Of Monsters and Mainframes

by Barbara Truelove

Overview

Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception.

Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.

To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team of monsters: A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil—Dracula.

The queer love child of pulp horror and ​classic ​sci-fi, Of Monsters and ​Mainframes ​is a dazzling, heartfelt odyssey that probes what it means to be one of society’s monsters—and explores the many types of friendship that make us human.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781964721156
Publisher:	Bindery Books
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Barbara Truelove is an Australian author and game designer who writes about werewolves, monsters, space, and sometimes other things. Her interactive novel, Blood Moon, released in 2023. When she’s not writing, she’s adding to her motley collection of rocks. 

Editorial Reviews

Blending genres with wild abandon, this rollicking space adventure from video game developer Truelove is narrated by sentient 24th-century space shuttle supercomputer Demeter. . . . At first the culprit appears straightforward—it’s Dracula—but soon, many other classic monsters are drawn into the picture. . . . Truelove’s obvious expertise in tech and coding comes through in the voice of her utterly believable AI narrator. The result is pure entertainment.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Truelove’s (Crying Wolf) wild combination of pulp horror and classic sci-fi takes the best of both and makes something incredible out of ‘The Captain’s Log’ chapter from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Readers who enjoy SF horror, such as Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes and The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown, will find this a delightfully creepy treat.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“A book that will make you incredibly invested in the relationships between AIs. This is a clever and imaginative retelling of aspects of Dracula that makes you both giggle and gasp.” —Kimberly Lemming, USA Today bestselling author of I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com 

“A gloriously clever mashup of genres that captures the loneliness of space and the joy of finding companions to explore it with. I laughed one page, cried the next, and cheered for Demeter and her motley crew throughout. Of Monsters and Mainframes is a delight from start to finish.” —Maiga Doocy, Sunday Times bestselling author of Sorcery and Small Magics 

“Of Monsters and Mainframes is fast and fun, with crackling prose, airlock-cold chills, and a lot to love in its too-human inhuman protagonists. It’s a treat to read a book that feels so modern and so classic at the same time, sitting right on the bridge between Murderbot and a monster movie.” —Karen Osborne, author of Architects of Memory 

“I devoured this like a mythical creature feasting on an interstellar crew. Delightful, unhinged, and obscenely compelling. Told through a quippy lens, this story is incredibly warm for a monster mash set in space. It feels like a new wave of fable, and I can’t recommend it enough.” —Craig Montgomery, author of A Circle of Stars 

“Of Monsters and Mainframes is an exquisite kaleidoscope of genre and style that drips with nostalgia yet remains fresh and exciting. Truelove deftly balances laugh-out-loud humor with cutting-edge tension while weaving a heart-swelling tale of friendship, identity, and the meaning of humanity.” —S. Hati, author of And the Sky Bled 

“This book is a warm hug in bloodied arms. Mixing hull breaches with skeletons eating chips, it’s a fantastic and strange journey into interspecies friendships and slow-burn platonic robotic love. The entire cast could step off the page and slap me in the face, and I would thank them for it.” —Eli Snow, author of The Divine Gardener’s Handbook 

From the Publisher

This heartfelt sci-fi monster mash-up of an audiobook is stunningly narrated by an excellent ensemble. Charlie Albers voices DEMETER, a spaceship…The rest of the cast voice the AI medical system, a werewolf, a human hybrid created by Frankenstein, a pharaoh, and humans….This is a laugh-out-loud audiobook full of thrills and a touch of romance…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

AudioFile