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Airship Daedalus #1
Sakuru: The Circle
THE REVOLUTION WILL BE STREAMCAST.
San Francisco, 2065. In the cold, uncaring shadow of a crowded city, the forgotten claw out a meager existence. Hope isn't a luxury they can afford. When a new drug floods the streets, some local vigilantes find themselves caught between protecting the innocent and the blind greed of corporations seeking total control.
Using their wits, grit, and a brotherly bond, a social crusader with chemically-altered DNA, an ex-cop with a conscience, and a scrappy mechanic assemble a rag-tag team of specialists from across the social spectrum and the globe.
Now this band of outcasts, misfits and freaks must trust the patronage of a powerful CEO to uncover the dark underbelly of a world where doing the right thing will get you killed, and greed is god.
From Todd Downing, author of Calico Kids and the Airship Daedalus series, SAKURU is an epic manga-influenced cyberpunk street opera where future tech and dystopian society meet the eternal struggle of community, family, and humanity.
San Francisco, 2065. In the cold, uncaring shadow of a crowded city, the forgotten claw out a meager existence. Hope isn't a luxury they can afford. When a new drug floods the streets, some local vigilantes find themselves caught between protecting the innocent and the blind greed of corporations seeking total control.
Using their wits, grit, and a brotherly bond, a social crusader with chemically-altered DNA, an ex-cop with a conscience, and a scrappy mechanic assemble a rag-tag team of specialists from across the social spectrum and the globe.
Now this band of outcasts, misfits and freaks must trust the patronage of a powerful CEO to uncover the dark underbelly of a world where doing the right thing will get you killed, and greed is god.
From Todd Downing, author of Calico Kids and the Airship Daedalus series, SAKURU is an epic manga-influenced cyberpunk street opera where future tech and dystopian society meet the eternal struggle of community, family, and humanity.
- GenresAlternate History
425 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2022
10 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Todd Downing
29 books19 followersTodd Downing is the primary author and designer of over fifty roleplaying titles, including Arrowflight, RADZ, Airship Daedalus, and the official Red Dwarf RPG. A fixture in the Seattle indie film community, he is the co-creator of the superhero-comedy webseries The Collectibles, and the screenwriter behind The Parish and Ordinary Angels (which he also directed). His first feature film, a supernatural thriller entitled Project, was included in a PBS young directors series in 1986. He has written for stage, screen, comics, audiodrama, short-form and long-form, interactive and narrative, in a career spanning three decades. The father of two adult children, Downing spent several years in the videogame industry, working on games such as Spider for the Playstation, Allegiance for the PC, and Casino Empire. He also creates book covers and marketing art for fellow authors and corporate clients, and has done voiceover work for Microsoft and the Seattle Seahawks Pro Shop.
Widowed to cancer in 2005, Downing remarried in 2009 to a singer and fiction editor. The couple's "empy nest" in Port Orchard, Washington, consists of her mother and a herd of rescued cats (or should that be a murder?). Thankfully, he has an office door that closes.
Widowed to cancer in 2005, Downing remarried in 2009 to a singer and fiction editor. The couple's "empy nest" in Port Orchard, Washington, consists of her mother and a herd of rescued cats (or should that be a murder?). Thankfully, he has an office door that closes.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 27, 2021
This is a great summer read and a wonderful nostalgia trip for those of us who grew up in the early to mid-1980s. If you are a person who is bummed out that there is no new Stranger Things season happening soon, then this is a wonderful distraction. The characters are very accurate for early teens, with challenges like bullies and what to do about Trick or Treat when you’re supposed to be cool, the references to 80s music and movies is spot on, and the various X-Files/Scooby Doo adventures that these kids go on reminded me of Super 8, ET, Last Starfighter, and Close Encounters. Highly recommend. This is the book that wish I had when I have read other similar genre titles.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2020
Calico Kids is a wholesome, nostalgic adventure that combines some of the best parts of stories like E.T. and Stranger Things: relatable characters who tackle fantastic situations with humor and bravery, and a series of experiences that bonds a group of friends for life. Highly recommended!
October 11, 2020
Fun read! It captured some of my favorite memories and threw in some supernatural adventure to boot! I love that there is an accompanying playlist on Spotify and listen to it on the regular
February 26, 2021
Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over
If I hadn’t seen Stranger Things, I might have had a harder time understanding the mood of this book. That said, the story shares little crossover with the focus of the television show, which leans more on the horror edge than the adventure one. I wondered whether I would enjoy Calico, especially with the classification of horror, but this doesn’t read as horrific. Specific events could have qualified based on handling, but I don’t think they did. Your tolerance may vary.
Calico is a young teen paranormal adventure with bikes, hormones, school bullies, strange happenings, and more I can’t reveal. There are humorous moments that depend on the gross-is-good of young teens and others where they turn toys into tools for saving the world. The confusion with how to shelve the book comes because these aren’t modern young teens. This novel is as much nostalgia fiction as teen adventure, with a focus on the music, movies, and activities of the 80s. Few modern teens will get the references or connect with their greater meanings, but should still enjoy the story itself. The author also created a playlist on Spotify, offering a meta element and the chance to discover some cool music.
The novel begins with an extensive forward and acknowledgments that are not crucial to the story but give a taste of the period. They might have been better at the end, but I wouldn’t say to skip them. After all, that’s where I learned about the playlist. The actual story also spends the first chapter or so setting the scene. It brings Calico and the town’s inhabitants to life, both those in the past and book’s present day.
What caught me was the group of different teens who accept each other and hang together even when from the outside it might seem implausible. They investigate using all tools at hand, whether sheer curiosity, relatives from the Old Country, or a series of Time-Life books. Besides, how could I not like teens who devoured pirozhki’s with delight?
The original group is A.J., Liam, and Kris, all boys, but when Molly catches Liam’s eye, she soon becomes a full member rather than a hormonal distraction. I liked how that came about because she doesn’t blend in any more than the others do. She has her own opinions and sometimes dangerous curiosity connecting her to each member of the group. Their bonds are like a spider web. Different strands hold each pair, but the strands build into something solid and strong enough to allow others to join in the chaos as the story develops.
The writing had some awkward moments, and the narrator skips from being the various characters to an over-the-shoulder camera. I lost track of who was acting and/or speaking a couple of times, but for the most part, the technical aspects didn’t pull me out of the story. Even better, the flexible narrator made foresight possible that worked well with the ominous, ghost-town feel of the paranormal elements.
The book contains three episodes, each of which builds on the others but otherwise is mostly self-contained. The answers to the earlier ones are bandages on top of huge tears. At times, I found the gang too quick to accept incomplete answers in favor of not getting into any more trouble with their parents or the town sheriff. The quiet times between supernatural events didn’t last long enough to get annoying, though, thanks to a skillful use of summary. The ultimate solution offered a satisfying conclusion, so I forgive them wanting to enjoy what normalcy they could find.
While some connections require an understanding of the 80s, others play on our modern knowledge as it reflects on the past or on things most gamers will get. The novel provides an entertaining balance of plot and people moments, and I’m glad I took the chance. I’ll be reading more from this author.
If I hadn’t seen Stranger Things, I might have had a harder time understanding the mood of this book. That said, the story shares little crossover with the focus of the television show, which leans more on the horror edge than the adventure one. I wondered whether I would enjoy Calico, especially with the classification of horror, but this doesn’t read as horrific. Specific events could have qualified based on handling, but I don’t think they did. Your tolerance may vary.
Calico is a young teen paranormal adventure with bikes, hormones, school bullies, strange happenings, and more I can’t reveal. There are humorous moments that depend on the gross-is-good of young teens and others where they turn toys into tools for saving the world. The confusion with how to shelve the book comes because these aren’t modern young teens. This novel is as much nostalgia fiction as teen adventure, with a focus on the music, movies, and activities of the 80s. Few modern teens will get the references or connect with their greater meanings, but should still enjoy the story itself. The author also created a playlist on Spotify, offering a meta element and the chance to discover some cool music.
The novel begins with an extensive forward and acknowledgments that are not crucial to the story but give a taste of the period. They might have been better at the end, but I wouldn’t say to skip them. After all, that’s where I learned about the playlist. The actual story also spends the first chapter or so setting the scene. It brings Calico and the town’s inhabitants to life, both those in the past and book’s present day.
What caught me was the group of different teens who accept each other and hang together even when from the outside it might seem implausible. They investigate using all tools at hand, whether sheer curiosity, relatives from the Old Country, or a series of Time-Life books. Besides, how could I not like teens who devoured pirozhki’s with delight?
The original group is A.J., Liam, and Kris, all boys, but when Molly catches Liam’s eye, she soon becomes a full member rather than a hormonal distraction. I liked how that came about because she doesn’t blend in any more than the others do. She has her own opinions and sometimes dangerous curiosity connecting her to each member of the group. Their bonds are like a spider web. Different strands hold each pair, but the strands build into something solid and strong enough to allow others to join in the chaos as the story develops.
The writing had some awkward moments, and the narrator skips from being the various characters to an over-the-shoulder camera. I lost track of who was acting and/or speaking a couple of times, but for the most part, the technical aspects didn’t pull me out of the story. Even better, the flexible narrator made foresight possible that worked well with the ominous, ghost-town feel of the paranormal elements.
The book contains three episodes, each of which builds on the others but otherwise is mostly self-contained. The answers to the earlier ones are bandages on top of huge tears. At times, I found the gang too quick to accept incomplete answers in favor of not getting into any more trouble with their parents or the town sheriff. The quiet times between supernatural events didn’t last long enough to get annoying, though, thanks to a skillful use of summary. The ultimate solution offered a satisfying conclusion, so I forgive them wanting to enjoy what normalcy they could find.
While some connections require an understanding of the 80s, others play on our modern knowledge as it reflects on the past or on things most gamers will get. The novel provides an entertaining balance of plot and people moments, and I’m glad I took the chance. I’ll be reading more from this author.
October 1, 2020
Kinda ooky-spooky. Lots of ooohs. Overall an enjoyable book!
March 9, 2022
Calico Kids is a sweet, nostalgic, sci-fi coming-of-age story told with innocent, straightforward prose. The author Todd Downing has captured the detail and nuance in a way that recalls and transports us back to the early eighties.
A diverse gang of kids: the nerds, the bullies, the jocks, and those in-between, the first awareness of each of boys and girls in their early teens, saddle up on their bikes and venture out on their own to solve a small-town summer mystery that weaves childhood fantasies with local history, science-fiction, and the supernatural.
Calico Kids is an exciting, sweet read for kids and a throwback for adults to the days and wonder of E.T. and the camaraderie of the basement arcade. An easy, fun read!
A diverse gang of kids: the nerds, the bullies, the jocks, and those in-between, the first awareness of each of boys and girls in their early teens, saddle up on their bikes and venture out on their own to solve a small-town summer mystery that weaves childhood fantasies with local history, science-fiction, and the supernatural.
Calico Kids is an exciting, sweet read for kids and a throwback for adults to the days and wonder of E.T. and the camaraderie of the basement arcade. An easy, fun read!
July 13, 2020
This was a gosh darn fun read!
I was looking for an engaging, non-stressful distraction from the current real life drama and I found it. The characters were diverse and well-developed, with plenty of snappy dialogue and interaction. There was a lot of adventure and I was living for it! The author clearly put a significant amount of time into his research and provided excellent detail for me to be able to weave myself into this very different world.
Full disclosure, I jumped into the series with this book because I liked the cover. Now, I will have to go back and read the others!
I was looking for an engaging, non-stressful distraction from the current real life drama and I found it. The characters were diverse and well-developed, with plenty of snappy dialogue and interaction. There was a lot of adventure and I was living for it! The author clearly put a significant amount of time into his research and provided excellent detail for me to be able to weave myself into this very different world.
Full disclosure, I jumped into the series with this book because I liked the cover. Now, I will have to go back and read the others!
August 23, 2021
Had a lot of fun reading this. I enjoyed the nostalgic trip into the 80's, as well as the mystery solving epicness (it's the best word I could come up with) that ensues. Other's have compared it to Stranger Things, perhaps because that is the most recent 80's era paranormal show to grab hold of, but it isn't like that at all. I was reminded of movie The Last Starfighter, because it does have a sci-fi element. It's not true horror, more spooky action adventure.
Well worth the read, and would be a great movie to watch with a tub of popcorn.
Well worth the read, and would be a great movie to watch with a tub of popcorn.
May 6, 2019
I've been reading this series since the first one and this one sees an end(?) to the ever-present threat of Maria and, while this is a closure of the story that has been unfolding over the first four books, the epilogue went off in a direction I never expected and hints at where future books are going and I'm excited to see them. Great fun and a great story.
September 11, 2018
A wonderful action adventure book! Never overly campy or too far out there. Fantastic characters and paceing. I lived it from start to finish. I'm ready for the next one right now!
April 11, 2021
A great set of short stories that are fun to a quick read. The characters presented leave you wanting more adventures.
September 25, 2024
This book did not disappoint! The author, Todd Downing, wove a taut story with entertaining characters. Our protagonist, Jack McGraw, is a seasoned fighter pilot, battling it out for the Allies in the skies over Europe during the Great War. A few years later, he is recruited to lead a daring mission of great importance. Jack assembles his crew, and then Downing hauls back on the stick, throws you back in the seat, and takes you skyward!
This is a very well-written adventure tale that hearkens back to the pulp adventure novels of the day, to the radio days of Captain Midnight and Hop Harrigan. It’s one heck of an entertaining tale, one that I found difficult to put down! I’m definitely going to read some more of this author’s books!
This is a very well-written adventure tale that hearkens back to the pulp adventure novels of the day, to the radio days of Captain Midnight and Hop Harrigan. It’s one heck of an entertaining tale, one that I found difficult to put down! I’m definitely going to read some more of this author’s books!
May 16, 2022
3.5 Stars: I Really Liked It.
This is a fun,. entertaining, "get the band together" and "go on the first mission" pulp adventure book. The prose was a little too "matter of fact," I guess; feeling like it just states things like "there are zombies" as though the characters are all fully used to such things, and perhaps using just one name for some characters too often, like "Doc" for the main female protagonist almost the exception of ever using her first or last "civilian" names. Those nitpicks aside, I am intrigued by this world, I see a lot of potential in the cast, and I fully intend to proceed with this series.
This is a fun,. entertaining, "get the band together" and "go on the first mission" pulp adventure book. The prose was a little too "matter of fact," I guess; feeling like it just states things like "there are zombies" as though the characters are all fully used to such things, and perhaps using just one name for some characters too often, like "Doc" for the main female protagonist almost the exception of ever using her first or last "civilian" names. Those nitpicks aside, I am intrigued by this world, I see a lot of potential in the cast, and I fully intend to proceed with this series.
August 22, 2024
This book had it all, Sci-fi, fantasy, action, adventure, and good music. It hit all the clichés of the 80s. The book made me feel like I was in an 80's movie, but it went down some fun twist and turns that I didn't expect. I enjoyed this book a lot and look forward to a possible follow up one. Also the cover is a gem!
November 6, 2022
Just love this style of novel and the writing is just as close to period pulp. Audio is excellent.
June 5, 2024
While not quite what I was expecting having arrived at these from the music.
It’s a really fun pulp read with the cliches you’d expect.
Jumping into book 2 right away.
It’s a really fun pulp read with the cliches you’d expect.
Jumping into book 2 right away.
March 4, 2019
Fast moving, exciting adventure with great characters
The whole Airship Daedalus series combines classic swashbuckling adventure with characters you come to know in the best tradition of serial storytelling. Looking forward to seeing where Captain Stratosphere & crew go next to fight the evil Silver Star!
The whole Airship Daedalus series combines classic swashbuckling adventure with characters you come to know in the best tradition of serial storytelling. Looking forward to seeing where Captain Stratosphere & crew go next to fight the evil Silver Star!
November 13, 2022
Good series.
November 13, 2022
Loved the link with Nemo and the creatures from Island of Dr Moreau. Good series.
November 13, 2022
Such and entertaining series.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews