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Knuckleduster #1
Knuckleduster
After being blinded during military service, Brody "Knuckleduster" Calhoun relies on special carotene lenses, powered by expensive batteries, for sight. In order to pay for his vision, Brody becomes a vigilante for hire, specializing in tracking down and beating abusive husbands. To strangers he's just a junkie with odd, orange-stained eyes, but to the police, Brody's a repeat offender with a lengthy, and ever-growing, rap sheet that includes 17 cases of aggravated assault, all with a deadly weapon--his brass knuckles. When an old friend from the service, Thorp Ashbury, invites him to rural Illinois, Brody takes the opportunity to flee the city and violence. But after agreeing to help Thorp find his missing kid sister in Chicago, Brody uncovers a startling conspiracy that threatens to shake the very foundation of everything he stands for. Having spent his life in a cycle of violence and probation, Brody is forced to face his future.
522 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
338 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Post
28 books72 followersAndrew Post is the author of CHOP SHOP, AFTERTASTE, RUSTED HEROES, THE SIREN HOUSE, SIRED BY STONE, FABRICK, and KNUCKLEDUSTER.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 15, 2013
Action packed and tense, Knuckleduster delivers on so many levels. The story follows the damaged war vet Brody ‘Knuckleduster’ Calhoun, living on a shoestring, who has been contacted by an old friend – Thorp - who served with him. Together they try to unravel the mysterious disappearance of Thorp’s sister whose breadcrumbs draws them ever deeper into a dangerous web of intrigue that threatens to completely undermine Brody’s already precarious future.
Post places us in the not-so-distant future, handling it in a very realistic fashion. From the tech that compensates for Brody’s blindness using high-tech contact lenses or sonar, to the weaponry that records a combat soldier’s activities on active duty, and ominous robots integrated into everyday life, the reader is sucked into a very believable world.
It’s a guessing game from start to finish. Is Thorp just a paranoid man leading Brody toward a ruined life? Or is there really a sinister conspiracy embedded into one of the world’s most powerful corporations? The reader is kept guessing right up until the explosive climax. A first class novel.
Post places us in the not-so-distant future, handling it in a very realistic fashion. From the tech that compensates for Brody’s blindness using high-tech contact lenses or sonar, to the weaponry that records a combat soldier’s activities on active duty, and ominous robots integrated into everyday life, the reader is sucked into a very believable world.
It’s a guessing game from start to finish. Is Thorp just a paranoid man leading Brody toward a ruined life? Or is there really a sinister conspiracy embedded into one of the world’s most powerful corporations? The reader is kept guessing right up until the explosive climax. A first class novel.
October 5, 2023
Read October 2023 👁️
•
Gut Instinct Rating: 5
Characters: 4.75
Believability: 5
Uniqueness: 5
Writing Style: 4.5
Excitement Factor: 4
Story Line: 5
Title Relevance: 5
Artwork Relevance: 5
Audiobook Narration: n/a
Overall: 4.81🏳️🌈
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CW: Crime Story Line, Featuring a branch of the military, Science Fiction Story Line, Victims of Crime Story Line (domestic violence)
•
Gut Instinct Rating: 5
Characters: 4.75
Believability: 5
Uniqueness: 5
Writing Style: 4.5
Excitement Factor: 4
Story Line: 5
Title Relevance: 5
Artwork Relevance: 5
Audiobook Narration: n/a
Overall: 4.81🏳️🌈
•
CW: Crime Story Line, Featuring a branch of the military, Science Fiction Story Line, Victims of Crime Story Line (domestic violence)
January 31, 2024
They need better batteries.
July 8, 2016
Knuckleduster von Andrew Post, erschienen im Luzifer Verlag am 17. Mai 2016.
Brody ist in einem Krieg in Kairo verletzt worden. Er ist blind und auf Linsen angewiesen die mit Batterien die sein Einkommen weit übersteigen betrieben werden. Seine Rente bessert er mit einem gesetzlichen Schlupfloch auf indem er prügelnden Männern im Auftrag ihrer Frauen und Freundinnen eine Abreibung verpasst. Was ihn zwar nicht ins Gefängnis, jedoch in eine nicht enden wollende Anzahl an Sozialstunden die er genau da ableistet wo seine Kundinnen ihn ansprechen bringt. Aus dieser Endlosschleife der Gewalt rettet ihn ein Anruf eines Freundes der damals auch in jenem Krieg gekämpft hat. Brody fährt zu ihm um Thanksgiving mit ihm zu feiern, vielleicht noch diesen oder jenen Vogel zu jagen und eine gute Zeit mit ihm zu haben. Völlig abgebrannt kommt Brody bei ihm an und findet ein ziemliches Wrack vor, lässt sich aber bequatschen die Schwester des Freundes zu suchen um ihr auszureden sich ebenfalls für die Army zu melden.
Der Autor zieht einen sofort mit in die Geschichte und wir bekommen auch einen Protagonisten der einem sehr sympathisch ist wenn man mal von der Tatsache absieht, dass er seinen Unterhalt damit verdient Leuten die Zähne einzuschlagen. Es kommt also jede Menge Gewalt in diesem Buch vor. Die Geschichte ist in einer nahen Zukunft angesiedelt wo Dinge die wir uns gerade überlegen ein zu führen ihre Konsequenzen zeigen. So wird z. B. nicht mehr bar bezahlt, sondern man trägt eine Karte bei sich wo jeder Verkäufer feststellen kann ob Du Dir den Kaffee überhaupt leisten kannst und staatliche Stellen sofort feststellen können wo Du Dich aufhalst. Eine ziemlich düstere Zukunft die uns da beschrieben wird. Positive Gefühle wie Liebe, Freude und Glück sucht man recht vergeblich in diesem Buch, dafür hat es einen starken Auftritt was Freundschaft und Selbstjustiz hat.
Mich konnte das Buch mitreißen und sehr gut unterhalten. Es regt einen sogar zum Nachdenken an ob die derzeitigen Entwicklungen nicht wirklich zu so einer Zukunft führen können. Wer dunkle Dystopien und richtig Action ohne ständig nachzufragen ob etwas wirklich möglich ist mag wird hier voll auf seine Kosten kommen. Kunden die öfter im Verlagsprogramm stöbern wissen, dass dieser Verlag nichts für Weicheier macht.
Brody ist in einem Krieg in Kairo verletzt worden. Er ist blind und auf Linsen angewiesen die mit Batterien die sein Einkommen weit übersteigen betrieben werden. Seine Rente bessert er mit einem gesetzlichen Schlupfloch auf indem er prügelnden Männern im Auftrag ihrer Frauen und Freundinnen eine Abreibung verpasst. Was ihn zwar nicht ins Gefängnis, jedoch in eine nicht enden wollende Anzahl an Sozialstunden die er genau da ableistet wo seine Kundinnen ihn ansprechen bringt. Aus dieser Endlosschleife der Gewalt rettet ihn ein Anruf eines Freundes der damals auch in jenem Krieg gekämpft hat. Brody fährt zu ihm um Thanksgiving mit ihm zu feiern, vielleicht noch diesen oder jenen Vogel zu jagen und eine gute Zeit mit ihm zu haben. Völlig abgebrannt kommt Brody bei ihm an und findet ein ziemliches Wrack vor, lässt sich aber bequatschen die Schwester des Freundes zu suchen um ihr auszureden sich ebenfalls für die Army zu melden.
Der Autor zieht einen sofort mit in die Geschichte und wir bekommen auch einen Protagonisten der einem sehr sympathisch ist wenn man mal von der Tatsache absieht, dass er seinen Unterhalt damit verdient Leuten die Zähne einzuschlagen. Es kommt also jede Menge Gewalt in diesem Buch vor. Die Geschichte ist in einer nahen Zukunft angesiedelt wo Dinge die wir uns gerade überlegen ein zu führen ihre Konsequenzen zeigen. So wird z. B. nicht mehr bar bezahlt, sondern man trägt eine Karte bei sich wo jeder Verkäufer feststellen kann ob Du Dir den Kaffee überhaupt leisten kannst und staatliche Stellen sofort feststellen können wo Du Dich aufhalst. Eine ziemlich düstere Zukunft die uns da beschrieben wird. Positive Gefühle wie Liebe, Freude und Glück sucht man recht vergeblich in diesem Buch, dafür hat es einen starken Auftritt was Freundschaft und Selbstjustiz hat.
Mich konnte das Buch mitreißen und sehr gut unterhalten. Es regt einen sogar zum Nachdenken an ob die derzeitigen Entwicklungen nicht wirklich zu so einer Zukunft führen können. Wer dunkle Dystopien und richtig Action ohne ständig nachzufragen ob etwas wirklich möglich ist mag wird hier voll auf seine Kosten kommen. Kunden die öfter im Verlagsprogramm stöbern wissen, dass dieser Verlag nichts für Weicheier macht.
March 11, 2013
This was my first “First Reads” book giveaway win from Goodreads.com, and I finally got to read it. This copy was a pre-release edition of the book which, as indicated on the cover, was not the final edit version. Knowing this, I had to disregard all spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. There were a fair number of mistakes, but it did not detract from the story at all.
The story is set in the near future in the Midwest that follows Brody, a war veteran who wound up blinded in an explosion. He now has special lenses that allow him to see, but the batteries must be charged often. When his batteries go dead, he must wear a sonar device that allows him to see everything in a black and white wire frame. Brody has had trouble with the law, as he has been forced to pay new batteries by beating up men who abuse their wives and girlfriends. That is, until his old friend from the military calls him to help find his sister who has gone missing.
This then brings us on a roller coaster ride in which conspiracies are uncovered and each character learns something unexpected about themselves. I was fully engrossed in the story the entire way. I enjoyed the technology references that Post wove into the story. There were only a couple of times that I felt the references to tech in some way seemed unrealistic. I never felt the technologies Post references or invents were unrealistic, which made the story very fluid and the tech didn’t get in the way.
There was only one issue I had, and that was with the sheer luck Brody had finding clues. The scene in which Brody finds an Ordi (future cell phones are called Ordis) that is key to him furthering his investigation just didn’t add up. Also, when Brody and his friend search the office building, there were just too many lucky breaks that didn’t add up for me. I would have preferred a more realistic approach to those two scenes.
Overall, the book was very good. It was long, but not too long. I doubt I’ll wind up reading this book again, but I don’t read many books more than once. It was a good mystery, conspiracy, sci-fi story that most people should enjoy.
The story is set in the near future in the Midwest that follows Brody, a war veteran who wound up blinded in an explosion. He now has special lenses that allow him to see, but the batteries must be charged often. When his batteries go dead, he must wear a sonar device that allows him to see everything in a black and white wire frame. Brody has had trouble with the law, as he has been forced to pay new batteries by beating up men who abuse their wives and girlfriends. That is, until his old friend from the military calls him to help find his sister who has gone missing.
This then brings us on a roller coaster ride in which conspiracies are uncovered and each character learns something unexpected about themselves. I was fully engrossed in the story the entire way. I enjoyed the technology references that Post wove into the story. There were only a couple of times that I felt the references to tech in some way seemed unrealistic. I never felt the technologies Post references or invents were unrealistic, which made the story very fluid and the tech didn’t get in the way.
There was only one issue I had, and that was with the sheer luck Brody had finding clues. The scene in which Brody finds an Ordi (future cell phones are called Ordis) that is key to him furthering his investigation just didn’t add up. Also, when Brody and his friend search the office building, there were just too many lucky breaks that didn’t add up for me. I would have preferred a more realistic approach to those two scenes.
Overall, the book was very good. It was long, but not too long. I doubt I’ll wind up reading this book again, but I don’t read many books more than once. It was a good mystery, conspiracy, sci-fi story that most people should enjoy.
May 2, 2013
Andrew Post's Knuckleduster is a futuristic neo-noir detective novel featuring a hardheaded war vet turned fist-for-hire turned reluctant detective who is such a compelling character, the reader is left with the hope the author has plans for a sequel or, better yet, a series of Brody Calhoun novels. Having said that, Knuckleduster on its own is one satisfying page-turner. From the get-go, the reader is sucked into the dark and scary, yet very believable futuristic work that Post paints with adept strokes so palpable, you can feel the cold and grey world in which the characters live and breath on every single page. This apocalyptic world is peppered with impending conventions such as jigsaw cards (the ultimate ID/debit card), print on demand newspaper kiosks, nationwide wireless coverage, and automated diners with cheeky robot waitresses. All that is backdrop, though, for a cast of well-drawn characters and the addictive must-find-the-girl-before-it's-too-late storyline that punches you in the gut from the opening chapter before delivering a never-saw-it-coming upper-cut that propels you headfirst into the pages. Even during the hectic week I was having, I could not stop myself from reading 'just one more chapter,' and (damn you, Post) the last one-hundred pages of Knuckleduster are of the impossible-to-not-read-in-one-sitting variety. Consider yourself warned.
December 30, 2014
There is a decent story concept here, however unlike Simmons and Dick, Post fails to affect any meaningful transference. This is what lacks from making this book more of a success and have any substance.
Concurrently, Post does well at laying the pieces of the situation out at a very effective pace, so this is, effectively a limited-scope mystery. It doesn't really need red herrings, and Post doesn't really provide any. The linearity focuses upon the story, and how the 'classic' detective story adapts when said detective is legally blind.
Concurrently, Post does well at laying the pieces of the situation out at a very effective pace, so this is, effectively a limited-scope mystery. It doesn't really need red herrings, and Post doesn't really provide any. The linearity focuses upon the story, and how the 'classic' detective story adapts when said detective is legally blind.
February 20, 2013
A noir crime thriller with scifi toys and corporate/military secret projects, very well written. I enjoyed it even though this is not my type of thing.
May 8, 2013
Entertaining "blind" hero who Can't get a break despite good intentions
September 21, 2013
Tidy little mystery starring flawed characters. Managed to get the noir sensibilities in mixed with semi-dystopian thriller setting.
January 4, 2014
quick fluffy read, nothing earthshattering
March 1, 2014
A good yarn! Nice and quick, entertaining read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews