And Shall Machines Surrender Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

2.75/5 stars

And Shall Machines Surrender (2019) by Benjanun Sriduangkaew is a short hard science fiction novel about the coexistence of humans with rapidly evolving AI and cyborgs. It takes place in futuristic underground Shenzhen, where ex-military doctor Orfea and her longtime frenemy Krissana are tasked with finding the source which is currently controlling synchronized AI suicides. This book explores themes of migration, non-organic intelligence, artificial bodies, and complicated romantic relationships. It is the first installation of the Machine Mandate 9-book series (it is the first published book and technically the first although there is a prequel).

This world takes place underground, where there are ships, trains, and subways connecting different cities. The cities themselves are under artificial biodomes or ecospheres which replicate the sun and the sky, and they are hi-tech, cold, and severely monitored spaces. Orfea has a pet falcon which is a replicant, which is the only reference to animals in this book. The main organic machine element to this story are the haruspex—or the plural haruspice—which are cyborg humans who not just share their body with tech, but also their mind with AI. Krissana is a haruspex-in-progress, which leads to her being in tune with the AI suicide conspiracy. In this book, it is humanity and not AI which can be switched on and off at will. Haruspex and androids covertly fight for the superiority of the artificial over the organic: they have a need for independence from humans and pursue discreetly violence means to achieve this. Though human and AI physically cohabitate, mentally they do not, as one condition is active over the other. The worldbuilding in this book is good, as the cityscape is futuristic and reflects its social structures.

The writing is overcomplicated and is dense for such a short book. The pacing is slow although it is meant to be fast and the story involves gratuitous sex scenes that cater to a knife-centered kink. The sex scenes are sapphic, which is good, but they unnecessarily involve deceit and violent submission and highlight the unlikability of these characters. Orfea and Krissana have an on-and-off romantic relationship which centers on an affair during their time in the military and the betrayal of Krissana. The writing is too much for the plot—the plot is often unclear despite being simple and the action scenes only add mystery when they should be giving new information. This, in addition to the characters being complex but unlikeable, makes the story hard to read.

The book can be read as a standalone, but it is clearly written for a sequel (and a series). Lesbian sci-fi is in shortage, so this book is welcome in that respect, but its writing seems to be working against its plot. I would recommend this book to those who like hard sci-fi novellas, but otherwise it’s a skip.