Footprints

by John A. Autero

Librarian note: there is an updated edition for ISBN 1497356229

"Footprints" is a story that twists you around and around and deposits you in the most unexpected place.

Scott Hrdinsky and his Uncle Joe live on a quiet farm in rural America in the not too distant future. When Scott was eight years old, he received a unique dog named Dozer as a gift from a family friend. When Dozer, a cross breed of an android and a cybernetic organism, fails to wake up one morning, Scott and Uncle Joe embark on a secret mission to save him. Scott and Uncle Joe end up in a tactical, science fiction adventure as they confront Commander Manson Kurse, the supreme leader of the Lancaster Science and Research Facility. Throughout the mission, Scott's eyes are opened to the covert activities and governmental conspiracies that are hidden in plain sight all around him. Mentored by Uncle Joe, Scott learns to cope with the circumstances in his life and comes to the realization of what is really most important.

242 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2014

About the author

John A. Autero is an indie author of thriller-suspense adventure novels. An engineer by education, John employs a technical style of writing that combines existing technologies with those that are yet to be developed. John enjoys anything sci-fi, automotive, heavy metal and ballistic. Always a fan of government conspiracies and black-ops, stories like "The Terminator" and "The X-Files" are always on his list of favorites. John was born in the United States and has spent his entire life there, where he happily lives with his wife and pets.

Reviews

[Justin Hamlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories concerning ‘survivalists’ and/or ‘preppers’ tend to follow two storylines in particular: either a societal breakdown has occurred and they’re left with the responsibility of maintaining what’s left of humanity, or they’ve gone rogue while waiting for said societal breakdown (or during it) and need to be stopped.

This one’s different; the major crises (including extraterrestrial contact) have already come and gone decades previously. Instead, Scott Hrdinsky and his uncle Joe live on the fringes of population as peaceful biofuel farmers until one day when their cyborg dog goes into permanent standby mode without warning. Recognizing that ‘Dozer’, while arguably a mere machine, was also a loving and faithful companion, they make a mutual decision to do what they can to get him operational again. This involves recovering Dozer’s obsolete server – which just happens to be out of bounds...

The plot is interesting and the characters are people you feel for, with strong moral motivations. As the book’s author is an engineer, one of its main strengths is the plausible description of not-too-distant-futuristic technology which is so lacking in much of modern speculative fiction. Unfortunately, this is also the book’s primary flaw – the characters have an annoying tendency towards long, spoken exposition. In the case of one character in particular, this is what you might expect. In the case of the other characters, not as much. As a warning, I should also add that about halfway through the book comes a plot twist that might make you want to yell “Oh, PLEASE!” However, this is explained by a second twist in the last few pages. So, no harm on that account.

For its originality, price and promise, I award this book four stars.

[John Autero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greetings all - I have passed my book around to a number of people and after questioning them for feedback and a star rating, the consensus is 4 stars (3.75 actually). Most folks commented that the story started fairly slow but about half way in it really got going. One person told me that the last ten or fifteen chapters are the best. Check out my next book entitled "The Scorpian"... You watch the TV news every night and think you know what’s going on… think again.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this guy's writing skill which is all down to passion and hard work.The chapter on Shelley has prompted me to start reading Shelley the pursuit.

[Gwenellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like futuristic weapons, you will enjoy John A. Autero’s book ‘Footprints’. Set in the near future, it follows the quest of a young man named Scott and his Uncle Joe, to save their beloved pet Dozer. It is full of descriptions of nifty weapons and other high tech gadgets.
Unfortunately, what was missing from this story was character development. The plot was a little too formulaic and the characters were one dimensional. It lacked the emotional depth which would have allowed me to identify with what was happening and understand the motivation behind their actions and responses. Autero’s writing suffers from the curse of the new writer, a mistake we have all made and struggle with; too much exposition.
Now, I understand how hard it is to fight the exposition bug. I am the queen of exposition, telling emotions instead of taking the reader inside the character’s head. Why not? This is a great story, but Autero takes us from beginning to end without drawing us into the world that he is describing. When a writer creates a world, it doesn’t have to be accurate, just believable. Protagonists don’t have to be perfect; antagonists can be likable. Always leave us wanting more. Don’t be afraid of unanswered questions, because quite frankly life is full of them. Readers don’t need to be spoon-fed every detail, trust that there are certain details we can figure out for ourselves.
I hope that when Mr. Autero writes his next book, that he plays with his writing and allows his creativity to open up more. If he does, I have no doubt that it will be an extremely enjoyable read.

[Qukatheg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Scott's half android half cybernetic dog Dozer has malfunctioned, and the software he needs to revive Dozer is stored in dangerous territory controlled by terrorists. Fortunately, Scott and his uncle Joe have an illegal weapon's stash in their basement, and Uncle Joe thinks it's about time Scott got out and learned some life lessons anyway. Scott and uncle Joe go on this mission to save a dog, but out in the desert they run into a government conspiracy that may be more than they can handle.

I loved the story and especially its intriguing background. Aliens have visited Earth years ago and (of course) the public are being lied to. I would have liked to see some more of the society, and the aftermath of this mission. Since the story centred heavily around Scott, who seemed isolated from the rest of the world, it was hard to get a sense of how other folks would respond to their discoveries.

I found it hard to get into the story at first; the page long descriptions of weaponry put me off. The writing was a bit flat and repetitive and at points there were spelling mistakes. But about halfway through the book I really got sucked into the action and couldn't put it down.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Footprints by John A. Autero was a satisfying story, of life lessons and leaving a 'footprint' in the world.

I thought the plot was good and interesting enough. I do wish their could have been some more detail, it is a pretty quick read. One minute there off to find out what's wrong with the dog and then bam, a bunch of stuff happen (I hate giving to much detail in fear of spoilers), then bam mission over and book over.

I also wish the characters had a little more. I myself as a reader, am mostly attached to the characters of a story. I'm the type to care for characters like they are real, and apart of my life, which in a way they are. Anyway with Footprints the characters were good, but nothing spectacular. You have your typical teen, being raised by his Uncle, and then their pet dog. The dog was kinda cool tho. He's not your typical dog and I so would buy one if they existed! We also meet another character Neeba, who isn't of Earth and not too much was given on her. She was one character I wish we got more on.

Overall Footprints was a good read, and I will keep my eye out for any of John's feature work.

[Angela Sciurca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a little difficult for me to read. In the very beginning of the book I found misspelled words and later on, into the book, I found words that were not used properly. Words like: their, there, they're. Just because they sound alike and are spelled correctly doesn't mean they necessarily belong in the sentence. I wonder if anyone proof-reads the books or if it's left to the computer to decide.
Seventy rears ago I had an English teacher who drummed proper English and Grammar into our heads in Jr.H.S. Today's use of shortcuts and words being misspelled absolutely drives me nuts. Sorry, this would have been entertaining if not for the glaring errors. Maybe Mr. Autero needs to fire his editor or re-read the manuscripts himself before he submits them to his publisher. This was one of the books I won from Goodreads and I love getting them. Thank you for awarding me one, and please keep on writing.

[Craig Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started out pretty slow but then turned into a real page truner. I would consider this book a near future, military sci-fi story. So most of the "tech" is believable and the story seemed very plausible. For anyone looking for more realism in their sci-fi this book would hit the spot.

I did see this book as a starting point for more books, but I am not sure the author intended that or not. The book did have an ending and it was satisfiying but I could see going further with the story.

Hats off to the author on his debut novel, very readable, I felt for the characters and was rooting for them while I wanted the antagonist to lose.

[Alexander Gabriel]

Accurately Detailed

Footprints is like being drafted, and fast tracked into a force recon unit. The technical details that are non-fictitious, are precise, and the sci-fi is frighteningly plausible.

If you are looking for mystery, and twisty plot lines footprints may not fit the bill. This story could easily be heard in a dusty GP medium tent over the rumble of a diesel generator, and the aroma of water activated MRE heaters.

Overall the story is fun, but VERY straight forward. When the main characters of Footprint make a plan, there is no deviation, barring a need for old fashioned adapt, and improvise techniques.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. It did start out a slow but did pick up and hold my interest. I would definitely read another book by this author.