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Proxy
THE YEAR 2139 A.D.
THE SOVEREIGN CITY-STATE OF ROMA
Virata Das has it rough, mostly from her own doing. A traitor to her country, she is now exiled in poor and crime-ridden Roma, forced to work for gangsters in order to stay ahead of her ever-growing debt. Nothing has gone right for her in many, many years, and there are no signs of it getting better. She is a desperate and dangerous woman in a desperate and dangerous time and place.
When word comes through the underground that a rich old American is offering a ridiculous bounty for a job, Virata finds herself torn. The money on the table is more than enough to get her out from under what she owes and for her to start a new life where she’ll never need to worry about anything ever again. True freedom. A light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
But the job requires her to do something she has sworn to never do. The American’s wife has been murdered and he wants her killer hunted and treated in kind. Virata killed for country many times during World War VI but has promised herself to never do it again, especially not for money.
Worse yet, the old man wants more from her. Not satisfied with a faceless assassination, he wants Virata to feel what he feels in order to fully appreciate the revenge she is to exact. He wants to implant a chip in her brain that will give her his memories of his dead wife, filling her with the sense of love and loss that he is suffering. He wants his grief to become hers. His wrath to become hers.
He does not want a bounty hunter or an assassin.
He wants a proxy.
As crazy as it sounds, Virata has very little choice. She is out of options. One murder to salvage the rest of her once-promising life. It will be her final stand. Her last big play. She will either leave Roma a wealthy and free woman, or she will die there.
Besides, it seems simple
Wear the chip. Kill the guy. Walk away rich.
Should be easy.
Right?
PROXY is a dark, sexy, mysterious, and action-packed future-noir about a woman driven to seek vengeance for a crime that has nothing to do with her. Set in a time where both society and technology have plateaued and stagnated, it is a world ravaged by war and nearly bereft of natural resources. An era of great disappointment, for the future we are promised today is nowhere to be seen.
Virata Das, in the course of trying to make her way through the world the best she can, is going to stumble into something far larger than what she expects. All she wants is to do her job and eradicate the demons that have been shoved into her brain. But the world has different plans for her.
She really wishes it didn’t.
THE SOVEREIGN CITY-STATE OF ROMA
Virata Das has it rough, mostly from her own doing. A traitor to her country, she is now exiled in poor and crime-ridden Roma, forced to work for gangsters in order to stay ahead of her ever-growing debt. Nothing has gone right for her in many, many years, and there are no signs of it getting better. She is a desperate and dangerous woman in a desperate and dangerous time and place.
When word comes through the underground that a rich old American is offering a ridiculous bounty for a job, Virata finds herself torn. The money on the table is more than enough to get her out from under what she owes and for her to start a new life where she’ll never need to worry about anything ever again. True freedom. A light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
But the job requires her to do something she has sworn to never do. The American’s wife has been murdered and he wants her killer hunted and treated in kind. Virata killed for country many times during World War VI but has promised herself to never do it again, especially not for money.
Worse yet, the old man wants more from her. Not satisfied with a faceless assassination, he wants Virata to feel what he feels in order to fully appreciate the revenge she is to exact. He wants to implant a chip in her brain that will give her his memories of his dead wife, filling her with the sense of love and loss that he is suffering. He wants his grief to become hers. His wrath to become hers.
He does not want a bounty hunter or an assassin.
He wants a proxy.
As crazy as it sounds, Virata has very little choice. She is out of options. One murder to salvage the rest of her once-promising life. It will be her final stand. Her last big play. She will either leave Roma a wealthy and free woman, or she will die there.
Besides, it seems simple
Wear the chip. Kill the guy. Walk away rich.
Should be easy.
Right?
PROXY is a dark, sexy, mysterious, and action-packed future-noir about a woman driven to seek vengeance for a crime that has nothing to do with her. Set in a time where both society and technology have plateaued and stagnated, it is a world ravaged by war and nearly bereft of natural resources. An era of great disappointment, for the future we are promised today is nowhere to be seen.
Virata Das, in the course of trying to make her way through the world the best she can, is going to stumble into something far larger than what she expects. All she wants is to do her job and eradicate the demons that have been shoved into her brain. But the world has different plans for her.
She really wishes it didn’t.
394 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2013
6 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Chad J. Shonk
2 books1 followerChad J. Shonk is the writer of the increasingly-popular independent film DAKOTA SKYE.
A product of the great states of Ohio, Georgia and California, he currently resides in San Francisco.
A product of the great states of Ohio, Georgia and California, he currently resides in San Francisco.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 6, 2019
Of the four ebooks I finished during a trip to Italy, this was definitely my favorite - and of course, it's the one which needs a sequel and seems to be destined not to get one. Such is life.
I was honestly surprised at how much I liked this book, though, because it's not a comfortable read in the least; Shonk's setting is a cruel future rife with violence, exploitation, racism, and all of humanity's worst traits. This is a writing choice which usually turns me off of a book, partly because I don't think it's realistic and partly because it's just an unpleasant headspace to put myself in, but something about it worked here. I think it comes down to the diversity in worldviews of the major characters - there's enough variation that they feel well-rounded and real, and it makes it clear that while Rata has seen some of humanity's worst, that's not all that's left.
It doesn't hurt that the plot is never quite what you think it is - there's always one more layer, one more deception which, when revealed, shows everything in a new light. One of the key conceits, and what I found completely fascinating, comes at the end of the book:
I also really liked Rata as a character, partly because she's a terrible person but still a protagonist, and that's not a role often given to women. The fact that she's a lesbian with some incredibly messy relationships doesn't hurt - I'm a sucker for a morally grey queer lady, always. And I'm still sad that I don't get to find out where she goes from here, especially since
As much as I liked it, though, I can't recommend it - because it's a book that needs a sequel, and as much as I trawled I could find no indication that any such sequel is forthcoming. Spare yourself the disappointment of reaching for more when nothing's there, friends.
I was honestly surprised at how much I liked this book, though, because it's not a comfortable read in the least; Shonk's setting is a cruel future rife with violence, exploitation, racism, and all of humanity's worst traits. This is a writing choice which usually turns me off of a book, partly because I don't think it's realistic and partly because it's just an unpleasant headspace to put myself in, but something about it worked here. I think it comes down to the diversity in worldviews of the major characters - there's enough variation that they feel well-rounded and real, and it makes it clear that while Rata has seen some of humanity's worst, that's not all that's left.
It doesn't hurt that the plot is never quite what you think it is - there's always one more layer, one more deception which, when revealed, shows everything in a new light. One of the key conceits, and what I found completely fascinating, comes at the end of the book:
I also really liked Rata as a character, partly because she's a terrible person but still a protagonist, and that's not a role often given to women. The fact that she's a lesbian with some incredibly messy relationships doesn't hurt - I'm a sucker for a morally grey queer lady, always. And I'm still sad that I don't get to find out where she goes from here, especially since
As much as I liked it, though, I can't recommend it - because it's a book that needs a sequel, and as much as I trawled I could find no indication that any such sequel is forthcoming. Spare yourself the disappointment of reaching for more when nothing's there, friends.
September 28, 2019
The murder of a former American Senator's wife on the streets of Roma - by now, in 2139, a sovereign city-state - imbues him with a craving for vengeance. Too old and frail to do the deed himself, he needs someone else to do it for him - but he doesn't just want a trigger-puller. To be able to relive the carrying out of his revenge as though it were his own memory, he needs a proxy, someone willing to be implanted with a chip that will transfer his own memories, motivations and thirst for vengeance to them and record the violence they commit on his behalf in return. He needs someone desperate and dangerous. Someone like Virata Das. She doesn't quite understand what she is agreeing to when she accepts the assignment, but it's her only way out of debt and despair. Driven by someone else's grief and fury, her life is no longer entirely her own... and it is about to change forever.
Damn, this was one hell of a ride. Actionpacked, gripping, featuring a strong, compelling protagonist and set in an excellently crafted and fascinating world. But... whatever happened to the promised sequel? I want more of this!
Damn, this was one hell of a ride. Actionpacked, gripping, featuring a strong, compelling protagonist and set in an excellently crafted and fascinating world. But... whatever happened to the promised sequel? I want more of this!
June 5, 2013
So I have heard it said that there are very few original stories left to be written, that being said Proxy by Chad J. Shonk definitely would fall in that category for me. The characters, the setting and journey that this writer took me on are the reasons that I loved this book. As I write this review, I want to be very careful to entice you to read the book, not spoil the plot.
The Premise: Desperate times call for desperate measures. We meet Virata Das while she is working as a hired hand for an individual she despises, paying off a debt that probably will never come to an end. Living in a future where there is no hope for a better life, an American Senator approaches her with an opportunity that could change everything.
The Senator wants Rata to kill the man that killed his wife. However, the Senator wants Rata to be a true proxy for him, filled with the love he had for his wife and the vengeance he had for the man that killed her.
I am always a big fan of strong female characters, so this book had me at the word go. As we travel with Virata on her journey, we learn the self-reliance that Rata lives by can also translate to loneliness and desperation. Can she achieve the freedom and the wealth that she has been promised by killing the Senators wife, alone? How does a person who has learned not to trust, trust? Who can she trust? Her story arc is amazing.
We’ve all began books where after reading a few chapters we set it back down, because the lengthy setting descriptions took me away from the storyline. This book does not suffer from that… it reads very fast and is action packed. I was along for the journey from the very beginning, wondering where this intriguing premise, characters, setting and journey was going to take me.
The Premise: Desperate times call for desperate measures. We meet Virata Das while she is working as a hired hand for an individual she despises, paying off a debt that probably will never come to an end. Living in a future where there is no hope for a better life, an American Senator approaches her with an opportunity that could change everything.
The Senator wants Rata to kill the man that killed his wife. However, the Senator wants Rata to be a true proxy for him, filled with the love he had for his wife and the vengeance he had for the man that killed her.
I am always a big fan of strong female characters, so this book had me at the word go. As we travel with Virata on her journey, we learn the self-reliance that Rata lives by can also translate to loneliness and desperation. Can she achieve the freedom and the wealth that she has been promised by killing the Senators wife, alone? How does a person who has learned not to trust, trust? Who can she trust? Her story arc is amazing.
We’ve all began books where after reading a few chapters we set it back down, because the lengthy setting descriptions took me away from the storyline. This book does not suffer from that… it reads very fast and is action packed. I was along for the journey from the very beginning, wondering where this intriguing premise, characters, setting and journey was going to take me.
June 27, 2013
This isn't a genre I would normally read but I decided to give it a go anyway and I was rewarded with a truly intriguing story. This would be a five star book but for the fact that it felt like it had a slow start. If I hadn't been stuck on a 4 hour flight I might have walked away from it altogether, but with nothing else to do I pressed on. Then I literally flew through the second half of the book and would love to get my hands on the sequel, like, now.
Be warned, there is rough language and some less-than-wholesome subject matter. I didn't feel like that went any further than necessary to tell the story but I think there's enough there to make the book unappealing to some people.
All in all, the book puts me in mind of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Strong female leading character, substantial character development, intriguing plot twists... And it left me thinking simultaneously "why am I reading this book?" and "I can't put this down." I hope the author continues to write because he has a great gift. Polishing his craft over time could really take him to the next level.
February 6, 2014
Satisfying thriller with an edge of cyberpunk and dystopia thrown in. Strong female protagonist but the ending was clearly setting up for a sequel when it could and maybe should have been finished. Still a good read!
January 21, 2016
This indie novel reallly blew me away. Good synopsis can be found at the author's website, http://chadjshonk.com/proxy. Involving, suspenseful, emotionally grabbing, all around great read. Will be anxiously awaiting the sequel. Four and a half stars.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews