autistic MC? check
queer MC? check
trans rep? check
anti-AI? check
a dystopian space world? check
a heist? check

Kelli lives a relatively quiet and unassuming life as the supervisor of an AI that writes scripts for entertainment media when she's contacted by an old friend and flame who needs her help. It's a trap, but an interesting one, and one that brings Kelli's life into focus as an autistic, queer kid, and how far she's strayed from the issues and activist work she once wanted to do.

Copy of my review on GoodReads

This novel ticks a lot of boxes:

* hard SF with a focus on computer science, and especially generative AI / cybersecurity
* neurodivergent characters
* queer characters
* technological singularity - what happens to society when it becomes ruled by AI overlords and 90% of the population relies on basic income to survive (there are barely any jobs anymore, everything has been automated)
* space pirates, fast-paced adventure
* intellectual property laws - what happens to artistic creation when megacorporations can copyright ideas?
* censorship, and especially banning queer and political content

All those themes come together in a novel that could be an awful soup, but somehow, it works.
The exposition was quite long, and I had to "hang in there". Around 30% in, the reward came (and it was massive). This is a compelling adventure relying on exquisitely built characters, fine grained world building, and a somewhat unreliable narrator. Queer and/or neurodivergent characters are never archetypes here. They are whole people, sometimes endearing, sometimes insufferable.

<i>Ignore All Previous Instructions</i> is as much about the evolution of the main characters' relationships as it is about space pirates and AI. This was well done, with no caricature and great sensibility. I am queer and neurodivergent myself and felt "seen". It does not mean that this is a novel for queer / neurodivergent readers. The story is compelling enough to appeal to a broad audience, I would even recommend this novel to teenagers. Without spoilers, my "age" line is about sex, sheer violence and unbounded morality. There is no such thing here. You can totally gift this to a fourteen year old who enjoys SF.

Some non-spoiler highlights:
* the prompts! Very innovative idea. It totally works and provides the reader with a lot of "food for thought"
* relatable computer security content - privilege escalation, geeking about file systems, serialization attack (more of this please!)
* elaborate exploration of what it means to produce fiction with an AI

Cherry on the cake, <i>Ignore All Previous Instructions</i> features a satisfying end. There could be a sequel and I would buy it, but this works really well as a standalone novel.

This novel was provided to me as an ARC by NetGalley and Tachyon Publications. Special thanks to the editor and to Ada Hoffmann for a great novel. I will buy this book.

Ignore All Previous Instructions is a simultaneously moving and rollicking ride of action, ideas, and emotions. It's a love story and also a love letter to the power of human creativity and imagination as resistance. Beautifully queer and neurodivergent to its core, this is science fiction with heart, soul, and brains.

Absolutely loved this! I expected this to be largely a sci fi book, but that theme is secondary to the character developments. The main characters have queer representation, both for sexuality and gender, along with neurodiversity. Really interesting exploration of the use of ai (or robots as the book describes it) and their harm in oversimplifying mental health support.

A great flow and easy to read. It read to me like a YA novel, which I didn't have an issue with at all, I would have loved this in school.

The protaganosit is an autistic lesbian (same), I could relate to some elements of the character, but they definitely presented with different autistic traits than I do. At parts I felt a bit unsure about the accuracy of the representation, particularly the character's naivety, but had to remind myself that it's called a spectrum for a reason!

Hadn't heard of this author before this book but will definitely be seeking out their other books.

Ignore all Previous Instructions is a book about AI, and a book about being human. It's also a book about autism and queerness in a world of censorship that feels much like the current age.

This is a sci fi book that has space travel and such, but also feels very grounded in reality. The AI and AI company work pretty much the same way as AI in the real world, only this is a more dystopian setting where this form of AI is integrated into pretty much everything, and where all media is mostly AI generated.

The story is told through a dual timeline. The main story in the present is from Kelli's POV. She's a supervisor of a mostly AI generated show, which she has to keep within the strict rules of the company. I found the rules mentioned very interesting, and they really speak to both threats of censorship and common discourse. The show is expected to constantly explain itself, treating its audience like children who otherwise wouldn't understand. And everything is expected to be as generic as possible with super broad appeal but without much depth or humanity. Pretty much how AI works in the real world. Kelli created the character of Orlando, and while he is very limited in who he can be by the AI's rules and how much is required to be generated, he still feels like a part of Kelli's imagination, and she is a storyteller, putting as much humanity in the output as is feasible within this system, even if she does also follow all the rules to the letter.

Kelli is contacted by Rowan, her ex, and a trans man who she dated when they were teenagers and Rowan still presented as a girl. He is in some financial trouble and needs her help, and against her better judgement, Kelli goes with him.

At the same time, there's a past timeline set during their childhood, when they went to school together, and this feels a bit more YA, but it's also quite heavy. It's about growing up queer and neurodivergent in a world that is quite hostile to these things. The past timeline is all from Am/Rowan's POV, and it shows some other uses of genAI in this world, including a robot Kelli has that's supposed to help her socialize with her autism but doesn't work at all, and therapybot program Elaine (another one of their friends) goes to talk to, which isn't shown on page, but is often referenced, and is also pretty much useless. Queerness is censored and considered something inappropriate for children, and while it is not forbidden for consenting adults, it's not talked about at all. This obviously has a huge effect on how Kelli and Am/Rowan develop and grow up, not really having access to the information they need.

I liked how this book portrays a genAI company as the main villain, and makes it very effective while also showing how useless genAI is for many purposes. Rowan's expertise as a criminal is prompting the genAI to let him into everything, and of course, they use genAI in pretty much everything. The autism assistance bot constantly gives very generic advice that's not helpful at all. The therapy bot doesn't help improve Elaine's mental health at all, and is programmed not to talk to her about any queer topics at all, making it even less helpful.

Would highly recommend this book

I received an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is my first time reviewing an ARC, and I wasn’t expecting this level of polish. I began reading this in late 2025, but in retrospect, I’m glad this is the story I started 2026 with.

I highly recommend Ignore All Previous Instructions. It’s a compelling read, and the most authentic queer writing I’ve personally encountered. Some books simply find their audience, and this one felt uncannily aligned with my own experiences. I’m an enthusiastic AI user interested in AI ethics; I’m queer and in a closed-triad polyamorous relationship; and I’ve worked as a care support worker supporting autistic people. I’ve never read a novel where those identities meaningfully intersected until now.

Previously, I have pretty much bounced off of queer and LGBT. I find that queer authors tend to get caught up in the freedom of expression, and the actual writing suffers. That, or they become encumbered with therapy speak, which is a pet peeve of mine. This book did not have those problems. In fact, I think the characters shared a portion of my derision on the therapy speak note. The queerness was integral to the story and the characters, but they didn't become it. These are three-dimensional people with careers, fears, and conflicting motivations, and that depth was genuinely refreshing. It has raised my expectations for the genre.

Not that I wasn't nervous. When the book started, it was going into a huge amount of detail about the protagonist's routine. The hairs on my neck were rising because I have seen so many goofy and insulting interpretations of autism. I've had to be an advocate for autistic friends and family, so innately, I was bracing. The book didn't pathologise autism, though. Instead, it was detailed, felt intimate and world-building. It was very show-don't-tell heavy, and it was stunningly accurate, at least to some people's experience of autism. It continued to toe this line throughout the entire book. Showing us, and structuring the internal dialogue to walk us through the protagonist's experience of Autism. It was tasteful and so refreshing? Even as the book began to have two characters learning about queer topics afresh, it kept that tasteful, believable tone rather than collapsing into a sermon.

This still wouldn't be a book I'd recommend to an audience not on board with LGBT themes, but, a neutral party? I think I would be happy to give this book to someone entirely neutral to Queer or Autistic discourse and let it stand as a foundational text for their understanding and help define their empathy on the subject.

If I haven't made it clear, I loved this book. It was nuanced, and the story had stakes that made my heart clench. I was invested in the protagonist's success, even if I was just as uneasy as to whether it was the 'correct' thing to do. I don't get to say this about science fiction all the time; it felt very believable (if a little America-centric). The ChatGPT angle was integral to the story, and I really enjoyed the breaks wherein our protagonist is writing 'prompts' that are essentially her trying to process what is happening. The idea of the hacking of the future involving a lot of sweet-talking Grok-like systems was also very appealing to me, but the humour of the situation never diminished the stakes of the story to me. Half the story focuses on children, and I especially found the way the children interfaced with technology very authentic.

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to read this. Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications, and especially to Ada Hoffmann, for such a thoughtful and quietly transformative novel. 5 Stars, no notes.

This is for those who like their protagonists neurodivergent, their settings futuristic, and their romance sweet and hopeful. The neat extra twist here is Kelli's employer, a generative AI company, controls which stories can be told. And Kelli has been fine with that, until she discovers other stories are possible. This is a lovely second-chance romance and a sharp commentary on why representation is so important.

Set in the far future, this is a weird and fascinating novel, told from the point of view of a highly successful and autistic writer, about the power of fiction to change and to shape the world. The voice here is great, and the worldbuilding even better.

What do you get when you take two best friends who don’t fit society norms and try to instill in them ideals by a company that has somehow managed to take control of the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of an entire colony? In Ignore All Previous Instructions, you get a space pirate searching for lost freedoms and the right to be true to themselves, and a woman living a routine, somewhat satisfying life, embracing the only way of life she has ever known.

Set on a dystopian/sci-fi planet called Callisto, Inspiration runs the entire colony – there is no freedom of speech, no original thinking. Their reasoning? Those kinds of things previously destroyed people’s sanity and tore countries apart. Inspiration censors everything. Laws exist to prevent adults from talking to minors about topics deemed inappropriate, like sex and sexuality.
Keli and Rowan meet in elementary school when Rowan still goes by Amelia, and Keli has a robot. Rowan is fascinated by the technology, even though he disagrees with why it has been given to Kelli. To Rowan, Kelli’s autism is what makes her exceptional, but neurodiversity is controlled, not celebrated.

Through flashbacks, Kelli and Rowan discover their sexuality, they learn to question the rules enforced upon them, and they learn to grow together without compromising their integrity. Until one decision ruins everything, and years pass before they see each other again.
Flashbacks don’t always work for me, but these don’t stop the progression of the story; they enhance it. They play a critical role in helping the reader to understand the characters, and without them, the story would lose so much of the depth it has.

I was absolutely blown away by the originality of Ignore All Previous Instructions and found it so easy to get lost in the story. The characters grew between the pages, and being brought along for that journey felt like a privilege. It's inclusive and relevant, and sometimes I just wanted to shake Kelli and tell her to just kiss Rowan already!

How fantastic to find a new author to me, who is in fact a seasoned author with a backlog of books I have yet to discover. My TBR pile just grew a few inches taller, and I’d love to know which one to start with.

Ignore All Previous Instructions is one of those books that I want the paperback of, so I can proudly display it on my bookshelf. It gets an easy 5 Stars from me!

This book has a lot to say and a lot it wants to impart, and the fact that Hoffman manages to convey it all as well as she does, along with some liner notes in the back for some things that people might think feel familiar but they're not sure from where, is genuinely impressive. I read and loved Hoffman's short story collection within the last few years, but this is honestly a hell of a novel, and has so much to say about the censorship of queer portrayals, the actual goals of AI, and how maybe it just fucking isn't worth it to mask. There's also some exquisite use of the second person pov, which I am a sucker for, and there may have been a few times where I stepped away from the book for a few days because I identified so much with what Kelli was feeling (yay recent mid 30s ASD diagnosis!). This comes out in May, preorder it the next time the Barnes and Noble presales come along. Also, A++ usage of Virginia Woolf references with Orlando, ngl.

Hoffman offers a look at queer spaces in a homogenous cis society. Jovian isn't that much different than Earth.

I appreciated the character arcs and development of both Kelli and Rowan. Rowan is a vulnerable but swaggering bad boy who needs help. Kelli is a woman who looks at redemption over individuality. Both are traumatized in different ways and react out of hurt.

There's a lot of layering depth, so many interwoven topics and themes. I appreciated the non-binary elements and fluid emotional landscape between them throughout.

Appreciated the autistic representation because it wasn't cookie cutter. While not autistic, I am familiar with the destructive patterns of overstimulation as someone with ADHD. Hoffman gives Kelli nuance and greyness when many media portrayals won't.

Can't speak about Rowan's transition or experiences. Rowan needed the click and once it was there, it had to be addressed. It's an ever evolving process as people find their communities. And sometimes that's not always a neat reality.

It's fun. Smart. Valuable on genAI and more. Read to see. Thanks to Netgalley, Tachyon Publications, and Ada Hoffman for the opportunity to visit this world. 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tachyon Publications for this eArc!

Kelli lives on the moon. Not just any moon, but Callisto, where a generative AI company runs and owns everything. Kelli works for the media, tuning generated AI scripts of her own characters and turning them into entertainment for the masses. Not everything is as it seems though, certain topics are taboo, restricted from being aired on TV or even researched without black market materials. As Kelli's ex, Rowan, resurfaces, she begins to delve into a world she wishes to forget, and also a new world too.

This book is very dystopian heavy, which I love. Lots of topics and themes currently centred around modern issues, such as trans rights, queer rights, ai use, autistic/disabled rights. I personally feel like the author approached these heavy topics really well. As an autistic person myself, I found the neurodivergent rep to be refreshing. Kelli, the mc, covers her ears from loud noises, wears noise cancelling headphones, has safe foods, doesn't like being touched, etc.

This book a is nice exploration into society. Kelli is ostracised as her diagnosis leads her to have an ai companion robot - a robot which tells her to introduce herself and ask her classmates' names, despite her being in classes with them for years. It looks into queer issues, both past and present, as well as mental health issues too.

The plot was great. It was a lot more than I expected for a sci-fi romance story. We have crime bosses, a heist, first loves, growing friendships, space, ai, all wrapped into a perfect, firey package. It explores dual pov, and past and present. The reveals and build ups worked perfectly for me, I wasn't moaning the time spent on anything, nor was i thinking it was too fast paced. I could not recommend this more, especially for ND and/ or queer folks into dystopian and sci- fi.

Edit: After sitting with this for 2 weeks, I'm increasing this from 4 stars to 5. While I had some issues with the book, the story that was told was amazing and is staying with me for a long time.
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Thank you to NetGalley, Tachyon Publications, and author Ada Hoffmann for providing this eARC for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Stunning. Honestly, I came from the parable about genAI and the queer and autistic representation, but I got so much more than that out of this book.

Ignore All Previous Instructions is possibly one of the best representations of autism I've ever read on-page. Protagonist Kelli Reynolds is immediately one of my favorite characters now. She is so complex and nuanced and so much of her interactions with the world around her is influenced by her autism, but that is not her sole personality. She's so much more than *just* autistic. And her ex, Rowan, is just as complicated and so much more than his transness, and his ADHDness.

I particularly enjoyed that this was told in dual timeline format, with the current events of Rowan and Kelli being forced together for a heist being interrupted with insights into their childhood, with scenes ranging from elementary to high school. The flashback scenes were like little vignettes into the highlights: discovering what homosexuality is, trying to access forbidden information in an age where everything is controlled by a supermegacorporation and diluted and filtered to be palatable and "age appropriate" and, in some horrible cases, where that dilution and filtration can cause irreparable harm to mental health.

I wish we'd gotten to spend a little more time in Kelli's daily life pre-heist so we could fully be immersed and appreciate why the Inspiration company is so bad. I also wish we had gotten to spend a little more time with the other members of the heist. Some things happened off-page and were later revealed that didn't quite have as much emotional impact as I was hoping, and I largely feel that was due to simply not having enough time with the other characters. I think another 60-100 pages, maybe 20-30 in the beginning, 20-30 in the middle, and 20-30 towards the end, could have helped add a little extra umph.

There were some errors in the book, however my eARC is not a final copy and these errors may be fixed in the final version. This is not impacting my review/rating, but while reading it did break immersion for me. I found myself a few tips skipping back a few pages to make sure I hadn't misread something or skimmed an event.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a standalone, very queer, very autistic, sci fi with minimal romance <spoiler>(closed door, mostly in the past as young teens, with conflicting adult feelings and the promise of a second chance as adults)</spoiler>.

Ignore All Previous Instructions was a fantastic read!

It's set in a future where an AI Conglomerate basically owns all media / stories and has space colonies and stuff. Everyone has Basic Income and Basic housing because only 10% of people have jobs. I would have loved to have explored this a bit more, because ideally you'd think it'd be a bit like Star Trek right? Except money is still a thing so it isn't at all.

The main character is one of those people with a job, essentially supervising the AI that creates the shows, like making sure the output is in line with the character's expected behaviour and stuff like that.

It deals with the homogenisation of stories / media when it's all created with AI, the danger of over-relying on AI when it comes to life and stuff like mental health etc, queer awakenings and how that goes when queerness is a thing to be hidden away and there's no rep or books available to kids about it etc.

And there's a heist!

It's such a fun and heart warming and character-driven story. There's also some darkness here, as the world they live in is far from perfect. But I think at heart it's a very hopeful story.

I know this is a standalone but I'd LOVE to have another book with Kelli and Rowan! Like...as a series of standalones maybe!

I liked that Ada Hoffman has some post script end chapters explaining stuff like the queer stuff, the neurodivergent stuff, the GenAI stuff AND has a list of references to some of the things that they said / referenced! I really appreciated how thorough and thoughtful that was.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the Tachyon for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Read if you like: queer rep, autism rep in a main character, figuring yourself out in a space setting, AI commentary, queer sci-fi

If all that above didn't get you, I don't know why you're reading this still. This book was fantastic with the vast array of representation that I didn't even think could be jammed into one book without it becoming sloppy, but everything works so well. And then there's the whole setting on AI and the future and how society is with AI so saturated in things and, just, man was this book brilliant.
Like really brilliant. The characters were so well done, the growth was portrayed in a realistic way, and just the fact that it was a queer sci-fi story without gimmicky moments just has me wanting to yell from the rooftops about this book.

Oh man. So this book provides very frightening speculation on what could happen if we continue to allow generative AI to invade the arts. An AI company straight up controls all media and gets to decide what is appropriate for everyone to consume. It’s a scary thought that is written in a way that doesn’t seem as unlikely as I wish it did.

Kelli loves storytelling and that, combined with her strict adherence to all rules and laws, makes her the perfect script supervisor for a gen AI TV show. But she never considers that the rules she’s so adamant about following could be wrong, and that’s where her ex, Rowan comes in. Rowan has always disliked AI so it’s not surprising that he went from pretending to be a pirate as a child to basically a space pirate who distributes media created by real people. His “job,” and the favor he asks of her, forces Kelli to think outside the box and confront some truths she’s kept buried for at least a decade.

Ignore All Previous Instructions has fantastic queer, trans, and neurodivergent rep. Kelli has autism and it’s not always pretty. Her autism doesn’t come off as a “superpower,” but as a legitimate disability she has to live with every day. She’s roped into doing all sorts of things she never expected, and her reactions and growth as she does them make her so lovable. Rowan is trans (which is illegal), and the flashbacks to his realization as a teen are so realistic. I love the way these characters are portrayed both in the present and in the flashbacks to their childhood years. They are good people, but flawed in plenty of ways. They feel real, and raw, and honest.

The favor Rowan asks of Kelli (can you tell I’m trying hard not to say what it is? I feel like it’s better if you don’t know!) sort of takes a backseat, or maybe I should say it takes the passenger seat, so it’s a bit more character-driven, but it’s excellent and very fun. There are some very serious and important themes, like the oppression of queer and trans people and the problems we face when it comes to gen AI, but it felt warm and wholesome, too.

This is a great book to read if you’ve ever had to make a choice between following societal rules and following your heart.

Ignore All Previous Instructions was a stellar read, I had high hopes for it and it did not disappoint! I loved each chapter, flashback, unveiling of the character's lore, and the way the book addressed issues with AI, creative freedom, as well as queer and autistic identities. The characters were complex, whole, nuanced, and written with thoughtfulness and care. Kellie felt relatable and I wanted nothing but the best ending for her. I loved the pacing, plot, and hope to see more sci-fi heists in future. The book was filled with moments of heart ache and humor, balanced well and keeping my attention as a reader. The writing was clear, straightforward, and an easy book to pick up and slip into at the end of a long day. I think all kinds of fantasy and sci-fi readers will enjoy this book and the thoughtful critique of AI systems and the human impact.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Tachyon publications and Ada Hoffman for the advanced copy of #IgnoreAllPreviousInstructions.

#LGBTQIA2s+ #SCIFI #LGBTQBOOKS #SCIFIBOOKS

I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this one but I ended up really loving it!

I requested this on NetGalley because of the autistic rep and space setting (thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for a copy!), but was excited to add it to my readathon TBR when I found out the love interest is trans.

The book takes place in the future on some moons around Jupiter. The chapters cycle between three styles:

*One, the past: these chapters follow our two MC as they grew up in school. One of them is autistic and the other undiagnosed ADHD, they bond over their love of story and enjoy elaborate imaginative games. As they get older they both discover they’re queer and work to navigate this in an environment that stifles all differences.

*Two, the present: the plot of the book follows Kelli as she joins Rowan on a trip across the moons where she may or may not accidentally get involved in an illegal heist.

*Three, character chapters: story plays a HUGE part in the book. Particularly a story surrounding a pirate Robin Hood like character from Kelli’s tv show (and childhood games) named Orlando. These chapters are told as if following an episode of Orlando’s show but mirror the situation Kelli is in, it’s kind of like a way to process what she’s going through.

I thought the three types of chapters blended together well. I do wish the present day chapters were a little longer, it would’ve give the story a fuller feel I was craving.

I really connected with both MCs and thier stories. I thought the character work was really wonderfully done and gave the book so much heart.

There was a lot of commentary on AI and how it will always fail in its efforts to mimic humanity. This was complimentary to our MCs love of creating and story. It made for some really impactful messaging.

The book had an overall kind of cozy space vibe? Although it was high stakes at many times the pace was just more personal and slow with lots of tender moment. Similar vibes to the show Firefly but softer, neurodivergent, and queer!

If you’re interested it comes out May 12th! You’ll find me at the bookstore that day getting a copy for my shelf!

Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffmann - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, Tachyon Publications, and Ada Hoffmann for the ARC!

Hey, you!
Yes, YOU!
Do you like space? Do you like heists? Do you like space heists? Do you like space heists rooted in anti-AI philosophies? Do you like queer and trans and neurodivergent rep within the aforementioned space heists rooted in anti-AI philosophies?
Then BOY do I have the book for you!
Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffman follows Kelli, our autistic main character who meets her old partner again after he has transitioned-Rowan is our charming trans man of the book. (We love Rowan!!) Kelli is currently working her dream job editing AI output into “proper” stories for Inspiration, a generative AI company that owns practically everything on Callisto. When Rowan shows up— now tangled
up in the black market after he needed to get money for gender affirming surgery— he contacts Kelli out of the blue with a request: he needs Kelli's help with something ... illegal.
Will Kelli risk the tidy, comfortable world she’s used to for the idea of a world she once wished for? She falls back on her own creation, as she often does: what would Orlando do?
This book touches on so many important things especially in today's landscape. Beyond being a fantastic read, it serves as social commentary on trans medical care, neurodiversity, and reliance on artificial intelligence. These are combined in a well-paced narration with strong character building, back-and-forth time jumps, as well as multiple POVs.

I really appreciated the author's afterword notes, as well, and their Outside trilogy is absolutely on my TBR. I need to read about the genderfluid race of aliens that made the author realize that they were genderfluid themself after writing them.

Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffmann is coming out in May 2026 and I HIGHLY recommend you watch out for it.

Things I loved: space heist!? Autistic main character and author, ADHD representation, Queer and Trans characters, an extremely fun storyline with very real themes of Queer erasure and generative AI. I cried off and on throughout the last couple hours cuz I'm a tender little soft bean.

I really appreciated the author's afterword notes and I'm putting their Outside trilogy on my list. I need to read about the genderfluid race of aliens that made the author realize that they were genderfluid themself after writing them.

Thanks NetGalley and Tachyon Publishing for the eARC!

A delightful book, just what I needed to pull me out of a reading slump. I was hooked from the very first page, and enjoyed every bit right up until the end. A great story for anyone looking for adventure, intrigue, space travel, and romance featuring a cast of rich, neurodivergent and queer characters.

Author: Ada Hoffman

Genre: Adult fiction, dystopian fiction, romance, queer lit, BIPOC rep, heist fiction, pirates (although de-emphasised)

Publisher: Tachyon Publications

Format: Ebook (NetGalley Copy)

Release Date: May 12th, 2026

TW: ableism, arson, suicide (teenager, discussed, not depicted on page) homophobia, transphobia (societal)


I encourage you to look at reviews by Autistic and ADHD reviewers, as I am (as far as I know) neurotypical, even though I live with an AuDHD partner.

This book stuck with me, and its prescience is something that I hope will come top pass, even if the main character often made me frustrated.

Kelli is one of the 10 percent of people who still have a job. She works for Inspiration as a script editor and AI prompter, where she makes sure that her show (Ship of Fools) and it's main character (Orlando) follows company guidelines, and that her own creativity doesn't contrast with the AI scripting too much. Inspiration's shows are basic, shallow and flat, made to be as marketable as possible to a common mean, and Kelli sometimes does struggle to reign herself in, even when she always follows the rules. When she takes a call from her former partner and current pirate (smuggler), Rowan (a trans man), this careful routine is destroyed. Rowan is in trouble, and Kelli is the only one who can help him. Her task is simple: Talk to a superfan of the show, and Rowan gets out of debt with the fan's mob boss mother. But of course, nothing is that simple. When she;'s drafted into stealing her own work from her company; she must make a choice. Will Kelli be able to make it out of this in one piece? Will she ever sort out her feelings for Rowan?

This is primarily a character drama, with the heist taking a distant second, as the ostensible driver of the plot. The characters were very vivid, even painfully so. The third person POV follows Kelly and Kelly and Rowan/AM as children. There are also points where there are written prompts from Kelly's point of view. So, I do like that you get a portrait of both characters that is incredibly detailed. I hated Kelly as a character, but I really understood her. Kelly is a pathological rule follower, incredibly naive, but also has a strong sense of justice. So when she immediately tries to turn Rowan in, I hated her for it. However. I understood why she tried to turn Rowan in, and because of the intimate POV, there was no choice but to sympathize with her. I also did aside from the POV, as it was very clear that Kelli was raised by a robot who taught her the most basic and milquetoast ways to interact socially. If you can stick with her, the ending is worth it.

Rowan is the other half of this duo, and I love him. He very clearly has ADHD, even if his parents don't want to label it and as Am, was the first person to really break Kelli's shell. I enjoyed reading about his coming of age journey, and also, seeing how deep his friendship went with Kelli. When you finally learn what tore the two apart, it is devastating. I also appreciate that through him we see how queerness is suppressed (you can't talk about it for fear of influencing the youth/complicating a simple algorithmically fed society, but are 'allowed' to be queer in private) and how he hacks the system. He was a bit of a scoundrel as well, and later in the book, you see why. I was rooting for him from the get-go.

The side characters were also compelling, and you could tell that they had their own problems and reasons for joining the heist. (I really liked the representation in this group of side characters as well.) The representation was also well researched, and realistic.

Aside from the characters, the worldbuilding was serviceable, and somewhat realistic. Kelli lives on Callisto, and travels in a ship to other places, and the nitty-gritty of space travel isn't glossed over. It was a great backdrop to a story of self discovery. The heist was also serviceable, but definitely did take a backseat to the character's lives.

All in all, despite the fact that I didn't enjoy the main character, I really enjoyed and appreciated this book. If you want a queer space romp with great representation, I'd say go for it. It was a great read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Final Rating: 4.5 (rounded up to 5) out of 5 stars

Drink paring: Young darjeeling for queer love resparked (maybe)

Ignore All Previous Instructions is an eccentric queer sci fi romp perfect for fans of Monsters and Mainframes

Ignore All Previous Instructions follows exes Kelli and Rowan through two separate periods in their lives. Chapters alternate between flashbacks to various points of their childhood and their reuniting for a (reluctant) heist in their present. Rowan, a trans man then identifying as Am, is the point of view character of the past sequences, while Kelli, the main character of the book, takes the reins for the present and interspersed "prompt" chapters, where she writes LLM-esque prompts to herself to help get her through the events of the novel. The various plot threads and storytelling methods come together well to form a compelling narrative.

This book is a sci-fi, set on multiple moons of Jupiter, but apart from interplanetary colonies and consumer-grade space travel, it could be set in the near future. The plot focuses primarily on very timely issues, like the dangers of an AI-homogenized society, and the importance of queer representation. Coming at a time when tech billionaires are trying to shove AI into everything and queer rights are regressing in large parts of the world, this book has a lot to say, and I was hanging on most of it.

While the plot was interesting and I was curious to learn what had gone so horribly wrong in the past, it was Kelli and Rowan who really engaged me. Kelli is a young professional and autistic. Throughout the story, we see the impacts of the latter on her life. Her representation as autistic is realistic and nuanced, showing the ways it's made her good at her job, but also the challenges she faces like becoming overstimulated in stressful situations and breaking down. It's a type of representation missing in other media where all too often an autistic-coded character is just "quirky." I related immensely with Kelli, and felt her pain at multiple points, such as when character traits she admired were found childish and naive by others.

Rowan, meanwhile, is as full of swagger as he is ADHD. We follow his coming of age story as he grapples with his own sexuality and then gender identity in a world where all queer representation is forbidden. Both characters are very endearing, and it's easy to root for them together... Except for the small wrinkle that Kelli spent half the book learning she was a lesbian. Still, sexuality is complicated, and I didn't feel that their attraction in the present was unearned or invalidating to either of their identities or experiences.

I really enjoyed this book and found it a quick read. I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates queer representation and books written by humans. Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publication for the opportunity to read it early in exchange for this honest review. 4.5 rounded up.

This is a queer, neurodivergent space heist to steal from an AI company. It's a really good time but also called a speculative sci-fi for a reason, the ideas dissected through the plot hit hard.

The dual narratives show you a favour between old friends and exes gone wrong whilst their childhood history is interspersed at intervals. Parts of this was heartbreaking as the removal of queerness in media and Kelli's struggle to try to "overcome" her autism due to societal messaging reflected my own childhood.

The adult Kelli has autistic traits you often don't see in books with autism rep either, more disabling, stigmatised elements of the condition. The whole book was sensitively and vividly written by an author who is clearly very skilled.

I found the flow a little clunky at points, so I never really got caught up and couldn't put the book down. However, I did find it incredibly unique and clever and I think the book will be on my mind for a very long time.

Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffman

Tachyon has become one of the publishers I seek out work by - they have a really good track record of publishing books I enjoy. Now, I hadn’t heard of the author ADA Hoffman before, but I was perusing Tachyon’s offerings on NetGalley and I was intrigued by this book. I’m a sucker for a story set on a Jovian moon so I requested a copy in exchange for an honest review. Boy was I glad I did! This book was wonderful and powerful and sad and kind in so many ways! The protagonist is a neurodivergent woman who works as a script supervisor for an AI generated tv show and she gets caught up in her ex’s heist hijinks when he comes back into her life. There is humor and love and pathos and sadness and I just could not put this book down. I am so glad I read it and I know you will be too.

An incredibly timely novel! The main character is a TV show writer who has to work within the strict parameters of the AI that creates all officially sanctioned media. This isn't immediately presented as bad, in fact Kelli enjoys the predictable routines and structure of her life and of the media she plays a part in creating. Kelli is sensitively portrayed as neurodivergent and is given accommodations like a private office as a matter of course in her work. Her childhood friend has always been keen to get around the AI robots and rules that seem to run their world, and is known for her ability to come up with prompts that will let her work around the limitations. The story is about class - Kelli and her friends live in a basic world where mental health care is provided via simple cheap robots, queerness - Kelli is keen to find out more about being gay but everything she wishes to read is age-restricted and barred to her, and the joys of creating stories without AI mediation.

The book was fairly soft/cosy sci-fi with a happy ending- it reminded me of Becky Chambers books with a slightly YA edge. Enjoyable and thought provoking.