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Dome Trilogy #1
Unexpected Rain
this refers to a previous edition of this book. This book will be released on July 7th, 2015 by Harper Voyager. Find out more jasonwlapier.com/books/unexpected_rain/---
Jack Jackson - just "Jax" to his friends, if he had any - finds his life turned upside-down when a small, domed neighborhood on the fourth planet orbiting Barnard's Star loses life support on his watch. Just a lowly operator, Jax is accused of mass homicide, arrested, and faced with a mound of impossible evidence against him. His only ally is Stanford Runstom, an officer of Modern Policing and Peacekeeping. Runstom is a detective at heart, passed over for promotion time and time again, just waiting for a chance to blow open a meaningful case and make something of his career and his life, even if it means risking everything. Together, the two will try to exonerate Jax by finding the real killer, still at large and protected by layer upon layer of obscurity. They'll face off against space gangs, greedy politicians, and corrupt cops along the road that takes them off the planet Jax has never left before in his life and into the depths of space.
Jack Jackson - just "Jax" to his friends, if he had any - finds his life turned upside-down when a small, domed neighborhood on the fourth planet orbiting Barnard's Star loses life support on his watch. Just a lowly operator, Jax is accused of mass homicide, arrested, and faced with a mound of impossible evidence against him. His only ally is Stanford Runstom, an officer of Modern Policing and Peacekeeping. Runstom is a detective at heart, passed over for promotion time and time again, just waiting for a chance to blow open a meaningful case and make something of his career and his life, even if it means risking everything. Together, the two will try to exonerate Jax by finding the real killer, still at large and protected by layer upon layer of obscurity. They'll face off against space gangs, greedy politicians, and corrupt cops along the road that takes them off the planet Jax has never left before in his life and into the depths of space.
260 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2010
33 people are currently reading
501 people want to read
About the author
Jason W. LaPier
6 books29 followersJason W. LaPier is a multi-genre writer, delving into science fiction, speculative fiction, horror, slipstream, literary fiction, and surrealism. Originally from Upstate NY, Jason now lives in Portland, OR with his wife and their dachshund. By day, he is a software engineer at Elemental Technologies, where he creates the kinds of virtual worlds that actually do something. He is always in search of the perfect Italian sandwich.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 2, 2015
DNF at %55.
A mystery. In the future. In space. How cool is that?
Not very, unfortunately.
Sometime in the future, humankind has done what humans do and pissed all over planet Earth, then left without cleaning up the mess. Folks now live in far-flung colonies throughout the galaxy (universe?) in cozy, climate controlled domes. One evening, an assassin saunters through the dark streets of one of these habitats, having just successfully killed his target. Unfortunately for him and everyone else in the neighborhood, the dome's top suddenly pops open, depressurizing and killing 40 people, including the assassin.
Enter Officer Runstrom and the rest of the chronically bored officers of ModPol. Since murder doesn't happen much in this futuristic Stepford world, local law enforcement is unable to manage the investigation on their own. ModPol's officers, however, are several tics short of competent, as they immediately decide that the dome's system's operator, Jax, is the prime suspect.
The evidence against Jax is flimsy, but Runstrom's superiors are convinced, mostly by lack of interest in actual law enforcement, that he's the perp. Runstrom, however, isn't and proceeds to investigate on his own.
Though the premise is interesting--who murdered 40 people to apparently cover up the murder of one person?--the execution is flat like Kansas. The writing is competent, clear, but careful to the point of bland. As are the characters and setting.
Officer Runstrom is frustrated by his lack of advancement in ModPol. His mother was a detective in ModPol and for some reason that keeps him from getting promoted. Stifled career ambitions are a great character motivation, if they actually do some motivatin'. Runstrom, unfortunately, seems as apathetic to his job as the rest of his fellow officers. They are all just existing, getting by, day by day. I think that's the point, the inevitable ennui brought on by Unexpected Rain's too-comfortable future. Unfortunately, the overall flavor of the story is passionless and dry.
Jax is a little more likable than Runstrom, but just as much a cipher. He dropped out of engineering school, disappointing his parents, to be a technician. More than halfway into the story, and I'm still not sure why he did this, or how he feels. There's some "telling" with regard to character emotion, but very little "showing" of authentic human response.
The setting, meanwhile.... I've seen the future and it's "Meh." Aside from a few futuristic elements--colonies in space, spaceships--there's an utter lack of wonder or sense of the exotic in the setting. The same story could be dropped in a contemporary setting and have the same effect.
The mystery is also "bleh." The 40 victims remain faceless and nameless. Except for the assassin, who's the only interesting character in the story. Midway through the novel, and I still have no idea who could have possibly committed the crime. This is bad, folks. Why? Because a key pleasure in reading mysteries is developing theories and lists of "whodunit" throughout the story. This is done by giving the reader loads of information (and misdirection). By the point I bailed, I still had no clear idea how the world of Unexpected Rain worked, much less who orchestrated the mass murder. And...I didn't care.
Unexpected Rain contains the bones of a good SF mystery, but it needed several more iterations of workshopping, beta reads, and editing to flesh out the meat of the story.
Disappointed.
A mystery. In the future. In space. How cool is that?
Not very, unfortunately.
Sometime in the future, humankind has done what humans do and pissed all over planet Earth, then left without cleaning up the mess. Folks now live in far-flung colonies throughout the galaxy (universe?) in cozy, climate controlled domes. One evening, an assassin saunters through the dark streets of one of these habitats, having just successfully killed his target. Unfortunately for him and everyone else in the neighborhood, the dome's top suddenly pops open, depressurizing and killing 40 people, including the assassin.
Enter Officer Runstrom and the rest of the chronically bored officers of ModPol. Since murder doesn't happen much in this futuristic Stepford world, local law enforcement is unable to manage the investigation on their own. ModPol's officers, however, are several tics short of competent, as they immediately decide that the dome's system's operator, Jax, is the prime suspect.
The evidence against Jax is flimsy, but Runstrom's superiors are convinced, mostly by lack of interest in actual law enforcement, that he's the perp. Runstrom, however, isn't and proceeds to investigate on his own.
Though the premise is interesting--who murdered 40 people to apparently cover up the murder of one person?--the execution is flat like Kansas. The writing is competent, clear, but careful to the point of bland. As are the characters and setting.
Officer Runstrom is frustrated by his lack of advancement in ModPol. His mother was a detective in ModPol and for some reason that keeps him from getting promoted. Stifled career ambitions are a great character motivation, if they actually do some motivatin'. Runstrom, unfortunately, seems as apathetic to his job as the rest of his fellow officers. They are all just existing, getting by, day by day. I think that's the point, the inevitable ennui brought on by Unexpected Rain's too-comfortable future. Unfortunately, the overall flavor of the story is passionless and dry.
Jax is a little more likable than Runstrom, but just as much a cipher. He dropped out of engineering school, disappointing his parents, to be a technician. More than halfway into the story, and I'm still not sure why he did this, or how he feels. There's some "telling" with regard to character emotion, but very little "showing" of authentic human response.
The setting, meanwhile.... I've seen the future and it's "Meh." Aside from a few futuristic elements--colonies in space, spaceships--there's an utter lack of wonder or sense of the exotic in the setting. The same story could be dropped in a contemporary setting and have the same effect.
The mystery is also "bleh." The 40 victims remain faceless and nameless. Except for the assassin, who's the only interesting character in the story. Midway through the novel, and I still have no idea who could have possibly committed the crime. This is bad, folks. Why? Because a key pleasure in reading mysteries is developing theories and lists of "whodunit" throughout the story. This is done by giving the reader loads of information (and misdirection). By the point I bailed, I still had no clear idea how the world of Unexpected Rain worked, much less who orchestrated the mass murder. And...I didn't care.
Unexpected Rain contains the bones of a good SF mystery, but it needed several more iterations of workshopping, beta reads, and editing to flesh out the meat of the story.
Disappointed.
April 30, 2016
I wanted to read something what I define as space murder mystery.
I flipped through the content of my e-reader and found a copy of
Unexpected Rain.
I read it in two days and have not been disappointed. I liked the
two main characters who are far from being perfect fighting against
bureaucracy, space pirates and other obstacles. Sometimes it seemed
there are more pawns than in a chess game.
Humanity conquered space but still suffers from problems we know from
today. Skin colour ist still important.
There is one thing which hindered me to give a higher rating. Sometimes
explanations and discussions slowed down the story a bit too much.
Nevertheless I want to read the second book in the trilogy - Unclear Skies -
which is available.
I flipped through the content of my e-reader and found a copy of
Unexpected Rain.
I read it in two days and have not been disappointed. I liked the
two main characters who are far from being perfect fighting against
bureaucracy, space pirates and other obstacles. Sometimes it seemed
there are more pawns than in a chess game.
Humanity conquered space but still suffers from problems we know from
today. Skin colour ist still important.
There is one thing which hindered me to give a higher rating. Sometimes
explanations and discussions slowed down the story a bit too much.
Nevertheless I want to read the second book in the trilogy - Unclear Skies -
which is available.
October 18, 2016
Unexpected Rain blends the science fiction and mystery genres for a unique twist. LaPier's two detectives--one police officer gone rogue, one framed mass murder suspect--make for a good team as they romp through deep space in search of answers. I did think the plot made some logical leaps at a few points, and some space pirates make an all-too-brief appearance that threatens to steal the show. The resolution is satisfactory, with plentiful who-dunnit twists.
May 31, 2018
Excellent world building
A few slow moments at times, but great plot and world building. Great characters too :-) I think the trilogy has quite some potential between the cop, and the Space Waste gang.
A few slow moments at times, but great plot and world building. Great characters too :-) I think the trilogy has quite some potential between the cop, and the Space Waste gang.
July 8, 2015
This book was amazingly entertaining. There’s a bit of everything for everyone, especially for those who are technically minded and enjoy a bit of geeky programming. In UNEXPECTED RAIN you will follow Runstom and Jax in a quest in which they will decipher clues using their technical expertise. The characters are a bit clueless in the beginning, just regular folks, but they make the best to detangle the mystery. Runstom and Jax develop an unlikely friendship that makes me wonder what book 2 will have in store. My favorite parts were the ones involving Space Waste. There’s a scene between Jax and Johnny Eyeball that had me rolling laughing. I hope we will see more of them in the future. LaPier does a great job painting his Sci-Fi world in the reader’s mind and creating a sense of boundless adventure. This was a fun read .
July 13, 2018
Creatively innovative Jason W. LaPier in “Unexpected Rain’ combines science fiction and a murder mystery that opens with a killing by a maintenance man and the failure of the life support in the sub-dome that wipes out an entire block. All too quickly block operator Jack J. Jackson (Jax) is charged with the mass homicide and awaiting transport to a ModPol outpost for trial when he finds an ally in Officer Stanford Runstom who suspects there is more to the case than Detectives Brutus and Porter suspected. When the prisoner’s transport barge is waylaid by the Space Waste gang on the way to trial Runstom and the suspect are forced to flee only to end up risking their lives to look for clues and uncover the truth behind the deadly crime.
Fast-paced and action-packed intensity and suspense slowly build after a confrontation with the Space Waste gang, the death of Runstom’s partner and his escape with Jax. Forming a partnership to find justice for the wrongly accused block operator and the dead, Runstom and Jax set out to uncover the truth. Twisting and turning as they use Jax’s tech ability and Runstom’s sleuthing skills to unearth a list of suspects, the pair begin to reveal information about their pasts.
Underlying the main plot is the issue of racial prejudice. Even in space you can be defined by your skin color and green skinned Runstom is no exception having been passed over for promotion more than once. Even as the danger and growing violence increases the author continually weaves in sparks of humor with the bickering between the main characters and Jax's witty banter with criminals like Johnny Eyeball. Flowing in writing style the story progresses swiftly to an explosive ending as justice is served.
Building the story are compelling and complex characters like Stanford Runstom the stoic, hardnosed and intuitive ModPol officer and Jax Jackson the smart, insecure and unambitious block operator in a dead-end job and accused of murder. I even liked Dava, the brown-skinned, Earth-born assassin who’s cold and merciless until confronted with killing Jax, discovering a caring streak that soon blows up with the house they were in.
Intriguing in context with a host of interesting characters I enjoyed reading “Unexpected Rain” and look forward to the sequel.
Fast-paced and action-packed intensity and suspense slowly build after a confrontation with the Space Waste gang, the death of Runstom’s partner and his escape with Jax. Forming a partnership to find justice for the wrongly accused block operator and the dead, Runstom and Jax set out to uncover the truth. Twisting and turning as they use Jax’s tech ability and Runstom’s sleuthing skills to unearth a list of suspects, the pair begin to reveal information about their pasts.
Underlying the main plot is the issue of racial prejudice. Even in space you can be defined by your skin color and green skinned Runstom is no exception having been passed over for promotion more than once. Even as the danger and growing violence increases the author continually weaves in sparks of humor with the bickering between the main characters and Jax's witty banter with criminals like Johnny Eyeball. Flowing in writing style the story progresses swiftly to an explosive ending as justice is served.
Building the story are compelling and complex characters like Stanford Runstom the stoic, hardnosed and intuitive ModPol officer and Jax Jackson the smart, insecure and unambitious block operator in a dead-end job and accused of murder. I even liked Dava, the brown-skinned, Earth-born assassin who’s cold and merciless until confronted with killing Jax, discovering a caring streak that soon blows up with the house they were in.
Intriguing in context with a host of interesting characters I enjoyed reading “Unexpected Rain” and look forward to the sequel.
August 18, 2015
It's been a while since I read any science fiction, so it was a great relief to come back to it via such an accomplished and confident piece of writing. I was drawn to this because it not only seemed to be good writing, but it promised the addition of a crime novel in a future setting. That could have been a train wreck. As it turned out it was a smooth and satisfying ride, the only bumps being those experienced by the characters. And, boy, do they go through it. A man with little ambition in a dead end job who finds himself arrested for mass murder - and not at all convinced he didn't do it. A police officer tired of being overlooked who becomes convinced the man he has to escort to trial might actually be innocent. OK, so you might feel that has been done before. It has. But rarely as well as this. The unravelling of events, the setting (a future world that is so well realised, so coherent, so believable, you don't think twice about it), and the characters all meld to provide a great read. And an ending that hints that we might just be seeing more of the main characters. I certainly hope so.
January 21, 2016
A thrilling blend of sci-fi and murder mystery, this story sends its protagonists across solar systems as they attempt to solve a horrific crime in a future filled with docile dome dwellers, ruthless space gangs, and corruption at every level of humanity. With an interesting but not heavy-handed emphasis on the language of programming, this is a tale not to be missed for fans of exciting, fast-paced science fiction.
April 5, 2016
This book grabbed my attention with a fascinating assassin character from page 1, but sadly fell from there. I stopped reading at 47% after the book slogged through drawn out conversations, bland characters, unrealistic situations, and a character death that had no impact.
I finally had to drop my suspenders of disbelief as the inconsistencies and plot holes mounted.
I finally had to drop my suspenders of disbelief as the inconsistencies and plot holes mounted.
July 18, 2015
Unexpected Rain is an enjoyable sci-fi detective murder mystery, reminiscent of the golden-age Asimov stories. It gets a little techy without going too far into hard-sci-fi. I highly recommend it.
November 1, 2018
I came across this book on a hunt of new things at the local bookstore during the summer. That is the kind of trip where I wander for a couple hours, picking up only authors I have never heard of before. This book looked interesting, combining sci-fi and a detective novel into one. Add a point for the author being local to Portland.
But it never really worked. The characters were flat, the mystery just moving along from point to point. All of the characters have a hidden history of one bad memory, mainly around the loss of a mom. It is used to justify where we find them at the beginning of the book and their actions from then on. The characters that we are following never really evolve.
The initial layout of the future seemed interesting. Then it fell apart once the focus leaves the microcosm of the sub-dome in question. Just why are people living a dull existence on a rock when the planet over there are lots of rich people? Or how does the local economy support huge (as in major city huge) cruise ships for the ultra-rich? Or even build such marvels of engineering?
The author attempts to make social commentary about how people are prejudice against skin colors. The science explanation of why people are different skin colors (due to radiation filters) doesn’t make sense. It does keep the story away from a singlar ethnic group, instead categorizing people on where they were born (ie skin color). But the author doesn’t do much with it. The end result feels like a way to make characters react to slurs about their skin, but then it is tossed aside, never to return until the hackles need to be raised again.
The author’s IT background bleeds through, but the technology isn’t all that interesting. The programming examples look like Basic. No one has a phone or personal device, forcing everyone to use terminals. Automation is bad, as it depresses the humans. There is high technology in the background, such as artificial gravity and FTL travel. But the idea of how radio transmissions in space would work don’t make sense.
But it never really worked. The characters were flat, the mystery just moving along from point to point. All of the characters have a hidden history of one bad memory, mainly around the loss of a mom. It is used to justify where we find them at the beginning of the book and their actions from then on. The characters that we are following never really evolve.
The initial layout of the future seemed interesting. Then it fell apart once the focus leaves the microcosm of the sub-dome in question. Just why are people living a dull existence on a rock when the planet over there are lots of rich people? Or how does the local economy support huge (as in major city huge) cruise ships for the ultra-rich? Or even build such marvels of engineering?
The author attempts to make social commentary about how people are prejudice against skin colors. The science explanation of why people are different skin colors (due to radiation filters) doesn’t make sense. It does keep the story away from a singlar ethnic group, instead categorizing people on where they were born (ie skin color). But the author doesn’t do much with it. The end result feels like a way to make characters react to slurs about their skin, but then it is tossed aside, never to return until the hackles need to be raised again.
The author’s IT background bleeds through, but the technology isn’t all that interesting. The programming examples look like Basic. No one has a phone or personal device, forcing everyone to use terminals. Automation is bad, as it depresses the humans. There is high technology in the background, such as artificial gravity and FTL travel. But the idea of how radio transmissions in space would work don’t make sense.
July 21, 2017
Science fiction is a genre that I only rarely pick up, and I certainly can't claim to be any kind of expert. However, like art, I know what I like, and this futuristic adventure has a lot of what I like.
1. A gripping start. A lot of sci-fi seems to spend ages describing the planet, the environment, the space age clothes of the second alien from the left etc. Unexpected Rain just launches in with a brutal killing, a mass homicide and a police investigation. We quickly get to know the key characters, and things then move along at a fair pace through the book. There was one slow section on an interplanetary cruise ship, but by then I was hooked.
2. The right amount of 'geekiness'. I am not an astrophysicist, software expert or aeronautical engineer. So I don't want to admire tons of detailed techy stuff. Nor am I a technophobe who can't understand basic science and need it all explained in detail. LaPier pitches this at the right level as far as I'm concerned. The plot is imaginative but plausible, and makes sense without having to be re-read several times.
3. A good sense of humour. The bickering of the main characters made me smile, and lightened the mood at the right times.
So I enjoyed this, and I might even read some more science fiction in future.
I received a free copy of this book from a publishers giveaway on social media.
1. A gripping start. A lot of sci-fi seems to spend ages describing the planet, the environment, the space age clothes of the second alien from the left etc. Unexpected Rain just launches in with a brutal killing, a mass homicide and a police investigation. We quickly get to know the key characters, and things then move along at a fair pace through the book. There was one slow section on an interplanetary cruise ship, but by then I was hooked.
2. The right amount of 'geekiness'. I am not an astrophysicist, software expert or aeronautical engineer. So I don't want to admire tons of detailed techy stuff. Nor am I a technophobe who can't understand basic science and need it all explained in detail. LaPier pitches this at the right level as far as I'm concerned. The plot is imaginative but plausible, and makes sense without having to be re-read several times.
3. A good sense of humour. The bickering of the main characters made me smile, and lightened the mood at the right times.
So I enjoyed this, and I might even read some more science fiction in future.
I received a free copy of this book from a publishers giveaway on social media.
May 24, 2017
A lacklustre and very obvious plot full of cliched tropes bouncing from one improbable scenario to the next. The main flaw however is the amateurish level of writing. As a spoiler free example, every other chapter has one of the main characters explaining for long passages how something works. Putting aside the internal inconsistency that said main character somehow has a wealth of knowledge despite being cast as a down and out. Large amounts of explanation are pretty much in the 101 of what not to do when writing. It's uninspiring and even when given an internal logic for being there can almost always be expressed in a more interesting way. To be honest I feel a little perplexed how this novel was considered good enough to be published.
Overall a really quite dry read, which is a shame because there are some interesting ideas in the world building aspects of the novel.
Overall a really quite dry read, which is a shame because there are some interesting ideas in the world building aspects of the novel.
March 24, 2018
Decent read
The story and the details were a bit simplistic. The ending was rushed and anticlimactic. Overall a quick read, a few sections were slow and unnecessary, for example the explanation of program coding. Hard to believe in such a incompetent police force since then criminal element was so organized. Wasn't logical, the police force would have evolved to match the criminal element. Any way, if you have no other books to read, you can pass some time with this one. I won't be buying the rest of the series though.
The story and the details were a bit simplistic. The ending was rushed and anticlimactic. Overall a quick read, a few sections were slow and unnecessary, for example the explanation of program coding. Hard to believe in such a incompetent police force since then criminal element was so organized. Wasn't logical, the police force would have evolved to match the criminal element. Any way, if you have no other books to read, you can pass some time with this one. I won't be buying the rest of the series though.
January 22, 2025
Another book that you can't get the hang of. I like the plot, and I think it will be a decent read for somebody, but not me. I couldn't pay attention to it, and while the things going on recently are concerning, that wasn't the reason I didn't finish this book. I think it needs some work on the prose, and I'm sure the author fixed them, or not in his subsequent books. But I can barely hang on to what he's trying to convey. Sure you get an idea based on the blurb, but I feel in my own view that the author isn't doing a good of a job describing, and the prose is quite annoying.
June 28, 2016
This was OK, but not really SF - it was a policeman decides to solve crime because he is being unfairly passed over for promotion and he's determined .... well, you know the plot. And it happens in space. There was no development of ideas. It opens in a dome, where people are soft because life is easy, and I thought it might be interesting to delve into that world, but some chap is unfairly arrested and next thing you know he's battling space pirates. Not that soft then. Not that it's discussed. Full of male cliches.
Read
January 29, 2017Not terrible, but the storytelling was weak and the story not really engaging. Incomplete.
March 31, 2017
This is a very enjoyable blend of sci-fi and noir mystery, two of my favorite genres. I've already downloaded the sequel.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews