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Progress Report
AN ALIEN ARTIFACT. AN ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY. A LOOMING NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE.
Art is a computer geek and retro electronics aficionado who just wants to be left alone. When he stumbles upon an alien artifact, he can't help but try and find out its purpose. Instead, he finds himself in over his head, in the midst of what might just turn out to be the end of the world, and nobody except him knows the truth. A truth that certain factions don't want to get out - at any cost.
It's not paranoia when self-driving cars are out to get you. Can Art survive the hunt, and maybe save the world in the process?
Progress Report is a near-future technothriller for fans of Ready Player One , Daemon , and Bobiverse . It’s packed with action, humor, and a sense of the profound that will linger long after you've turned the last page.
Art is a computer geek and retro electronics aficionado who just wants to be left alone. When he stumbles upon an alien artifact, he can't help but try and find out its purpose. Instead, he finds himself in over his head, in the midst of what might just turn out to be the end of the world, and nobody except him knows the truth. A truth that certain factions don't want to get out - at any cost.
It's not paranoia when self-driving cars are out to get you. Can Art survive the hunt, and maybe save the world in the process?
Progress Report is a near-future technothriller for fans of Ready Player One , Daemon , and Bobiverse . It’s packed with action, humor, and a sense of the profound that will linger long after you've turned the last page.
237 pages, Paperback
First published December 9, 2022
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10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 6, 2023
One of my goals this year is to read more books by male authors; therefore, when Roman Lando reached out to me with this book with its intriguing synopsis, I said HELL YES!
There’s a lot to love about this book, so let’s dive in!
What I liked about the book:
1. The book is mostly the story of a man retelling the events of what led him to where he is: currently stranded inside a spaceship, alone and with a dying cell phone battery. In fact, the chapter titles are the percentage left on his cell phone as he tells the tale, which I found a very interesting concept that added some tension to the overall story. Would we hear the whole story before the cell died? What would happen when it got to zero? I thought this was a genius take especially given the overall plot of the story.
Through the diary-like storytelling, I loved that the book was in the first person and the character was talking to the reader. Isn’t that one of the first things we learn in school we “aren’t allowed to do”? I can still remember my teachers slapping me with the verbal ruler: “you can’t talk to the audience, Britt”. So of course, I loved the rebellion of this!
2. I also loved that the writing was intellectual and witty. The high description, high cerebral writing style very much reminded me of Alan Moore meets Ray Bradbury, which was amazing as these are two of my all-time favorites. Overall, a huge plus for me.
3. This book had nerdy references and damn the man attitude up the wazoo and I was HERE FOR IT! I loved all the pop culture, geek culture, and counterculture thoughts that permeated the main character’s head at all times. It honestly made him very easy to love very early in the book.
4. I loved how the author took real life historical events and shaped them into occurrences controlled by the different alien factions. I enjoy learning about history, though I am generally terrible at it (I can’t remember dates and names to save my life!), but this brought the fun learning aspect in that I totally crave.
I looked up each of the historical events referenced throughout the book to make sure they were real events (like the briefcase that barely didn’t kill Hitler), and they were! The author definitely did his research or is a true history buff. Either way, the thought process that went into involving real life scenarios to fit his schema was beautifully done.
What could have been better:
1. I, personally, didn’t like how a lot of the chapters ended on thought cliffhangers. Meaning, a lot of the chapters ended in questions, quotes, etc. I get this was likely a tactic to get the reader to keep reading, but after a bunch of chapters doing this back-to-back, it became a tiny bit daunting and annoying.
Perhaps if this book was one you could quickly read and understand, that would have been fine, but the fact that this was a book that required mental digestion breaks to get through, it was a bit bothersome for me.
2. The romance aspect was definitely wanting. Art barely knew Tia but was thinking about her nonstop (or at least he told us he was).
Also, we got the lovely “she’s not like the other girls” thought process. Listen, if I’m spectacular, it’s not because of what’s between my legs, it’s because of what’s inside my brains, actions, and experiences. Let me correct that for you, “she’s not like other people.” There, much better.
3. At times I had to skim. It was a lot of words in places that weren’t really necessary. The author is obviously very knowledgeable about a lot of things, but I don’t need to know how the sausage is made every time. I’ll still trust you, I promise.
Final Thoughts:
It’s funny, it’s sci-fi, it’s historical, and it’s political. It was such a great read and I’m glad the author reached out to me to introduce this lovely piece of fiction to me. Thank you Roman!
Final Rating: 4 stars
There’s a lot to love about this book, so let’s dive in!
What I liked about the book:
1. The book is mostly the story of a man retelling the events of what led him to where he is: currently stranded inside a spaceship, alone and with a dying cell phone battery. In fact, the chapter titles are the percentage left on his cell phone as he tells the tale, which I found a very interesting concept that added some tension to the overall story. Would we hear the whole story before the cell died? What would happen when it got to zero? I thought this was a genius take especially given the overall plot of the story.
Through the diary-like storytelling, I loved that the book was in the first person and the character was talking to the reader. Isn’t that one of the first things we learn in school we “aren’t allowed to do”? I can still remember my teachers slapping me with the verbal ruler: “you can’t talk to the audience, Britt”. So of course, I loved the rebellion of this!
2. I also loved that the writing was intellectual and witty. The high description, high cerebral writing style very much reminded me of Alan Moore meets Ray Bradbury, which was amazing as these are two of my all-time favorites. Overall, a huge plus for me.
3. This book had nerdy references and damn the man attitude up the wazoo and I was HERE FOR IT! I loved all the pop culture, geek culture, and counterculture thoughts that permeated the main character’s head at all times. It honestly made him very easy to love very early in the book.
4. I loved how the author took real life historical events and shaped them into occurrences controlled by the different alien factions. I enjoy learning about history, though I am generally terrible at it (I can’t remember dates and names to save my life!), but this brought the fun learning aspect in that I totally crave.
I looked up each of the historical events referenced throughout the book to make sure they were real events (like the briefcase that barely didn’t kill Hitler), and they were! The author definitely did his research or is a true history buff. Either way, the thought process that went into involving real life scenarios to fit his schema was beautifully done.
What could have been better:
1. I, personally, didn’t like how a lot of the chapters ended on thought cliffhangers. Meaning, a lot of the chapters ended in questions, quotes, etc. I get this was likely a tactic to get the reader to keep reading, but after a bunch of chapters doing this back-to-back, it became a tiny bit daunting and annoying.
Perhaps if this book was one you could quickly read and understand, that would have been fine, but the fact that this was a book that required mental digestion breaks to get through, it was a bit bothersome for me.
2. The romance aspect was definitely wanting. Art barely knew Tia but was thinking about her nonstop (or at least he told us he was).
Also, we got the lovely “she’s not like the other girls” thought process. Listen, if I’m spectacular, it’s not because of what’s between my legs, it’s because of what’s inside my brains, actions, and experiences. Let me correct that for you, “she’s not like other people.” There, much better.
3. At times I had to skim. It was a lot of words in places that weren’t really necessary. The author is obviously very knowledgeable about a lot of things, but I don’t need to know how the sausage is made every time. I’ll still trust you, I promise.
Final Thoughts:
It’s funny, it’s sci-fi, it’s historical, and it’s political. It was such a great read and I’m glad the author reached out to me to introduce this lovely piece of fiction to me. Thank you Roman!
Final Rating: 4 stars
January 4, 2023
I received a copy of Progress Report for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
Progress Report is a sci-fi adventure technothriller that is full of twists and turns and is written with a sense of humor approaching that of Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhiker's Guide books. While it is not as bizarre as Adams' work, I found myself smiling all the way through it, and occasionally laughing out loud. There are numerous references to today's pop-culture making it a fun book to read.
But don't be fooled by the humor. There are some serious implications included in the text that will make one think, should one desire to do so.
Progress Report is well written and easy to follow. It is entertaining and is a fun rollercoaster ride. The characters are people I found myself caring about. Should one read between the lines, there is a story that should be taken seriously, and some commentary that is worth a second look. I especially appreciated how the author put so much of himself in this tale of intrigue.
Art, an ordinary guy, he just wants to be left alone to do his own thing. He enjoys flying his drones and taking life one day at a time. Unfortunately, for him, one of his older quad-copters encounters an invisible barrier and crashes. The incident gets the attention of some advanced aliens who immediately begin a life-threatening chase. He barely escaped with his life and soon finds himself charged with becoming an unlikely hero on a mission to save humanity. With the use of an alien artifact, he has the adventure of a lifetime with a mission ahead of him, and aliens with nefarious intent behind him.
I like Art. Just a regular, if not somewhat reclusive, character who knows his technology. He is unsure of himself, especially when it comes to female companionship. He also seems to be a bit clumsey, but has solid survival instincts. He is comfortable with artificial intelligence, which is very much to his benefit in Progress Report.
Along the way, he meets Tia. I cannot write too much about this character because it would be a major spoiler. I'll just say she is the embodiment of people are often not what they seem to be. She is, in a word, fascinating. Art also thinks she is.
My favorite point of plot is the angle the story comes from. The first chapter is titled "74%," indicating the amount of battery life in a cell phone that Art is using to chronicle the events that follow. All the chapters are percentages of battery life and I feel it is a race for art to complete his story before the phone goes dead.
I also enjoyed how Art injected humor into the story. It drove the plot forward and was never over the top. He has a unique way of seeing the world and I appreciated it immensely.
My takeaway from Progress Report is how a hero can emerge from a character, especially when they aren't looking to be a hero. Does anyone wake up in the morning and say to themselves, "I'm going to do something heroic today?" That's not the way it works. Super heroes don't exist in the real world. In Art's case, he was just out minding his own business, flying his drone, and he was forced into being a hero by the circumstances. He learned there was a situation and did what was needed to resolve it to everyone's benefit.
I give my highest recommendations to Progress Report as a fast-paced sci-fi adventure story with great characters. If you enjoy tales, including futuristic technology and first contact scenarios, this is the book for you. I look forward to future work from this author. His debut novel is full of swerves and surprises. It is engaging from the very first page with just a few places where the action slows a little to give the reader a chance to catch his/her breath.
This is the first book completed in 2023, and it was a great start to my year of reading.
Progress Report is a sci-fi adventure technothriller that is full of twists and turns and is written with a sense of humor approaching that of Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhiker's Guide books. While it is not as bizarre as Adams' work, I found myself smiling all the way through it, and occasionally laughing out loud. There are numerous references to today's pop-culture making it a fun book to read.
But don't be fooled by the humor. There are some serious implications included in the text that will make one think, should one desire to do so.
Progress Report is well written and easy to follow. It is entertaining and is a fun rollercoaster ride. The characters are people I found myself caring about. Should one read between the lines, there is a story that should be taken seriously, and some commentary that is worth a second look. I especially appreciated how the author put so much of himself in this tale of intrigue.
Art, an ordinary guy, he just wants to be left alone to do his own thing. He enjoys flying his drones and taking life one day at a time. Unfortunately, for him, one of his older quad-copters encounters an invisible barrier and crashes. The incident gets the attention of some advanced aliens who immediately begin a life-threatening chase. He barely escaped with his life and soon finds himself charged with becoming an unlikely hero on a mission to save humanity. With the use of an alien artifact, he has the adventure of a lifetime with a mission ahead of him, and aliens with nefarious intent behind him.
I like Art. Just a regular, if not somewhat reclusive, character who knows his technology. He is unsure of himself, especially when it comes to female companionship. He also seems to be a bit clumsey, but has solid survival instincts. He is comfortable with artificial intelligence, which is very much to his benefit in Progress Report.
Along the way, he meets Tia. I cannot write too much about this character because it would be a major spoiler. I'll just say she is the embodiment of people are often not what they seem to be. She is, in a word, fascinating. Art also thinks she is.
My favorite point of plot is the angle the story comes from. The first chapter is titled "74%," indicating the amount of battery life in a cell phone that Art is using to chronicle the events that follow. All the chapters are percentages of battery life and I feel it is a race for art to complete his story before the phone goes dead.
I also enjoyed how Art injected humor into the story. It drove the plot forward and was never over the top. He has a unique way of seeing the world and I appreciated it immensely.
My takeaway from Progress Report is how a hero can emerge from a character, especially when they aren't looking to be a hero. Does anyone wake up in the morning and say to themselves, "I'm going to do something heroic today?" That's not the way it works. Super heroes don't exist in the real world. In Art's case, he was just out minding his own business, flying his drone, and he was forced into being a hero by the circumstances. He learned there was a situation and did what was needed to resolve it to everyone's benefit.
I give my highest recommendations to Progress Report as a fast-paced sci-fi adventure story with great characters. If you enjoy tales, including futuristic technology and first contact scenarios, this is the book for you. I look forward to future work from this author. His debut novel is full of swerves and surprises. It is engaging from the very first page with just a few places where the action slows a little to give the reader a chance to catch his/her breath.
This is the first book completed in 2023, and it was a great start to my year of reading.
December 31, 2022
VERDICT: Fabulous sci technothriller with kickass characters and excellent plot, to start your 2023 year of reading with a bang!
These days, I rarely request a review copy and even less often accept one. But when Roman Lando contacted me about his self-published scifi technothriller, I thought the genre had some potential. I was hooked when I read the synopsis and the first pages.
I am so glad I accepted to read Progress Report. I devoured it in a couple of days and can close my 2022 reviews with a bang!
When Progress Report opens, we meet Art, a guy somewhere on a spaceship, using the last few percent of battery left on his smartphone, to keep his mind busy by writing his story as a book.
He has very little water, food, and oxygen left!
My full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2022/12/31/...
These days, I rarely request a review copy and even less often accept one. But when Roman Lando contacted me about his self-published scifi technothriller, I thought the genre had some potential. I was hooked when I read the synopsis and the first pages.
I am so glad I accepted to read Progress Report. I devoured it in a couple of days and can close my 2022 reviews with a bang!
When Progress Report opens, we meet Art, a guy somewhere on a spaceship, using the last few percent of battery left on his smartphone, to keep his mind busy by writing his story as a book.
He has very little water, food, and oxygen left!
My full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2022/12/31/...
December 20, 2022
In his Progress Report, Roman paints a very plausible, even recognizable picture of near future: the proliferation of the ubiquitous tech; the societal patterns; the international relations - and the list goes on. The scary realization is how easy it is to imagine yourself in that world, and how far along the described trends we already are.
But this techno-thriller lives up to both parts of its genre attribution: all the gadgets and jargon are only a means to an end, which is a swerving, high-octane plot with unexpected twists and ever wilder discoveries behind each corner.
Mentioning anything else would be a spoiler risk, so I'll just say that I look forward for the sequel!
But this techno-thriller lives up to both parts of its genre attribution: all the gadgets and jargon are only a means to an end, which is a swerving, high-octane plot with unexpected twists and ever wilder discoveries behind each corner.
Mentioning anything else would be a spoiler risk, so I'll just say that I look forward for the sequel!
August 3, 2023
I received a free review copy of this audio book, at my request, and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.
This is an interesting story, with some inconsistencies, and awkward dialog.
I enjoyed this book, quite a bit, despite it's shortfalls. The main character was relatable, secondary characters believable, good settings, good plot and pacing. It was a good time.
The main character was well developed and easy to identify with. He was a little over powered, but not so much so as to feel out of place, just a little cliche. The fact he is a a tech head, with all the right contacts, and also well versed in firearms and martial arts, is a bit much. I'm not saying there's not a lot of similar people in the world, but it just seems a bit far fetched how this all fell exactly into the right persons lap.
I loved that this was set in canada, but this also lead to some inconsistencies. Like the fact he got a hand gun, at one point, and his mind is solely on the "illegal" 10 round magazine in the rifle he has. He has no firearms license, and no permit for the handgun, meaning the rifle magazine would be the least of his worries.
There is also an American agent working in Canada. An international agent or Canadian CSIS officer, would have been a little more logical, but hey, I guess America has the police the whole world, so....
The dialog is also a little clunky. Now, the book is written as a diary or log of something that happened to the main character. The main character is writing it all down, incase he is not able to deliver the information. In that regards, it makes some sense that the dialog he recalls wouldn't be the way people talk, especially as the narrator is trying to write semi formally, for record of the events. However, it is a little hard to read/listen to, as people don't generally speak to each other the way they do in the story.
The voice narrator, Adam Schulmerich, didn't help the dialog. He read the book a little like he was giving a speech. It matched the semi formal tone of the text, but it definitely added to the robot feel of the story. The narrator needs to add some voice differentiation between characters and add some female voices, and generally loosen up a little. Be more conversational.
All in all, this was a pretty good book. It falls into some cliche traps of overskilled protagonists, and "'Merica!!" the tone is a little too formal, leading to some robotic dialog, but the engagement of the story is more than enough to over power any of this.
This is definitely worth a read/listen to.
This is an interesting story, with some inconsistencies, and awkward dialog.
I enjoyed this book, quite a bit, despite it's shortfalls. The main character was relatable, secondary characters believable, good settings, good plot and pacing. It was a good time.
The main character was well developed and easy to identify with. He was a little over powered, but not so much so as to feel out of place, just a little cliche. The fact he is a a tech head, with all the right contacts, and also well versed in firearms and martial arts, is a bit much. I'm not saying there's not a lot of similar people in the world, but it just seems a bit far fetched how this all fell exactly into the right persons lap.
I loved that this was set in canada, but this also lead to some inconsistencies. Like the fact he got a hand gun, at one point, and his mind is solely on the "illegal" 10 round magazine in the rifle he has. He has no firearms license, and no permit for the handgun, meaning the rifle magazine would be the least of his worries.
There is also an American agent working in Canada. An international agent or Canadian CSIS officer, would have been a little more logical, but hey, I guess America has the police the whole world, so....
The dialog is also a little clunky. Now, the book is written as a diary or log of something that happened to the main character. The main character is writing it all down, incase he is not able to deliver the information. In that regards, it makes some sense that the dialog he recalls wouldn't be the way people talk, especially as the narrator is trying to write semi formally, for record of the events. However, it is a little hard to read/listen to, as people don't generally speak to each other the way they do in the story.
The voice narrator, Adam Schulmerich, didn't help the dialog. He read the book a little like he was giving a speech. It matched the semi formal tone of the text, but it definitely added to the robot feel of the story. The narrator needs to add some voice differentiation between characters and add some female voices, and generally loosen up a little. Be more conversational.
All in all, this was a pretty good book. It falls into some cliche traps of overskilled protagonists, and "'Merica!!" the tone is a little too formal, leading to some robotic dialog, but the engagement of the story is more than enough to over power any of this.
This is definitely worth a read/listen to.
February 28, 2024
Uncaged Review: I have mixed feelings on this book. On one hand, it’s a decent SciFi, and the author keeps the tech easy enough for the reader to comprehend and hard core SciFi lovers will enjoy it. On the other hand, it’s slow and drags a lot. Paragraph after paragraph of explanations and even conversations are long and overly drawn out. The action is minimal, and all the characters are not as they may seem to be in the beginning. It starts out with our main character, Art, onboard an alien ship with his phone’s battery slowly losing charge, and each chapter explains how he got there and the very intricate tale of how many things came to be in the world, with the help of an alien race known as the Advancers. On the flip side of the Advancers are the bad guys, an alien group that is known as the Four Horsemen in this book, trying to cause strife and war and wipe out humanity. Eventually Art is targeted and goes on the run, to be befriended by an Advancer named Theo. All goes south and Art finds out the Four Horsemen are planning on WWIII. Is human Art enough to stop it?
The book is pretty well written but could easily been shortened. My mind wandered way too often when reading and I am usually on board with a good SciFi and the ending was lackluster. This is one of those stories that will appeal to a niche audience.
Reviewed by Cyrene 3.5 Stars
The book is pretty well written but could easily been shortened. My mind wandered way too often when reading and I am usually on board with a good SciFi and the ending was lackluster. This is one of those stories that will appeal to a niche audience.
Reviewed by Cyrene 3.5 Stars
January 2, 2023
Art is a Russian immigrant living in Canada, a web designer, socially awkward nerd, and serious drone hobbyist. However, once he encounters an alien force field by chance, his life goes spectacularly wrong. Suddenly an unknown agency is trying to kill him by taking over automated cars and other devices. His only chance is to discover who or what is behind these threats and to stop them. With the aid of a tech-savvy friend, and an "Emo girl" who is more than she seems, he contacts an alien and learns the horrifying truth. He's the only one who can stop a plot that will result in global nuclear holocaust.
The book is an exciting and fun romp in the beginning and end, but tended to drag in the middle, with our hero being more "wordy" than he needs to be. However, as a whole, the book is uplifting and enjoyable in a way a lot of science fiction in the 21st century has forgotten about. Definitely set up for a sequel.
The book is an exciting and fun romp in the beginning and end, but tended to drag in the middle, with our hero being more "wordy" than he needs to be. However, as a whole, the book is uplifting and enjoyable in a way a lot of science fiction in the 21st century has forgotten about. Definitely set up for a sequel.
March 9, 2023
What I Did Like:
+I liked the idea of starting each “chapter” with the percentage of battery. Definitely focused the reader on that number and significance while also giving us sort of a count down.
+The integration of AI was interesting and made for the most interesting parts of the book. The technology is realistic and just outside of the realm of possible right now, making this an exciting concept.
+Reluctant hero trope (as mentioned in the book) is on full display here. If you’re a fan of that trope, you may really love this one!
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of advanced technology and alien race books who are looking for something quick.
My Rating: 3 stars
The pacing issues are a concern for me but the technology stuff made this pretty neat. I’d say for the right audience, this would be a great book.
For Full Review: https://tabathashipleybooks.com/2023/...
+I liked the idea of starting each “chapter” with the percentage of battery. Definitely focused the reader on that number and significance while also giving us sort of a count down.
+The integration of AI was interesting and made for the most interesting parts of the book. The technology is realistic and just outside of the realm of possible right now, making this an exciting concept.
+Reluctant hero trope (as mentioned in the book) is on full display here. If you’re a fan of that trope, you may really love this one!
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of advanced technology and alien race books who are looking for something quick.
My Rating: 3 stars
The pacing issues are a concern for me but the technology stuff made this pretty neat. I’d say for the right audience, this would be a great book.
For Full Review: https://tabathashipleybooks.com/2023/...
July 14, 2023
Received as an audio review copy through Roman Bershadsky, this is an honest review. This wondrously narrated by Adam Schulmerich finds a man named Art swept up into a very quirky yet important adventure that he could become a great hero of as he is tasked with stopping and alien contingent bent on humanity's destruction after discovering an artifact and marked for death by said alien forces. To be humanity's champion, Art finds out that a whole separate contingent of aliens has been working through our existence to better our species and can provide the assistance Art needs to keep humans alive... along with some crazy ass luck to go with it. There's nothing to lose with this story and fun way to spend your time.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
January 25, 2023
Roman Lando creates a fun sci-fi story with fun twists and turns. I had some trouble reading it though. It's all log paragraphs with excessive detail. There isn't dialogue until about 18 percent and then it's in the same paragraph form. There were times I had to skim to build up my excitement.
I did enjoy the humor. I love the pop culture references and the humor based on the truth of just being human.
I have this three stars for story and humor though I was not a fan of the writing style.
I received an ARC from the author; all opinions are my own.
I did enjoy the humor. I love the pop culture references and the humor based on the truth of just being human.
I have this three stars for story and humor though I was not a fan of the writing style.
I received an ARC from the author; all opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews