#BOOK REVIEW BY @COLLEENCHESEBRO OF “The Automation,” BY AUTHOR @CircoFootnotes

the-automation

  • Title:  The Automation, Vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series
  • Author: Anonymous and GB Gabbler
  • File Size: 5253 KB
  • Print Length: 364 pages
  •  Publisher: SOBPublishing
  • Publication Date: 1 edition (July 7, 2014)
  • Sold by Amazon Digital Services LLC
  •  Language: English
  • ASIN: B00LLI4XT4
  • ISBN-10: 0692259716
  • ISBN-13: 9780692259719
  • Formats: Paperback and Kindle
  • Goodreads
  • Genres: Mythology, Folk Tales, Fantasy

In the Words of the Author:

“The capital-A Automatons of Greco-Roman myth aren’t clockwork. Their design is much more divine. They’re more intricate than robots or androids or anything else mortal humans could invent. Their windup keys are their human Masters. They aren’t mindless; they have infinite storage space. And, because they have more than one form, they’re more versatile and portable than, say, your cell phone—and much more useful too. The only thing these god-forged beings share in common with those Lowercase-A automatons is their pre-programmed existence. They have a function—a function Hephaestus put into place—a function that was questionable from the start…”

*The author provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review*

My Recommendation:

I have read some really interesting books before, but never one like The Automation. The beginning of the book was a mishmash of ideas and thoughts. My understanding is that the book is written in a style paralleling an epic Greek poem. There are footnotes throughout the text. At times, the narrator speaks directly to the reader. Frankly, I felt the style was confusing. I did read a number of the footnotes and did chuckle at the comments. I am deliberating on whether the author was clever or simply straining to fill in the back narrative. I still can’t decide.

I had to soldier through because I had agreed to read the book. Normally, if I can’t get through the start of the book, I am finished. But I felt like there was something here, I just had to find it.

The Automation is based on a great idea. I enjoyed the fantasy element of the automaton being an inanimate object that takes human shape. So, when you meet the protagonist, Odys Odelyn, it is on the street where he meets an unusual man. Pepin Pound gives Odys a coin and then commits suicide in front of Odys. Understandably, Odys is upset by the incident. Later, when he awakens in his apartment, a strange woman named Maud, has appeared. Maud is an automaton who has possessed his soul. Many pages later, it is discovered that all of them are controlled by Vulcan, one of the Greek Gods from mythology.

The story spirals into twists, turns, too many subplots, and eccentrics who are unusual and strange. But you only find this out if you can plow through the slow pace of the book. It took me seven days to read this novel. Many times I had to backtrack to make sure I understood the plot. It is a pity because I felt the novel could have been a fun and interesting fantasy read. Some of the writing was engaging, but there was just too much of it!

All in all, the book was just too long. The author spent too much time wanting the readers to notice how clever he was. I was put off with the author remaining “anonymous.” GB Gabbler is billed as the “editor.” Even the blog, called “Further Annotations,” is strange and unusual. You know what? Some people actually like that. You will want to check it out and decide for yourself.

In my humble opinion, finishing the book with a cliff-hanger did not do it any justice. There were some strange sexual nuances going on with the characters that I am still puzzling over. This is definitely an adult book.

So here’s the bottom line, guys. Do you like strange and unusual books? Then, The Automation is for you.

thumbs-up-again

My Rating:

Character Believability: 4
Flow and Pace: 3.5
Reader Engagement: 3.5
Reader Enrichment: 3.5
Reader Enjoyment: 3.5
Overall Rate: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3-5-stars
About Anonymous and GB Gabbler

G.B. Gabbler is the other half to the pen name of “The Author” of the indie novel THE AUTOMATION, Vol. 1 of the CIRCO DEL HERRERO series – now out in print and eBook formats.

The official website for G.B. Gabbler and B.L.A. is: www.circodelherreroseries.com

Contact, Links, & Etc.

Tumblr: The Editor and Narrator’s Etc.

Twitter: @CircoFootnotes.

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/GBGabbler

Goodreads: Gabbler (B.L.A. can’t be bothered).

Book Review by @ColleenChesebro of silverthreading.com

Colleen 5.3.16

Save

Author: Colleen Chesebro

Colleen M. Chesebro grew up in a large city in the Midwest. Keen on making her own way in the world, she joined the United States Air Force after graduation to tour the world and find herself. To this day, that search continues. An avid reader, Colleen rekindled her love of writing poetry and cozy fantasy mysteries after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. Besides poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on tankatuesday.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. She offers book publishing services through Unicorn Cats Publishing Services, designed to help authors & poets create ePubs & ebooks for publication on Amazon. Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan, surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

4 thoughts on “#BOOK REVIEW BY @COLLEENCHESEBRO OF “The Automation,” BY AUTHOR @CircoFootnotes”

  1. Hi Colleen. Thanks for this. The concept is so cool.
    I know from experience how difficult it is to explain/convey a mythology that is either unique or likely to be unknown to the reader. It’s hard not to get bogged down. For me, in that case I don’t want much in the way of subplots and distractions. K.I.S.(because I’m)S.
    You’ve told me exactly what I’d want to know about this book. Hugs.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment