistent, I felt that she was very realistic. Humans are not consistent in their views. They're driven by their fears. Slaton is a woman driven by a fear of growing old, of never finding love, of dying as the world dies around her. She's a woman seeking survival and security, and she contradicts herself constantly in this quest to attain these things. She's jealous, envious of others, paranoid even, but she's also loving and can find the beauty in so many things around her. She judges herself more than she judges others (as the book's main anti-capitalistic message could've guided her to judge the rich), and I found that to be extremely realistic.
- The themes of this book are extremely layered and almost a puzzle box of hidden meaning. The title of the book is a good indicator: Autonomy. It's a good approach to analyze the themes: the book is about how autonomy is incompatible with survival. We are prisoners of our own bodies and they force us down paths we sometimes cannot escape. The main character rarely takes a single decision in this book and is solely guided by her desire for survival, but the level of introspection in the story makes up for this lack of agency. It's kinda the whole point. Slaton enslaves herself to the patriarchy, plays into its very game, all to survive. There is this fatality to everything that makes this book an extremely dark and dreary read, but an extremely compelling one.
- This book's depiction of love is so richly explored. It ties into the theme of fear, autonomy and survival through the eyes of Slaton. She seeks love as a means to protect herself and to feel safe in this crumbling future. The idea of love with AI is explored as a way to flip the idea on its head and question the idea of love itself. Why would an AI love someone as their own mother? Is it solely as a survival mechanic, too? Does Julian the AI truly love Slaton, or did he use her for his own goal, to learn more about human behavior?
- I absolutely love the worldbuilding of this book. It is presented in a terrifyingly boring way. Everyone accepts the new status quo of Canada being a protectorate of the US against tensions with Russia for the north pole (which feels scarily possible in the future). Fascism being wide-spread, bodily rights being removed, capitalism being completely off the wall (space hotels, luxury resorts in an ice-free Greenland), all of it is so spot on and exactly what I love from good speculative fiction.
Things I disliked*:
*(but not that much)
- The book can drag on a little bit in parts, and the dialogue can feel a bit stilted at times but it's a small enough note that I might blame it on a personal quirk of the author. Some sci-fi bits and bobs felt a bit tongue-in-cheek at times but I think it's also on purpose (the ad-riddled mirrors come to mind).
- I saw a few people point out that the sci-fi elements are a bit hand-wavy and perhaps too ludicrous to even consider. The AI being able to see everything through airwaves is a bit farfetched, and its implied the government is able to spy on everyone that way. I thought it was necessary enough for the story that it didn't really matter, since it does give the book a very tense feeling of always having someone breathing down Slaton's neck.
OVERALL:
I am very surprised to see this Victoria Heatherington receive this little praise. I think this novel was marketed in the wrong sphere and might come off as a more sci-fi heavy story than it really is, and that's why so many people might be disappointed with it. This is a book to lose yourself into, a book where the author brings you along in this little slice of reality they created, like an art gallery where every painting steals your breath like a jab to the chest.
This would be my favorite Black Mirror episode if it was adapted for TV or as a movie (but I think this doesn't righfully represent how good this book is). Autonomy is unlike any story I've read before, dark and beautiful and depressing in all the best ways. This Canadian author deserves some more recognition and I'm looking forward to her other books.
Things I liked:
- Beautiful, haunting prose, brutal in its poetry of the mundane crumbling before our eyes. This is the author's greatest skill, and it reminded me a lot of Jeff Vandermeer (another speculative author I love).
- This book's topic is tackled in a very abstract and subjective way, presenting the action in a very distorted lens. I wouldn't say the narrator is completely unreliable but there's a few moments where her own biases drive the story in a specific way and you forget what else has been going on in the background, as the world falls apart with plague and climate catastrophies. This enhances the story's world in this story in a unique, indescribable way.
- While one might argue that the main character is not consistent, I felt that she was very realistic. Humans are not consistent in their views. They're driven by their fears. Slaton is a woman driven by a fear of growing old, of never finding love, of dying as the world dies around her. She's a woman seeking survival and security, and she contradicts herself constantly in this quest to attain these things. She's jealous, envious of others, paranoid even, but she's also loving and can find the beauty in so many things around her. She judges herself more than she judges others (as the book's main anti-capitalistic message could've guided her to judge the rich), and I found that to be extremely realistic.
- The themes of this book are extremely layered and almost a puzzle box of hidden meaning. The title of the book is a good indicator: Autonomy. It's a good approach to analyze the themes: the book is about how autonomy is incompatible with survival. We are prisoners of our own bodies and they force us down paths we sometimes cannot escape. The main character rarely takes a single decision in this book and is solely guided by her desire for survival, but the level of introspection in the story makes up for this lack of agency. It's kinda the whole point. Slaton enslaves herself to the patriarchy, plays into its very game, all to survive. There is this fatality to everything that makes this book an extremely dark and dreary read, but an extremely compelling one.
- This book's depiction of love is so richly explored. It ties into the theme of fear, autonomy and survival through the eyes of Slaton. She seeks love as a means to protect herself and to feel safe in this crumbling future. The idea of love with AI is explored as a way to flip the idea on its head and question the idea of love itself. Why would an AI love someone as their own mother? Is it solely as a survival mechanic, too? Does Julian the AI truly love Slaton, or did he use her for his own goal, to learn more about human behavior?
- I absolutely love the worldbuilding of this book. It is presented in a terrifyingly boring way. Everyone accepts the new status quo of Canada being a protectorate of the US against tensions with Russia for the north pole (which feels scarily possible in the future). Fascism being wide-spread, bodily rights being removed, capitalism being completely off the wall (space hotels, luxury resorts in an ice-free Greenland), all of it is so spot on and exactly what I love from good speculative fiction.
Things I disliked*:
*(but not that much)
- The book can drag on a little bit in parts, and the dialogue can feel a bit stilted at times but it's a small enough note that I might blame it on a personal quirk of the author. Some sci-fi bits and bobs felt a bit tongue-in-cheek at times but I think it's also on purpose (the ad-riddled mirrors come to mind).
- I saw a few people point out that the sci-fi elements are a bit hand-wavy and perhaps too ludicrous to even consider. The AI being able to see everything through airwaves is a bit farfetched, and its implied the government is able to spy on everyone that way. I thought it was necessary enough for the story that it didn't really matter, since it does give the book a very tense feeling of always having someone breathing down Slaton's neck.
OVERALL:
I am very surprised to see this Victoria Heatherington receive this little praise. I think this novel was marketed in the wrong sphere and might come off as a more sci-fi heavy story than it really is, and that's why so many people might be disappointed with it. This is a book to lose yourself into, a book where the author brings you along in this little slice of reality they created, like an art gallery where every painting steals your breath like a jab to the chest.
This would be my favorite Black Mirror episode if it was adapted for TV or as a movie (but I think this doesn't righfully represent how good this book is). Autonomy is unlike any story I've read before, dark and beautiful and depressing in all the best ways. This Canadian author deserves some more recognition and I'm looking forward to her other books.
October 25, 2021
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.
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.
August 22, 2024
The last two books I read were challenging novels. They were excellent literature, but they were not easy reads. They were a bit like a trip to the gym, rewarding, but only after a lot of effort.
In contrast, Victoria Hetherington's "Autonomy" is like sipping an excellent wine at your favourite spot: both rewarding and effortless. I read the book in one sitting, always wanting to turn the page. Hetherington has structured her story well, never simply describing characters or events, but always putting something important at stake. Those stakes are developed slowly, often by implication, leaving the reader hungry to know more.
"Autonomy" is a dystopian novel, set in the near future, when an authoritarian American government has created a digital surveillance state and has made Canada a "protectorate." It is also a time when climate change is corroding the economy and the culture. Against this backdrop, the reader is introduced to a remarkable artificial intelligence system called Julian, first through Julian's relationship with his creator, but soon after through his encounter with the protagonist, Slaton. She is a psychotherapist who is arrested when she tries to help one of her patients who had an abortion (a crime). The authorities use Julian to assess Slaton's risk of re-offending. As Julian interrogates her, the two develop the kernel of a relationship and when she is released, she discovers that Julian has found a way to stay with her.
Slaton is soon struggling to survive as the economy and her own finances deteriorate and she is unable to pay for food or her apartment. Julian becomes essential to Slaton, using his vast knowledge to advise her and helping her by hacking into food delivery services. The two develop a complex relationship, which leaves the reader questioning what it is to be human and what it is to love.
The story then introduces a new and devastating element: a deadly pandemic that Slaton must escape. Julian guides her through a desperate gambit, which takes her into a different strata of society, strains their relationship and introduces a new set of profound problems.
All this happens in a future world that is imagined with originality and compelling detail. The methods of surveillance and political control, the brutality of climate change and the bizarre nature of the pandemic are all uniquely developed. Also very original is the clever dialogue between Slaton and Julian. In the beginning, Julian has an innocence about him. He wonders about human nature more than he displays it. But as the story develops, Julian changes, and the reader is left wondering if certain aspects of human nature are the inevitable result of a developing intelligence.
In general, the book is beautifully written. This is an author who describes the minutiae of conversations, of arguments, of sex - the tastes, the sound, the smells - in a way that is almost painfully real. She also knows how to choose a word and use a metaphor. Many "scenes" struck me for their originality and sensitivity. I think particularly of the sex between Slaton and Crawford, a trans man whom she loves profoundly, which unfold with tender details I had not imagined.
"Autonomy," brings you into a fascinating and unique dystopian world, with complex characters, deep issues and a compelling story. It has the page turning quality of a commercial book, but the literary qualities of a book you will want to savour.
It was a pleasure to read.
In contrast, Victoria Hetherington's "Autonomy" is like sipping an excellent wine at your favourite spot: both rewarding and effortless. I read the book in one sitting, always wanting to turn the page. Hetherington has structured her story well, never simply describing characters or events, but always putting something important at stake. Those stakes are developed slowly, often by implication, leaving the reader hungry to know more.
"Autonomy" is a dystopian novel, set in the near future, when an authoritarian American government has created a digital surveillance state and has made Canada a "protectorate." It is also a time when climate change is corroding the economy and the culture. Against this backdrop, the reader is introduced to a remarkable artificial intelligence system called Julian, first through Julian's relationship with his creator, but soon after through his encounter with the protagonist, Slaton. She is a psychotherapist who is arrested when she tries to help one of her patients who had an abortion (a crime). The authorities use Julian to assess Slaton's risk of re-offending. As Julian interrogates her, the two develop the kernel of a relationship and when she is released, she discovers that Julian has found a way to stay with her.
Slaton is soon struggling to survive as the economy and her own finances deteriorate and she is unable to pay for food or her apartment. Julian becomes essential to Slaton, using his vast knowledge to advise her and helping her by hacking into food delivery services. The two develop a complex relationship, which leaves the reader questioning what it is to be human and what it is to love.
The story then introduces a new and devastating element: a deadly pandemic that Slaton must escape. Julian guides her through a desperate gambit, which takes her into a different strata of society, strains their relationship and introduces a new set of profound problems.
All this happens in a future world that is imagined with originality and compelling detail. The methods of surveillance and political control, the brutality of climate change and the bizarre nature of the pandemic are all uniquely developed. Also very original is the clever dialogue between Slaton and Julian. In the beginning, Julian has an innocence about him. He wonders about human nature more than he displays it. But as the story develops, Julian changes, and the reader is left wondering if certain aspects of human nature are the inevitable result of a developing intelligence.
In general, the book is beautifully written. This is an author who describes the minutiae of conversations, of arguments, of sex - the tastes, the sound, the smells - in a way that is almost painfully real. She also knows how to choose a word and use a metaphor. Many "scenes" struck me for their originality and sensitivity. I think particularly of the sex between Slaton and Crawford, a trans man whom she loves profoundly, which unfold with tender details I had not imagined.
"Autonomy," brings you into a fascinating and unique dystopian world, with complex characters, deep issues and a compelling story. It has the page turning quality of a commercial book, but the literary qualities of a book you will want to savour.
It was a pleasure to read.
Read
January 29, 2022 eARC provided by Netgalley in exhange for an honest review.
DNF at 29%.
Autonomy is just like the movie Her, if Her was set in a dystopian near future and made no sense.
It follows therapist Slaton, who gets entangled with an AI called Julian after a patient gets her in trouble with the goverment saying she adviced her into getting an abortion. In this futuristic Canada, the goverment listens to its population through their phones and computers, actually takes action when said population commits crimes such as getting an abortion, taking birth control, etc. So it's just like any other dystopian stories where it's supposed to be scary for everyone, beware of technology, the goverment is everywhere! bullshit, but it's actually just misogyny—case in point, in the world of Autonomy, women are advised not to drink or smoke as to not hurt their chances of having a baby.
I'm hoping Hetherington had only good intentions in adding these clichés into her book, but it didn't read like it. There was one particular instance which rubbed me off the wrong way, in which Slaton, while talking about her trans boyfriend's transition, mentions how uncomfortable she felt that he chose to transition at a time that was so hard for women, as if he chose to present as a man to escape the brutality they do. This is wrong in so many obvious ways, and possibly one of the dumbest things I've ever read, but don't worry! Slaton says she's an asshole right after. That makes up for it, right? ..... right?
Reading the synopsis, I have to admit I didn't really understand any of it, which bleeds into the narrative as well. The writing style is very unpolished and confusing, with characters changing their emotions in a split second, dialogue jumping from one point to another with every little context, poor worldbuilding and threads of different plotlines that start and then never follow through.
As for the relationship between Slaton and the AI Julian, it just, once again, makes no sense. They meet while Slaton is a jail, though Julian goes to extreme measures to make sure she doesn't feel like she's in jail. They start talking because Slaton can't afford a lawyer, so the other option she has is to take part in this experiment. Their conversations were oddly paced and scattered, and Julian honestly reads as creepy. I have no qualms with weird relationships in media—I love The Pisces by Melissa Broder, in which a woman starts dating a mermaid—and was actually excited to read a book that promised a love story between a human and an AI, but the base for their connection was wrong from the start.
And this is just my personal preference, but I have no interest in reading books about pandemics.
DNF at 29%.
Autonomy is just like the movie Her, if Her was set in a dystopian near future and made no sense.
It follows therapist Slaton, who gets entangled with an AI called Julian after a patient gets her in trouble with the goverment saying she adviced her into getting an abortion. In this futuristic Canada, the goverment listens to its population through their phones and computers, actually takes action when said population commits crimes such as getting an abortion, taking birth control, etc. So it's just like any other dystopian stories where it's supposed to be scary for everyone, beware of technology, the goverment is everywhere! bullshit, but it's actually just misogyny—case in point, in the world of Autonomy, women are advised not to drink or smoke as to not hurt their chances of having a baby.
I'm hoping Hetherington had only good intentions in adding these clichés into her book, but it didn't read like it. There was one particular instance which rubbed me off the wrong way, in which Slaton, while talking about her trans boyfriend's transition, mentions how uncomfortable she felt that he chose to transition at a time that was so hard for women, as if he chose to present as a man to escape the brutality they do. This is wrong in so many obvious ways, and possibly one of the dumbest things I've ever read, but don't worry! Slaton says she's an asshole right after. That makes up for it, right? ..... right?
Reading the synopsis, I have to admit I didn't really understand any of it, which bleeds into the narrative as well. The writing style is very unpolished and confusing, with characters changing their emotions in a split second, dialogue jumping from one point to another with every little context, poor worldbuilding and threads of different plotlines that start and then never follow through.
As for the relationship between Slaton and the AI Julian, it just, once again, makes no sense. They meet while Slaton is a jail, though Julian goes to extreme measures to make sure she doesn't feel like she's in jail. They start talking because Slaton can't afford a lawyer, so the other option she has is to take part in this experiment. Their conversations were oddly paced and scattered, and Julian honestly reads as creepy. I have no qualms with weird relationships in media—I love The Pisces by Melissa Broder, in which a woman starts dating a mermaid—and was actually excited to read a book that promised a love story between a human and an AI, but the base for their connection was wrong from the start.
And this is just my personal preference, but I have no interest in reading books about pandemics.
December 30, 2021
Last year I read The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney. I was enthralled and it got me really thinking - what is humanity and how is it defined? So when I saw the blurb for Autonomy, I snatched it up. The concept of a romance between a human and Ai is fascinating - and I was interested to see it done in a realistic manner, if that's possible.
Well, this book was not what I expected. First of all, the first section of the book was more background and world building. The US has outlawed abortion. (I find this interesting that this was written in 2020 before all the challenges to Roe v Wade). So to get an abortion, you need to cross the border to Canada. There is additional background on Russia having easy access due to the melting of the polar icecaps.. It was all really reflective of a possible future, but it didn't "grab" me. I felt like I was sort of plodding through.
Then the characters meet. (I am using characters loosely since Julian was AI created in a lab). It was not one of those insta love relationships, but I never really understood why they formed their friendship. I didn't get any of the feels.
Then a plague spreads across the world. Again, kudos to the author for this, since this was written primarily before the covid mess that we have.
I think the part that was missing for me was the character motivation or feelings. I mean if I met an AI being and started to develop feelings, I would think I would have a lot of angst and soul searching, and I wanted more of that. I guess I wanted to the feels with this book. This book made me think, and it kept my interest, but it didn't give me any of the feels.
When I read a book I can suspend disbelief, and don't always care about realism. But when you have a thought provoking book like this, I can't help but inject my reading with my personal feelings. And I just felt something missing. .
This was above average, just based on how interesting it was - therefore, I am giving 4 stars.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.
Well, this book was not what I expected. First of all, the first section of the book was more background and world building. The US has outlawed abortion. (I find this interesting that this was written in 2020 before all the challenges to Roe v Wade). So to get an abortion, you need to cross the border to Canada. There is additional background on Russia having easy access due to the melting of the polar icecaps.. It was all really reflective of a possible future, but it didn't "grab" me. I felt like I was sort of plodding through.
Then the characters meet. (I am using characters loosely since Julian was AI created in a lab). It was not one of those insta love relationships, but I never really understood why they formed their friendship. I didn't get any of the feels.
Then a plague spreads across the world. Again, kudos to the author for this, since this was written primarily before the covid mess that we have.
I think the part that was missing for me was the character motivation or feelings. I mean if I met an AI being and started to develop feelings, I would think I would have a lot of angst and soul searching, and I wanted more of that. I guess I wanted to the feels with this book. This book made me think, and it kept my interest, but it didn't give me any of the feels.
When I read a book I can suspend disbelief, and don't always care about realism. But when you have a thought provoking book like this, I can't help but inject my reading with my personal feelings. And I just felt something missing. .
This was above average, just based on how interesting it was - therefore, I am giving 4 stars.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.
August 14, 2024
There has been a lot of mixed reviews on Autonomy by Victoria Hetherington. I believe this work is completely misunderstood!
Here’s what I have to say: I loved it!!! Let me give you the context. My flight to NYC got cancelled and I drove all the way there from Montreal (!). I downloaded Autonomy as an audiobook and listened to it. It made the drive enjoyable. I wanted to read Autonomy this year for a few reasons: reading books by female authors, reading books by Canadians, reading books of small publishers.
Beneath the apocalyptic AI and pandemic infused future, Ms Hetherington is also questioning, in my opinion, how/why women are (unfortunately) always dependent on men. The main character is aided by AI to find a man who can protect and care for her because she has meager means to survive. There are a couple of unforgettable passages in the book, one where the main character explains to Julian (AI) that human beings are vulnerable and they easily fall in love. Another one where the main character while thinking about men says ‘We need protection from them… by them’. I also found the mode of transmission of the new disease (pandemic) to be clever (won’t spoil here!).
Here’s to a feminist manifesto through the disguise of a futuristic apocalypse!!!
Here’s what I have to say: I loved it!!! Let me give you the context. My flight to NYC got cancelled and I drove all the way there from Montreal (!). I downloaded Autonomy as an audiobook and listened to it. It made the drive enjoyable. I wanted to read Autonomy this year for a few reasons: reading books by female authors, reading books by Canadians, reading books of small publishers.
Beneath the apocalyptic AI and pandemic infused future, Ms Hetherington is also questioning, in my opinion, how/why women are (unfortunately) always dependent on men. The main character is aided by AI to find a man who can protect and care for her because she has meager means to survive. There are a couple of unforgettable passages in the book, one where the main character explains to Julian (AI) that human beings are vulnerable and they easily fall in love. Another one where the main character while thinking about men says ‘We need protection from them… by them’. I also found the mode of transmission of the new disease (pandemic) to be clever (won’t spoil here!).
Here’s to a feminist manifesto through the disguise of a futuristic apocalypse!!!
May 13, 2022
*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book*
I really love dystopias and I really love AI stories, but this was a bit too weird. In a future that is not so far away, reproductive rights have been taken away in the US and Canada. Our protagonist is framed to have helped a student of hers receiving an abortion and spends a few days incarcerated with an AI. She is set free after that but the AI stays with her when the world is about to end because of a eerily familiar respiratory disease. Our protagonist, poor, alone, helpless, hooks up with a rich dude (the AI recommended that) in order to stay safe, but being a trophy wife is a nightmare. Most of the book is the nightmare and the protagonist is not very likeable. And yet I couldn't stop reading. I disliked the ending though and I thought the book had lots of unused potential.
3.5 stars
I really love dystopias and I really love AI stories, but this was a bit too weird. In a future that is not so far away, reproductive rights have been taken away in the US and Canada. Our protagonist is framed to have helped a student of hers receiving an abortion and spends a few days incarcerated with an AI. She is set free after that but the AI stays with her when the world is about to end because of a eerily familiar respiratory disease. Our protagonist, poor, alone, helpless, hooks up with a rich dude (the AI recommended that) in order to stay safe, but being a trophy wife is a nightmare. Most of the book is the nightmare and the protagonist is not very likeable. And yet I couldn't stop reading. I disliked the ending though and I thought the book had lots of unused potential.
3.5 stars
Want to read
January 15, 2022Sci-fi story about a near future illness. I’m compelled to read this book!!
July 7, 2022
this was a hard read given current developments in the monstrosity that is the present world but an important and good read nonetheless
also- i believe a rhod reference which made me chuckle
also- i believe a rhod reference which made me chuckle
December 4, 2021
Like most of the best stories about artificial intelligence, Autonomy is really about what it means to be a person. Like many of the best science fiction novels with literary leanings, it uses a future setting and circumstances to explore the human condition in the time of its writing, extrapolating possibility from how we live now. And reading it now, during a global pandemic--something that features prominently during the novel's later sections--Hetherington's extrapolations feel eerily probable.
While in places I found the story occasionally lost its propulsive thread, getting bogged down in the minutiae of complicated relationships between its complex array of characters, it nevertheless held my interest through its evocative writing and believable situations. I have a weakness for slice-of-life stories set in extreme circumstances, and Hetherington's gentle hand when describing even the darkest moments in the book--which really gets quite dark--creates that certain feeling of coziness even in the face of disaster. That dissonance between emotional affect and apocalyptic impact creates a tension that results in a mostly-riveting read.
This is an unexpectedly quiet, interior story, and one that bears careful--and possibly repeated--reading. I would recommend it to anyone who likes stories that take place in the dreamworld that lies between genres, and anyone who fears the future and needs a breath of hope that some spark of human kindness can prevail.
I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review.
While in places I found the story occasionally lost its propulsive thread, getting bogged down in the minutiae of complicated relationships between its complex array of characters, it nevertheless held my interest through its evocative writing and believable situations. I have a weakness for slice-of-life stories set in extreme circumstances, and Hetherington's gentle hand when describing even the darkest moments in the book--which really gets quite dark--creates that certain feeling of coziness even in the face of disaster. That dissonance between emotional affect and apocalyptic impact creates a tension that results in a mostly-riveting read.
This is an unexpectedly quiet, interior story, and one that bears careful--and possibly repeated--reading. I would recommend it to anyone who likes stories that take place in the dreamworld that lies between genres, and anyone who fears the future and needs a breath of hope that some spark of human kindness can prevail.
I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review.
September 30, 2021
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.
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.
January 17, 2022
Every word is intentional. Not that every phrase or detail works for plot, nor for character development... although we are given a full tour of people's minds. Their ethics, their perspectives, their fears, their hopes, their choices. In a way this is the perfect Book Club novel. We can agree or disagree with the main character decisions, but we cannot stay neutral. This is not a dystopian science fiction novel. And it is not Atwood (e.g., The Testaments) either, even if the comparison seems easy. It made me think more of Francoise Sagan's Bonjour tristesse than of Isaac Asimov. Not unlike Mommy from Xavier Dolan the near future creates a context for a narrative about humanity... about personhood. These are the fears of a Millenial that were sowed before the pandemic and now came back home to roost. It is the reflection of a very examined life. Inwards and outwards. Sometimes wondering AITA, sometimes about eating the rich, about survival and immortality, about daddy issues, and the possibility of polyamory. An ode to love in all it's different aspects in all of those Greek words. Hashtag Diverse. Hashtag Queer. Hashtag Pandemic. Hashtag SpaceHotel.
Hetherington has been able to tame their impressive way to describe a scene from the mundane to the most deeply philosophical that was shown in Mooncalves a way of seeing the world in many dimensions and from different angles. A reference that will vanish soon... the chapters are compartmentalized like the scenes on a DVD. And it is that cinematic sense that make me crave to see it on a screen and already thinking who could play each of the characters.
Hetherington has been able to tame their impressive way to describe a scene from the mundane to the most deeply philosophical that was shown in Mooncalves a way of seeing the world in many dimensions and from different angles. A reference that will vanish soon... the chapters are compartmentalized like the scenes on a DVD. And it is that cinematic sense that make me crave to see it on a screen and already thinking who could play each of the characters.
February 17, 2022
I received a digital ARC from Net Galley.
Started off with a great premise until you discover, fairly quickly, what a train wreck Slaton is. Which makes you no longer care about her just as quickly. She's hung up on an ex-lover (a trans man, it's pointed out right away), who has a partner but is still willing to explore the "benefits" part of their ongoing FWB relationship. When Slaton is detained at the border (another stupid and unconvincing move on her part) and interacts with the AI-in-Training Julian as a condition of an early release, she acts and talks like the mentally struggling detainee she claims not to be.
There are interesting lyrical turns of phrase and philosophical arguments throughout the book, but the often whiplash shift in conversations made me wonder if this is actually how the book will reach the printing press, or if the digital formatting was simply (even more) godawful. Probably both. I didn't buy Julian's love for Slaton, and when skimming the rest of the book shows Julian guiding Slaton to her eventual husband as a way to protect her in an ever more dangerous world (there's soon a plague added to the existing dystopia of climate change and an anti-choice, authoritarian United States), I couldn't help but check out even more. If you want to redeem Slaton in my eyes, make her truly worthy of love and heal the train wreck of her life, then let her have love with the AI. I'm not looking for some dystopian version of a meet-cute; but I do want a character who has such a prominent introduction to remain one of the main characters in the book.
Started off with a great premise until you discover, fairly quickly, what a train wreck Slaton is. Which makes you no longer care about her just as quickly. She's hung up on an ex-lover (a trans man, it's pointed out right away), who has a partner but is still willing to explore the "benefits" part of their ongoing FWB relationship. When Slaton is detained at the border (another stupid and unconvincing move on her part) and interacts with the AI-in-Training Julian as a condition of an early release, she acts and talks like the mentally struggling detainee she claims not to be.
There are interesting lyrical turns of phrase and philosophical arguments throughout the book, but the often whiplash shift in conversations made me wonder if this is actually how the book will reach the printing press, or if the digital formatting was simply (even more) godawful. Probably both. I didn't buy Julian's love for Slaton, and when skimming the rest of the book shows Julian guiding Slaton to her eventual husband as a way to protect her in an ever more dangerous world (there's soon a plague added to the existing dystopia of climate change and an anti-choice, authoritarian United States), I couldn't help but check out even more. If you want to redeem Slaton in my eyes, make her truly worthy of love and heal the train wreck of her life, then let her have love with the AI. I'm not looking for some dystopian version of a meet-cute; but I do want a character who has such a prominent introduction to remain one of the main characters in the book.
September 29, 2021
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?
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?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2022
poignant, and so relevant.
May 16, 2022
A pile of nihilistic garbage.
March 10, 2022
I struggled between rating this book a 3 or a four. I went for the four due to sheer originality and compelling story-telling, but I leaned toward the three because the sequence of events is often hard to follow and the character's motivations are often challenging to understand.
The novel begins in a familiar but bleaker future with an AI scientist, Jenny, developing an artificial intelligence she names Julian. She looks after Julian like a child, teaching him everything she knows plus giving him access to all the world's information. Sadly, she cannot give him the one thing he comes to crave, a body with which to feel rain and touch skin.
The year is 2035 and Canada has become a protectorate of the United States. Jenny trains Julian to work as an interviewer at the border between the U.S. and Canada. The states have been taken over by the right wing. Abortions and birth control are outlawed and academic freedom is sharply curtailed. Climate change has had severe effects on rain and heat and fires. Everyone's devices are listening and recording everything we say, and citizens keep their phones wrapped in scarves at the bottom of their purses and avoid saying any words considered triggering, such as "Muslim."The younger generation has been born into "postprivacy" so know they are always under surveillance.
The protagonist, Slaton, is a college advisor whose student Camille comes in acting very casual about dating a Mulsim American and suggests that she took Slaton's advice and got an abortion. Nothing Slaton says can get her to stop. And then Camille smiles at her, letting Slaton know she said all this on purpose to get the advisor into trouble.
Slaton's "person" is Crawford, a tall, handsome, trans-man, who works in academics with her. He is popular with the ladies, and Slaton has been in love with him for years while acting too superior to commit to him. Now she is willing to have Crawford as just as a friend with benefits and puts up with him having a girlfriend, a woman she mocks for her mock spirituality, which involves leading ayahuasca journeys for the wealthy.
Much of the novel concerns itself with class and the growing maw between those who have and those who have nothing. The super-rich are building a home in outer space. The poor eat flavored things that approximate food. When Slaton is arrested for helping procure an abortion, she is put in a group cell where individuals are interrogated by an artificial intelligence that seems to burrow into the prisoners' brains. Slaton's interrogator is Julian, and this is where the story takes one too many curious turns for me to continue to suspend my disbelief.
Stop reading here to avoid spoilers (though mostly I ask questions):
What happened to change Slaton and Crawford's relationship? Why does he have a new girlfriend when they clearly still care deeply for one another. Why does Julian "fall in love" with Slaton inside her head. How does Julian predict that Slaton will be successful when she goes to the bar to pick up a rich guy? The fact that Slaton gets the uber-wealthy Peter to fall in love with her and take her home immediately when she is in need of a sugar daddy strikes me as the most unbelievable part of the novel.
I was drawn to continue the novel the the bitter end, hoping it would eventually tie up many mysteries , but the strange coincidences and inexplicable behaviors of all the characters continues unrelentingly. So ... I wouldn't exactly recommend this book, but if you've read it, I'd love if you would talk to me about what you thought.
The novel begins in a familiar but bleaker future with an AI scientist, Jenny, developing an artificial intelligence she names Julian. She looks after Julian like a child, teaching him everything she knows plus giving him access to all the world's information. Sadly, she cannot give him the one thing he comes to crave, a body with which to feel rain and touch skin.
The year is 2035 and Canada has become a protectorate of the United States. Jenny trains Julian to work as an interviewer at the border between the U.S. and Canada. The states have been taken over by the right wing. Abortions and birth control are outlawed and academic freedom is sharply curtailed. Climate change has had severe effects on rain and heat and fires. Everyone's devices are listening and recording everything we say, and citizens keep their phones wrapped in scarves at the bottom of their purses and avoid saying any words considered triggering, such as "Muslim."The younger generation has been born into "postprivacy" so know they are always under surveillance.
The protagonist, Slaton, is a college advisor whose student Camille comes in acting very casual about dating a Mulsim American and suggests that she took Slaton's advice and got an abortion. Nothing Slaton says can get her to stop. And then Camille smiles at her, letting Slaton know she said all this on purpose to get the advisor into trouble.
Slaton's "person" is Crawford, a tall, handsome, trans-man, who works in academics with her. He is popular with the ladies, and Slaton has been in love with him for years while acting too superior to commit to him. Now she is willing to have Crawford as just as a friend with benefits and puts up with him having a girlfriend, a woman she mocks for her mock spirituality, which involves leading ayahuasca journeys for the wealthy.
Much of the novel concerns itself with class and the growing maw between those who have and those who have nothing. The super-rich are building a home in outer space. The poor eat flavored things that approximate food. When Slaton is arrested for helping procure an abortion, she is put in a group cell where individuals are interrogated by an artificial intelligence that seems to burrow into the prisoners' brains. Slaton's interrogator is Julian, and this is where the story takes one too many curious turns for me to continue to suspend my disbelief.
Stop reading here to avoid spoilers (though mostly I ask questions):
What happened to change Slaton and Crawford's relationship? Why does he have a new girlfriend when they clearly still care deeply for one another. Why does Julian "fall in love" with Slaton inside her head. How does Julian predict that Slaton will be successful when she goes to the bar to pick up a rich guy? The fact that Slaton gets the uber-wealthy Peter to fall in love with her and take her home immediately when she is in need of a sugar daddy strikes me as the most unbelievable part of the novel.
I was drawn to continue the novel the the bitter end, hoping it would eventually tie up many mysteries , but the strange coincidences and inexplicable behaviors of all the characters continues unrelentingly. So ... I wouldn't exactly recommend this book, but if you've read it, I'd love if you would talk to me about what you thought.
May 31, 2022
Victoria Hetherington’s world in Autonomy feels unbearably similar to our current world but at times seems like all contained is a whole other otherworldly experience. When presented with the premise of the AI being, Julian, and a human being, Slaton, falling in love, I thought that I would be able to predict the beats of the story à la Her, but nope.
I couldn’t get ahead of the shifting tone and narratives set in dystopian Canada of 2037, but perhaps that is just an indictment on how few novels I have read in recent years. Themes around bodily autonomy, governmental overreach, psychology, class and wealth disparity, climate change…Hetherington’s almost prophetic narration leaves one looking inward, and then outward, and then reeling in disgust at the nature of Man. There were always things brewing in the background, but I still found myself sucker punched by sudden, jarring and devastating events, and perhaps it was morbid curiosity that kept me in a hold, with my ereader, sitting in the dark, wide-eyed and sleep-deprived in anticipation as to what came next.
Julian shines as the most intriguing character, as he observes and learns and adapts to a society in decline. And then being able to see him in his relationship with Slaton; from “fledging AI consciousness” to lover to protector, I only selfishly wish that we got to read more about his development in how he was adjusting to the chaos beyond the edges of the page. As somewhat of an omnipresent being, was Slaton the One? As for Slaton, she serves as an example of how messy people can be. She is stubborn, petulant, unsympathetic (occasionally) but this reader was ultimately drawn into the details of her struggles to love. To live. To survive.
Autonomy is beautifully written fiction. Truly a thought-provoking piece, especially considering our current climate. I think I just wanted to see more AI in play.
“Some women see a gilded cage and think, it’s still a cage. Some women see a gilded cage and think, it’s still gilded. I was coming to learn that dignity and autonomy were overrated.”
==========
Dear NetGalley, thank you for the ARC.
I couldn’t get ahead of the shifting tone and narratives set in dystopian Canada of 2037, but perhaps that is just an indictment on how few novels I have read in recent years. Themes around bodily autonomy, governmental overreach, psychology, class and wealth disparity, climate change…Hetherington’s almost prophetic narration leaves one looking inward, and then outward, and then reeling in disgust at the nature of Man. There were always things brewing in the background, but I still found myself sucker punched by sudden, jarring and devastating events, and perhaps it was morbid curiosity that kept me in a hold, with my ereader, sitting in the dark, wide-eyed and sleep-deprived in anticipation as to what came next.
Julian shines as the most intriguing character, as he observes and learns and adapts to a society in decline. And then being able to see him in his relationship with Slaton; from “fledging AI consciousness” to lover to protector, I only selfishly wish that we got to read more about his development in how he was adjusting to the chaos beyond the edges of the page. As somewhat of an omnipresent being, was Slaton the One? As for Slaton, she serves as an example of how messy people can be. She is stubborn, petulant, unsympathetic (occasionally) but this reader was ultimately drawn into the details of her struggles to love. To live. To survive.
Autonomy is beautifully written fiction. Truly a thought-provoking piece, especially considering our current climate. I think I just wanted to see more AI in play.
“Some women see a gilded cage and think, it’s still a cage. Some women see a gilded cage and think, it’s still gilded. I was coming to learn that dignity and autonomy were overrated.”
==========
Dear NetGalley, thank you for the ARC.
October 5, 2021
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.
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.
December 4, 2021
"There is nothing you can do in your current economic situation. The rich will call the illness a 'herd-thinner'. They will believe their wealth means they have been chosen. They will think in Biblical terms; they will lock their doors and wait for mass death".
Trigger warning: abortion
Victoria is an incredible author and her jovial warning to the reader about embarking on 'this cursed book' really set the scene for the journey I was abut to go on. The plot is a little misleading - A woman does fall in love with an AI, but the story touches on that briefly. The majority of the tale is centred around the main character seeking to save herself from an impending virus by shifting social classes and staying under the security blanket of money.
It's a fascinating think piece, mirroring the modern day inequality seen with Covid, but not so closely linked that the book will quickly date. Autonomy analyses the impact of human interaction from a realistic, almost pessimistic stance - "humans communicate a broad range of serious illnesses to one another simply through proximity, do they not? Depression, panic, eating disorders" and the reliance on others. The book considers the ramifications of immortality, desire and happiness. I adored the prose and really resonated with the concept of how do we define humanity? At what point does an AI transcend from machine to a being?
Theres some really weird sex scenes and some nauseating self-pity experienced by the richer characters who are quickly reprimanded for their efforts to seek forgiveness from others despite thier wealth-hoarding exacerbating the struggle.
It's wild, and I loved it. Maybe just a bit more consistency between the two varying plot points.
Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc!
Trigger warning: abortion
Victoria is an incredible author and her jovial warning to the reader about embarking on 'this cursed book' really set the scene for the journey I was abut to go on. The plot is a little misleading - A woman does fall in love with an AI, but the story touches on that briefly. The majority of the tale is centred around the main character seeking to save herself from an impending virus by shifting social classes and staying under the security blanket of money.
It's a fascinating think piece, mirroring the modern day inequality seen with Covid, but not so closely linked that the book will quickly date. Autonomy analyses the impact of human interaction from a realistic, almost pessimistic stance - "humans communicate a broad range of serious illnesses to one another simply through proximity, do they not? Depression, panic, eating disorders" and the reliance on others. The book considers the ramifications of immortality, desire and happiness. I adored the prose and really resonated with the concept of how do we define humanity? At what point does an AI transcend from machine to a being?
Theres some really weird sex scenes and some nauseating self-pity experienced by the richer characters who are quickly reprimanded for their efforts to seek forgiveness from others despite thier wealth-hoarding exacerbating the struggle.
It's wild, and I loved it. Maybe just a bit more consistency between the two varying plot points.
Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc!
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