Reviews
Shortlisted for the Lambda Award!
“Giant robots stomp around a lush and tactile world of ruined cities and unknowable AI gods, which is all one could ever need.” —Tamsyn Muir, New York Times bestselling author of the Locked Tomb series
“The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon will drop you headfirst into a dazzling kaleidoscope of weirdness.” —The Washington Post
“The Archive Undying is everything you could want in a mecha novel. Emma Mieko Candon is brilliant.” —Ann Leckie, Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of Ancillary Justice
“Giant robot mechas with godlike powers! …What, honestly, is cooler than that?” —The Wall Street Journal
“In our age of AI discourse and terrifying robot dogs, it’s exciting to see a writer exploring these concepts in a way that’s fresh and nuanced.” —NPR
“Candon pours her/their elaborate setting of weird artifacts, monstrous fragtech, and corrupted AI through an intense and intimate emotional focus to create a vivid journey of recovery and reclamation.” —New York Times bestselling author, Kate Elliott
“A riotous and romantic ride of identity, divinity and technology” —Freya Marske, author of Marvellous Light
“With the salvage-punk appeal of ’70s pulp, and the cozy, rust-hazed apocalyptica of ’90s anime, this book is gold, crystal, and crimson splendor with a beating pirate heart.” —Jennifer Giesbrecht, author of The Monster of Elendhaven
“An intelligent, fiercely queer story of identity, autonomy and giant robots. An imaginative rollercoaster!” —Foz Meadows, author of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance
“Spiky, tender, sexy, and strange, The Archive Undying is a narrative labyrinth that surprised me on every page; an unfolding fractal of a science fiction novel.” —Lara Elena Donnelly, author of Amberlough and Grace Notes
“Candon’s fresh, vivid worldbuilding skillfully blends anime staples like giant robots and cigarette-smoking aunties with edgy SFF tropes like dying gods and legendary hybrid beasts….Fans of diverse, queer genre fiction seeking a challenge should take note.” —Publishers Weekly
“A satisfyingly solid foundation for a revenge quest among giant mecha and lively cities that settles into an interesting new balance of power.” —Booklist
“Will appeal to readers who like their giant robots paired with explorations of emotional intimacy and moving forward after trauma.” —Library Journal