Primed

by G.P. Francis

"Wishing for once her employers could have let her stay dead, Special Operative Angel Leonard is once again revived to fight in a future where technology eliminates freedom of thought, blends real and virtual; where her own mind is her worst enemy."

Primed is an innovative and insightful, hard science-fiction thriller (cyberpunk), set in the not-too-distant future. Instantaneous space transit technology has brought humanity to the brink of a massive colonial expansion across the Orion Arm of the Milky Way.

The United Nations of Earth declared martial law, justifying unprecedented violations of privacy and human rights throughout the colonies to suppress the armed insurgency of the Orion Arm Conglomerate for Independence, a group of trans-global corporations vying for freedom from UNE’s proscriptive laws and unfair colonial taxation.
Hopelessly outnumbered, the O.A.C.I. turns to outlawed human cloning and memory transfer technology to revive fallen operatives in their private army. Fiercely loyal to the cause, fearless of death, O.A.C.I.'s veterans return from their graves time and time again, their lifetimes of combat experience and skills restored, carrying out a series of tactical strikes to thwart UNE’s overstretched attempt to consolidate power.

Genres: Science Fiction

250 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

G P Francis is a British-born, Canadian-resident writer, publisher and environmental scientist. His current works in print include a short thriller entitled "Vigi-Santees," published in Fringeworks' anthology, "Ain't No Sanity Clause," and the innovative and insightful cyberpunk novel, "Primed."

Reviews

[Lilac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm too hot and tired to write a proper review at the moment (the weather here is crazy) but here are my rough thoughts on the book. I'll try to come back and get this into a proper review sometime in the summer holidays.

Parts of this were really good, even 5 star quality, but some parts were just a let down. The story itself was interesting and I loved all the odd stuff about the world that was almost like ours (Veggs, likes, +1s, StillGoodReads, and more). After a while I also became accustomed to the military style language that's used quite a lot and really makes Angel Leonard's character more realistic. What let this book down was the fighting scenes, which were way too boring. I'm used to books where any fighting is fast paced and you really feel awakened and alive. Primed just didn't do that (which is funny considering the title).The action scenes were long a boring and far too descriptive to keep it interesting. I understand that what this character does in a situation like that is take in her surroundings and remember every last detail to make sure she can make the most of her situation, I just wish the author could have described everything less and got on with the action. But other than that it's a really good book which I'm glad to have won, and it came in very close to getting 4 stars off me. Plus, I really really liked the twist. :)

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the Kindle version of this book after hearing the author read at a local bookstore last month. He has a wonderful reading voice, with a strong, British accent, for the record. He also read from a sequel he's working on, so although this book is currently listed as not being part of a series I think that will change with the release of the next book, which sounds like it's going to be every bit as good as 'Primed'.

Here's my review:

This is about as hard as science-fiction gets!

If, like me, you like to think the amazing technology described in SF stories is actually possible, even inevitable, then you’ll get a BIG kick out of this book.

The story itself builds slowly as the reader is immersed in the realism of the setting, underpinned with solid science and richly-descriptive language. The style reminded me a bit of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ stories. Before too long, though, the reader is rewarded with a series of identity-shattering revelations and mind-bending plot twists, where the main character’s initial paranoia is more than validated. At first, it’s not clear who the ‘good guys and bad guys’ are, particularly when viewed through post-9/11 eyes, and the author does a great job at throwing a veil over the situation, blurring the boundaries until the critical point.

If I had to compare ‘Primed’ to a dessert it would be ‘Death by Chocolate’. Dark and menacing, deeply layered, deliciously rich and satisfying, leaving all other dishes bland in comparison. And no matter how much you have you can’t help but want more. ‘Primed’ is ‘Death by Cyberpunk,’ and about time, too, as I was beginning to despair about the lack of depth in contemporary literature.

5 stars deserved, as I find myself looking at the world from an altered perspective, as all truly great books should make you do.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm too hot and tired to write a proper review at the moment (the weather here is crazy) but here are my rough thoughts on the book. I'll try to come back and get this into a proper review sometime in the summer holidays.

Parts of this were really good, even 5 star quality, but some parts were just a let down. The story itself was interesting and I loved all the odd stuff about the world that was almost like ours (Veggs, likes, +1s, StillGoodReads, and more). After a while I also became accustomed to the military style language that's used quite a lot and really makes Angel Leonard's character more realistic. What let this book down was the fighting scenes, which were way too boring. I'm used to books where any fighting is fast paced and you really feel awakened and alive. Primed just didn't do that (which is funny considering the title).The action scenes were long a boring and far too descriptive to keep it interesting. I understand that what this character does in a situation like that is take in her surroundings and remember every last detail to make sure she can make the most of her situation, I just wish the author could have described everything less and got on with the action. But other than that it's a really good book which I'm glad to have won, and it came in very close to getting 4 stars off me. Plus, I really really liked the twist. :)

[Jeff]

Thank you. I just won this book in a first reads giveaway. I will read and comment once I get the book.