Of Monsters and Mainframes

De: Barbara Truelove

Narrado por: Gail Shalan, Emana Rachelle, Chris Devon, Zura Johnson, Charlie Albers, Cary Hite, Eve Passeltiner

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.

©2025 Barbara Truelove (P)2025 Dreamscape Lore

Classic monsters meet futuristic Sci-fi

I truly enjoyed it from start to finish. I first discovered it through @Ezeekat on Instagram, and it immediately caught my interest. After recommending it to my book club, I read it then listened and found it just as entertaining in both formats.

The story begins with Demeter, an interstellar transit ship en route from Earth to Alpha Centauri, waking up to a problem: all her passengers are dead. The culprit? It seems Dracula himself may be responsible. From there, the book cleverly weaves a sci-fi spin on classic monsters werewolves, Frankenstein’s creature, vampires, the mummy placing them in a futuristic setting that feels fresh yet playfully familiar.

What really makes the book shine are the character interactions, especially between Demeter and Steward, the ship’s medical AI.and them with Agnes their exchanges bring humor, charm, and a touch of heart. The supporting cast (Steve being my favorite of all) adds depth and variety with drama, tension, and moments of levity.

Overall, Of Monsters and Mainframes is a fun, exciting ride that blends sci-fi and monster lore into something unique and memorable. It’s equal parts thrilling and entertaining, and it left me wanting more. I fully recommend it.

Not what you would think

Great book. Fun and tons of Easter eggs. It took a short while to get into but it really gets moving. The first chapter is a little off putting but fun.
The narrators are very good.

Great escape!

It took me a while to get into the story, but once I did I couldn’t put it down! I was expecting a murder mystery based on the description but it’s not really one - it’s campy and fun and very B movie. I really enjoyed the performance as well. I especially like the way Steward MED is voiced - really brings her to life!

Was a fun book!

The changing narrators is a little jarring and definitely took some getting used to but overall I enjoyed this book.

unique point of views

I loved the main character and how they evolved. A strange and funny story line kept me entertained. The voices were done wrll.

This was terrible

The repetition of each set of numbers, over and over, was more than I could tolerate. I tried 30 minutes in the book to see if it would get better and never did. I do not recommend this book at all.

eesh...nope.

not great. too much stuffed into one story, no good plot line. no developing characters

silly and too desperate

The chapters that were just repetitions of 1 and 0 were an annoyance. The repetitions of phrases were enough to grate on my nerves. At least those can mostly be skipped to at least just get through a silly pointless story time. The narrators that read whole chapters in whiny desperate voices like they are about to have a breakdown ruin the listening experience completely. If I wanted exaggerated emotion I would buy the dramatisized versions. please stop