What do you think?
Rate this book
Autodrome
With its population of teen motor sport enthusiasts, promoters, grease monkeys and drivers, life in the steam and gas powered metropolis of Autodrome is all about the race. On the same day that 15-year-old Zar Punkstar qualifies as a Pro Leaguer, he finds his inventor father murdered, and a clue - a Paranascope scroll containing a holographic map of the city. An encounter with the mysterious race promoter, Braxton Earl, leads hom to enter the city's infamous Ramrod Rally, a series of races, obstacle courses and death traps in Autodrome's notorious outer suburbs, the Eras.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published December 17, 2013
3 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 10, 2017
I really wanted to like this book. I love the setting of the book, the style of the author. The concept of combining death races with a murder mystery was great. As soon as I started on this book I already loved it.
But then every. single. character. gets a sad backstory. The exposition in the beginning is handled clumsily at best, although it gets better as the story progresses. The antagonist is somehow to blame for everything that ever went wrong. Something went wrong a decade ago? Antagonist did it!
Oh, and I'm pretty sure the author forgot the name of one of the characters halfway through the story. Otherwise Fabian and Franklyn/Franklin (the spelling changes randomly) have the exact same family/backstory. The only difference between them is that Fabian gets mentioned in the beginning, and Franklyn at the end of the book.
It's a shame because I feel the book could have been one of my favourites, but instead it's merely okay.
But then every. single. character. gets a sad backstory. The exposition in the beginning is handled clumsily at best, although it gets better as the story progresses. The antagonist is somehow to blame for everything that ever went wrong. Something went wrong a decade ago? Antagonist did it!
Oh, and I'm pretty sure the author forgot the name of one of the characters halfway through the story. Otherwise Fabian and Franklyn/Franklin (the spelling changes randomly) have the exact same family/backstory. The only difference between them is that Fabian gets mentioned in the beginning, and Franklyn at the end of the book.
It's a shame because I feel the book could have been one of my favourites, but instead it's merely okay.
June 3, 2016
It took me a while to get into the story and even then I wasn't too engaged. The story itself isn't bad, the characters are just a bit weak, not flat characters exactly but more... Strangers? I don't feel like I got to know them. Each one had 1 event in their past that shaped their personality and that just isn't enough for me. The writing was fast-paced and fluent, but the descriptions were very hard to visualise. Lots of action in this book, which I feel like would've translated better on the big screen, not on pages of a book. I don't know, it's not a bad book but I have some issues with it and I can't recommend it as 'good'. Too many frustrations and remarks for that..
July 3, 2019
This book had a lot of ideas. It has a beautiful cover. The premise was so interesting and engaging, and the world was clearly well thought out for a dieselpunk story. There was even a canon queer character! But it all fell apart on the execution.
I had a few main issues with this book. First, the pacing. I thought it was too fast, especially in the beginning, making it difficult to get to know any of the characters. I did not feel like I knew or was connected to any of the characters by the end. Most of them felt kind of flat or not connected to their own backstories. One of the best built characters, IMO, was Fabrienne Oz and we didn't even meet her until past page 200.
Additionally, the way information is shared with the reader was kind of lacking. It never really felt organic and there was a lot of time it felt like an info dump or a rush so the story could move along.
My biggest struggle with this story was the narrative voice. I did not feel like it matched itself at times. It wavered between more slang-y and casual terms but would sometimes switch to a more literary tone when describing images or throwing in some bigger words at times that didn't seem to match with the rest of the narration.
I was also a bit confused by the sudden introduction of a couple minor supernatural elements that were never fulled panned out. It left me to wonder if they were just phrases used for color and not meant to be taken literally? But it still bothers me because if that's not explained, how am I, a reader used to the mixing of natural and supernatural elements in stories, supposed to decipher that?
I had a few main issues with this book. First, the pacing. I thought it was too fast, especially in the beginning, making it difficult to get to know any of the characters. I did not feel like I knew or was connected to any of the characters by the end. Most of them felt kind of flat or not connected to their own backstories. One of the best built characters, IMO, was Fabrienne Oz and we didn't even meet her until past page 200.
Additionally, the way information is shared with the reader was kind of lacking. It never really felt organic and there was a lot of time it felt like an info dump or a rush so the story could move along.
My biggest struggle with this story was the narrative voice. I did not feel like it matched itself at times. It wavered between more slang-y and casual terms but would sometimes switch to a more literary tone when describing images or throwing in some bigger words at times that didn't seem to match with the rest of the narration.
I was also a bit confused by the sudden introduction of a couple minor supernatural elements that were never fulled panned out. It left me to wonder if they were just phrases used for color and not meant to be taken literally? But it still bothers me because if that's not explained, how am I, a reader used to the mixing of natural and supernatural elements in stories, supposed to decipher that?
June 19, 2014
Not YA, not adult, this fits wonderfully into the NA reading genre. A perfect blend of dieselpunk, dystopia and science fiction, Autodrome is a city in the desert where racing is everything. I liken it to the pod-racing in Star Wars - those that are poor desperately race for fame, glory and money.
I just loved this so much. The cover, the writing style, the pace, the language, the themes (trust, betrayal, forgiveness and tenacity). I'll read whatever Kim puts out next.
I just loved this so much. The cover, the writing style, the pace, the language, the themes (trust, betrayal, forgiveness and tenacity). I'll read whatever Kim puts out next.
December 23, 2018
It took me forever to finish this. The idea of the novel is fine, but it just didn't grab me, I didn't care about the characters, the race was confusing at times and it just fell flat I guess.
December 21, 2021
Zar is a gifted driver with a trainload of baggage at home. When his father is murdered he finds a shady promoter claiming to be a family friend that wants him to run a race. The course of that race coincides with a puzzle left by his dad. Uncertainty abounds in this story about redemption and trust. The worldbuilding is rich, the characters are fun and varied, the teen-brained decision-making is actually pretty believable. I found myself really wanting all of this to work. But...the action (other than the fighting) was really tough to follow or didn't make sense or just wasn't very believable. I wanted to quit reading this book so many times but was pulled back in because the world and characters were just so much fun. If this review sounds pretty mixed up then I captured what the experience of reading Autodrome is like.
May 13, 2018
I saw this book on an end-cap while browsing a bookstore and decided to read it solely based on the cover art. I intentionally didn’t look up any reviews before the purchase, pushing away the modern habit, and now know I would’ve passed on it if I had.
The spelling and grammatical errors had my skin crawling. The author also chose to develop support roles more than the main character, making me wish the story had followed them instead.
I paid full price for this piece so I decided to finish it and am glad I did. It honestly felt refreshing going through the whole experience; not relying on technology to find that ‘perfect book’ to suit me was something I will definitely do again, and I thank this book for that.
The spelling and grammatical errors had my skin crawling. The author also chose to develop support roles more than the main character, making me wish the story had followed them instead.
I paid full price for this piece so I decided to finish it and am glad I did. It honestly felt refreshing going through the whole experience; not relying on technology to find that ‘perfect book’ to suit me was something I will definitely do again, and I thank this book for that.
September 27, 2019
This book was a bit of a mess. There just wasn’t any flow to it, the characters didn’t really come alive or connect and the few chapters written from a different POV were distracting (mainly because they were so few, it just didn’t make sense).
I liked the idea of this book. A steampunk race/murder mysterie puzzle...!?!? Sign me up. But like I said, there was no flow in the writing to make this world come alive and the way the chapters followed up in one another had me confused. I would come back to the book a day later and not understand what was happening.
Also, what is up with the cover? A chick on the front when the MC is a guy? It makes no sense
I liked the idea of this book. A steampunk race/murder mysterie puzzle...!?!? Sign me up. But like I said, there was no flow in the writing to make this world come alive and the way the chapters followed up in one another had me confused. I would come back to the book a day later and not understand what was happening.
Also, what is up with the cover? A chick on the front when the MC is a guy? It makes no sense
May 8, 2018
A really enjoyable, no-holds-barred romp, something akin to Battle Royale meets Death Race. Takes a few chapters to adjust to the pace of the thing, but once you're strapped in it's non-stop action and mayhem for 400 pages. Add to that flashes of some truly beautiful writing and you're onto a winner!
May 23, 2024
Just not my cup of tea. Might have liked it better if I were younger and more into cars? There were also several typos that drove me a little bonkers. Peachy king (should be peachy KEEN)? Saw-tooted (should be saw-TOOTHED)?
May 17, 2021
oh boy where do I start with this one? Well considering this is a race themed book let's use that analogy; it takes off with an exhilarating start, starts to drag and lose controle over the twists and turns and finally crashes and burns.
First of all the setting; I liked autodrome city, the era's and badlands between; it felt as a mixture of nuka-world, bladerunner, Kras city and mad max that should have made for a adrenaline guzzling world. But here is my first problem; I liked the idea behind it but there was little else to like for we never really get the feel of these places, how they work, how they interact and how they are positioned in the larger world. For what has happened in the world? We get some hints as some sort of big depression happened (but how, why and what are not mentioned) that somehow rearranged the countries of the world into regional blocks and also had something to do with a new invention of steam infused gas enhanced cars and parts of the Persian golf to become independent wacky races territoria. Back to the setting itself; it just doesn't work; it feels as a background the way it is in a play; it only needs to look vaguely interesting or scary or whatever the plot's needs it to be. It never feels as a living world that the plot happens to be taking place in or where characters live their lives and develop.
unfortunately, they don't turn out great either. We get Zack Punkstar (a lot of people get's these wicked names such as justice or Persia gold and so on) who has a tragic backstory of a neglectful absent minded father obsessed with his work, a drugaddict mother, who takes his frustration and anger as a young teenager out on the various car race and destruction derby competitions that fuel these cities raison d'être. Along the way we get various other characters but none are developed well in any way; Kim Lakin-Smith seems to think that having every character have a big reveal at some point equals character development, it doesn't. At some point it just becomes stupid to see how everyone was connected all along; It reads as a screenplay for a play, character A and B have emotional moment, Character B reveals big secret; the audience gasps. Scene two Character A and C have intense action filled moment, character C reveals big secret to make character A trust him, the audience gasps.
But what about the plot? Well what plot are you looking for? I won't reveal the ending but even if it kinda explained my biggest frustrations I had while reading the book; it still ruined it in my opinion. We have first and foremost the big Ramrod race, the big near mythical super race everyone want's to win, a murder, a quest for revenge and a treasure hunt..... yes a freacking treasure hunt. At various point's the main character can simply opt out of the race to find puzzle pieces for his murdered dad's secret treasure and simply catch up with the race afterwards. This so called race it turns out is actually partially a challenge trials competition, so a race? Not really.....But here is the thing, this big oh so awesome race feels as a push over. Never did I get the feeling there was any excitement, I mean this is a cars and racing themed book but the race isn't important? What the hell? Oh and when I finally reached the plot, ugh how it could have such a sickly sweet ending is beyond me.
So in conclusion, I picked up this book and until a tenth in the book, it reads as a sort of battle royale with cars but quickly turns in to wackraces meets scooby doo; I can almost hear the villain of the book grumbly "and I almost got away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids".
go watch wacky races instead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uU6K...
First of all the setting; I liked autodrome city, the era's and badlands between; it felt as a mixture of nuka-world, bladerunner, Kras city and mad max that should have made for a adrenaline guzzling world. But here is my first problem; I liked the idea behind it but there was little else to like for we never really get the feel of these places, how they work, how they interact and how they are positioned in the larger world. For what has happened in the world? We get some hints as some sort of big depression happened (but how, why and what are not mentioned) that somehow rearranged the countries of the world into regional blocks and also had something to do with a new invention of steam infused gas enhanced cars and parts of the Persian golf to become independent wacky races territoria. Back to the setting itself; it just doesn't work; it feels as a background the way it is in a play; it only needs to look vaguely interesting or scary or whatever the plot's needs it to be. It never feels as a living world that the plot happens to be taking place in or where characters live their lives and develop.
unfortunately, they don't turn out great either. We get Zack Punkstar (a lot of people get's these wicked names such as justice or Persia gold and so on) who has a tragic backstory of a neglectful absent minded father obsessed with his work, a drugaddict mother, who takes his frustration and anger as a young teenager out on the various car race and destruction derby competitions that fuel these cities raison d'être. Along the way we get various other characters but none are developed well in any way; Kim Lakin-Smith seems to think that having every character have a big reveal at some point equals character development, it doesn't. At some point it just becomes stupid to see how everyone was connected all along; It reads as a screenplay for a play, character A and B have emotional moment, Character B reveals big secret; the audience gasps. Scene two Character A and C have intense action filled moment, character C reveals big secret to make character A trust him, the audience gasps.
But what about the plot? Well what plot are you looking for? I won't reveal the ending but even if it kinda explained my biggest frustrations I had while reading the book; it still ruined it in my opinion. We have first and foremost the big Ramrod race, the big near mythical super race everyone want's to win, a murder, a quest for revenge and a treasure hunt..... yes a freacking treasure hunt. At various point's the main character can simply opt out of the race to find puzzle pieces for his murdered dad's secret treasure and simply catch up with the race afterwards. This so called race it turns out is actually partially a challenge trials competition, so a race? Not really.....But here is the thing, this big oh so awesome race feels as a push over. Never did I get the feeling there was any excitement, I mean this is a cars and racing themed book but the race isn't important? What the hell? Oh and when I finally reached the plot, ugh how it could have such a sickly sweet ending is beyond me.
So in conclusion, I picked up this book and until a tenth in the book, it reads as a sort of battle royale with cars but quickly turns in to wackraces meets scooby doo; I can almost hear the villain of the book grumbly "and I almost got away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids".
go watch wacky races instead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uU6K...
October 28, 2015
Ok so this book was boring for me. So damn boring and confusing that it took me so damn long to even finish this book.
I did like the concept about the story and I was curious about who killed his dad. But the racing part was way more important then who killed his dad.
Also I did buy this book online and when i opened it at home I saw that the font was rather large so i think it's for a younger audiene than me? It wasn't detailed much and mostly the story went very quick. But even then I couldn't manage to read a lot in one sitting of this book. Even tho it was 400ish pages with a large font. Which would normally would take me 2 sittings. But no, it took me a whole damn week.
So yeah, in the end i liked the cover more then the story. And sure you find out who killed his dad but it's not that it's this whole big secret because there is obv 1 bad dude who must'be done it.
I did like the concept about the story and I was curious about who killed his dad. But the racing part was way more important then who killed his dad.
Also I did buy this book online and when i opened it at home I saw that the font was rather large so i think it's for a younger audiene than me? It wasn't detailed much and mostly the story went very quick. But even then I couldn't manage to read a lot in one sitting of this book. Even tho it was 400ish pages with a large font. Which would normally would take me 2 sittings. But no, it took me a whole damn week.
So yeah, in the end i liked the cover more then the story. And sure you find out who killed his dad but it's not that it's this whole big secret because there is obv 1 bad dude who must'be done it.
July 29, 2019
This book isnt bad. The setting is interesting and the story is nice, but somehow it still feels incredibly bland to read. Now, im not big into cars, which may count into it. The supposed thrilling scenes failed to capture me, making picking up this book a chore in the end.
I'm sure there is people that will love this book, but its not for me.
I'm sure there is people that will love this book, but its not for me.
November 9, 2016
If you like cars, races and sloppy stories that tie together too neatly at the (rushed) ending, this is your book.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews