Rogue Assembly

by Randolph Lalonde

Rogue the android was never meant to last. Originally intended as a decoy for a Haven Fleet officer, Alice Valent, Rogue surpassed her programming and was given her freedom. Now she’s having trouble balancing the personality she’s been given with a colder, digital version of herself that’s soulless and prone to violence. Looking for help will introduce her to a cyborg blood sport, crooked corporations, a special companion, and an inherited grudge. Will she find balance, and who will she be if she does?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 14, 2023

About the author

Born in 1974, Randolph Lalonde has worked in customer service, sales, played drums for several heavy metal bands you've never heard of, dealt blackjack in a traveling casino, and serviced countless computers. He's also owned businesses in the design, printing, collectible and custom computer fields.

He completed writing his first novel in the fantasy adventure genre at the age of fifteen and has been writing ever since.

He self published his first novel;
Fate Cycle: Sins of the Past in 2004 and after taking a break has begun to release his work again starting with the First Light Chronicles series.

Randolph Lalonde has sold thousands of eBooks to date, enough to keep writing full-time for fifteen years so far. He is deeply grateful for his following of readers and strives to improve his skills to entertain them better. The Spinward Fringe Space Opera series has proven to be his most popular offering.

He currently resides in Sudbury Ontario and manages a chapter a day writing habit.

In his diminishing spare time he reads voraciously, tinkers with design, video editing and reviews the occasional film or television show. A science fiction and fantasy fan, he often comments on the state of the entertainment industry on his website, www.randolphlalonde.com.

Reviews

[Kitt Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book, apparently it's a side story/spin off/whatever of another book but I've never read that other series, this is the first book I've picked up by this author and honestly I couldn't have asked for a better starting point personally. I get the idea behind the other series from mentions, but this has significantly more murderbot vibes and that's one of my all time favourite series.

Genuinely if you're looking for another sassy, slightly confused about their identity and freedom, android based friend then pick this up and enjoy the ride.

Pacing was fantastic, I never felt like I was getting bored or waiting for the next exciting part and all the twists were fascinating and only left me wanting more.

[David Grierson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite AI/cyborg tale. In the board game Monopoly there is a ‘Get Out of Jail’ card. The author played that a bit often for his AI lead character to escape some crisis or cliffhanger.
That said it has an interesting premise of robotic and human minds coexisting in the same chassis. There are a lot unusual if improbable technologies thrown in, some good tropes you could expect in this genre of SF and a good effort to address the ‘human side’ of the main character. Oh and who doesn’t appreciate a sentient cat?
I thought two and a half stars appropriate halfway through but there improvements as we went along. No strong recommendation but some creative thinking and lots of adventure in this one.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love!

Everthing Randolph Lalonde writes is worth the wait and a great read. We are catching up with Rogue as she strikes out on her own, but I have to admit that a new non-humans character has stolen the show and I need more adventures with her. After a few bleeps on my personal radar, resulting in not actually being able to read this greatly anticipated book half way through the story it was great to be able to get the audio book on Google books and have the story read to me. I have my fingers crossed that we will be hearing the next stage in Rogues adventures soon.

[Jason Roper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different story great direction

This is almost a "what if" but it's really part of the universe of spinward fringe. An Android Alice based off DLG virus takes to hunting and thus begins this origin story. As always some tech some intrigue after the 4th falls of man and a new plotline begins with some fast paced action.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in a little different way, it's first person rather than third. The story is fast paced and enjoyable. It'll be interesting to follow her adventures as a bounty hunter, some of the best stories in the series are from when Jake was a bounty hunter. I'm going to maybe break from everyone else and say I didn't love the introduction of Mimi, but I'm not a cat lover.

[Dow · Rating 5 out of 5]

AI/Biobrain hybrid is a great subject

I am glad Lalonde wrote this story. I’m hoping for a lot more here since Rogue can be a new arc within the Spinward Fringe arc. Fast paced and fun to read. The AI/Biobrain hybrid is a great idea to explore.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast, Fun read that leaves you eager for more!

Rogue Assembly felt like a guilty pleasure. A fast, fun read that left this Spinward Fringe fan eager for more! Thank you for bringing this character to life:)

[Debra Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read, building on the Spinward Fringe series.

It has been a long while since I read the Spinward Fringe series, but I picked this up and jumped in. It was a very enjoyable tale. I will look for more in this series.

[Bryan Jintalan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected from Spinward Fringe universe..

..it' s a must read! I love this new spinoff based on Rogue. Now I gotta have my eyes on the 2 books as well! Love you and your works Randolph!! 🥰

[Jayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author, so it was a little slow to me because I was playing catch up in a world I'd never read before. That being said, I really enjoyed it and plan to read more in this universe.

[Anne Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book

This book was awesome. I finished it in 2 days. I would have finished it sooner, but I had to work

[Richard Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read

This book differs in style to the usual spinward fringe books but it works very well and compliments them perfectly

Looking forward to seeing more of Rogues story!

[Marc Therrien · Rating 5 out of 5]

A joy to read. A new character joins the Spinward Fringe universe.

[Mick Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

I enjoyed read Rogues story, we can see that the apple don't fall far from the tree. Recommend this full series of books.

[Selwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good futurist scifi story about androids, humans and mods and a worthy variant of the Murderbot concept. Needs better proof reading, but the errors don't frustrate very much. Recommended.

[Stephen Twinberrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy reading and a good story, what more do you need !

[Jonathan G. Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different kind of Science Fiction

I liked the explanations of the hardware. Sometimes a little hard to believe and yet still possible. A book I'll remember for it's uniqueness.

[Clif Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was almost like reading a comic book with things always happing! There was a lot of action. I’ll continue with the series