Androne
Author: Dwain Worrell
Reviewer: Sophia Rose
Rating: B-
What I’m Talking About:
With Artificial Intelligence being something of a hot button across global industries, a futuristic military thriller with AI as a prime element caught my interest. I was also eager to give a new-to-me author’s debut effort a go.
Androne doesn’t leap out of the gate and takes a bit to get going. I also found the writing style… hmm, wordy? Dense? Well, it was tough to get used to.
I didn’t mind the pacing because, personally, I like to get well settled into a complex sci-fi world before racing off to fight the bad guys. It eventually got moving and the pace was feverish at times. There were moments when the plot hit some stunning twists and I do have to say right now that a true cliffhanger awaits readers. But, good news, this is a duology so the cliffhanger won’t be repeated in the next book.
Character and relationship development was moderate. In this action-based sort of sci-fi, I don’t need to poke into every crevice of a character so the amount of backstory worked for me.
However, this is a military sci-fi and the characters are mostly military. This is where I started to ticky-tack about small things that distracted me. I’ll warn others who maybe, like me, grew up around a military base and military personnel that you’ll need to let a lot of little things go for the sake of enjoying a fictional tale. Some of the plot pushed my fiction-loving credulity too far like things related to what a human is actually capable of- again, it’s make believe so I plowed ahead envious of the endurance of these people.
But argh, those dumb decisions on the part of the leadership and the main characters- those had me shaking my head. Yeah, things like that escalated the suspense, but got me frustrated too.
That said, the bones of this plot were sizzling with exciting and suspenseful action. My heart raced a few times and I didn’t want to set the book down when in the moment.
All in all, it was a decent start with a few iffy things. Sci-fi fans who like to see battle action and military intrigue in their stories will enjoy this most.
My Rating: B- Liked It — But I had a few small issues
Sophia Rose
About the Book:
Humanity’s new war is an enigma with an enemy threat beyond all imagination in this near-future novel of mind-blowing adventure where the fate of mankind rests in the choices of one ordinary soldier.
In one terrifying event called the Ninety-Nine, all major military installations on earth were eviscerated. But by whom? Foreign powers, AIs, ETs? Every conceivable adversary was ruled out. Reeling from massive casualties and amid hundreds of conspiracy theories, humanity creates Andrones: bipedal android drones piloted remotely by soldiers who will never again need to be on the field of battle. Newly minted Androne pilot Sergeant Paxton Arés has now been deployed into a fight against an enemy no one understands or has ever seen.
Passing mostly uneventful days patrolling an unidentified desert, Paxton spends time communicating with his pregnant girlfriend back home and reflecting on his impending fatherhood. But as he is drawn deeper into military camaraderie and begins quickly rising up the ranks on the strength of his father’s military legacy, Paxton starts to question the swirling rumors about the nature of the conflict. What he’s encountered in the shifting dunes—something inexplicable, indomitable—fills him with the fear that whatever is out there is destined to win.
Whether it’s curiosity, ambition, or a newfound paternal instinct, Paxton has a driving need to understand the dangerous truths of this strange, invisible war. And the choices he must make have the power to change everything.
Release Date: September 1, 2023
Publisher: 47North
Series: Androne #1 (of 2)
Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller
Format(s): paperback (335 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Publisher
Purchase Info:
Amazon (affiliate link)