FFB Review: Nanoman: Perfect Courage by Jack Rice

From the massive archive...

It is September of the year 2085 as Nanoman: Perfect Courage by Jack Rice begins. The United States of America no longer exists as the country has politically fractured into far smaller regions. What is left of the former USA calls itself the “United States of Freedom” and controls a chunk of the northeast as well as a few other places. It is a country where artificial intelligence rules everything thanks to the ability to monitor everyone in their every thought, behavior, and action. They do this through nanobots that are now infused into nearly everything.

It is a semblance of control craved by those in charge desperate to keep whatever power or money they have. Climate change is destroying countries just as fast as plagues, lack of food, and chemical storms are destroying the people. Britain is nearly gone because of sea level rise as are vast areas of the coastline of the North America. Africa is a wasteland nearly depopulated of humans thanks to the climate issues as well as disease and bioweapons. The world economy is essentially gone as governments created by multinational corporations seek to control everything. These super corporations rule various countries/regions as they are the government. There are some people that by luck of a very bad draw or by deliberate action live far outside the security zones making do as best they can since the power grid went down decades earlier. No matter where you live, the very air itself is incredibly dangerous requiring one to be fully covered from head to toe at all times when outside.

For Dr. Asante Jefferson life isn’t exactly easy, but he is aware that things could be worse. He gets around by way of his powered wheelchair due to the permanent pain he deals with and other issues, He is a government bureaucrat that is used to his life, such as it is, and though aware of others potential suffering does not think too much about it as he goes about his job. That job is as Assistant Secretary in the Ethics Enforcement Division of the Department of Justice. Things could be much worse as he has a job, a place to live, and confirmed status with his Official Citizen Card. Lose that card and all is lost as one becomes an outcast living on the edges of society. One’s status as an Official Citizen can be lost very easily as there are far too many people for the resources available to the United States of Freedom. Not that he is too worried about his own status as it isn’t as he is some line worker somewhere that can be dismissed at the drop of the hat. Dr. Asante Jefferson’s assignment this day is to go to Molecular Fabrications, Inc., located in NUBethesda Security Zone One and investigate their compliance regarding ongoing research regarding nanotechnology.

It should be fairly simple visit as this is an informational meeting and very preliminary in his review. It becomes obvious though by the sheer numbers of folks gathered to meet him after he rolls out of his transport vehicle that others intend to slow down the process and make their objections and influence clear. What was already a bad day due to his pain and how he feels is not made any better by their interference. Once he finally gets beyond all the boardroom talk with those assembled who think they have the right to tell him how to do his job, he is escorted to the research area by the lead scientist, Dr. Mali Phatipatanawong who is also not having a good day. Her issues go far beyond the visit by Asante. Yet, as she warms to her topic and interaction with Asante, it becomes clear that what MFI is working on could very well change the future of all mankind on the planet. They have made a technological leap that might result in the ability to stop the effects of decades of bioweapons, viruses, and other things on citizens. It just might be possible to walk outside and breathe freely despite the dangerous substances in the environment all around. For Dr. Asante and numerous other folks, this is a day when their lives will change forever.

Nanoman: Perfect Courage by Jack Rice paints a picture of dystopian future that could easily happen if things continue to go forward the way they have politically, environmentally, and economically. This is a book that takes the constructs of today and logically pushes those forward by several decades to shape the reality in this book. At the same time, that technology that has brought incredible suffering and death to this future world of ours might turn out to the savior for what is left of mankind.

Part cautionary tale of a future gone mad and part adventure style story Nanoman: Perfect Courage is not a simple read where everything is black and white and predictable. A complicated and very good book that offers a glimpse of what could happen while also giving readers one heck of an action adventure style read.

Word file provided by the author in exchange for my objective review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016, 2023

FFB Review: Scott’s Take: The Ex-Heroes Series

With Scott approaching his three-year anniversary of his first guest post here on the blog, I thought for today I would remind you of that first post. His guest posts run each Saturday and usually cover science fiction and fantasy books.  

 

 

Hi, I am Scott and this is my first guest review. This review will be on the 5 book series by Peter Clines called The Ex-Heroes Series. The first book was published in 2013. 

 

The world ended in 2009 for all intents and purposes. Zombies have overrun most of the world including in Los Angeles. The so-called exes or ex humans.

 

Most of the survivors reside in a former movie studio turned fortress called The Mount. The place is guarded by the first and last superheroes of this world. Led by “Cloak” (think of a female Batman) and her second in command, “The Mighty Dragon” who also goes by the names, “St. George,” and “George Bailey.” Not only does he have three names that he goes by, he is also a janitor turned superhero. He is the source of hope and inspiration for the survivors of “The Mount.” He is a reluctant hero and leader.

 

Also on the team is “Gorgon” who is a man who can drain the life of any human being by looking at them. He is forced to wear special goggles at all times so as to not just go around draining folks by looking at them.

 

Another major character is “Zzzap.” In his superpower form, he is a living star of energy which really takes a toll on his human form. He is my personal favorite as he is absolutely hilarious. In his human form, he is confined to a wheelchair. In his energy form, he is one of the most powerful heroes here on Earth. He deals with the difference in his abilities by snapping off pop culture references and plenty of sarcastic commentary. Most of those references as the world in this series ended in 2009.

 

Those are the four major characters and there are many, many minor characters. This is a series that is for mature readers only and not kids. It is a very violent series and not for the faint of heart.  Many characters die in the series and no one, even the heroes, are safe. The heroes suffer consequences for their actions including loss of life, injuries, and survivor’s guilt. The heroes are not able to save everyone. A constant them in this series is the idea that if the heroes can barely protect themselves, how are they supposed to be able to save others?

 

The antagonists are varied in each book and throughout the series as a whole. The antagonists take many forms whether they are supervillains, gangs, zombies, food shortages, civil unrest issues, and more. These heroes even face the consequences for facing superheroes turned zombies. The stakes are impossibly high for the last survivors led by what is left of humanity’s most powerful. These heroes even face the consequences for facing superheroes turned zombies. 

 

Each book is from multiple points of view with chapters before the world ended and now.  Each book in the series is kind of its own genre. Each story is very different from the others. I enjoyed some books more than others. Personally, the 4^th book in the series was a genre I am not fond of. They could be read as stand alone, but should be read in order as each character develops and grow realistically throughout the series. More about each character is revealed throughout the series. Events are referenced and relationships change so reading in order is the better way to go about reading this series.

 

The heroes are doing the best they can while trying to save everyone. But, they as well as everyone else are teetering on the edge of extinction as a species. This is humanity’s last stand and last chance to survive.  

 

The series is highly recommended for superhero fans and zombie fans. Hopefully, there will be more of these books. I could see this series being adapted into a movie or television series. I enjoyed it a lot. This is not for kids. This is an adult series. 

 

 

The Ex Heroes Series

Ex-Heroes

Ex-Patriots

Ex-Communication

Ex-Purgatory

Ex-Isle

 

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2019, 2022

 

FFB Review: Leviathan by Chuck Regan

Earlier this week, my December 2016 review of Leviathan by Chuck Regan came up as a memory deal on Facebook. Even though this great book seems to only be available in print and by third party sellers, I decided to run my review today for FFB. It was/is a heck of a good read. Also make sure to check out the reads suggested today by Patti Abbott and Audrey Nye Hamilton.  

 

In an alternative world where Germany won the war and used a V-2 rocket or missile to destroy New York City with a nuclear weapon, Leviathan tells the tale of a few individuals in occupied America. In April of 1945, Norm Cromwell was in the sixth grade and on a field trip a little ways outside NYC when it was destroyed. He did not realize that he was seeing the rocket trail as the weapon came over the horizon and hit the city. His parents were back home in Pittsburg so they were not on the bus with him or the others in his group.

 

By October of 1962, Norm is an adult working and living in Philadelphia. One of the many adults crammed into a row house they live and work in an environment totally under German control. They are classified as “citizen workers” and have every second of their lives monitored. The Bundespolizei (BP) are the Gestapo of the Occupied America Branch of the Third Reich and they use informants and technology to control everyone and everything. Drone minizeps, shaped like small pigs and carrying cameras and other surveillance gear, monitor from the air while ground troops everywhere monitor things. Then there are the informants who may be friends and might be capable of lying just to get socks, extra rations, and other benefits.

 

There are resistance groups far beyond Philadelphia, according to rumor, but Norm has no plans to be a part of that. He tries to not think about his parents back home in Pittsburgh and has no idea if they are alive or dead. In a world where a smile can get you gunned down by the BP, Norm keeps his head down and does what he is told.

 

That is until at the end of the workday on this one particular day when all heck breaks loose. In the resulting melee Norm, Alan, and Floyd do something that is unforgivable. Forced to flee, they have no choice, but to go on the run to survive.

 

Author Chuck Ragan has created a very atmospheric and intense alternative history tale with Leviathan. As Mr. Regan makes clear in the introduction, the tale is designed off of several key changes to events during what we know as WW2. It isn’t meant to be a scholarly treatise on might have been. Instead, Leviathan is simply a pulp read of dystopian fiction set in an alternative history timeline. It is also very good.

 

Material supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016, 2020

Review: Maxine Unleashes Doomsday by Nick Kolakowski

When the world seems to be on fire every day and the new normal of society is borderline chaos, Nick Kolakowski’s new book, Maxine Unleashes Doomsday has a lot of relevance to the here and now. He builds on that and extrapolates into a near future that is all too plausible. Part crime fiction, part dystopian thriller, and with violence on nearly every page, this is a complicated read that is very good.

A little over one hundred years now, climate change has wreaked havoc through sea level rise and more. Major cities such as New York are flooded and ravaged. Foods are in short supply and local government as we know it now is gone. The United States has fractured with various areas controlled by local mob style bosses as the federal government tries to hang onto their last grasp of power. That fracturing of everything trickles down all the way to the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn who are locked in a battle for control.

They are not the only ones locked in territorial battles as there are groups everywhere fighting over the dwindling amount of resources in a world that is getting worse and worse. On a very personal level, there is the personal battle of survival of Maxine Hardwater. Unfortunately, beyond the fact of her age and gender being perceived by some as ways to control and marginalize her, she also has to battle her drug addicted mother to try and keep family and home together. She also has to battle her Uncle, a notorious criminal known as “Preacher,” who is really good at barely rescuing her from a current problem and then promising real and meaningful help in the times to come.

Maxine learns again and again that the word of family means often less than the word of strangers. With very few options in a world going downhill as society crumbles more and more, she is left to fend for herself by use of her brains, brawn, and fatalistic courage. As such, there is a noir style flavor to the read that has a steady drum beat of the original Mad Max and Terminator movies style vibe to it.

Along with occasional flashes of dark humor--- of course the New York Giants have evolved beyond football to a full scale criminal enterprise--- and social commentary, Nick Kolakowski fractures time and a linear storytelling style throughout the book. He does so by creating a complex story based on an artificial intelligence compilation of various source materials. A historical record of sorts is compiled covering segments of the life of Maxine Hardwater. That record comes from many sources and includes academics that sometimes argue with the artificial intelligence about the record.

Despite that storytelling angle, the read never becomes preachy as it delves into many topics such as poverty, climate change, politics, technology with its good and bad side, and many others. In fact, one has to pay close attention because things come and go in a read that, likes the world that it depicts, is fractured in many different ways.

While dystopian fiction has not been a staple of my reading tastes since 9/11 when everything changed in so many ways, this one is quite a bit different than the usual fare I have seen over the many years I have been a reader. Maxine Unleashes Doomsday by Nick Kolakowski is a mighty good read. It also presents a world that could very easily happen and one I really do not want to see. 

For another take on the book, check out Sandra Ruttan’s guest review from last November here.

eBook ARC provided by the author with no expectation of a review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2020

Sandra Ruttan Reviews: Maxine Unleashes Doomsday by Nick Kolakowski

This book also happens to be in my digital tbr pile though I have no idea when I will get to it. Please welcome back Sandra Ruttan who can tell you about the book now.

You're probably going to see a lot of Mad Max comparisons and references when people talk about Nick Kolakowski's Maxine Unleashes Doomsday, and there is definitely a Mad Max vibe. We're propelled into the future - a future where current borders don't all exist, where parts of the United States have broken off and become their own countries.

But, unlike the world of Mad Max, this isn't a parched earth starving for water. This is a world where the seas have risen and the skyscrapers of New York City are surrounded by water instead of roads.

Kolakowski uses a distinct storytelling approach by having the parts of Maxine's life segmented. We are aware from the inserts throughout (and the arguments between academic scholars and AI) that there are gaps missing. One of the benefits of this approach is that you don't project in the same way and expect people who are relevant in the second stage of Maxine's life to pop back up in the later segments. This keeps you on your toes as a reader, because you're never quite sure when a character is about to make their exit.

There's a lot to dissect in this book. It touches on climate change, attitudes towards poverty, political instability, technology and its potential ills, but it is never weighed down with these issues. Some books risk being soap boxes and feeling preachy as they delve into tough topics, but that's never the case here. This is a non-stop action thrill ride with substance and heart. Maxine is feisty and likable, a self-made heroine who isn't about to be stepped on and squished by the wealthy in society. 

There's solid crime components and this is a dystopian story that should appeal to fans of dark fantasy stories set in a future earth. There are also a lot of science fiction elements, although the story is never stalled by technological specifics. Whatever you call it, it's a great read worthy of your time. Sit down, buckle up, and brace yourself. Maxine is one of a kind.

I'd pay to see this on the big screen.

* Sandra interviews Nick about Maxine Unleashes Doomsday on November 13 www.bronzevillebee.com

Sandra Ruttan ©2019

Sandra Ruttan is the YA, sci fi, fantasy and horror acquisitions editor for Bronzeville Books http://www.bronzevillebooks.com/ and the managing editor for Bronzeville Bee http://www.bronzevillebee.com. Stay up to date via twitter @sandraruttan

Scott’s Take: The Ex-Heroes Series

Please welcome my son, Scott, to the blog. For those of you who do not know, Scott is in his final year of graduate school in the criminology program at The University of Texas At Dallas.  Sandi was pregnant with him when I graduated from there back in May of 1993 when Dragons still soared through the air and the campus pretty much rolled up at 5 PM because everything closed up. Now they have a bar on campus, coffee places and various fast food joints, and the Dragons are all gone thanks to climate change. I have been telling Scott for some time that he should review some of the many books he reads and finally he has agreed to do so from time to time.  So, today we have the first of what I hope are many reviews from Scott. His reading tastes are way different than mine. For one thing, I can’t read dystopian style fiction as real life is grim enough. I am certainly not reading anything with freaking zombies. He does. He likes it. He really likes it. That is messed up.

Ex-Heroes Series by Peter Clines

Hi, I am Scott and this is my first guest review. This review will be on the 5 book series by Peter Clines called The Ex-Heroes Series. The first book was published in 2013. 

The world ended in 2009 for all intents and purposes. Zombies have overrun most of the world including in Los Angeles. The so-called exes or ex humans.

Most of the survivors reside in a former movie studio turned fortress called The Mount. The place is guarded by the first and last superheroes of this world. Led by “Cloak” (think of a female Batman) and her second in command, “The Mighty Dragon” who also goes by the names, “St. George,” and “George Bailey.” Not only does he have three names that he goes by, he is also a janitor turned superhero. He is the source of hope and inspiration for the survivors of “The Mount.” He is a reluctant hero and leader.

Also on the team is “Gorgon” who is a man who can drain the life of any human being by looking at them. He is forced to wear special goggles at all times so as to not just go around draining folks by looking at them.

Another major character is “Zzzap.” In his superpower form, he is a living star of energy which really takes a toll on his human form. He is my personal favorite as he is absolutely hilarious. In his human form, he is confined to a wheelchair. In his energy form, he is one of the most powerful heroes here on Earth. He deals with the difference in his abilities by snapping off pop culture references and plenty of sarcastic commentary. Most of those references as the world in this series ended in 2009.

Those are the four major characters and there are many, many minor characters. This is a series that is for mature readers only and not kids. It is a very violent series and not for the faint of heart.  Many characters die in the series and no one, even the heroes, are safe. The heroes suffer consequences for their actions including loss of life, injuries, and survivor’s guilt. The heroes are not able to save everyone. A constant them in this series is the idea that if the heroes can barely protect themselves, how are they supposed to be able to save others?

The antagonists are varied in each book and throughout the series as a whole. The antagonists take many forms whether they are supervillains, gangs, zombies, food shortages, civil unrest issues, and more. These heroes even face the consequences for facing superheroes turned zombies. The stakes are impossibly high for the last survivors led by what is left of humanity’s most powerful. These heroes even face the consequences for facing superheroes turned zombies. 

Each book is from multiple points of view with chapters before the world ended and now. Each book in the series is kind of its own genre. Each story is very different from the others. I enjoyed some books more than others. Personally, the 4^th book in the series was a genre I am not fond of. They could be read as stand alone, but should be read in order as each character develops and grow realistically throughout the series. More about each character is revealed throughout the series. Events are referenced and relationships change so reading in order is the better way to go about reading this series.

The heroes are doing the best they can while trying to save everyone. But, they as well as everyone else are teetering on the edge of extinction as a species. This is humanity’s last stand and last chance to survive.  

The series is highly recommended for superhero fans and zombie fans. Hopefully, there will be more of these books. I could see this series being adapted into a movie or television series. I enjoyed it a lot. This is not for kids. This is an adult series. 

The Ex Heroes Series

Ex-Heroes

Ex-Patriots

Ex-Communication

Ex-Purgatory

Ex-Isle

Scott Tipple ©2019

On A Warm February Day In 2019 Scott Shows Off Flexibility While Seated

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

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Review: Leviathan by Chuck Regan

In an alternative world where Germany won the war and used a V-2 rocket or missile to destroy New York City with a nuclear weapon, Leviathan tells the tale of a few individuals in occupied America. In April of 1945, Norm Cromwell was in the sixth grade and on a field trip a little ways outside NYC when it was destroyed. He did not realize that he was seeing the rocket trail as the weapon came over the horizon and hit the city. His parents were back home in Pittsburg so they were not on the bus with him or the others in his group.

By October of 1962, Norm is an adult working and living in Philadelphia. One of the many adults crammed into a row house they live and work in an environment totally under German control. They are classified as “citizen workers” and have every second of their lives monitored. The Bundespolizei (BP) are the Gestapo of the Occupied America Branch of the Third Reich and they use informants and technology to control everyone and everything. Drone minizeps, shaped like small pigs and carrying cameras and other surveillance gear, monitor from the air while ground troops everywhere monitor things. Then there are the informants who may be friends and might be capable of lying just to get socks, extra rations, and other benefits.

There are resistance groups far beyond Philadelphia, according to rumor, but Norm has no plans to be a part of that. He tries to not think about his parents back home in Pittsburgh and has no idea if they are alive or dead. In a world where a smile can get you gunned down by the BP, Norm keeps his head down and does what he is told.

That is until at the end of the workday on this one particular day when all heck breaks loose. In the resulting melee Norm, Alan, and Floyd do something that is unforgivable. Forced to flee, they have no choice, but to go on the run to survive.

Author Chuck Ragan has created a very atmospheric and intense alternative history tale with Leviathan. As Mr. Regan makes clear in the introduction, the tale is designed off of several key changes to events during what we know as WW2. It isn’t meant to be a scholarly treatise on might have been. Instead, Leviathan is simply a pulp read of dystopian fiction set in an alternative history timeline. It is also very good.

Leviathan

Chuck Regan

http://www.cdregan.com/

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

August 2016

ASIN: B01KYS01JM

eBook (Paperback available)

208 Pages

$2.99

Material supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016

Review: Nanoman: Perfect Courage by Jack Rice

It is September of the year 2085 as Nanoman: Perfect Courage by Jack Rice begins. The United States of America no longer exists as the country has politically fractured into far smaller regions. What is left of the former USA calls itself the “United States of Freedom” and controls a chunk of the northeast as well as a few other places. It is a country where artificial intelligence rules everything thanks to the ability to monitor everyone in their every thought, behavior, and action. They do this through nanobots that are now infused into nearly everything.

It is a semblance of control craved by those in charge desperate to keep whatever power or money they have. Climate change is destroying countries just as fast as plagues, lack of food, and chemical storms are destroying the people. Britain is nearly gone because of sea level rise as are vast areas of the coastline of the North America. Africa is a wasteland nearly depopulated of humans thanks to the climate issues as well as disease and bioweapons. The world economy is essentially gone as governments created by multinational corporations seek to control everything. These super corporations rule various countries/regions as they are the government. There are some people that by luck of a very bad draw or by deliberate action live far outside the security zones making do as best they can since the power grid went down decades earlier. No matter where you live, the very air itself is incredibly dangerous requiring one to be fully covered from head to toe at all times when outside.

For Dr. Asante Jefferson life isn’t exactly easy, but he is aware that things could be worse. He gets around by way of his powered wheelchair due to the permanent pain he deals with and other issues, He is a government bureaucrat that is used to his life, such as it is, and though aware of others potential suffering does not think too much about it as he goes about his job. That job is as Assistant Secretary in the Ethics Enforcement Division of the Department of Justice. Things could be much worse as he has a job, a place to live, and confirmed status with his Official Citizen Card. Lose that card and all is lost as one becomes an outcast living on the edges of society. One’s status as an Official Citizen can be lost very easily as there are far too many people for the resources available to the United States of Freedom. Not that he is too worried about his own status as it isn’t as he is some line worker somewhere that can be dismissed at the drop of the hat. Dr. Asante Jefferson’s assignment this day is to go to Molecular Fabrications, Inc., located in NUBethesda Security Zone One and investigate their compliance regarding ongoing research regarding nanotechnology.

It should be fairly simple visit as this is an informational meeting and very preliminary in his review. It becomes obvious though by the sheer numbers of folks gathered to meet him after he rolls out of his transport vehicle that others intend to slow down the process and make their objections and influence clear. What was already a bad day due to his pain and how he feels is not made any better by their interference. Once he finally gets beyond all the boardroom talk with those assembled who think they have the right to tell him how to do his job, he is escorted to the research area by the lead scientist, Dr. Mali Phatipatanawong who is also not having a good day. Her issues go far beyond the visit by Asante. Yet, as she warms to her topic and interaction with Asante, it becomes clear that what MFI is working on could very well change the future of all mankind on the planet. They have made a technological leap that might result in the ability to stop the effects of decades of bioweapons, viruses, and other things on citizens. It just might be possible to walk outside and breathe freely despite the dangerous substances in the environment all around. For Dr. Asante and numerous other folks, this is a day when their lives will change forever.

Nanoman: Perfect Courage by Jack Rice paints a picture of dystopian future that could easily happen if things continue to go forward the way they have politically, environmentally, and economically. This is a book that takes the constructs of today and logically pushes those forward by several decades to shape the reality in this book. At the same time, that technology that has brought incredible suffering and death to this future world of ours might turn out to the savior for what is left of mankind.

Part cautionary tale of a future gone mad and part adventure style story Nanoman: Perfect Courage is not a simple read where everything is black and white and predictable. A complicated and very good book that offers a glimpse of what could happen while also giving readers one heck of an action adventure style read.

Nanoman: Perfect Courage

Jack Rice

Self-Published

June 2016

ASIN: B01GQS8UO2

eBook

338 Pages

$2.99

Word file provided by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016

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