Definition

by J.F. Perkins

Humanity has taken the Solar System, but the stars are still out of reach. In the aftermath of a war that threatened to wipe out the entire species, peace has returned to the system, along with the technological gift that saved us all. Unfortunately, peace comes with the usual price, and once again, we turn on each other.

Tom Ford is an ex-military pilot rolling up on middle age. He thinks of himself as another typical “bus driver” ferrying materials and occasional passengers around the solar system, but to others, he’s something of a war hero. Twenty years earlier, in a moment of desperation, Tom had a brilliant idea and sliced victory from the Spider jaws of defeat.

With the help of an old war buddy or two, a kid in a wheelchair, a ship named after Marilyn Monroe, an asteroid miner cast adrift, the guy who invented the key technology of the victory, and one angry ex-girlfriend, Tom finds himself drawn into a mad scramble to defend humankind against a new and ominous threat… Ourselves.

199 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2012

About the author

I was born two years before we landed on the moon, somewhere in the middle of Long Island. I was too young to remember much, except for the park ritual of spinning three times on a stump, the bee that flew down my throat, and getting my fingernails smashed off in a car door. Ok, that's not fair. I also remember when the mean kid across the street was run over by the mailman.

I currently live in Olympia, Washington with my fantastic wife, Sharon, five dogs (Hunter, Hope, Elke, Jay, and Luna - Queen of the Lunaverse), and two cats (Donner - loves everyone, Jenny - rarely leaves the bedroom closet). Whew! That was a mouthful. I'm a digital artist by trade, woodworker by hobby, gardener by spousal association, and dog trainer by hard necessity.

Reviews

[Shadrach777 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story with fantastic character development, but I have come to expect no less from Mr. Perkins.

I try to read about 15-20 books a month so finding a good indie author really helps the pocket book. I also have had my experience with wading through stuff that I have regretted buying, even for the low $.99 to $2.99 I had spent. This is NOT ONE OF THOSE BOOKS :)

With indie authors you always wonder when you see the first few "5's" for the reviews... is that his mom or his best friend writing those reviews????

If you will so indulge me, I first met (online) Mr. Perkins after reading his debut post apocolyptic novelette series RENEWAL. I enjoyed his character builds so much I made contact to encourage him to continue writing. (Selfishly I just wanted more of his stories.) Anxiously awaiting his full novel sequel to that mini series (DECAY) he sent me an almost finalized copy of Definition to read and edit for typos. (Ugg found three in this published copy I missed, so sorry, but heck I told you I was worth the price $.00), I enjoyed DEFINITION so much I encouraged him to do like some of my other favorite Sci-Fi indie authors have done, and to please continue writing this story in a serialized, almost television series styled way (think SG-1 or SG Atlantis). I encouraged him to make each book about 2 to 4 hours in reading length, and to try to put them out as fast as he can, keeping the story fresh and of high quality, without ever being afraid to end it when he feels like its ready to end. I SOOO hope I have made a convincing enough argument!

Please take the time to read this novel if you enjoy Sci-fi or great character reads. You will enjoy it. Mr. Perkins does a great job with character development, and even though this book started a little slower than his post apocalyptic work (as Sci-fi tends to do with the explaining of new technologies and development of futuristic timelines), I was racing toward the finish at the end, even of my second read, when I already knew the ending! :)

I think my 17 year old daughter will even read DEFINITION after reading Mr. Perkins RENEWAL series, despite not being a big fan of Sci-fi. She absolutely abhors dad's "doom and gloom junk" post apocalyptic novels I buy, but finished all 10 novelettes in the RENEWAL series after I got her to "just read the first one". She still didn't like the "doom and gloom" but agreed with me that she just couldn't stop finding out what happened next to the characters :) If you like characters you can love, or hate accordingly, then Mr. Perkins writing style is for you.

This book had a small amount of language maybe a very mild PG-13, a minimum of sexuality all of it being small comments at about a PG rating, and the violence would be a PG to soft PG-13 as well.

Here's hoping I see DEFINITION part 2 out sooner rather than later.

[Margie Maletich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice read

Excellent characters development. Good plot. Sometimes a little hard to follow but in the end it all made sense. I wish there was more.