Running Black

Eshu International #1

by Patrick Todoroff

It's 2059 and the North Korean mercenary Tam Song heads up Eshu International: a private security team that will take any job for the right price, no questions asked. Based in the Belfast Metro Zone, they're the best black contract outfit on the planet.

Stable nano-technology: the melding of man and machine on a microscopic level. It's a break-through worth billions no one's been able to achieve. Until now. The Dawson Hull Conglomerate has finally developed a viable Nanotech Neural Network; an interface system that exponentially increases a person's cyber-capabilities. They're days away from unveiling the prototype to the world.

And Eshu International just got hired to steal it.

Video Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OFb28...

Genres: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Fiction

262 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 11, 2010

About the author

My interest in books started when I was nine, the year my baby brother shoved a pretzel down into the back of the television set and my parents didn't get it fixed.

My first novel, "Running Black" was a 'put up or shut up' project during the 2008 recession. The sequel "Shift Tense" rolled out two years later.

Other titles include the cyberpunk/technoir novella, 'Soul Cache'; a Celtic-flavored ghost story, 'The Barrow Lover'; three tales from the Exclusion Zone - 'A Prayer to Saint Strelok', 'Strange Treasure', and 'Gopnik Blues', and a handful of stand-alone near-future shorts.

As a table top war game designer, I've written 'Zona Alfa' and 'When Nightmares Come' for Osprey Wargames, several best selling indie games: 'Exploit Zero', its monster-hunting fantasy cousin, 'Nightwatch', and the alien-invasion 'Insurgent Earth.'

Current projects include the post-apocalyptic fantasy 'Shattered Worlds' duology, and a gritty dungeon crawl series, 'Shiver and Funk."

I can be found online at Stalker7.com.

A thousand thanks.

Reviews

[D.M. Dutcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, if standard cyberpunk novel. Eshu International, a small "black" mercenary force, is contracted to steal some hot nanoware. Unfortunately it's more than that: the nanoware is part of a boy named Gibson, and everything goes all to hell as multiple players try to get him back.

The story is a little too-straight forwards for it's own good. It's essentially a chase novel, and while it's nicely written, you want a bit more than it provides. Especially with Gibson. Having to include all the viewpoints and characters as he did makes it feel very thin. Also, the writing can be a little too cyberpunk, if you can understand what I mean. That weird combination of made up tech argot, and beat-esque prose.

Still, it's nicely written, classic cyberpunk with some surprising Christian overtones. The world especially is interesting. This isn't just usual cyberpunk with your Japanese mafia and a glistening Sprawl: it's in the ashes of a world where Muslim terrorists nuked Israel, and even African nations can make some frighteningly potent combat clones. A good read, and I plan on picking up his next book.

[Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Running Black was a non stop action adventure at its finest. You will be hooked from page one to page "the end". This will keep you in the story and spit you out the other side feeling used and abused. I recommend this as a good read. Click Click Click the buy now.

[Patrick Todoroff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I wrote it.

Technically, as it is my first book, it's also my worst. But you have to write your first before you can start your second. Enjoy.

[Patrick Todoroff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same as the other review.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

20 pages into the book I wasn't sure I was going to finish it. By the time I was done with the book, I wanted more.

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

While at the time when this book was published lots of things looked drastically different, after last few years and current all to visible pressure from powers to be to have a crisis, any crisis, anything to put the minds of people off from everyday issues, this book looks like a very informed picture of world to come.

Corporations running states (or to be more precise politicians turning states into corporations) - check.
Armies and paramilitaries moving around and performing operations that can turn everything into nuclear dust - check.
People crammed into the huge cities for easier control, everyone marked and placed into catalogue for easy access - check.

By all means this is cyberpunk action story, with all elements that come with it - wrecked economy, half of the world burned to the ground during the wars, gigantic overcrowded cities, assassins, spies, weapons of mass destruction, drones, AIs, cloned soldiers, you name it it is definitely in here. In short story is about small mercenary outfit sent to recover latest technology from a huge corporation. What they find in there will change their lives and force them into flight from the huge forces of destruction.

Author's style is pretty good. Story flows without any major stops and artificial "delays". Story is told from the multiple perspectives, that of the mercenary team, people trying to capture them and folks helping our guys. Action flows very well, I have to admit some of the scenes reminded me of the Musashi-Flex series. Even cloned troopers and their action sequences are very detailed and don't drag, it is as if you can see them lively moving in orderly manner dodging the other team and finding the way out.

In this book everyone bleeds and not many are cannon fodder. Even though technology plays a great part you are not bombarded by technology details - it is in the background, it is used to create interest for this world, but the main story is with the people.

Book is well edited and I could not find any annoying elements like misspellings or sudden loss of track of who is who. Very well done.

Now, are the characters how they like to say "fleshed out"? Yes and no. This is first book in the series so there is much more to come. If you are fan of Matt Helm novels and likes then you will get the gist. Baddies are not cardboard caricatures but force that needs to be treated seriously. Our guys are in defensive from the very beginning. All of this gives us a chance to learn more about the main duo leading the team but not that much about the troop itself or the mysterious assassin helping our guys. Again this is action story and I did not expect some literary wonder on 900 pages with soul searching/shaking elements for each and every character. This is a story set in a relatively small area, with straight on objectives (standard survival :)) and characters that do make mistakes but are not complete nincompoops. And yes, one more important thing - books is written before this world-wide social-change movement came up so there are no progressive elements in it. This was a kill-joy for me in a few modern SF novels. So, older books, they are eternal and will stand the test of time as they say.

Do note that in some of the reviews they say this is Christian SF novel. I have to admit it got me thinking what does that mean. In here it means that even mention or discussion on Christianity marks the book as religiously imbued work! I mean, come on. In profession where they say - there are no unbelievers in the foxholes - you have a group that got so heavily shaken they decided to do the missionary work. For me this rang true because I know of several people who became layman in their respective faiths due to their experiences in wars. Why would somebody mark the entire book as religiously imbued work because of this is beyond me. But then again, to each their own.

As I said very good action story with a very prosperous future ahead of it. I cannot wait to get my hands on the second book in the series :)

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Running Black was a great near future cyberpunk action novel about 2 megacorporations playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with a team of mercenaries caught in the middle. Its aesthetic and world building was obviously influenced by the Neuromancer works which, if we're being honest, I had been fruitlessly searching for since I read neuromancer many years ago. This was as close to being a perfect near future cyberpunk work as you could get. The plot was well written with lots of twists. The locations were cool and the action scenes were easy to visualize and exciting.

I'd say the middle third of the book flagged a bit compared to the beginning and end. The middle of the novel felt like a return to a standard urban thriller. It wasn't poorly written by any means, just some of the cyberpunk aesthetic leaked out.

Overall, a great addition to the cyberpunk genre. If anyone wants high octane action in the style of Neuromancer or EA's video game Syndicate, look no further. I'm moving on to Shift Tense and hopefully anything else P. Todoroff has planned for the series.

[Jess Horsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to first mention the thing which originally attracted me to Running Black was the gorgeous cover art by artist Alejandro Martinez, whose other work you'll find HERE.

I'm always excited when I see a cool new sci-fi novel online or on the bookstore shelf and I'll be the first to admit I sometimes jump at buying a book simply because the cover looks impressive. Thankfully, the book's cover wasn't the only thing amazing about Running Black.

On his blog, author Patrick Todoroff said “Two impulses drove the story (of Running Black): one was the conviction that only a spiritual ethic that upholds life as sacred will restrain humanity from becoming inhumane. Lose the preciousness of life and you open the door to contempt and cruelty; commodify people and you’ll end up committing atrocities. Second was the struggle (to) write a standard sci-fi action novel and present genuine Christian themes in an organic way."

These two ideas drive Running Black, this first novel in a planned series staring a black contract/black ops team who'll take any job anywhere for the right price. What may sound like a reused or overused idea is actually done extremely well by first time author Todoroff, who handles himself and his characters like a seasoned professional, delivering an exciting, enticing and enriching story and plot filled with plenty of impressive and well-worn characters. Likewise, as previously stated, the story reveals the author's own faith, though in ways which seem genuine and unforced. Thankfully, instead of preachy or provocative, the injection of Christian ethics or morals, which are in fact infused into our everyday lives in America, shine here in Todoroff's story as well.

A story of theft, confusion, misunderstanding, loyalty, and - finally - sacrifice and love, Running Black is told from various points of view, including a member of the Eshu International black ops team, a member of the Army hunting Eshu, and finally, from Gibson, a very special young man.

Running Black unfolds in well constructed order, ensuring no loose ends or illogical actions take place nor any open-ended ideas miss addressing. Todoroff expertly lays out the plot, which is both fast-paced as well as easy to follow, ensuring readers don't become confused, lost or impatient for more. Likewise, Todoroff's characters and their motivations are genuine, all the way down from the team's leader Tam, whose desire to do right balances his desire for a pay day (and vacation) to the Triplets, a set of three illegal military clones who hilariously interject their individualism as well as heroically protect the Eshu team's wares throughout.

The near future world of 2059 Todoroff creates, though fleshed out little, still seems not only real, but plausible thanks to the author's brilliant use of introducing lifestyle changes, societal needs, and character attitudes and descriptions in context. Things like weaponry, combat armor, jump jets and personal identification utilized by the characters help give us the information we as readers need to built this future, while the way in which people find entertainment, what they eat, where they live and how they work provide us with tertiary details.

The challenge for Todoroff comes from following through on promised and built-up ideas, such as the book's titular "running black," which is only brought up and delivered upon once throughout the novel. The idea, while clever and cool in retrospect, never seems fully fleshed out or made to seem as important as some of the other ideas within the novel. That said, it does make for one heck of a catchy title...

Overall, Running Black is an exciting and exceptional first novel filled with plenty of intense action, a solid cast of well developed characters, and an interesting moral basis upon which its plot is built. Readers interested in near future sci-fi, espionage, action, and adventure will want to give Running Black a try as it delivers an entertaining experiance with a morally founded center which, though not followed by all, has most certainly influenced us all.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Running Black by Patrick Todoroff tells the story of a group of mercenaries from the Eshu International security company. The year is 2059 and corporations pretty much run the world. They are divided into various geographical zones and have treaties with what governments remain that can actually let them have military control over entire zones.

When Eshu International is contracted to steal the latest breakthrough in a stable nanotechnology implant for human use they know something is off. The money offered for the job is just to outrageous for a standard job. It is also way too much money to turn away from.

The story has a couple of viewpoints that are followed including one of the clone Gibson. When Gibson is exposed to friends of Eshu International who have left the mercenary lifestyle behind and embraced religion he begins to question his own spiritual existence. The various team members of Eshu International are also confronted with some pretty huge moral dilemmas involving the technology they have stolen.

Overall the story was pretty enjoyable. I did have a few difficulties following some of the higher level tech talk, but nothing impeded the understanding of the story. The book uses the advanced technology very well to have some pretty intense action sequences, but the characters are still developed nicely allowing you to get more involved in the story. There is also a Christian theme to the story with the moral dilemmas faced by the mercs as well as the clone trying to figure out his place in the spiritual world. This book works well for most scifi and cyberpunk fans. I am very interested to see where Patrick takes the Eshu International guys in the next book.

Review copy provided by the author.

[Procrastinador Diletante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you want a extremely good cyberpunk tale, with likable characters that act like real people?

All this in a not so distant future, where Mankind still struggles with its nature and where people still turn to God, searching for what means to be Human.

And what about some corporate espionage and intense action?

If you want to read all of this in one place, look no further than this book!

After reading some chapters, I couldn't fathom how it was the author's first book - he writes like a professional, juggling several viewpoints and plot-lines without a glitch.

Upon finishing the book - it took me a day - I could only wonder why wasn't he already picked up by a big sci-fi publisher? This is one of those books that doesn't deserve to linger in a indie publisher.

Maybe some readers can't get past the fact that this is a first-time author (and a Christian author to boot) and turn away without having the slightest idea about what they are missing.

The only problem I can find with the book is a simple one - it leaves the reader wanting more. More Eshu International novels and more information about the future that the author has painstakingly created.

This last bit isn't a problem with this particular book/author - it's just something that I crave every time I read a near-future novel. In this case, I want to know more about the Pretoria Clones and their war in Africa, at the service of General N'kosa or the «Final Push» into Israel, for instance.

I hope that the next book - Shift Tense - and the others to come (I'm sure there will be more!) will cover some of these bits and reveal much more about this not so-bright future created by Patrick Todoroff.

[Adam Bourke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story started promisingly. I liked chapter one quite a lot. But it turns out that it's not representative of the rest of the story. In fact, It's more of a prologue. Which is unfortunate.

While I liked the story, and the idea of clones - if not the names of the first three - I found that the narrative was extremely difficult to read. And I'm not really sure why, if I'm honest. There is one thing that contributed I'll discuss in a moment, but other than that... I don't know. Maybe it was too jargon-y or something. I just found myself not actually understanding what was going on quite often.

The one thing I COULD put a finger on was the random Spanish. Multiple-language narrative is one of the things I hate most in books. So that really didn't help. I just don't see the point in having random Spanish words in the middle of a sentence. It's not quite as bad in the dialogue - but given that I don't understand Spanish, it means I don't actually know what they are saying then!

A couple of little positives - I quite liked the idea that Britain is a leading technology country - and that flopsy,mopsy & cottontail haven't entirely disappeared from culture by 2059. More importantly I liked most of the characters - particularly Gibson, who I felt had a really good storyline. I also liked the character from chapter one, who keeps thinking of his family.

But I'm going to keep this a fairly short review - because I don't know really know what it is that went wrong. I enjoyed the story, but found it really quite difficult to read. Unfortunately, I'm not going to read the next one.

[Jed · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow first half that wrapped up fairly well at the end, Running Black was the story of a mercenary group who did a job and then became numero uno on Dark Helmet's hit list. I bought this book when searching for Shadowrun books and made the mistake that it was somehow associated with that universe. I was wrong, which is sometimes a nice mistake to make.

A story of a group on the run from powers far beyond their capacity to beat, it was a decent read. The character development was predictable and the use of various story elements was sometimes just connecting the dots, though the reading from page to page was entertaining. The tech, the atmosphere, the look at a futuristic vision of Spanish slums, it was fun to imagine a world in which corporations and governments are so closely intertwined that the distinctions are fuzzy.

If you're looking a book about chummers who work together, get into a (really big) fix and have to fight their way out of that, it's a good one. There's intrigue, there's action, and there's a little bit of character. The final conclusion was, though, something of a red herring in my opinion. I recommend this to fans of the cyberpunk genre - if you're looking for Tech + Magic, it's not here.

[Katherine Coble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a ripping yarn that I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys Cyberpunk. It's sort of A-Team meets Neal Stephenson & William Gibson.



Fyi, i wrote a much longer review on my blog and on Amazon. By the time i got here i was tired so my review was shorter. Regrettably i failed to note on the Goodreads review that there is Christian content. I think it waswell done as far as things like that are, but if you prefer to stay away from religious themes in fiction, you may want to note that. It isnt heavy handed and doesnt affect the larger telling of the tale. (ie, everyone doesnt act like theyre from Mayberry.)

I actually recommend this not only as a good cyberpunk run and gun novel but also as a good example of how authors with a religious POV for any faith can integrate thatinto a larger story without doing injury to their craft.

[Sift Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Running Black held my interest from page one. It is filled with action, intrigue, and corporate espionage. Despite the illegal nature of business being ran, I grew to care for the characters and rooted for them the whole way through.

See the in-depth review at Sift: http://www.siftreviews.com/2011/08/ru...

Review by: Kevin of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.

[Crusader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Running Black is an exceptionally well-written debut novel filled with lots of action, intrigue and the firepower to go with it. Todoroff’s writing style is reminiscent of Neal Asher’s work, but without the grand space opera scope. There’s huge potential here and it will be interesting to see where Todoroff takes the Enshu International team next. Read the full review

[Taddow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I was pleased with this book. I got engrossed in the action scenes and thought the author did a great job of making the battles seem exciting and entertaining. I did want a little more character development, but perhaps with the basis established in this book, character development will be an easier task in the sequel.

[Ccm2361 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.The characters are very real & easy to get into. This book is very suspense, you never know what the next plot twist will be. couple that with dynamite action sequences & you have an AWESOME book!

[Cheryl]

Grabbed from a Goodreads ad. Has good reviews!

[Peter Cormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the action in this book, and how the author has drawn me into his world. I can't wait to see what happens next!

[Frederick M Martone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lot of fun

Good quick captivating read. Enjoyable theme. Excellent pacing and more character development than usual for this genre. I plan to read the next book