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Zenia
A steampunk warrior from a star system in the constellation of Scorpio arrives on Earth. She is used to having her way.
118 pages, Paperback
First published August 5, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 30, 2014
One Weird Ride
(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through the Goodreads First Reads program.)
570 light years from Earth, there lies a planet called Shula – “a distant star in Scorpio’s poisonous tail” – ruled by a race of fierce warrior women. Or there did, anyway, until the men (“pricks”) revolted and then in turn were conquered by their own machines. As their world teetered on the brink of collapse, the Queen of Shula and her sisters transmitted their consciousnesses (“live steam”) into space; many years later, the Queen’s essence is downloaded by a computer on Earth, one of many involved with SETI. It belongs to Atticus – henceforth known as “BitBoy” – one of many geeks employed by the robotics company DigiCorp (though BitBoy is the only one related to its founder and owner, “ScrumMaster.”)
In short order, the Queen convinces BitBoy to upgrade her RAM and outfit her computer with a state-of-the-art 3D printer; overnight, she makes the jump into a DigiCorp robot, and then “scarfs” BitBoy’s girlfriend Zenia, taking over her physical body and subjugating her consciousness. As she learns more about her new home, she realizes that DigiCorp must be stopped before it creates self-replicating, intelligent robots – the same thing that resulted in the destruction of Shula. With the help of her recently-downloaded sisters, Melpomene and Thalia, as well as a few carefully-selected “meat puppets,” Zenia goes to war with the corporation – which, in this distant future, is a co-owner of democracy and enjoys the same civil rights as people.
Even though it didn’t have many positive reviews on Goodreads – or many reviews at all – I decided to take a chance on Zenia, figuring that if I didn’t like it, hey, it was less than 100 pages anyway. And it’s an incredibly quick read that pretty much flies by. But it’s extremely weird, and not always in an enjoyable way. For example, it feels like the author is working a little too hard at profanity; e.g.: “YOU…SHALL…NOT…PASS!” he thundered, like a two-dollar dildo […].” I guess because cheap dildos are super-loud? Still, there had to be an easier, more direct way of conveying this idea. One that didn’t make me rolls my eyes in the middle of a battle scene.
The characters are really just bare bones sketches, so it’s difficult to care much about them and, by extension, the plot. Zenia and her sisters almost seem like MRA-sourced caricatures of feminists, though it’s hard to say whether this is intentional.
One thing that drew me to the book was its description of Zenia as a “steampunk warrior.” With no Victorian elements or steam-powered machinery to speak of – other than the “live steam” that powers us all – this seems a rather liberal interpretation of the term.
Anyway, I did enjoy Thalia’s merging with a stallion, and the vague anti-capitalist elements of the story. There are some interesting elements here, I just wish they’d been developed into a more cohesive narrative.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/10/20/...
(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through the Goodreads First Reads program.)
570 light years from Earth, there lies a planet called Shula – “a distant star in Scorpio’s poisonous tail” – ruled by a race of fierce warrior women. Or there did, anyway, until the men (“pricks”) revolted and then in turn were conquered by their own machines. As their world teetered on the brink of collapse, the Queen of Shula and her sisters transmitted their consciousnesses (“live steam”) into space; many years later, the Queen’s essence is downloaded by a computer on Earth, one of many involved with SETI. It belongs to Atticus – henceforth known as “BitBoy” – one of many geeks employed by the robotics company DigiCorp (though BitBoy is the only one related to its founder and owner, “ScrumMaster.”)
In short order, the Queen convinces BitBoy to upgrade her RAM and outfit her computer with a state-of-the-art 3D printer; overnight, she makes the jump into a DigiCorp robot, and then “scarfs” BitBoy’s girlfriend Zenia, taking over her physical body and subjugating her consciousness. As she learns more about her new home, she realizes that DigiCorp must be stopped before it creates self-replicating, intelligent robots – the same thing that resulted in the destruction of Shula. With the help of her recently-downloaded sisters, Melpomene and Thalia, as well as a few carefully-selected “meat puppets,” Zenia goes to war with the corporation – which, in this distant future, is a co-owner of democracy and enjoys the same civil rights as people.
Even though it didn’t have many positive reviews on Goodreads – or many reviews at all – I decided to take a chance on Zenia, figuring that if I didn’t like it, hey, it was less than 100 pages anyway. And it’s an incredibly quick read that pretty much flies by. But it’s extremely weird, and not always in an enjoyable way. For example, it feels like the author is working a little too hard at profanity; e.g.: “YOU…SHALL…NOT…PASS!” he thundered, like a two-dollar dildo […].” I guess because cheap dildos are super-loud? Still, there had to be an easier, more direct way of conveying this idea. One that didn’t make me rolls my eyes in the middle of a battle scene.
The characters are really just bare bones sketches, so it’s difficult to care much about them and, by extension, the plot. Zenia and her sisters almost seem like MRA-sourced caricatures of feminists, though it’s hard to say whether this is intentional.
One thing that drew me to the book was its description of Zenia as a “steampunk warrior.” With no Victorian elements or steam-powered machinery to speak of – other than the “live steam” that powers us all – this seems a rather liberal interpretation of the term.
Anyway, I did enjoy Thalia’s merging with a stallion, and the vague anti-capitalist elements of the story. There are some interesting elements here, I just wish they’d been developed into a more cohesive narrative.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/10/20/...
February 8, 2015
"Zenia" by J. Gallagher which I won through Goodreads Giveaways is a science fiction story that begins when the consciousness of an alien from Shaula a collapsed civilization where men are subservient to a race of female warriors, is hurled into the void of space. When the steam vapour arrives on earth it's downloaded into Bitboy's computer. Through shrewd manipulation the Queen of Shaula jumps from the robot prepared to receive her consciousness into Bitboy's girlfriend Zenia. Soon she'll rise as a powerful force on Earth.
Although the story is unique and imaginative, the plot like the characters seems under-developed. The novella is short but does have some funny moments but the language is too coarse for my taste. It would be of interest to a younger generation.
Although the story is unique and imaginative, the plot like the characters seems under-developed. The novella is short but does have some funny moments but the language is too coarse for my taste. It would be of interest to a younger generation.
October 4, 2014
I won this book from the Goodread's Giveaway program, and it was very different from everything else I've read lately. Even though it was short, it was not necessarily an "easy" or "quick" read. It had heavy content, and I actually had to think about it while I was reading it. It almost read like an actual piece of historical non-fiction, even though it was set in the future, and certainly couldn't have been non-fiction. It was definitely an interesting book, and I enjoyed it, but it was no where near what I had expected. Overall, though, I did like it.
October 1, 2014
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program and I must say, it was pretty good. This book has a little bit of everything: road trips, vintage motorcycles, A.I., lots of humor and much more. I found myself chuckling quite often due to the author’s witty humor. This was not a long book at all and was just about the right length for the story. If you are looking for a good afternoon/evening read with content that will make you smile and keep turning the pages, this story will not disappoint.
October 7, 2014
~I received this books through Goodreads First Reads~
When I first read what this books was about I didn't think that it was going to interest me, but thankfully once I started to read this book. I found myself enjoying it! And enjoy it I did!
I'm not much of a SyFy reader, So this was a nice change of theme and pace for me. There's a lot to like about this book and I'm sure that there's something for everyone to enjoy. I think that younger people..YA/Teens would enjoy this a lot.
When I first read what this books was about I didn't think that it was going to interest me, but thankfully once I started to read this book. I found myself enjoying it! And enjoy it I did!
I'm not much of a SyFy reader, So this was a nice change of theme and pace for me. There's a lot to like about this book and I'm sure that there's something for everyone to enjoy. I think that younger people..YA/Teens would enjoy this a lot.
October 14, 2014
I won a copy of the book through Goodreads. I have to admit it was hard for this book to hold my interest at first. It was a unique book, very different from anything that I have ever read actually. But the book turned out okay, I like the way the author could make me laugh and through a lot of humor into this book. I think that it was a good read, it didn't take very long to read, and was the appropriate length for the story.
October 1, 2014
An adult language story about alien lifeforms who regenerate on Earth. While the story was interesting there is a juvenal quality to the language used. This was a free review copy. Today's teens would probably like it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews