The Programmed Mind

Quantum Mortis #3

by Vox Day, Jeff Sutton, Jean Sutton

Centuries before Chief Warrant Officer Graven Tower joined MCID, the Greater Terran Ascendancy found itself facing a historic crisis when the Shiva-class cruiser ATSV Rigel went missing during a routine patrol through the Kantillon sector. Fortunately for the great star-spanning Terran empire, the Ascendancy Intelligence Directorate's top operative, Daniela York is on the scene. And with the shadow of galactic war looming, is she capable of penetrating the lethal plot being executed by House Dai Zhan's ruthless assassins, especially after the Directorate discovers that the cyborgs of the Man-Machine Integration may be involved?QUANTUM MORTIS A Mind Programmed is a tightly plotted, intense spy thriller that lays the deep historical foundation for the futuristic science fiction world of Quantum Mortis. A masterful literary remix of a true SF classic.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 22, 2014

About the author

Theodore Beale does much of his writing under the pseudonym Vox Day. Three-time Hugo Award nominee Vox Day writes epic fantasy as well as non-fiction about religion, philosophy, and economics. His literary focus is military realism, historical verisimilitude, and plausible characters who represent the full spectrum of human behavior. He is a professional game designer who speaks four languages and a three-time Billboard top 40 recording artist.

He maintains a pair of popular blogs, Vox Popoli and Alpha Game, which between them average over 20 million annual pageviews. He is a Native American and his books have been translated into ten languages.

He is the Lead Editor of Castalia House, and is also, with Tom Kratman, the co-creator of the military science fiction anthology series, RIDING THE RED HORSE.

Reviews

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tightly written thrilling spy/military scifi novel. Vox Day doesn't waste words but delivers a fast paced story of espionage and counterintelligence with the fate of Mankind in the balance.

The settings are well done, the characters unique with their own voice. Sane stereotypes, and by that I mean a young man early in his career is going to be more excitable than an older captain. That sort of stereotypes, not the typical fare that populates far too many works. World building is great, the motivations of the characters may appear opaque at first but by the end everything important was clear.

There were a few things that made me laugh that were outside of the story. The mention about the Böhm-Bawerk sector pirates made me chuckle, sneaking in a reference to one of the founding thinkers of the Austrian School of economics is alright in my book. Another was the hex. After translation of it to ASCII, I laughed.


**SPOLIERS**
The two big surprises are adroitly handled. The first one a fan of scifi should see coming. The second is revealed to the reader paying attention long before the last pages. I thought the clues were written in very well, and the logic leading up to Flare's role sound. The other option I had considered was Flare was in York's body and the fake Flare was just some poor patsy.


Recommended.

[Simon Goodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Fast moving space adventure with characters that felt real and an intricate balance of power between the civilisations rulers, a power hungry prince and the blockaded post-human world where people are merging with AIs. The story builds steadily, drawing you in before unleashing a great finale. Highly recommended.

[Paul Wierzbicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Entertaining, easy to read.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great spy thriller.

[Aeoli Pera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great plot, but the world it takes place in is apparently so nondescript that it's invisible to the author as well.

[Frederick Hammill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very weak read.