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Hit The Ground Running

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An offbeat cyberpunk crime caper!

Built on the bones of a former northern England shipbuilding town, Unity City is an extraterritorial city-state fully owned and operated by worldwide megacorp Imperium International LLC. Renji Starkweather has everything he needs to succeed within Unity: confidence, a fast mouth, and most importantly, a famous aunt. But despite his coveted position within the city’s law enforcement squad, restless Renji has never quite fit in with the company values, and when an impulsive stunt involving an airship and far too many bladed weapons sends him plummeting into Unity's buried depths, he begins to see the real human cost of those record profits.

Thrown into the path of a notorious gang of criminals named The Loose Ends, Renji is keen to help them even the score; and once an unfair gas bill threatens to leave the city's poorest freezing in their own homes, he finds himself with a chance to do just that. Teaming up with a gruff single dad on a mission, a laid-back hacker DJ and her furious bruiser of a sister, Renji has a plan involving an audacious heist of tonight’s company Christmas fundraiser– but in order to pull it off, he’ll have to dodge his vicious former boss and avoid his terrifying aunt, all while gaining the trust of his new allies.

What could possibly go wrong…?

Hit The Ground Running is the first in the No Loose Ends series, a collection of quirky heist novels that will appeal to fans of Rivers of London, or the InCryptid series. Sort of like Leverage, only gayer and with more cyberarms.

353 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2024

3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read

About the author

Kate Ashwin

27 books30 followers
Kate Ashwin has been getting away with putting stories on the internet for over twenty years now, with only mild damage to herself and those around her. Her favourite things are cheese, all manner of beasts, green leafy houseplants, and telling you stories about a bunch of goofy nerds.

She lives in Bradford, West Yorkshire, with her impatient cats and a very understanding husband.

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Zara Sherwood.
41 reviews
December 5, 2024
There’s always a big risk in reading a book with only three reviews, but after meeting Kate Ashwin at the Harrogate Comic Convention, I decided to take the plunge.

And I can confidently say this was one of the best decisions I’ve made. This book easily ranks in my top 5% of reads this year. It was an absolute delight from start to finish. I adored all the characters, especially the little things they discovered along the way, and I loved how the main character grew in self-awareness. The pacing was perfect—it didn’t drag on for too long.

I also appreciated how the LGBT representation/ fears/ discrimination was woven into the story without it being the main focus. It felt natural and respectful, I love worlds where being part of the LGBT community is just seen as natural. But also addressing internalised fears about others perceptions.

You can tell a lot of love went into every sentence of this book, and I honestly can't wait for more! If I had to sum it up in three adjectives, I’d say: funny, chaotic, and chill.

A perfect blend of YA/NA that never felt too childish but also wasn’t overly complicated or wordy.
Profile Image for Hobart.
2,739 reviews88 followers
March 4, 2025
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader along with a Q&A with the author.
---
You, like me, may assume that all Cyberpunk novels are set in joyless dystopias, where the neon lights and other brightly colored signs shine out against a gray and raining night (like every scene with Rick Deckard walking on his way to get some food). You're largely correct. But what if I told you that didn't have to be the case? Well, read on...
It was around 10 p.m. on a Thursday when Renji thought he might have a go at breaking out of prison. This idea was terrible for several reasons.
One, the prison in question was an Imperium International Forces Containment Facility, the kind widely reputed for being near-impossible to escape. Two, said facility was an airship in flight some fifty storeys above solid ground. The third, and perhaps most important reason was that he wasn’t even a prisoner, he was a guard.
But to I.I. Forces Cadet Renjiro Starkweather, the young man leaning out of the mess hall kitchen’s window to sneak a crafty cig, these reasons didn’t seem quite good enough to not at least have a try.


WHAT'S HIT THE GROUND RUNNING ABOUT?
Renji really doesn't belong in the Forces—he doesn't have the mindset, the discipline, any interest at all in serving, But he does have an Aunt who did most of the work in raising him. She's rich, she's powerful, she's overly-indulgent of Renji, but she also has expectations. Hence, his presence in the Forces (which he probably would've washed out of already, if not for her influence).

But Renji's at his breaking point, and he probably would've made an attempt at escape if not for the fact that he quite inadvertently interrupted an attempted jailbreak. The downside to this is that he ends up in custody with the jailbreakers—who turn out to be affiliated with a group Renji has been cheering on. They've recently released a lot of really embarrassing information about the Imperium International Corporation and other leaders of the city of Unity, in a WikiLeaks-type move. It didn't do the damage anyone was really hoping for, but it did make a splash and get some people talking.

Okay, I'm taking too long here—Renji and the others (with some help from a super-competent hacker/"gal in the chair") do eventually escape from the Facility in quite the flashy way, but without everyone they hoped to bring along with them. And Renji ends up visiting a part of the city of Unity he's not that familiar with, Buried—it's the part where the workers that support the corporation and government live (as well as their families, the unemployed, and whatnot). If you think of the city of Unity as The Titanic, this would be the third-class passenger area, but not as nice.

Renji wants to throw his lot in with the group, the Loose Ends. He wants to fight back against I.I., not out of any real outrage against them. But he thinks it'd be a fun adventure, and he does want to see things get better for the citizens down below—and to take I.I. down a peg or two. They're leery of taking him on (mostly because they can tell his motives are shaky and he'll probably get going when going gets tough—and not in the good way). But when a crisis hits, Renji comes up with a plan that just might work.

It's nutty, it's risky (mostly for him), but if he can pull it off with a little assistance from the Loose Ends and an older, battle-tested temporary ally of the Loose Ends, a lot of good can be done and the crisis could be averted.

THE CHARACTERS AND WORLD
So the villain of this book is really "the System" as represented by Imperium International Corporation (and as you get to know them, you'll be able to imagine any number of mega-corps of today turning into them).

But we get a few representatives of The System to focus on—nothing more than low-level hench-persons really. But higher-level reps will have to wait for the sequels. Primarily, we're looking at Renji's sergeant and three fellow-cadets who absolutely are not Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. But they do fit the same character types that those three do. All four of these antagonists are the kind you will enjoy seeing foiled—even if they are the bottom of the rung, you'll have a lot of fun seeing Renji go up against them. Especially when he comes out on top.

The heroes—sort of a rag-tag rebel group (who really aren't trying to overthrow anyone, just trying to survive). They're a hodge-podge of ages, temperaments, and skills. You will almost instantly like them—while wanting to ask so many questions about all of them. I'm tempted to talk about all of them for a sentence or two, but that would get old. But I like their internal dynamics, I like them as individual characters and cannot wait to see Ashwin develop them all. They also have a number of allies—from people who work in food stalls, to a club owner, to a strange medic/tech repair duo. Really, the Loose ends and the allies we meet in this book deserve a short story or two each, just to give them a chance to shine. (Ashwin, if you see this post and run with it—no need to cut me in, the results will be reward enough. Unless this lands you a TV deal or something.).

Then there are the largely nameless and faceless people in Buried. They suffer due to what I.i. does. They have to deal with any retaliation that comes down due to Loose Ends. We don't see much of them, but we get to meet their Community Council (even in a dystopia, lower-level government officials are petty and useless, good to know some things are constants). There's enough citizens, and enough grudges, seen that Loose Ends will have a steady supply of potential allies in future books (and probably future turn-coats, but let's focus on the positives).

Unity City, once-upon-a-not-too-distant time, was the city of Steelpool, which the corporation bought from a struggling U.K. government to act as its wold headquarters. It's from Unity that I.I. can distribute it's Internet programming, sell and market its products, and so on. Mid-level Executives on up, live there. The workers, support staff, their families, etc. are stuck in Buried.

IS THIS ACTUALLY CYBERPUNK
“Please, look at him. He’s even worse of a blagger than you. He looks like he’s gonna sell you life-coaching advice through the internet.”

“Does not.”

“Does too. He’s a budget vampire. That’s a bargain bin Dracula, that is.”

“You are not being a very supportive friend right now.”

“I’m not supportive. Or your friend. Besides, actual supportive friends would tell you when you’re dating an evil executive from a shitty Robocop sequel. He looks like he’s going to have his plans to bulldoze the zoo foiled by some plucky teenagers.”

It's being marketed as cyberpunk. But I think a lot of readers are going to bump up against the tone—the humor, the snark, the optimism that Renji brings and wonder about that.

If you look at the tech (which I haven't done a good job of describing), the merger of corporation/government/city-state military, the dystopian nightmare that most of these people endure. You've got yourselves the making of a decent cyberpunk reality. But what about tone?

But you'll be grinning throughout this book, there's some good laughs, there are some goofy moments, and so on. How does that fit with William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's Mirrorshade vision? Can you do a non-noir cyberpunk? I think yes. Think of Snow Crash while Hiro is a pizza delivery driver (sure, that's post-cyberpunk), some of Rudy Rucker's work, and ...a couple of others I suddenly can't think of the names of. There are even bits of Gibson's Sprawl trilogy that are about this amount of fun. So yeah, it's an outlier, but it's not without precedent.

I only bring this up because I'm pretty sure there are some purists who'd complain about this. People who ignore the whole "punk" part of the aesthetic, no rules, etc. I really don't care what others think. I'll take a cyberpunk that makes me grin any day (especially now).

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT HIT THE GROUND RUNNING?
“Stopping them.” The tired look in Minjun’s dark eyes seemed as though it came from a much older man. “This isn’t afable with some terrible dragon for the heroes to hunt down, or a magic combination of words that will break the overlords’ evil spell. This is a city, a society, an ecosystem with problems embedded in its very roots. How exactly do you stop a society?”

This is a heist novel and I wait until now to talk about a heist? What is wrong with me? It's an audacious plan with a great and benevolent pay-off. Naturally, as any self-respecting heist story demands—it goes awry. The reader knows that even before Renji outlines his plan—the questions are: how does it go awry, and how do our heroes respond? All I'm going to say about that is that I'm eager for book 2 in this series.

This is a fast-moving story with a lot of moving pieces—Ashwin keeps the plates spinning just fine and moves the story along just fine. This is so hard to talk about without getting into the details of the heist, the character twists (of the two bigger ones, I saw one coming miles away and the other took me totally unawares) were revealed with panache, or anything else.

Ashwin's been storytelling for a long time in graphic novels, she knows how to tell a story and bring characters to life. Turns out she can do that just as well with words as she can do with pictures and words (or so I assume, I haven't dipped a to in to that yet).

There's a bit of a budding romance (or is it just a lust story?) that acts as a great distraction for Renji, too. That didn't do much for me, I thought we had enough other things to keep the story going—but it's a good plot complication—and who knows, maybe it lays the groundwork for something better.

This is a quick read. A fun read. There are so many bits and pieces I'd call out here, but you should read them for yourselves.

If you're up for a good time (even if cyberpunk isn't your thing—just think of it as snarky SF), you'd do yourself a favor to give this a whirl. I need to see what comes next, and I expect after your introduction to the Loose Ends, you will, too.

Profile Image for Matthias Seys.
29 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2025
Disclaimer: Thank you BookSirens and Kate Ashwin for the Published Copy!

I quite enjoyed this journey with Renjiro and the gang. It was quite fu- flipping metal!

I liked the comedy, but there was also a dark undertone to the story and I'm intrigued to see where the series will go next. Yes, I'll definitely read the sequel when it comes out. I need more Cade and Melo!

Now... as for the 'negative' points, they're only minor remarks.
The repetition of some "Probably", "Maybe" names got a tad too much.
There were also a butt load of named characters introduced and it was sometimes hard to imagine them all again throughout the story, it sometimes got a tad confusing with all the action going on.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed this read and I'll definitely keep an eye out for further work!

Also, could we get more plant lore? It better stick with us for the entire series! ☘️
Profile Image for Nico.
143 reviews11 followers
November 10, 2024
thanks to netgalley for the arc -

I really enjoyed this one. I'm not sure if I've ever really read anything quite like it either. I always love a good sci-fi experience and this one really throws you into the deep end quite fast. The world building is done well and it didn't take me that long to get a grasp on the kind of world it was set in. It's a fun cyberpunk romp which is exactly what I wanted.

Renji is a great protagonist with a great voice and narration and I loved being along for the ride with him. The romance aspects are a bit thin and barely there, but I really don't think that's what this book was going for anyway so I can't really fault it for that.

If you like fun sci-fi, you'll love this one.
515 reviews7 followers
September 18, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The punctuation needs a lot of work (I'm a big fan of semicolons, but you need to use them correctly!), but once I got past my reaction to that, the story pulled me in and kept me turning the pages. I could see this being welcomed by YA/NA as well as adult readers. The author has created an interesting world with many intriguing characters, and I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing what comes next in this series!

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.
Profile Image for Abi Jones.
1 review
June 23, 2025
Well, my list of Favourite Books just got longer…

I adore Kate Ashwin’s storytelling, it never fails to impress! The prose was snappy and engaging from start to finish, the characters are punchy and so fun to get to know, Kate’s story structure and narrative pace are rock-solid as usual. I was not bored for a single part of this book!

P.S.
If you’ve already read and enjoyed this book, you should read her webcomic Widdershins! If you’ve read and liked her webcomic YOU WILL LIKE THIS BOOK, I can practically guarantee it. If you haven’t read either, then you have treats ahead of you!
1 review
November 5, 2024
This is the first novel by one of my favorite webcomic artist/authors, Kate Ashwin (look for Widdershins comic, very fun). Parts of it are grim but towards the end there were parts where I was laughing hard and there is a joyful energy and sense of community as our natural rebel finds his cause. I am hoping for sequels so I can find out more backstory (what was up with Renji's parents?) and future events (take a Chance on romance? need to hear Melody's take on that). Recommended!
7 reviews
November 24, 2025
I had an absolute BLAST reading this!! It was so much fun, the story was really interesting and the writing and dialogue had so much personality. I really loved the characters and their shenanigans and its hopefully brought me back from a bit of a reading slump! Also LOVED the descriptions it was so beautifully immersive and visual to the world they were in. Can't wait to read another (crossing my fingers) in the future!
Profile Image for Margot.
2 reviews
January 11, 2025
A fun sci-fi take on the heist movie concept! Fast paced and entertaining, though at times a bit too many people jumbling about in my head for the speed of the plot. Can’t wait to see more of Renji, Melody & the crew!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
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