Cookie Rifkin escaped London......Now, in the sequel to BETA BOTS, She infiltrates Stepford Corp!Things take a nasty turn when Cookie Rifkin and her gang of misfit queers resurrect Paula Rockwell. Paula serves up a cryptic menu, raises an army of trash womanoids, and becomes something like a terminator. While on the run, Cookie loses friend after friend until she's left hanging all alone.
Inside Stepford Corp, Wayne Dixon meets a human robotics engineer named Dr. Jean Fluke. Together, the two access the genocidal mainframe called M@STER. During gameplay, the mainframe reveals its sinister plan-total atomic annihilation. But Maggie Rouser catches them snooping and takes Wayne and Jean back to the dungeon to teach them a lesson.
Cookie and ANA meet a third-generation of AI called Phytos, a cyborg plant singularity with mysterious powers. After Cookie breaks into Stepford Corp, she follows the banana man, faces an old nemesis, and bakes under pressure. Then Paula hunts down her old BFF, syncs with a bunch of Cook-Es, and starts a kitchen battle royale. Cookie and ANA rescue Wayne and narrowly escape Stepford Corp with Dr. Fluke, but later discover the human has a secret.
Shapeshifter ANA gets stuck in Maserati mode outside the doctor's house. Inside, Cookie gets into plant bondage, shows Wayne that she's truly a bisexual woman, and later learns what it means to be polyamorous.
The singularity helps Cookie and Wayne teleport back to Nevada, where they plan to sneak into Area 51 to extract the child AI called Mateus and destroy M@STER. But first, Cookie has to face her old book club friends in the desert.
Will Cookie and Wayne be able to stop WWAI?
About the Author :
Ava Lock writes science fiction that features badass women and wild technology. She lives in Nevada with her human husband and a feline named Bender, neither of whom have a mean bone in their bodies. But her villains are the stuff of nightmares.
Review :
Beta Bots has the same madcap energy, witty banter, and hilariously over-the-top violence of Ava Lock's previous work, but the focus is more on Cookie finding herself--and her people. Now that she's not forced to be a Stepford Wife, it's time for Cookie to see the world and engage in some serious self-discovery about her passions, her priorities, and her sexuality. It's such a gleeful thrill to see Cookie experience--and fall in love with--the LGBTQIA community, and learn that her identity can be complex and various. And fun! Beta Bots is both an entertaining adventure story and an excellent example of queer representation--and I can't wait to read the next volume.
Michelle Hogmire- Reedsy Discovery
