Month: May 2023

Revenge of the Cyber Dragons by C. T. Phipps & Michael Suttkus

Revenge of the Cyber Dragons
Cyber Dragons, Book 2
By: C.T. Phipps, Michael Suttkus
Narrated by: Catherine Ho
Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
Publisher: Podium Audio
Release date: 03-07-23

BOOK BLURB

Ex-Rider Keiko “Kei” Springs was living with her adopted daughter Becky away from her previous life of crime.

Unfortunately, the past is not easy to escape and her sadistic former sensei, Snake, gives her an ultimatum: perform eight tasks for him or die. The final mission before her freedom is nearly impossible, though. Snake wants her to take down a luxury resort where the super-rich are implanted with their heart’s desires, only to be brainwashed into serial killers for blackmail potential.

Teaming up with the eccentric techjack Paradise, her on-again off-again lover Case, and a Judicial Magistrate named Parvati Rao—Kei thinks she can pull it off.

Unfortunately, that’s before she discovers the luxury resort is owned and operated by a nearly omnipotent AI that has it out for her.

MY REVIEW 

Revenge of the Cyber Dragons is a decent follow up to Book 1, Daughter of the Cyber Dragons, tho I liked Book 1 a bit more. Kei has tried to go legit but her nemesis, Snake, sauntered back into her life and made demands and threats. Since she has taken a teen ward under her guardianship, she’s vulnerable to these pressure points and takes up the tasks Snake has set before her.

As much as I like Kei’s dark humor and mood, I did miss her banter with the bubbly and dangerous Paradise. But don’t worry! Paradise eventually joins the fray! The pace of the book picks up once she shows up. There’s also Case (who you’ll recognize from the Agent G books). He’s kind of the deadly yet patient quiet cheerleader for some of the characters. A good word to describe him in these books is ‘nurturing’. Which gives me a little giggle because he’s an assassin.

Anyway lots of snark, banter, action, & pop culture references ensue. There’s conflicting motivations and desires among our band of friends. Not everyone will be happy with the outcome. Kei has to wrestle with thoughts of a long lost relative and a bit more than just thoughts. The story did surprise me with the loss of some side or minor characters. One of our heroes was strongly affected by this loss. But serious moments like that act as counterweight to all the banter.

Even as the main story wraps up, there is a lengthy epilogue told through the eyes of another character. This bit answered some leftover questions and perhaps even set us up for a third story in this series (fingers crossed!). All together, it was a good distraction from my humdrum life. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Catherine Ho is a really good match for Kei, who has a darker mood all the time. But I also like how effortlessly she can switch from Kei to bubbly Paradise. Her pacing was really good and I love how she delivered the humor as timing can really add to the banter. Then we get to the epilogue, which is told from a different character’s point of view, complete with accent. Ho does a good job with that voice but I noticed her transitions between characters in the epilogue wasn’t as smooth and sometimes was indistinct. So I had to pay more attention to figure out who was talking. 4.5/5 stars.

Bug Hunt by Isaac Hooke

Bug Hunt by Isaac Hooke
Read by Luke Daniels
Part 1 of the Argonauts series
8h 16m
Podium 2017

BOOK BLURB

Rade got his ex-military teammates together and they pooled their savings to buy a ship and six mechs. The Argonauts were born.

But it wasn’t easy.

Ruthless bankers are breathing down their necks, vengeful warlords are promising to pursue them across the galaxy, and now a mysterious new client wants Rade and his Argonauts to escort her to a frontier planet.

Problem is, the new client won’t reveal her cargo. It’s probably something illegal. Well, Rade needs the money, so a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

They arrive to find the frontier colony strangely deserted. When the shit hits the fan and the Argonauts face a possible alien infestation, it’s time to pull out the big guns. Because if there’s one thing Rade and his Argonauts really love, it’s a good bug hunt.

And this one looks to be the hunt of a lifetime.

MY REVIEW 

Fun, simple, fast-paced, no major surprises, but ticked most of my happy reading boxes for some light space opera. I did like the inclusion of sentient robots and how a few of our characters wrestle with the ethics of putting such beings in the first line of fire. Is it OK because we made backups of all their memories and personality so we can just download them into a new body if their robot body gets obliterated? Or are we losing one sentient being and just creating a clone of them later after all the fuss is over?

There are very few female characters and 2 of them are unnamed sex workers, 2 of them are perhaps of a more fluid gender being an artificial being and the other an alien. Shaw is the one woman who gets the most lines and nearly all her page time is spent dealing with relationship issues or having hot sex. So, yeah, the few ladies felt like the author was checking the Gender Diversity box for this book instead of being really invested in the lady characters.

Rade is a nice guy but a bit of an idiot. He is his own biggest obstacle but that also makes him lovable. He’s got some PTSD and is in denial about it. Of course, this infuriates Shaw, who loves him anyways. It’s cute but kind of a standard trope to bring some drama.

There are moments where the characters refer to past events and I did wonder if maybe I had missed a previous book in the series (as far as I know, I didn’t). But I think it’s just adding a little depth to this team. They’ve been through some traumatic fight with some aliens in the past and are leery of coming across them again. Despite the predictability of the plot, I still enjoyed the ride and I look forward to seeing what happens next to this crew. One of the sequels is called Mechs vs. Dinosaurs! How can I NOT want to read that? 3/5 stars.

The Narration: Luke Daniels did a very good job with this book. I will admit that I had a few books narrated by him that were just over the top with his silliest voices and I was turned off to his narrations for a while. But this book came up on the Hoopla Bonus Borrows and I decided to give him another shot because I loved his work on Iron Druid Chronicles. Anyway, he gives all the guys distinct voices and he does a decent job with the few female voices. I liked his evil Zoltan artificial being voice especially. No crazy over-the-top voices this time. Pacing was perfect. 5/5 stars.

Daughter of the Cyber Dragons by C. T. Phipps & Michael Suttkus

Daughter of the Cyber Dragons
Cyber Dragons, Book 1
By: C.T. Phipps, Michael Suttkus
Narrated by: Catherine Ho
Series: Cyber Dragons, Book 1
Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins

BOOK BLURB

Keiko “Kei” Springs is a Rider, a specialized form of delivery girl and mercenary all in one.

They are among the most highly prized criminals in the dystopian neon city of New Los Angeles. Kei has been running from her past for years and has literally erased it from her mind using a popular street drug called lethe. Unfortunately, you can’t outrun your past forever, even on her specialized Nina cybercycle.

Strapped for cash, Kei accepts a job she probably shouldn’t after barely surviving a live fire test by a married pair of oligarchs. Teamed up with a group of other mercenaries and cyborgs, Kei is to seek out a stolen computer program that has the power to drive otherwise ordinary individuals to shocking acts of violence. Her team includes her ex, a handsome bioroid assassin, a teenage hacker, and a ruthless corporate exec that all have their own agendas. It’d be the worst time of her life if not for all the ones she can’t remember.

The Cyber Dragons trilogy is set in the same world as the Agent G series and is an exciting action adventure cyberpunk thriller with plenty of humor.

REVIEW

Note: It’s not necessary to have read the Agent G books to enjoy this book.

Kei and Paradise are an unlikely teamup but they sure do make the chapters fly! I loved the banter between these two. Kei is so serious, so steeped in her self-recrimination and dark thoughts. Paradise is happy to be here, kicking butt and cheering on sex workers wherever she finds them. Then we get Case and Luchita, who I already know from the Agent G books. Case has long been one of my favorite characters in the larger world of Phipps stories. His cyber enhancements sometimes make his personality a bit inhuman, but he has these great moments of support and insight for his teammates.

The pacing is really good as you never get bored but you also feel like the characters get to develop continually throughout the story. I also like the bouts of banter and pop culture references. This book made me nostalgic for Blade Runner. And I also like the challenge of trying to guess them all, tho I admit my knowledge of music isn’t great at all.

Then there’s the plot which snuck it’s way into the opening chapters with a fun ruse. Paradise and Kei meet in a unique way and the crazy ride starts from there. While things look straight forward for our team, don’t worry! There will be some deceit to keep us all interested in the wrap up.

The drug lethe was a curious little bit as Kei sure does spend a lot of time being hard on herself for someone who has worked so hard to forget just what she’s being hard on herself for. I like how she’s a bundle of little contradictions like there. I also like that this story doesn’t let her, or anyone else really, off the hook. There are consequences for actions, whether you remember them or not.

Snake! Kei’s memories of this sensei butthead are tossed in here and there and they add a certain intensity to her character. He took her on as an orphan and trained her in martial arts, killing, and manners. He also forcibly upgraded parts of her with cybernetics. Kei eventually managed to walk away from him and she seems to have embraced her body the way it is, finally.

And all of this comes together for the final big standoff at the end of the story. Will our heroes be maimed permanently? Will some die? Will newly forged friendships be ruined, or reinforced? I love that there’s a kid to rescue. It always seems to bring out the best in our reluctant heroes. It’s another win from this writing duo! And I can’t wait for book 2! 5/5 stars.

Audiobook Narration: Catherine Ho was great as Kei. She had the all too serious snark down and the darker thoughts along with the command voice to get her team moving. Since I’ve listened to the Agent G books, I already had that voice in my head for Case, but Ho did a decent job of creating a believable voice for him here. I LOVED her exuberant voice for Paradise. Her pacing was good and flexible, as the story demanded. Her delivery of the snark and jokes and pop culture references were spot on. 5/5 stars.