Ode to the Half-Broken, by Suzanne Palmer
23 Jul 2026The Book
Synopsis:
Forty years ago, the world nearly ended.
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.
This is a story about coming to terms with your past, with who you’ve become and who you still want to be: a tale of resilence and hope, an ode to those struggling to become whole in a world half-broken.
My Review
Ode to the Half-Broken is a standalone sci-fi novel written by Suzanne Palmer, published by DAW. A rather simple proposal set in a post-apocalyptic world that rapidly evolves into a larger mystery that delivers a story about found family, harmony and breaking from the past, which drives the line between cozier, more contemplative elements and high stakes that keep the plot moving.
A story that follows Be, an old robot that comes back online in a strange location, missing a leg; he lived a peaceful life, disinterested of the outside world, but now, in the companion of a cyborg dog and a human mechanic he will need to journey through the post war world, trying to find the thief. But there's more behind the situation, and it seems somebody is trying to re-spark the conflict; a journey that will not only help him to reconnect with the world but also to find the harmony he lost after he was attacked.
Palmer alternates between two timelines in the narration: our main one, Be's journey through that post-war world trying to recover his leg, opening himself to more robots and people, breaking that voluntary confinement he chose after the war, and honestly, reconnect with the rest; and a second one, set in the past, that shows how humanity brought this situation over the world, told through flashbacks.
During their journey, Be and his companions will be finding more consequences of a world that should have healed after the war that happened forty years ago, but at the same time, there are still elements that could be trying to instigate it. I grew fond especially of the relationship between Be and the cyborg dog, and how it is used as a way to explore not only the concept of friendship, but also autonomy regarding sentient beings.
While I found this to be an enjoyable read, the pacing felt a bit icky for my taste: a really slow start that paired with some cozier elements that almost made me DNF (but I'm glad I didn't).
Said that, Ode to the Half-Broken is a beautiful story, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi proposal that examines friendship, autonomy, and the consequences of war through the lenses of our characters. So if it sounds like your book, try it!
The Author/s
Suzanne Palmer
I'm a writah from Massachusetts