Of Monsters and Mainframes

By: Barbara Truelove

Narrated by: 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

Weird mispronounced words or just entirely wrong words.

I enjoyed the story, but the narrators frequently either mispronounced words or used similar, but incorrect words. It feels like and editing issue. e.g. immorality instead of immortality (I looked at a physical copy and immortality - the correct word in context - was there where immorality was used on the audio).

Conceptualizing AI'S and books

Truelove did a fantastic job bringing the Ai Demeter to life in this book like no other Author has done yet.

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.

For crying out loud

Back when Hodgeman did 1000 “hobo names” that got moved to an easily skippable final segment of the audio book. Why the heck are the 10110 chapters (yes that’s plural) not indicated and offloaded similarly? Subjecting those of us who are not in a position to easily skip (ex:drivers) to multiple minutes of the narrator saying one or zero is really really bad directing. I am reading this book because it was nominated in the goodreads best of the year. Clearly, this does not translate across media.

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!