Core Punch: An Uneasy Future

Uneasy Future #1

by Pauline Baird Jones, Alexis Glynn Latner (Editor)

Spinning off The Big Uneasy Series and with a guest appearance from Project Enterprise…

Welcome to…An Uneasy Future 1.0:

Core Punch
A Baker & Ban!drn Adventure

A kiss may be all they have life expectancy for.

When an intergalactic cop exchange program serves up an alien partner for NONPD Detective Violet Baker, she can’t help wishing the handsome alien would be a little less Joe Friday about keeping the pleasure out of their business. Yeah, he’s kind of purple and she can’t pronounce his name to save her life, but he’s almost the only guy in the New Orleans New police department that she’s not related to.

Dzholh “Joe” Ban!drn has come a long way hunting the evil that has infiltrated Vi’s floating city. When he meets his charming partner, he discovers another reason to stamp out evil. If only he wasn’t keeping so many secrets from her…

When an epic hurricane heads their way, they are sent dirt side to New Orleans Old (NOO) on a rescue mission. But murder and sabotage strands them in the heart of the raging storm.

As they fight for their lives, Joe realizes that the evil he’s hunting is actually hunting them….

What others have to say about the Project Enterprise series:

“Action is the name of the game as a feisty and hard-hitting heroine rises to the challenge in this rousing space adventure.” RT Book Reviews about The Key

“Time paradoxes run amok in this extraordinarily complex tale. Amongst the densely packed and mind-bending action, there's also some welcome humor. A spectacular ride!” RT Book Reviews about Girl Gone Nova

What other have to say about the Big Uneasy series:

“Grinning and loving it, RELATIVELY RISKY by creative talent Pauline Bard Jones is a hoot!” SingleTitles

“With just the right amount of detail, Jones hits it out of the park and leaves readers wanting more…” A Girl and Her Kindle about Relatively Risky

Announcing the launch of a series spinning off of THE BIG UNEASY and PROJECT ENTERPRISE: AN UNEASY FUTURE. Welcome to the future. Much has changed in future New Orleans, but some things never will. The food. The music. The crime rate...

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Romance

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 9, 2014

About the author

Pauline Baird Jones is the author of quirky, fast-paced romantic adventures that blend danger, laughter, and love in equal measure. She writes across genres—from romantic suspense and science fiction to comedy thrillers and steampunk—but her stories always share the same heartbeat: heroines who discover their courage, heroes who celebrate their strength, and humor as the best weapon in impossible situations. If you’re looking for an escape from the ordinary, her books deliver adventure, romance, and just enough laughter to keep you smiling long after “The End.”

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Core Punch started with some fun world building. Core Punch is set in New Orleans or the Big Uneasy as Violet Baker calls it but not New Orleans as we know it. The city has been raised and floats in the air above old New Orleans. I really liked the concept.

I also like the two main characters or is that three main characters. There is Violet Baker, a police detective and Dzholh “Joe” Ban!drn, her partner from the intergalactic cop exchange program. The exchange program is another fun concept. Who is the third main character. He came with Dzholh and is part of the secret in the story.

When a major hurricane hits Violet and “Joe” are sent to Old New Orleans to rescue some of the ground residents but nothing goes as planned. Start with a murder; add the hurricane arriving ahead of time, the arrival of an old and evil enemy, trust issues between Violet and “Joe” and their attraction to each other and you have an exciting story. One big thing is left unsolved so look for further adventures of Violet and “Joe”.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

Having read other books by Ms. Jones, I can see that Core Punch is loosely tied to one or more of them. However, it is a standalone story about a future earth that has forgotten how to deal with the mother of all hurricanes. Sent to rescue stranded dirtsiders, Baker and Joe get sidetracked by a dead body. A killer of humans and a killer storm try to undo our heroes as anything that can go wrong does!

I read Core Punch in one sitting. There is really no good stopping point. It is all action. Suspenseful, tense, eyebrow raising action. I hope there are more Baker and Ban!drn adventures to follow.

I received a copy of Core Punch from the author in return for an honest review.

[Douglas Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our hero and heroine are police officers caught in New Orleans during a Cat 5 hurricane, but our hero has a secondary objective that he is keeping to himself. That and their mutual attraction might just make this mission even harder than it should be.

This is a SF alien romance story with a law enforcement theme. The story is well written, but I can't really say it is easy to read as there is a lot going on here. Between the descriptions of future New Orleans, the alien killer on the loose and the hurricane, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of what is going on. There characters are pretty good and seem to have good chemistry, but I felt like there was just a bit too much going on for me to get into the story. Overall, a decent read, but it takes some patience to keep with the story.

Recommended

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes

[Wanda Jewell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read a lot of science fiction. Reading the blurb, I thought this would be a book that would draw me in. I mean NEW ORLEANS of the future, hurricanes, alien cops and a romance in the air? That just reeks of interesting. Unfortunately, the book didn't grab my imagination. It was pretty slow. I read 20% of the book before something interesting actually happened and it wasn't that interesting. So, I hate to give bad reviews, but this book is not my cup of tea. So, I won't be making a recommendation for anyone to read it. IF you like slower paced books, this might be for you, it just wasn't for me.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book that I really enjoyed. The story and characters grabbed me from the beginning and I couldn't stop reading. I loved the characters and watching them grow together, they were well written and went well together. I found this book amazing with great word building making me feel apart of the story and watching it unfold in front of me. A definite must read for any fan and I can't wait to read more from this author!!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jeanéva Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great premise...
I liked the premise but felt the story lagged a bit. So much of the story revolved around the incoming hurricane and the terms used to describe it were repetitive but unclear. Having never been in a hurricane, it left me a little disoriented. At the same time, I was unsure exactly who the villain was. Finally, I felt like the romance was an afterthought. The series has potential.

[Caroline Doig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and the descriptions of future New Orleans it was just a bit slow and it took me a bit to get into it, it’s full of action, suspense, a purple skinned alien cop, a few chuckle worthy scenes and romance. There was quite a bit going on in this story so I’m not going to give any spoilers I really wouldn’t know where to start, I hated the cliffhanger I mean who loves a cliffhanger not me but I did enjoy the concept of this story.

[Juanita E. Arp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book 📚, it has a good storyline. The interaction and chemistry between the characters of Violet and Dzholh "Joe" is great, this book is entertaining and action packed. I can't wait for more from this author. I received this book as a FREE ARC copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.

[Jeanne Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th book I've read written by Pauline Baird Jones; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.

The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.

I loved the characters.

I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this book was longer, or that the author had put the two books together to give us a decent read. I did enjoy the book, but it was over all too soon, which seemed a shame.
The characters were interesting, the ideas good and the twists decent. The word crapeau was overused; I have no problem with swear words or similar but a bit of variety would have helped.

[AND 1515 · Rating 5 out of 5]

by and1515

Wow this is the first book I've read by Pauline Baird Jones
this story just smashes you over the head and says pay attention to me.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published at Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly

Core Punch certainly occurs sometime after The Key: Project Enterprise 1 in Pauline Baird Jones Project Enterprise series, but the science fictional elements in Core Punch are not the center of the story. Core Punch is a survival against the elements story; where the hope-to-be survivors are both cops, and it’s possible that a mysterious enemy has taken advantage of the storm to make sure that everything that can go wrong does go wrong for our heroes.

There is often a question in the story whether they are meant to survive, meant to die, or are just in the middle of a gigantic and deadly test. Their mission is always clear--get out alive. But someone (several someones) may have different agendas of their own.

The story takes place in a future New Orleans, where technology was used 20 years in the past to move the citizens of “The Big Easy” or “The Big Uneasy” in Jones’ future, from New Orleans Old (NOO), the city we know now, to New Orleans New (NON). NON is a quasi replica of NOO, except that it is a sky city, elevated above the wreck of NOO. And they have skimmers and space cars. The future envisioned in The Jetsons is finally here!

NOO has survived not only Hurricane Katrina, but also a Hurricane Chen sometime between 2005 and the book’s now. In the book’s now, Hurricane Wu Tamika Felipe is bearing down on both NOO and NON, fully capable of earning its inevitable nickname, WTF.

Violet Baker and her partner are police officers in the NONPD, unfortunately taking a police skimmer (just as flimsy as it sounds) down to the surface of NOO to pick up land dwellers who ignored the original warnings that WTF was an SOB.

Vi Baker is related to most of the NONPD. The Baker family collectively cleaned up the corruption in the New Orleans PD by replacing all the corrupt cops with family. But it’s kind of strange for Vi, not only is the NONPD effectively the family business, but her Captain is also her Uncle.

Her partner Joe is where the science fictional element really finds its way into our story. The exploration of the galaxy that results from the Project Enterprise mission in The Key has become an intergalactic tourism and exchange program. Joe, whose real name is unpronounceably Dzholh Ban!drn, is a cop from another galaxy on a job exchange program. He also happens to be slightly purple. And equipped with a nanite he calls Lurch. (Yes, that Lurch).

Joe is also the only cop in the NONPD that Vi finds attractive. While it helps that he’s one of the few who is not a blood relation, it’s also that he really is handsome, if slightly shy and by-the-book (and purple).

Vi refers to LOTS of things as crapeau. The police skimmer that she and Joe were assigned to retrieve reluctant surfacers is the epitome of crapeau. It is so crapeau that it crapeaus out in the middle of the worst hurricane NOO has ever seen, while they are transporting an unexpectedly found murder victim and his dog.

Joe isn’t sure whether the skimmer was just that bad, or whether someone is setting him up. And whether Vi is really his enemy, or just the woman he desperately wants to kiss before the storm finishes them off.

Escape Rating B+: It may be because I haven’t read The Big Uneasy (and I want to), but this relatively short novella left me wondering about how the universe got from “first intergalactic trip” in The Key to “frequent enough for exchange programs” in Core Punch.

They are definitely the same universe, because of the Garradians and Joe’s nanite, although Lurch is a bit more advanced an AI than the individual nanites in The Key.

Whatever is going on with Lurch and his enemy needs fleshing out. There was a part of me that kept wondering what Lurch’s agenda was. Not just that he wants to eliminate his enemy, but he seemed to have some other secrets up his virtual sleeve. It may be that he just can’t share the perspective of a flesh-and-blood (and hormones) creature. But it felt like Lurch was hiding something besides himself.

Also I wasn’t sure if Vi had actual powers, or if she was just really good at manipulating people. The story could be read either way. But I really liked both her and Joe. A lot of things in her world may be crapeau, but she herself was pretty terrific.

Fighting the storm in that absolutely crapeau skimmer made for edge-of-the-seat tension. There were times when I felt like I was torquing my own body to help them wrest a few more feet of motion out of that POS vehicle.

Core Punch read like it was the introduction to something bigger, and I really want to see whatever that is.

[Melissa Hayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a romantic scifi read. We do get moments drawn out based on their attraction to each other. The beginning held a lot of description of the world and the attraction of the partners. But then we get into the story as they battle against the storm to get to safety, the attraction is put on the back burner along with the dead body they found. It felt like a long journey to get through the storm for me. I know there is an "enemy" of Lurch out there, but we don't get details of who that might be or why until the very end.

****FULL REVIEW****
*I requested to review a copy of this audiobook for an honest review from the author.

With the huge storm Wu Tamika Felipe rolling in, Joe and Violet are sent dirt side to collect dirtsiders that have showed on scanners and bring them to safety. What they find is a cold spot in a cemetery, and land their skimmer to have a look. A partially frozen corpse was left here. The body is a mystery for Vi, but Joe and Lurch seem to know a bit more... Fighting to get free of the tropical storm in New Orleans Old, Joe and Lurch face the reason they really took this job.

Diane narrates with natural pauses and upturn in tones that make the characters feel true to their forms. We get voice differences for Joe, Vi, and Lurch. Vi has a slight accent and Lurch has a bit of a scratchy, screechy voice. Diane did a good job at vocalizing the characters with feelings in voices. There is a short section that is repeated toward the end of chapter 7.

New Orleans is known for it's terrible tropical storms. And in this world it still holds true, and a way to tell of the two cities called New Orleans. The storm that rocks the cities is one that might prove living dirt side in New Orleans Old isn't as safe as living in the lifted city of New Orleans New. The storm will be a test for the technology and the ancient parts of the floating city.

The beginning is packed full with information for us to get acclimated to the world we are in. There are changes to New Orleans, and I think it all would be a great idea to do in real life! There are lots of descriptions of the world, weather, and characters. It's not action packed, fighting type story. The characters fight the weather to do their job and solve the dead body they found. Joe fights internally with Lurch on who is possessed by their enemy.

This is a romantic scifi read. We do get moments focusing on their attraction to each other. The beginning held a lot of description of the world and the attraction of the partners. But then we get into the story as they battle against the storm to get to safety, the attraction is put on the back burner along with the dead body they found. It felt like a long journey to get through the storm for me. I know there is an "enemy" of Lurch out there, but we don't get details of who that might be or why until the very end.

I did smile at the initials of the storms name, even when it was said that Joe had to be explained the meaning by Lurch.

I think I would have preferred to read this story. I could take my time with the world building and the suspense in their blooming relationship. Also, my mind would wonder in scenes that felt they were drawn out to long for me, then I'd hear something important to I'd rewind to catch it.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a dark and stormy night….

Actually, it was a category-five hurricane named Wu Tamika Felipe (yes, WTF) baring down on a futuristic New Orleans. Oh, and I should probably mention that New Orleans was a floating city, although the majority of the novel takes place in the old, ‘dirt-side’ New Orleans instead of the new floating city. This is a series, so I hope that the next book spends more time exploring the floating city.

That’s not to say that the dirt-side atmosphere wasn’t just as interesting. The author paints an easy to visualize picture of the old, abandoned city – falling into ruin, flooding as nature took back over and the few stubborn folk who refuse to leave. The hurricane adds to the atmosphere-building, which is a bit heavy-handed at times. We are reminded again and again how hot Louisiana can get and how windy a cat-five hurricane is. I think that, along with the pacing, kept me from reaching the OMG MORE level.


The book starts off in the POV of ‘Joe’ (whose real name is impossible to pronounce). I loved starting off the read in the head of the alien and hearing his take on everything. We are also introduced to Lurch, the nanite AI who resides inside Joe’s body. Their banter and Lurch’s commentary was some of the best bits in the book.

Joe’s partner, Violet, has her own POV chapters / sections in the book, and she was just as enjoyable to read. Often times, you end up liking one of the POV’s and not so much the other. I liked both main characters.

Although this was labeled science fiction romance, I think it was more science fiction with a romantic element. The romance was way in the back of the bus after the dead body, the investigation, Joe’s secret mission and, oh yeah, the huge hurricane. Although I wish there had been more romance (and I can see this being a complaint from romance-sided readers), it didn’t really bother me or take away from the book. It was still a good science fiction story, so I was satisfied.

This can also be considered a ‘clean’ or ‘sweet’ romance, as the highest level of heat achieved was a kiss and some smoldering glances.

What did bother me was the pacing. The book is a short read at 140 pages (according to Amazon), but it felt like it took forever to get through in spots. It almost felt like it was a novella storyline that had been fluffed by atmosphere. For example, at one point, it took them something like ten pages to go up some stairs and across a catwalk. I found myself skimming to get to the interactions and relationship building between Violet and Joe, or to dialogue, or to find out what happens.

Although I didn’t reach the OMG MORE level, I will be checking out the future books in the series, and I highly recommend them to any science fiction cop / crime investigation fans.

I was provided a copy by the publisher with the request for honest feedback.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dzholh “Joe” Ban!drn, a Garradian, and Violet Baker, NOPD are sent to retrieve some people who haven’t evacuated New Orleans Old when there’s a Category 5 hurricane bearing down on them. They go between bands of the storm, but bad data throws them into the heart of the storm with equipment in poor condition. They must try to survive nature and an evil trying to sabotage them.

The cover is excellent. I’m used to people who look a little vacant or suffering indigestion against a background of the galaxy. This uses a literal interpretation of a metaphor- the eye of the storm, and that amps up the cool and danger simultaneously.
Even in the future, police departments need to make do with a shoestring budget, and that proves important to the plot. Also, the method to the deaths got more ghoulish as I thought about it harder. The paranoia is woven in so that I, reading it, got more paranoid about everyone and everything in the book conspiring against Joe and his companion.

This book chronicles action admist forces of nature. I had trouble figuring out the spatial and physical mechanics of what was going on at any given time. The piloting the skimmer and other navigation sections left me feeling lost and quite aware I was reading fiction. This may be worse because I have no geographical knowledge of New Orleans. I don’t know how this would work for others, because my spatial reasoning is abysmal. If you can visualize yourself in the environment, you’ll have much better luck.
I’m not sure what’s alien about Joe besides his having purple skin and a nanite integrated in his head. I think I missed the memo on the attractiveness of near-human/early Star Trek aliens.
The tongue-in-cheek terms tended to grate on me. Some of them I grew fond of, but I never got accustomed to the word 'crapeau' in lieu of other swear words.

[Cornelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The exchange program would end, he’d go home. People did. Especially alien people. She’d heard they considered Earth a kind of slum part of the Milky Way. On the rude side, considering how much the guys from their galaxy seemed to like alien-earth-girls match-ups dot com.

Joe is an alien working in New Orleans through way of tan intergalactic cop exchange program. Violet is his human detective partner. He likes her and she likes him but neither of them knows this. Future New Orleans is divvied into the floating city (top side) and the original one on earth (dirt side). Dirt side is a ghost town, no one lives there except loner, vagabond types that refuse to leave.

Violet and Joe are sent to rescue some people from New Orleans Old, before a major hurricane hits. Hurricanes are given three name in the future, as all the single and double names have been used up. This storm is Wu Tamika Felipe or WTF for short. There rescue mission isn’t as easy as they thought it would be. First they find a dead body and second WTF arrives sooner than expected.

This is a fresh, fun, laugh out loud read that I highly recommend.