Nottingham

by Jaron Lee Knuth

In the last city on Earth, far below the radioactive wasteland, the survivors of the war have constructed a bottomless urban cityscape filled with layers of skyscrapers and mazes of overlapping roadways. Automaton servants fulfill the desires of every citizen. They clean their homes, police their streets, and share their beds. Bio-engineered organs replace the failures of human nature, keeping people alive indefinitely. Genetically modified pets entertain their children. Food is manufactured to the highest quality imaginable. Every wish is granted. As long as they can afford it.Those unable to pay the exorbitant prices set by the rich, die in the streets. Their lack of technology disconnects them. Their lack of medical care weakens them. Their lack of food starves them. And when they turn to crime in order to survive, they're sentenced to death.Hope no longer exists.But against seemingly impossible odds, an unlikely hero will stand up against an establishment built upon suffering and corrupted by wealth. He will remind the poor, the weak, and the destitute that they should never give up and they should never surrender, because in the city of Nottingham, the war is just beginning.

Genres: Science Fiction

308 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 2013

About the author

Jaron Lee Knuth was born in western Wisconsin in 1978. Suffering from multiple illnesses as a young child, he was forced to find an escape from his bedridden existence through the storytelling of any media he could find. Science fiction and fantasy novels, television programs, films, video games, and comic books all provided him with infinite worlds for his imagination to explore. Now he spends his days creating stories and worlds in the hope that others might find somewhere to escape as well.

He would love to reply to any questions or comments you may have for him at jaronleeknuth@gmail.com

Reviews

[Tammy K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this futuristic retelling of Robin Hood. It was highly imaginative and yet true to the original fable.
I caution that there are some adult themes in this retelling that may offend some readers.
I recommend this story to adult readers of folklore and modern fables.

[♥ Ashleigh ♥ Contrary to popular belief I'm not actually mad! · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have been keeping up with my updates during this book you'll already know that i highly enjoyed it from the beginning.
I have never had much of an interest with the Robin Hood story, but somehow of late i have been really getting into these adaptions, the characters are fantastic and badass, the struggle is emotional, powerful and something i believe anyone can relate too and fortunately the writing seems to mainly in the great, with only a few typing era's here and there..... actually after reading all these wonderful re-telling's im starting to think i should get my hands on the original. but its hard to imagine it being as good, though thats my bias because i have a bad history with classics = boring.

anyways Nottingham is a futuristic telling of Robin hood, we have all our merry band (Scarlet, Munch, Robin, Mister Little) plus a few extra's who just help to create the story and bring it to life. Mister Little is a cyber-punk, with a mismatch of human parts, including four arms! This guy is partly our brains and our muscle. He's also one of the leaders of our little revolution to free the enslaved. Scarlet is our Auto (robot) hacker, this girl is adorable, and when she commits to someone or something there's no stopping her. Munch is our all-round hacker, he can get past any security. he's also highly mutated from the diseases and radiation thats running ram-put in downtown, he wants to do the most for his fellow down-trodden man before he goes. and of course there's Robin. He starts out as a mystery (Scarlet and Munch accidentally steal him) but soon becomes our wonderful hero.
One of the things that made this book for me - beyond the dystopian setting, which we all know i adore - is the Auto bots, something that is meant to be seen as so little, nothing more than equipment to do humans bidding. these guys aren't allowed to have feelings and thoughts of their own, the don't have a choice of their actions, they all controlled 100% of the time. we'll we get a close and personal look through these guys eyes - mainly in the form of Marian - and its not pretty. but it makes the world. you cant help but feel sorry for them, feel like its hopeless. but of course with the gang around not all is lost....

really i think this quote (an opening sentence in the book) really helps what I'm attempting to say into prospective.


'Deep within the web of pavement and steel, a young boy and girl scurried past an old man, his outdated mechanical limbs shaking and twitching like an addict without a fix. He scowled at the hoodlums, scratching the hole in his face where his nose used to be, sold long ago as a cheap replacement part for someone slightly richer than he was.'


Alright so now that i've done all my gushing, along come the not so great parts. I had difficulty getting into the story originally, though i'm not sure if the book is at fault for this. i was in a weird head space and had difficulty concentrating, but just in-case i thought a heads up might be nice.
Also some pretty messed up stuff happens in this book, i should of been all tears at some points, and while i loved the characters i didn't shed a tear... yea weirded me out as well. though I was on the train so im not to bummed that i wasnt a blubbering mess in public.... talk about embarrassing.
One last thing, there where a few typo errors, barely any (that i noticed) but i know how that really annoys some people.
oh and Robin's happy-blissful moments were a bit full on for me and sappy. but then I'm not into romance, if it was toned down just a touch, would of been perfect.
promise that was the last critique.


So yea, do i think this book will be for everyone? no but i personally found it highly enjoyable and i know others will.

this is a stand alone so i wont be reading the next book, i will however be hunting this man down and praise him, lol no just kidding, i'll be checking out his other work though and hoping its just as good!

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Occupy Wall Street comes to Sherwood Forest. It's a great concept. Unfortunately, the product doesn't meets the promise. We expect the characters to be caricatures, but self-aware robots and mindless humans makes a confusing cast. Robo-cops less effective that the Trade Federation battle droids, and easily hacked. Electricity that isn't. Comic book plotting.

What should have been a great post-apocalyptic adventure with a message comes off as preaching and boring.

Okay at best.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very fun cyberpunk version of Robin Hood. I love how the author writes action. He always gets my heart pounding. I should of bought the paperback because the book cover looks great.