Reality 36 (Richard & Klein 1) by Guy Haley [Book Review]

Aug 052011

Explosive PI Meets Singularity Debut

I love new authors especially if they write science fiction. This is Guy Haley’s debut and the first Richard & Klein novel. The second part, Omega Point is scheduled for April next year. If you want to sample the book you may do so below. You may also check out a free Richard & Klein novella at Guy Haley’s home page Haley’s Comment. I wonder if this is the first book out of Angry Robot’s open submission month earlier this year.

I totally misunderstood the blurb thinking it was about an Ai with a fetish for π but it is obviously about a Private Investigator (PI) fetish. The novel is basically a murder case but evolve to a novel take on singularity. The main characters are a class Five AI, Richard and Otto Klein, a former German special operations cyborg. They have an entertaining buddy relationship with some dry humor and a lot of respect even if Otto sometimes want to kill all machines including his partner. You might think Richard is the brain and Otto is the muscles but it is not that easy. One of the more entertaining scenes is when Richard has to make a full frontal attack in a battle mech.

Each chapter has a point-of-view character.

This takes place some hundred and fifty years in the future after the AI wars. In the EU and USNA all sentients have rights including the non player characters in the gaming realms so they have been closed to gamers and the individuals in there are allowed to live their own lives without influence from human ‘gods’. There are now 36 such realms. Virtual emersion is a crime. Each chapter starts with: All members of the Community of Equals are created free and equal in dignity and rights to emphasis this rule.

One of the foremost activists for machine rights, Professor Zhang Qifang is being murdered at least twice and Richard & Klein are conned into taking the case by Hughie, the EuroPol AI. Hughie and Richard have a funny deadpan kind of dialog and an I-am-not-showing-any-feeling kind of friendship going on.

Prominent in the story are also the Professor’s assistant Veronique Valdaire and her abusive cheerful phone Chloe. There is something I really like about intelligent and witty computer companions like Chloe. She reminds me of Kris Longknife’s Nelly and Ingrid that philosophy discussing Nokia phone from the Netherworld Trilogy by Christopher Rowley. Bickering is fun especially if it is a machine that does it.

Veronique goes on the run early in the novel and we get to follow her and the detectives as they try to unravel the mystery. They also try to avoid being captured by The Virtualities Investigation Authority, VIA which sounds like soap to me but here it is the organization that protect and police the Neukinds.

Guy Haley has created a fascinating world with The People’s Dynasty hiding behind the Great Firewall of China and the United States of North America governed by the three Sams. The AIs’ have started to clean up centuries of pollution and live in a not to secure peace with humanity. Near-I and AI machines is part of life. There are no info dumps just details glimpsed. It feels believable and well thought out. It is a world I would like to learn more of.

As you understand by now I really liked Realm 36. It got a fast pace, is humorous in tone, filled with action, combat and robots a great debut. Guy Haley is a writer to watch. This is not a standalone book it ends in a cliffhanger hopefully concluded in Omega Point next spring. I warmly recommend this explosive PI meets Singularity debut.

Book Information

Reality 36 (Richard & Klein 1) by Guy Haley (Angry Robot 2011) – review copy – Amazon US | UK

Meet Richards and Klein – the Holmes and Watson of the 22nd century.

Except that Richards is a highly advanced artificial intelligence, and Klein his German ex-military cyborg partner. Their first case takes them into the renegade digital realm known as Reality 36 and through the Great Firewall of China, in search of a missing Artificial Intelligence Rights activist. What they find there will threaten every reality.

File Under: Science Fiction [ The Great Firewall | Net Profit | Don't Upload | Remurder ]

Open publication – Free publishing – More ai

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Death Drop by Sean Allen [Book Review]

Books 5 Responses »

Apr 062011

Graphic Debut Space Opera Adventure Romp of the First Order

I love getting to know new authors and this is Sean Allen’s debut novel. From visiting his homepage devolutionnovels.com I knew Sean is a bit of a renaissance man with an entertaining style of writing so I gladly accepted his publishers generous offer of a review copy. Since I haven’t seen fit to give myself a Pad (with or without an i) I read this on my iPhone. It translates to 1660 pages with the font I am using, just shy of 600 pages in print I would say. I like long novels so that was a plus right there.

What is it about? It is set in a universe with lots of different races, all likeness with earth animals intended (see the cast page). But they all have a problem with the Durax, a diminutive race with mind-controlling powers bent on conquering everyone and cruelly bend them to their will. Against them is the Dissension, a rebel organization with a Serum that protects them from the Durax’s mental powers. But something seems to be wrong with the Serum so they set out to catch the assumed culprit who happens to be the last Human (at least as far as she knows, she doesn’t really know she is human but from what she has read she assumes she is). Dezmara Strykar is a feisty rather likeable character and the whole mystery around her added a great deal of appeal to this book. That’s why it was rather frustrating to read the first fifth of the book since she doesn’t appear until then.

The beginning is a rather brilliant battle that makes use of almost every possible trope in military science fiction at least once and some of them many times and I mean that in a positive way. It was thrilling action packed and frustrating because I kept waiting on Dezmara. Things like that is author cruelty.

The rest is a fast paced, thrilling romp of a space opera adventure that just asks for more. There is treason, double-crosses, crash landings, rescues, pirates, traps, gambling, debt slaves, monsters, conspiracies, and strong characters.

You might believe the that writer is a graphic artist since the descriptions are really that, graphic. And that is the only real critic I would like to give, some of the description or events might be unnecessary drawn out due to wordy descriptions. The illustrations are in fact made by Matt Dixon.

Sean calls it ‘Greasepunk’ and it gives me sort of a Warhammer 40k (I have never read any 40k books but played the game) vibe mixed with classic science fiction and a good portion of humor. The banter level is acceptable (you know it is important to me) but it is the simple fun of the action that hooked me. I liked this book more and more as I read it and by the middle I was hooked.

This is a standalone book with a satisfying conclusion but open for more books about the characters and the D-Evolution universe I would gladly sign up for.

Book Information

You can download and read half the book on devolutionnovels.com or you can buy it there.

Death Drop (D-Evolution book 1) by Sean Allen (Vinatage Six Media 2011) – B&N – review copy

400,000 years have passed since the last known Human was exterminated, and Dezmara Strykar can’t remember anything before the moment, eight years ago, when she woke up in an abandoned space freighter. But in that time, she has come to realize three things: she’s the best pilot and smuggler in the universe, she can handle herself in a fight, and she’s Human.

A race of creatures called the Durax rule the universe using their savage mind powers, and the remaining free people have two choices: join the Dissension Army and fight, or struggle to survive in the cutthroat world of outlaws the war has created. In a time when a live Human specimen would fetch a king’s ransom on the black market, choosing life as a smuggler seemed like the perfect front to search for her people. But the cost of Dezmara’s operation has forced her to win each smuggling run she enters. Now every smuggler is gunning for her top position, and her rare black Zebulon star freighter makes her an easily recognizable target.

But dodging jealous smugglers, safeguarding her Human identity, and solving the mystery surrounding who she is will become harder than she ever imagined. A mysterious creature in a black Zebulon star freighter has murdered a soldier in the Dissension Army and has stolen their greatest weapon in the war against the Durax. Dezmara’s next run will turn into much more than just a cover to search for Humans. Dezmara Strykar just became the Dissension’s number one murder suspect. Now she is going to have to run for her life.

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The Colony (The Colony book 1) by Ray Harper [Book Review]

Books No Responses »

Oct 282010

This one just sounded interesting. I enjoyed Karen Traviss’ green science fiction the Wess’har Wars series and therefore I think this could be something for me. This is also his debut novel.

The author himself also sounded interesting: Ray Harper, originally from Worcestershire, is Senior Lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire in Luton, lecturing in biochemistry, biotechnology, computer applications, genetics and molecular biology. He has carried out research and consultancy work in adipose tissue metabolism, cell immobilisation and the development of World Wide Web-based assessment systems and virtual learning environments. He has published a number of lectures and articles in learned journals.

The story is mostly about establishing the colony from the perspective of a man that comes to the experience from outside. Lindstrom is an Environmental Assessor and he stays on after they approved the planet. The colonists trained for this and they are already a team. They struggle with technology and the alien environment and sometimes with themselves. That part is quite entertaining and could have been enough for a book, but there is more to the planet. There are ancient guardians left there to protect it and its environment from outside change. Their interests start to clash with the interests of the colony before this book is over.

The story is very much a YA narration but I had some problems with the flow of the story. Some of the twists and turns seemed to lack foundation and just happened. When it is at its best it reminds me a bit of Allen Stross’ Coyote novels, but it is uneven and the abrupt ending in the middle of the ‘conflict’ with the aliens left me unfulfilled and without closure.

I found many of the characters interesting and I could start to root for them a bit but it suffers very much from being half a book.

As with way to many books there is no indication that this is the first book in a series. Come on! How hard is it to write ‘first book in a series’ or ‘new series’? What kind of horse trading is that? (No offence to the horse traders intended, it is just a saying).

The Colony is Ray Harper’s debut novel and it has some flaws but there is bits and pieces that are good. The whole thing could probably do with a good editor. I hope to see more of his ideas in the future because I for one would like to know what is going to happen next.

Information

Title: The Colony
Author: Ray Harper
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Hardcover: 228 pages
Publisher: Book Guild Publishing 26 Aug 2010
Copy: bought by me from Amazon

Order from: Book Guild Publishing | Amazon US | UK

It is the future. Earth is overpopulated and running out of food. Starvation is rife. Everywhere society is disintegrating, with wars and civil unrest. The need to find new worlds to colonise is paramount.

A new planet is discovered, surveyed, found to be suitable, and the first wave of colonists arrive, joined by the survey scientist, Linstrom. Initially, he is resented as an outsider, especially by the colonists’ leader, Jon Williams, who sees him as a possible rival. The colony quickly expands, felling trees and planting crops, hunting and fishing and exploring the hinterland. The colonists also begin to use newly developed human-cloning techniques to rapidly expand the population.

Also on this planet, but unknown to the settlers, are the Monitors, intelligent clones left behind by a departed civilisation to safeguard the planet’s ecology and protect it from despoliation and development. They have the new colony under observation, and they do not like what they see …

The Colony belongs in the classic tradition of science fiction grounded in real scientific and technological knowledge and expertise, but enriched with true story-telling art. It marks the debut of a new, exciting talent.

This review first appeared on Temple Library Review September 21, 2010.

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Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro (Saga of the Skolian Empire 1)

Books 1 Response »

May 232010

This is Catherine Asaro’s first published novel and new to me. Physicist and ballerina, hmm wonder what kind of books she writes. Read the review below to find out.

The Skolian Empire rules a third of the civilized galaxy through its mastery of faster-than-light communication. But war with the rival empire of the Traders seems imminent, a war that can only lead to slavery for the Skolians or the destruction of both sides. Destructive skirmishes have already occurred. A desperate attempt must be made to avert total disaster.

The Author

Catherine Asaro is pretty new to me; I picked up the first books the summer of 2009. She has an impressive background; she was a professor in physics until 1990; she is a member of SIGMA, a think tank of speculative writers that advises the government as to future trends affecting national security and she is a former ballerina. She is married to Kendall Cannizzo, and astrophysicist at NASA and they have one daughter

Information

This is Catherine Asaro’s first published novel, her first novella Light and Shadow was published 1994 in Analog.

The book is dedicated to her husband Kendall Cannizzo with love.

The protagonist of this book is Sauscony Lahaylia Valdoria Skolia, also called Soz or Soshoni. She is a member of the Ruby Dynasty ruling the Skolian Empire and has the empathic and telepathic abilities of a Rhon psion. She ranks Jagernaut Primary (Admiral or General) in the ISC. A Jagernaut is a biomechanically enhanced fighter and pilot.

I suspect but don’t know that Catherine is of Finnish Swedish speaking descent as many of her terms make sense for me in Swedish. Skola is the Swedish word for school and is also used to in expressions concerning knowledge. Jägare is the Swedish word for hunter or in Finland it is what they call their Special Forces soldiers.

Worldbuilding

In the universe of the Saga of the Skolian Empire there are two mayor power blocks that locked in conflict the Skolian Empire and the Eubian Concord. It seems like the Eubian Concord is the original aggressors, they have a society built on might is right, where their leaders basically are mental vampires that keep empaths as slaves to feed on. While the The Skolian Empire built on the power of faster than light communications made possible by linking the mental powers of the powerful empaths that rule it.

We get to know quite a bit about the social and political situation in both empires. Soz thinks of the Skolian Empire as the good guys, but that might not be totally true. It is not according to the people of the planets they occupy to ‘save’ them from the Concord.

You will also notice that Catherine is a physicist in the info dumps about future technology even if Psionics might take you into the land of fantasy.

Plot

The book is divided into three parts Delos, Forshire Hold, Diesha.

A romance is central to the story but it is also about two Empires on the brink of a major war our protagonist wants to avoid.

Delos tells the story of how Romeo and Julia, sorry Soz and Jaibriol Qox II meet. Like Soz, Jaibriol is also a Rhon psion, but he was also a member of the Aristo Highton caste and heir to the enemy of Skolians, the Eubian Concord.

Fordshire Hold is where Soz goes to heal after the fateful space battle that cripples her best friend and lover.

Diesha is when she realizes she have to rescue Jairiol who have been captured by Skolian forces.

Characterization

The characters are complex even if they have a romance novel feel to them at times. Soz have many inner demons and doubts to fight, she is also the only character that is well developed, which is understandable since she is the protagonist, and the story is about her.

The Fordshire Hold part of the book is where Soz grows most as a character and comes to realize the world is more than she thought it was, that was a part I liked to read.

My View

Primary Inversion is a fantastic first novel with remarkable storytelling by Catherine Asaro. It is a Romantic science fiction with space opera, military scifi and hard science influence about a formidable yet human Julia character and it avoids the usual pitfalls of that genre, it is not action packed but there is enough thrill to go around. It reads well as a standalone novel. I will read The Radiant Seas that continues Soz’s story next.

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