Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer

TL;DR: A surprisingly wholesome story of a robot looking for their missing leg and collecting friends.
Source: NetGalley, so many thanks to the publisher!

Plot: Our MC has their leg stolen and this sets them off to find it and to discover how the world has changed in their exile.
Characters: An interesting cast gathers around our main character, my favorite by far being Atticus.
Setting: This world felt almost plausible and that is deeply depressing
Science Fiction: This is a bit on the lighter SF side, with a touch of reality that works well for the story being told.

Summary:

Be is an old robot who was there, and doesn’t want to think about what happened, or what role they played in that conflict. They have settled into a life of isolation in the abandoned ruins of an old mill in the former New York Botanical Gardens, disinterested in what has happened in the outside world since they stepped away from the war. Someone out there, though, has not forgotten about them, and when they are attacked, their person vandalized, one of their legs stolen, they set out to find the thief accompanied by a cyborg dog and a human mechanic.

The world has changed, but the recovery from the war is uneven and faltering, and Be begins to suspect a malicious hand trying to rekindle the old conflict and finish what was started. In order to stop them, Be needs to come to terms with both their own past and who they have become, and how everything and everyone else they knew has changed in their absence. Being left alone is no longer an option, and peace may be impossible.

Thoughts:

Ode to the Half-Broken is a surprisingly heartwarming little book. Our main character wakes up missing a leg and having been attacked. Annoyed but determined to retrieve their missing limb they set off on a what they think will be a short journey to retrieve it. It ends up being anything but a short journey and they find a new family and old and perhaps save the world.

This was hopeful and cozy, though the setting was pretty depressing at times. I give the author major props for there. There was a lot of darkness to the edges of this but in the moment, in each day of the characters lives, we still felt that easy safety that cozy books provide. Even at the peak of the story I found myself confident it would work out well. That being said it did kill any tension we might have felt for the story and the future.

The characters were all great. Our main character (who I am not going to name even though the synopsis spoils it) is a somewhat dull character but early on we get the addition of Atticus. This robot/dog hybrid made the story for me and truly carried me through. Our other side characters were all delightful but Atticus was my favorite

Overall I think this is a great little story. If you want something post-apocalyptic abut still hopeful, try this. It’s one I think I’ll end up recommending for a long time especially for fans of books like the Monk and Robot books. Give it a shot if you’re inclined, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.