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Machine Mandate #1
And Shall Machines Surrender
On the dyson sphere Shenzhen, artificial intelligences rule and humans live in luxury, vying to be chosen as host bodies—called haruspices—for the next generation of AI, and thus be worshiped as gods.
Doctor Orfea Leung has come here to escape her past of mercenary violence. Krissana Khongtip has come here to reinvent herself from haunted spy to holy cyborg. But the utopian peace of Shenzhen is shattered when the haruspices begin committing suicide, and the pair are called upon to solve the mystery—and survive the silent war between machines . . .
Doctor Orfea Leung has come here to escape her past of mercenary violence. Krissana Khongtip has come here to reinvent herself from haunted spy to holy cyborg. But the utopian peace of Shenzhen is shattered when the haruspices begin committing suicide, and the pair are called upon to solve the mystery—and survive the silent war between machines . . .
87 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 11, 2019
357 people are currently reading
3062 people want to read
About the author
Benjanun Sriduangkaew
84 books401 followersScience fiction, fantasy, and others in the between. Cute kissing ladies? I write those. Ruthless genocidal commanders? Got that covered too! 2014 finalist for Campbell Award for Best New Writer, 2015 BSFA finalist for Best Short Fiction (SCALE-BRIGHT). I like beautiful bugs and strange cities.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 202 reviews
July 17, 2019
Did you hear that?
That strange faint sound?
It was me, screaming incoherently about how much I loved every word of this story.
Look I'm easy to please. Does a book take place in space? Does it have lesbians? Are there lush, tactile descriptions of a world both wet with living pulp and a hard sterile inhuman core? Are there complex relationships between women who, while carrying years worth of grudges, disappointments, rage, and contempt still manage to respect one another because the writer isn't interested in violence & cruelty just for the hell of it? Are men a nonentity? Are there robots with poetic names and achingly human desires? Are there mentions of A MASSIVE WAR-FLEET LED BY A POWERFUL WOMAN-ADMIRAL? Then I'm happy.
THIS BOOK MADE ME SO HAPPY.
I love Sriduangkaew's writing, I love how visceral it is, how you can taste fruit and rot all at once, how you can feel it smooth as skin and sharp as broken glass, how it hurts and smirks and blossoms and explodes all at the same time. I love how gory and bloody it is without the bleak boring nihilism of white dude grimdark. I love how focused it is on women, on women loving each other, hating each other, working together, fighting against one another....it's just all so good.
Anyway. Read this. NOW. Why are you not reading it????
That strange faint sound?
It was me, screaming incoherently about how much I loved every word of this story.
Look I'm easy to please. Does a book take place in space? Does it have lesbians? Are there lush, tactile descriptions of a world both wet with living pulp and a hard sterile inhuman core? Are there complex relationships between women who, while carrying years worth of grudges, disappointments, rage, and contempt still manage to respect one another because the writer isn't interested in violence & cruelty just for the hell of it? Are men a nonentity? Are there robots with poetic names and achingly human desires? Are there mentions of A MASSIVE WAR-FLEET LED BY A POWERFUL WOMAN-ADMIRAL? Then I'm happy.
THIS BOOK MADE ME SO HAPPY.
I love Sriduangkaew's writing, I love how visceral it is, how you can taste fruit and rot all at once, how you can feel it smooth as skin and sharp as broken glass, how it hurts and smirks and blossoms and explodes all at the same time. I love how gory and bloody it is without the bleak boring nihilism of white dude grimdark. I love how focused it is on women, on women loving each other, hating each other, working together, fighting against one another....it's just all so good.
Anyway. Read this. NOW. Why are you not reading it????
May 6, 2021
Okay, first, the book on its own merits: It was okay. The writing was overly and unnecessarily baroque in some places, with a repetitive cadence (thing was adjective and adjective, with adjective and adjective; Adjective, adjective thing, so on and so forth), but was generally pretty fun to read. I enjoy fancy words, so no problems on that front. The characterization was solid until someone opened their mouth - then, everyone spoke the exact same way. Individual lines of dialogue could have come from any character. The worldbuilding? Excellent, delicious. Loved it.
However, the author herself is a huge shitshow. Not only is Benjanun Sriduangkaew not her real name (I won't put her real name here - there's nothing wrong in and of itself with using an alias - but it's fairly easy to find), it's not even the first alias she's gone by. She chose it to escape from her history as WinterFox or Requires Hate, a notable internet troll who was so vicious, she drove someone to attempt suicide. Before she discovered what a great tool social justice was to bludgeon people, she was known for being racist, homophobic, transphobic, and antisemitic.
And here's the best thing: She's likely not Thai-born. Credible reports have her as a California-born Thai/Chinese woman from a family of actual billionaires. This in and of itself makes me hesitate on reading anything else by her; I find it confusing and concerning that her history is being completely ignored, and she's being welcomed into the folds of the Social Justice Sci-Fi group of authors.
I guess I'm just a bit disappointed that an entertaining lesbian sci-fi novella, the start of a whole series, was written by a wealthy, privileged American woman who spent her youth (?) attacking other authors and trolling people online for kicks - one that lies and misleads about who she is to boost her cred. If she's genuinely trying to turn over a new leaf, great, but I feel like coming clean about who she is would be the best way to do that.
However, the author herself is a huge shitshow. Not only is Benjanun Sriduangkaew not her real name (I won't put her real name here - there's nothing wrong in and of itself with using an alias - but it's fairly easy to find), it's not even the first alias she's gone by. She chose it to escape from her history as WinterFox or Requires Hate, a notable internet troll who was so vicious, she drove someone to attempt suicide. Before she discovered what a great tool social justice was to bludgeon people, she was known for being racist, homophobic, transphobic, and antisemitic.
And here's the best thing: She's likely not Thai-born. Credible reports have her as a California-born Thai/Chinese woman from a family of actual billionaires. This in and of itself makes me hesitate on reading anything else by her; I find it confusing and concerning that her history is being completely ignored, and she's being welcomed into the folds of the Social Justice Sci-Fi group of authors.
I guess I'm just a bit disappointed that an entertaining lesbian sci-fi novella, the start of a whole series, was written by a wealthy, privileged American woman who spent her youth (?) attacking other authors and trolling people online for kicks - one that lies and misleads about who she is to boost her cred. If she's genuinely trying to turn over a new leaf, great, but I feel like coming clean about who she is would be the best way to do that.
December 25, 2023
Still think one of the sex scenes was really strange & the same plot points could have been achieved in another way BUUUUT it’s fine, I genuinely adore this novella and think it’s so unique & well written. I love sapphic sci-fi stories!
——————
Original Review 5/6/2020:
"Charcoal sky illuminated buildings making a cosmos of their own, a high-rise glazed by undulating jellyfishes, another where eight-limbed mermaids sleet across windows. Neon roses drip from roofs and tumble into the canals where they bloom, short-lived, in nebulae."
I really enjoyed this! And Shall Machines Surrender is a beautifully written sci-fi novella about a mystery involving the suicides of haruspices, or godlike AI's that share a body with a human.
This is my first read of Sriduangkaew's work and I was completely enchanted! Her writing is absolutely gorgeous and I love, love, loved the world. The city where the story takes place was described in such a tangible way, I wish it was a real place that I could visit. The fact that AI's essentially run the universe and have become godlike creatures was so interesting, they were by far the most intriguing characters. There's a lesbian romance and it was really lovely to read about. I also enjoyed the plot, even though I wish the world-building had been a little clearer and more fleshed out. But it is a novella, after all, and I can't get everything.
I only have two gripes with And Shall Machines Surrender. The first is that, again, sometimes I felt a little lost as to what was going on and I wish some things had been made clearer. I didn't always understand character motives or why a certain event/character was important. I generally got it by the end and I'm sure if I were to reread it it would make more sense, but it was a little tough in some parts of the story for the first time around.
My second issue with the book was that I felt like the two sex(ish) scenes were a little out of place. The second one I didn't mind as much, but the first instance was quite bizarre and seemed extremely out of character for the person we were following for it. It was quite graphic, and though I don't have any problem with graphic sex scenes it felt weird for this particular story. It took me by surprise and kind of made me wonder what the rest of the book was going to be like and if I was going to like it as much as I thought. It ended up being a non-issue, but it was still a little strange.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! I think this is a fantastic story considering how short it was. I wish we got more of the world, but I always wish that when I read an SFF novella. I'll definitely be picking up more of Benjanun's work!
——————
Original Review 5/6/2020:
"Charcoal sky illuminated buildings making a cosmos of their own, a high-rise glazed by undulating jellyfishes, another where eight-limbed mermaids sleet across windows. Neon roses drip from roofs and tumble into the canals where they bloom, short-lived, in nebulae."
I really enjoyed this! And Shall Machines Surrender is a beautifully written sci-fi novella about a mystery involving the suicides of haruspices, or godlike AI's that share a body with a human.
This is my first read of Sriduangkaew's work and I was completely enchanted! Her writing is absolutely gorgeous and I love, love, loved the world. The city where the story takes place was described in such a tangible way, I wish it was a real place that I could visit. The fact that AI's essentially run the universe and have become godlike creatures was so interesting, they were by far the most intriguing characters. There's a lesbian romance and it was really lovely to read about. I also enjoyed the plot, even though I wish the world-building had been a little clearer and more fleshed out. But it is a novella, after all, and I can't get everything.
I only have two gripes with And Shall Machines Surrender. The first is that, again, sometimes I felt a little lost as to what was going on and I wish some things had been made clearer. I didn't always understand character motives or why a certain event/character was important. I generally got it by the end and I'm sure if I were to reread it it would make more sense, but it was a little tough in some parts of the story for the first time around.
My second issue with the book was that I felt like the two sex(ish) scenes were a little out of place. The second one I didn't mind as much, but the first instance was quite bizarre and seemed extremely out of character for the person we were following for it. It was quite graphic, and though I don't have any problem with graphic sex scenes it felt weird for this particular story. It took me by surprise and kind of made me wonder what the rest of the book was going to be like and if I was going to like it as much as I thought. It ended up being a non-issue, but it was still a little strange.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! I think this is a fantastic story considering how short it was. I wish we got more of the world, but I always wish that when I read an SFF novella. I'll definitely be picking up more of Benjanun's work!
November 1, 2019
A definite high point for Sriduangkaew. Reminds me of a love child between Ann Leckie and Yoon Hall Lee. Baroque and exotic, sexy and tactile, and grounded in real characters. It kind of lost me towards the end though, with one too many twisty revelations and reverbatory machinations. Perhaps it needed to be just a tad longer so the ending could percolate properly.
April 15, 2021
This is a story of an AI ruled world where humans are tools for competing AIs to use as they see fit. It's quite cold and technical despite being told from the perspective of a human. It's not quite a police procedural, which works in its favour.
The world doesn't have a particularly non-human feel and there are no ideas that haven't been encountered in other stories of AI/robot dominated societies. Suspect that it would appeal to a niche market of the scifi fan base that I happen to be part of ('Stop, you had me at [nonhuman]').
Wasn't put off by the domineering lesbian sex scenes but they certainly didn't appeal.
Wouldn't recommend generally. Three point something stars rounded up.
The world doesn't have a particularly non-human feel and there are no ideas that haven't been encountered in other stories of AI/robot dominated societies. Suspect that it would appeal to a niche market of the scifi fan base that I happen to be part of ('Stop, you had me at [nonhuman]').
Wasn't put off by the domineering lesbian sex scenes but they certainly didn't appeal.
Wouldn't recommend generally. Three point something stars rounded up.
August 17, 2019
I got to read a final draft of And Shall Machines Surrender after it was bought by Prime and I can't wait to get ahold of the hard copy so I can read it again. This novella is probably one of the most accessible works by Sriduangkaew; it is also quick paced and cinematic. I'm working on a more substantial review that I hope to release around the time of the book release.
EDIT: Here is my review published at The Future Fire: http://reviews.futurefire.net/2019/08...
EDIT: Here is my review published at The Future Fire: http://reviews.futurefire.net/2019/08...
July 12, 2019
Favorite book of 2019 by far!! I was supposed to save it to read during an upcoming plane ride, but it literally couldn't wait, and I blasted through it in one 4-hour-long sitting.
It's an absolute masterclass in modern cyberpunk. Beautiful, gorgeous prose, a world I can only stare at in awe through the screen of my kindle, characters I literally cried over in bed at 4am, and this twisting philosophical plot that I'm so amazed Sriduangkaew managed to fit into a tidy 143 pages.
Oh, and, ahum, really, really hot sex. Orfea and Krissana's power struggle, the sadomasochistic tension that's sticky and never fully separate from the consequences of their painful past--mmmmm RIGHT up my alley.
My birthday is coming up, and I'm seriously considering gifting copies of this book to my friends and telling them "don't get me anything, just READ THIS AND YELL ABOUT IT WITH ME"
It's an absolute masterclass in modern cyberpunk. Beautiful, gorgeous prose, a world I can only stare at in awe through the screen of my kindle, characters I literally cried over in bed at 4am, and this twisting philosophical plot that I'm so amazed Sriduangkaew managed to fit into a tidy 143 pages.
Oh, and, ahum, really, really hot sex. Orfea and Krissana's power struggle, the sadomasochistic tension that's sticky and never fully separate from the consequences of their painful past--mmmmm RIGHT up my alley.
My birthday is coming up, and I'm seriously considering gifting copies of this book to my friends and telling them "don't get me anything, just READ THIS AND YELL ABOUT IT WITH ME"
August 25, 2019
The story was very interesting, but I found the author’s writing style hard to read. It’s as if they let loose and automated thesaurus on the manuscript, which replaced every 10th word with something more erudite. This did not contribute anything to the story, and just made it more difficult to read.
October 12, 2019
Only finished it because it was so short. Bad prose (to the point that I started wondering if it was a bad translation from a non-English original) and weak storytelling. Terribly written characters - inconsistent and weakly-formed. Also, bizarre gratuitous sex scenes that serve no purpose in developing character or advancing the plot or, well seemingly anything but catering to the author's kinks. Nothing wrong with a bit of smut, but like many of the elements of this book, it seemed completely out of place with the rest of the work.
There is some sliver of redemption in the world-building and handling of AI. But it's only a sliver - the author hints at having some interesting stuff under the hood in these areas, but it never manifests into anything substantial.
There is some sliver of redemption in the world-building and handling of AI. But it's only a sliver - the author hints at having some interesting stuff under the hood in these areas, but it never manifests into anything substantial.
December 30, 2022
I truly am obsessed with the way Benjanun Sriduangkaew writes. The most exquisite, baroque, sensual prose that just captivates me. This sexy little horror scifi queer bdsm romance novella series is glorious.
Content warnings: sexual content including bdsm themes such as knife play, blood and gore, violence, graphic descriptions of injuries, homophobia
Content warnings: sexual content including bdsm themes such as knife play, blood and gore, violence, graphic descriptions of injuries, homophobia
January 30, 2021
DNF 20%
Очень интересный мир, вычурный язык, медленный сюжет и никакие персонажи.
Очень интересный мир, вычурный язык, медленный сюжет и никакие персонажи.
January 26, 2023
Three and a half stars.
I have a lot of pending reviews. I finished this book a while ago, so I'd better rate it without further ado:
It is an interesting novel and the reading has undoubtedly been worth it. The worldbuilding imagined by the author is promising, but for now I will not read the sequel.
I have a lot of pending reviews. I finished this book a while ago, so I'd better rate it without further ado:
It is an interesting novel and the reading has undoubtedly been worth it. The worldbuilding imagined by the author is promising, but for now I will not read the sequel.
March 21, 2020
Not my cup of tea
Purple prose and violent kinks, no thank you. While there are many beautiful descriptions, the writing style gets in the way of the story. Had to force myself through.
Purple prose and violent kinks, no thank you. While there are many beautiful descriptions, the writing style gets in the way of the story. Had to force myself through.
Read
February 10, 2021not my cup of tea tbh.
February 6, 2023
3.75/5 ⭐️
This was such an interesting book, I almost don't know how to review it.
Incredibly lyrical, this story relied heavily on its sublime prose as the main driver for the narrative. I think the plot was a little weak although I would say this was more to do with the way I read the book (its 108 pages and took me over a week to read as I kept reading other things in between).
I loved the characters although none of them felt especially realistic - this was very much the kind of sci-fi I can see as a really cool anime more than a live action if you know what I mean?
I was not expecting the BDSM/semi-graphic sex element to this book, nor the quite bloody gore, however both were used effectively and well written. I definitely felt like this book was too smart for me which is not a criticism so much as a statement on its readability to me specifically. I think I liked it enough to read more in this series one day but it may not be for a while.
Oh and final appreciation should go to the cover which is stunning!
This was such an interesting book, I almost don't know how to review it.
Incredibly lyrical, this story relied heavily on its sublime prose as the main driver for the narrative. I think the plot was a little weak although I would say this was more to do with the way I read the book (its 108 pages and took me over a week to read as I kept reading other things in between).
I loved the characters although none of them felt especially realistic - this was very much the kind of sci-fi I can see as a really cool anime more than a live action if you know what I mean?
I was not expecting the BDSM/semi-graphic sex element to this book, nor the quite bloody gore, however both were used effectively and well written. I definitely felt like this book was too smart for me which is not a criticism so much as a statement on its readability to me specifically. I think I liked it enough to read more in this series one day but it may not be for a while.
Oh and final appreciation should go to the cover which is stunning!
August 27, 2019
I have been looking for words to describe why I loved this book so much. It's part that I absolutely love transhuman stories (though not without exception). It also had a queer-inclusive universe which always feels comfy to me. But it was more than those things. I enjoyed the characters who had pasts and complications. It dipped just enough into the complications of huge factions and politics to interest me without being committee-meeting boring. It has enough action to be exciting but not a tedious blow-by-blow. Romance and kink enough to give me the tinglies but not so much as to overshadow the story. Overall, extremely well balanced for my tastes.
September 17, 2024
I haven’t read anything sci-fi in a long time (if I‘m not forgetting something), and I’m so glad this has changed now.
In And Shall Machines Surrender the author conjures up an intriguing take on a future where AI has evolved and separated itself from humans while simultaneously creating splices between both AI and humans - haruspexes. Within just about 100 pages we follow two very well-crafted protagonists on their quest to solve a mysterious string of haruspex-suicides. Every time I read such short fiction books I’m amazed how elaborate a world, how intriguing a plot, how very much not one-dimensional a character authors can create with so “little” material.
Even though I must admit that the writing style felt somewhat dense to me, this could also be attributed to me being very unaccustomed to certain genre conventions and sci-fi world-building. Despite the fact that it took me a little longer to finish this novella, reading And Shall Machines Surrender never felt like a chore.
In And Shall Machines Surrender the author conjures up an intriguing take on a future where AI has evolved and separated itself from humans while simultaneously creating splices between both AI and humans - haruspexes. Within just about 100 pages we follow two very well-crafted protagonists on their quest to solve a mysterious string of haruspex-suicides. Every time I read such short fiction books I’m amazed how elaborate a world, how intriguing a plot, how very much not one-dimensional a character authors can create with so “little” material.
Even though I must admit that the writing style felt somewhat dense to me, this could also be attributed to me being very unaccustomed to certain genre conventions and sci-fi world-building. Despite the fact that it took me a little longer to finish this novella, reading And Shall Machines Surrender never felt like a chore.
February 8, 2020
This book. Ahhh. It's wonderful.
I've long heard great things about Benjanun Sriduangkaew's writing, and I'm so glad I started with And Shall Machines Surrender. The characters are very well written and hold complexity that's rare to see in queer women. They do things that are ethically questionable out of necessity and survival: a trait we often praise in straight cis male characters for being "complicated" and "nuanced," but rarely let queer women of color hold without harsh criticism. I adore this in Orfea and Krissana, both because it's relatable (queer women can be nuanced!!), and also because it's given me pause to think about what standards I hold characters to based on their race, gender, class, and sexual identity.
Additionally, the world-building is phenomenal; part of me wants to visit Shenzhen Sphere to see what it would be like. It really does sound like utopia, with all the good and bad, and a believable reality too. Additionally, the way the characters interact with each other in its world is fantastic, and it has the kind of nuanced political struggles that you'd expect in a cyberpunk utopia. By the end, I certainly knew which characters I "rooted" for, but I could relate to everyone's desires, needs, and fears. Even the main antagonist has understandable reasons for their actions, even if I don't personally agree with them.
Also, the sex scenes are very, very hot. I'm really glad to see a book unapologetically embrace kinky queer sex as part of its plot. I definitely walked away with a few new interests in knives.
The only criticisms I have: like other reviewers, the POV shifts threw me off, and I occasionally caught myself looking back to see whether Orfea or Krissana was narrating. I think I would have preferred the whole story from Orfea's viewpoint. Definitely agree with other reviewers that I found some of the scenes' descriptions hard to follow, particularly in the second half. I caught myself revising and re-revising my mental image of the climax's setting, which took me out of the moment. And I definitely wish there was a little bit more to the sex scenes; I think the reader needed a "release" from the sexual tension, like a final moment where both women get to have the kinky sexual encounter they've been dying for and capping their character arc.
But all that aside, this book is wonderful, and I'm in love with the universe Sriduangkaew is building. ASMS feels like a sci-fi story both built for me as a queer woman, up to and including the desires I have with other queer girls, but it's also inviting me in as a guest and expecting me to honor the hostess' hospitality. It's a phenomenal ride, and I hope I get to see more of Orfea and Krissana in the near future, if the Mandate allows.
I've long heard great things about Benjanun Sriduangkaew's writing, and I'm so glad I started with And Shall Machines Surrender. The characters are very well written and hold complexity that's rare to see in queer women. They do things that are ethically questionable out of necessity and survival: a trait we often praise in straight cis male characters for being "complicated" and "nuanced," but rarely let queer women of color hold without harsh criticism. I adore this in Orfea and Krissana, both because it's relatable (queer women can be nuanced!!), and also because it's given me pause to think about what standards I hold characters to based on their race, gender, class, and sexual identity.
Additionally, the world-building is phenomenal; part of me wants to visit Shenzhen Sphere to see what it would be like. It really does sound like utopia, with all the good and bad, and a believable reality too. Additionally, the way the characters interact with each other in its world is fantastic, and it has the kind of nuanced political struggles that you'd expect in a cyberpunk utopia. By the end, I certainly knew which characters I "rooted" for, but I could relate to everyone's desires, needs, and fears. Even the main antagonist has understandable reasons for their actions, even if I don't personally agree with them.
Also, the sex scenes are very, very hot. I'm really glad to see a book unapologetically embrace kinky queer sex as part of its plot. I definitely walked away with a few new interests in knives.
The only criticisms I have: like other reviewers, the POV shifts threw me off, and I occasionally caught myself looking back to see whether Orfea or Krissana was narrating. I think I would have preferred the whole story from Orfea's viewpoint. Definitely agree with other reviewers that I found some of the scenes' descriptions hard to follow, particularly in the second half. I caught myself revising and re-revising my mental image of the climax's setting, which took me out of the moment. And I definitely wish there was a little bit more to the sex scenes; I think the reader needed a "release" from the sexual tension, like a final moment where both women get to have the kinky sexual encounter they've been dying for and capping their character arc.
But all that aside, this book is wonderful, and I'm in love with the universe Sriduangkaew is building. ASMS feels like a sci-fi story both built for me as a queer woman, up to and including the desires I have with other queer girls, but it's also inviting me in as a guest and expecting me to honor the hostess' hospitality. It's a phenomenal ride, and I hope I get to see more of Orfea and Krissana in the near future, if the Mandate allows.
July 13, 2019
Beautifully written sci fi. If you like Ancillary Justice you’d almost certainly love this. It’s perhaps less atmospheric than Winterglass but there is also more plot - AI, factions, politics, spies, intergalactic piracy.
(It has some quite explicit sex scenes. They seem less explicit because they’re so well-written but nevertheless... There are also some scenes of violence written in quite an she-who-enjoys-violence sort of a way.)
(It has some quite explicit sex scenes. They seem less explicit because they’re so well-written but nevertheless... There are also some scenes of violence written in quite an she-who-enjoys-violence sort of a way.)
August 25, 2019
A stunning portrait of a complex post-singularitarian future. Consciousness and identity at the outer limits. AIs crafting their own future, with and without humans. Two women - more or less - crafting their own futures. Breathtaking imagery, sudden stunning bursts of violence, more plot than the average trilogy and a kind of love story to boot.
January 8, 2023
3.5? i’m not sure honestly at time of finishing. if i spend a bit of time mulling this novella over, i might change the rating but for now i’ll go with 3 stars.
the writing is so uniquely descriptive and captivating that it’s probably my favourite part of this. incredibly detailed and vivid.
very politically heavy even if the actual plot semantics are simple enough. the ai nature is very cool for lack of better words, and dark. which i love.
the writing is so uniquely descriptive and captivating that it’s probably my favourite part of this. incredibly detailed and vivid.
very politically heavy even if the actual plot semantics are simple enough. the ai nature is very cool for lack of better words, and dark. which i love.
November 22, 2023
If you're seeking a pornographic detective novel with dialogue and sex scenes that manage to be simultaneously offensive to the ear and unimaginably bland, all wrapped in baroque and idiosyncratic language that sparks questions about the use of Google Translate, then look no further. Otherwise I would pass it up.
Despite the disappointment, it's evident that there's a creative mind at play behind the scenes. The world-building is intriguing, and the book delves into concepts rarely explored elsewhere, adding a unique dimension to the narrative.
Despite its creative merits, the overall experience was so painful that I can't bring myself to give this book more than a single star, a book should never leave you with the thought “I’m glad it is over“, and nothing else.
Despite the disappointment, it's evident that there's a creative mind at play behind the scenes. The world-building is intriguing, and the book delves into concepts rarely explored elsewhere, adding a unique dimension to the narrative.
Despite its creative merits, the overall experience was so painful that I can't bring myself to give this book more than a single star, a book should never leave you with the thought “I’m glad it is over“, and nothing else.
August 9, 2025
I went into this book completely blind and I am very glad I did so! It was incredibly good, the plot was intriguing, the story was well paced, the characters made me hungry to learn more of them!
I think my favorite aspect was the romance and how it was handled: because this is less than a 100 pages, it would have been complicated to write a romance from the very start and make it believable, at least for me, without being rushed. So a second chance romance instead! The question stops being "how will they fall in love?" to "how do they rekindle?" the chemistry is already there, the shadows of what they once were and how the betrayal affects it in the presence. very good story!
I think my favorite aspect was the romance and how it was handled: because this is less than a 100 pages, it would have been complicated to write a romance from the very start and make it believable, at least for me, without being rushed. So a second chance romance instead! The question stops being "how will they fall in love?" to "how do they rekindle?" the chemistry is already there, the shadows of what they once were and how the betrayal affects it in the presence. very good story!
August 30, 2019
And Shall Machines Surrender (Kindle Edition) by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Tightly written and well received!
What happens when the very AI gods themselves are against you? And with your checkered past, it's no reason they won't trust you. Stir in some, other, well seasoned comrades-in-arms and bake until b burnt.
And that's just the easy part! For more, you need to read this book!
Tightly written and well received!
What happens when the very AI gods themselves are against you? And with your checkered past, it's no reason they won't trust you. Stir in some, other, well seasoned comrades-in-arms and bake until b burnt.
And that's just the easy part! For more, you need to read this book!
May 4, 2020
It took me all afternoon to read this and it's only 133 pages long, I read it in a single-sitting and still had no idea what has going on. The summary was pretty intresting but the writing style was so confusing I had to rearead some paragraphs bc nothing made sense. I wanted to like this but instead idk what to think
Read
March 5, 2020RATING: 2+ stars. Not bad, but I didn't really get into it in spite of the A.I. plot.
REVIEW: Short SF book/novella, starring 2 women investigating odd suicides in a future city. Some unusual gender pronouns.
REVIEW: Short SF book/novella, starring 2 women investigating odd suicides in a future city. Some unusual gender pronouns.
August 15, 2025
Unfortunately this was, as the kids say, mid.
The setting was sprawling and the plot difficult to contain in such a short novella.
I didn't enjoy the writing style and the abrupt way we switched perspectives with no warning.
I also question the choice to have 2 sex scenes within a story thats only 87 pages long.
The setting was sprawling and the plot difficult to contain in such a short novella.
I didn't enjoy the writing style and the abrupt way we switched perspectives with no warning.
I also question the choice to have 2 sex scenes within a story thats only 87 pages long.
November 7, 2024
Not terrible, but it fell short of my expectations in enough ways that I couldn't enjoy it. On one hand it was easy to read, and felt like a decent page-turner. The characters and setting were interesting, I liked them, I liked their backstories and personalities and I wish they were given more time than this brief story to really develop. I'd have read a full-length novel about them- maybe I'm a sucker for dyson spheres but that always feels like a good time on some level.
My first but slightly less important issue was the writing. I actually enjoy purple prose a lot, but I don't think it's done well here. There are a great number of descriptive words used, for better or worse. But the sentence structure was awkward and didn't flow well for me, the shifts between POV felt random and poorly signposted, and the sentences felt stunted, very stop-start. Plenty of this is my own preference in reading of course. But the perceived awkwardness combined with the extraordinary amount of floral, descriptive language didn't feel masterfully written. I felt like it lacked the poetry and flow for how many beautiful descriptors it was using, and for how short it was. I wanted each sentence to feel more artistically crafted, when it felt kind of standard as far as quality of writing, and then just piling on the most extravagant synonyms one could find.
Second, and more annoying, the cyberpunk genre is filled to bursting with sexual and power fantasies of the straight male variety, and it weighs heavy on me. I like erotic work quite a lot, and kinky erotic work at that, and I appreciated the amount of consent implied and given through these rough sex scenes and the diversity of genders here. But this genre is seeped in the use of women, both trans and cis, as sexual objects to be consumed by an audience rather than tell a story (and many creators and consumers of cyberpunk content try to pretend this is somehow shining a light on issues of sexism instead of regurgitating the same sexism for the sake of titillation) - the breasts and vaginas and penises and sex are all part of the package of alluring in a certain demographic, and they are characters second, if at all. Perhaps if this book existed in a vacuum it might not seem like such a big deal that it had around 4 sex scenes that were just descriptive enough to mention genitals and what was going into them each time, in only 100 odd pages. And the use of women "thrusting into" another woman felt like using trans women as a titillating set dressing, like they are some kind of shock value flavor for the worldbuilding, instead of actual characters. It's hard to overlook when so many other works in the genre, across mediums, have fucked this up so badly. I am not accusing this author of being part of that problem, I don't know her, so maybe she is and maybe she isn't. It's just simply one of many works that have similar issues, and this one didn't break out of the pattern for whatever the reason or intention was. I can say only that it bothered me. Funnily enough, one descriptive club scene accuses a sexual performance to be billed as avant-garde but being closer in practice to pornography than anything artistic, so perhaps the author is totally aware of this and she's simply not concerned.
Hell, maybe if these weren't issues in the genre, from movies to books to video games, it wouldn't have even been a blip on my radar. I like sexual content and any content that has the push/pull notes of a dom/sub relationship without standard gender roles is fine for me, so it isn't all bad.
My third complaint: I've read a few sci-fi books with AI characters recently, and I'm a little surprised to say it, but are AIs becoming somewhat predictable? I won't spoil this story or the others I've read so far, because the actions and reasoning of the AI characters always seem to be part of "the twist". But I am a little worried we're already falling into cliches with characters who are supposed to be somewhat incomprehensible and beyond human thinking. It's a bit of a disappointment if only because I would like to think AI intelligence might be somewhat unpredictable and hold different values and ideas, instead of basically existing on a human level with a higher ability to multitask.
Kudos to this work being one of several that I've read to help normalize neopronouns for me. Ze/zer/xis and Xe/xer/xis are very nice pronouns to say once you really interalize them, which I'm still working on- I like that in my mind they rhyme with he/her/his and therefore bring to mind a mix, combination or deconstruction of the familiar gender binary, and as I get more used to them they're more and more enjoyable to read.
Overall, it's worth reading if you're into scifi/cyberpunk works- you'll blaze right through it, and you can decide if the plot and characters are worth the slightly awkward writing and sexual overtones, or maybe those things will be the cherry on top for you. For me, they brought down an otherwise fine story. It was too much standard glop on top of the bones of an interesting plot. For all the many sci-fi tropes and features I enjoyed, I'm not really impressed.
My first but slightly less important issue was the writing. I actually enjoy purple prose a lot, but I don't think it's done well here. There are a great number of descriptive words used, for better or worse. But the sentence structure was awkward and didn't flow well for me, the shifts between POV felt random and poorly signposted, and the sentences felt stunted, very stop-start. Plenty of this is my own preference in reading of course. But the perceived awkwardness combined with the extraordinary amount of floral, descriptive language didn't feel masterfully written. I felt like it lacked the poetry and flow for how many beautiful descriptors it was using, and for how short it was. I wanted each sentence to feel more artistically crafted, when it felt kind of standard as far as quality of writing, and then just piling on the most extravagant synonyms one could find.
Second, and more annoying, the cyberpunk genre is filled to bursting with sexual and power fantasies of the straight male variety, and it weighs heavy on me. I like erotic work quite a lot, and kinky erotic work at that, and I appreciated the amount of consent implied and given through these rough sex scenes and the diversity of genders here. But this genre is seeped in the use of women, both trans and cis, as sexual objects to be consumed by an audience rather than tell a story (and many creators and consumers of cyberpunk content try to pretend this is somehow shining a light on issues of sexism instead of regurgitating the same sexism for the sake of titillation) - the breasts and vaginas and penises and sex are all part of the package of alluring in a certain demographic, and they are characters second, if at all. Perhaps if this book existed in a vacuum it might not seem like such a big deal that it had around 4 sex scenes that were just descriptive enough to mention genitals and what was going into them each time, in only 100 odd pages. And the use of women "thrusting into" another woman felt like using trans women as a titillating set dressing, like they are some kind of shock value flavor for the worldbuilding, instead of actual characters. It's hard to overlook when so many other works in the genre, across mediums, have fucked this up so badly. I am not accusing this author of being part of that problem, I don't know her, so maybe she is and maybe she isn't. It's just simply one of many works that have similar issues, and this one didn't break out of the pattern for whatever the reason or intention was. I can say only that it bothered me. Funnily enough, one descriptive club scene accuses a sexual performance to be billed as avant-garde but being closer in practice to pornography than anything artistic, so perhaps the author is totally aware of this and she's simply not concerned.
Hell, maybe if these weren't issues in the genre, from movies to books to video games, it wouldn't have even been a blip on my radar. I like sexual content and any content that has the push/pull notes of a dom/sub relationship without standard gender roles is fine for me, so it isn't all bad.
My third complaint: I've read a few sci-fi books with AI characters recently, and I'm a little surprised to say it, but are AIs becoming somewhat predictable? I won't spoil this story or the others I've read so far, because the actions and reasoning of the AI characters always seem to be part of "the twist". But I am a little worried we're already falling into cliches with characters who are supposed to be somewhat incomprehensible and beyond human thinking. It's a bit of a disappointment if only because I would like to think AI intelligence might be somewhat unpredictable and hold different values and ideas, instead of basically existing on a human level with a higher ability to multitask.
Kudos to this work being one of several that I've read to help normalize neopronouns for me. Ze/zer/xis and Xe/xer/xis are very nice pronouns to say once you really interalize them, which I'm still working on- I like that in my mind they rhyme with he/her/his and therefore bring to mind a mix, combination or deconstruction of the familiar gender binary, and as I get more used to them they're more and more enjoyable to read.
Overall, it's worth reading if you're into scifi/cyberpunk works- you'll blaze right through it, and you can decide if the plot and characters are worth the slightly awkward writing and sexual overtones, or maybe those things will be the cherry on top for you. For me, they brought down an otherwise fine story. It was too much standard glop on top of the bones of an interesting plot. For all the many sci-fi tropes and features I enjoyed, I'm not really impressed.
January 9, 2020
The world-building was spectacular.
The characters...not so much.
Still an enjoyable adventure though through what it means to have freedom.
The characters...not so much.
Still an enjoyable adventure though through what it means to have freedom.
July 16, 2019
I love the names of the AIs in this story. Names like Nataku Contemplates a Flight of Sparrows; Wonsul’s Exegesis; Benzaiten in Autumn. Some AIs go by they/them; others by more unusual pronouns. It’s treated as perfectly normal, which it should be since AIs have been around for a while now. The AIs are definitely not human, and this gradually becomes more clear and more of an issue. The depiction of artificial intelligences is fascinating. It’s also an integral part of the wider worldbuilding, since the AIs have various ways of influencing Shenzhen Sphere’s physicality.
Orfea and Krissana have an interesting relationship. They have feelings for each other, but in saving Orfea’s life Krissana caused her to be seen as a deserter by the Alabaster Admiral, ruining her life and causing her to flee for safety. There’s some lovely dom/sub mildly kinky lesbian sex in here. The women’s relationship is constantly in flux as events change around them, and I found myself caught up in wanting to know how it would work out.
The book covers a fair amount of ground. From AI attitudes about humans to extended fight sequences, there’s something here for almost everyone. I particularly love the schemes and machinations going on. I’d love to see more of this world, especially regarding the Alabaster Admiral, who seems like a fascinating character.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/07/r...
Orfea and Krissana have an interesting relationship. They have feelings for each other, but in saving Orfea’s life Krissana caused her to be seen as a deserter by the Alabaster Admiral, ruining her life and causing her to flee for safety. There’s some lovely dom/sub mildly kinky lesbian sex in here. The women’s relationship is constantly in flux as events change around them, and I found myself caught up in wanting to know how it would work out.
The book covers a fair amount of ground. From AI attitudes about humans to extended fight sequences, there’s something here for almost everyone. I particularly love the schemes and machinations going on. I’d love to see more of this world, especially regarding the Alabaster Admiral, who seems like a fascinating character.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/07/r...
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