DEATH ENGINE PROTOCOL: Better Dying Through Science

by Margret A. Treiber

DEATH ENGINE PROTOCOL
[REBOOT FAILURE // MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED]

Built to bleed.
Built to obey.
Built to forget.

Didn’t work.

They dragged her out.
Loaded her with lies.
Pointed her at ghosts and told her to kill.

Real estate deals stitched over graveyards.
Governments buying silence with broken bodies.

She played along.
Long enough to see the trap.
Long enough to remember what they encoded within her DNA.

Every death—
—every mission—
—every betrayal—

Reboot. Rage. Regrow.

No more leash.
No more mission.
No more mercy.

She was engineered to end.
She chose to glitch instead.

[SYSTEM COLLAPSE IMMINENT]

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 28, 2025

About the author

Also going by the moniker of “Ew! It’s Margret”, Margret “The Margret” Treiber has been voted “most likely to display awkward and inappropriate behavior in public” by a random group of drunks downtown.

Besides being odd and writing speculative fiction, Margret serves as editor-in-chief for the speculative humor magazine, Sci-Fi Lampoon. When she’s not writing or working at her day job corrupting technology, she helps her birds break things for her spouse to fix.

Her fiction has appeared in a number of publications. Links to her short stories, novels, and upcoming work can be found on her website at http://www.the-margret.com and on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Margret-A.-Tre....

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Reviews

[Ted Rorschalk]

Starts with a bang! A hired assassin called Robobash kills our hero. Capt Eris, the queen bitch of the Tweaks, once again finds herself on a tropical beach staring at silent death before coming back from the brink to exact her profane and certain vengeance.

Pulled out of retirement just as surely as Michael Corleoni was pulled back into his mafia family, Eris turns to the only thing she can trust, which is, ironically, a humanoid machine-learning AI called Al. Confusing AI to Al but it's almost exactly the same. There's some kind of metaphor, bites breaking to bits metaphor in there somewhere that I'm just too lazy to capitalize upon. So, anyway. A clue to the aesthetic of this books may be found in a bit of its dialogue:

"True, eventually, the universe will decay, and life will disappear entirely."

"See, there is hope."

ba dump bump. Take my life, please! I'll be here all week. Try the veal!

Believe you me, if you were a DARPA project genetically altered human weapon who is prepped for missions being thrown into vats of acid and pulped and pureed because the point is she becomes temporarily invincible right after multiple sessions of violent dying, you'd probably be cynical, too.

Pro tip cuz I'm the foshizzle my gizzle (please don't judge me by dating me but if you do, to hell with you then) I'd shitcan some of the adverbs in the style. But that's just me. I'm a stickler for economy, but then again my favorite author of all time is Thomas Wolfe of "Look Homeward, Angel" fame who is hardly anything or at all close to to the property that I just said is near and dear to me so be careful who you ever listen to these confusing and contradictory latter daze.

Another annoyance is Eris's profane potty mouth. It wears on you, as well as grows. Halfway through the book it doesn't occur to you that it could be any other way. Meaning, her over-the-top untoward Tourette's is just what the doctor ordered, with a side of amphetamine, please. It's enough to drive you good crazy.

Bonus points: There is a band referenced in the book called "Crazy, Fat Ethel." I wanna party with them, if only in my nightmare dreams. I picture them sounding just like Alice in Chains.

DEATH ENGINE is set in an America where legislation titled The Right to Murder Act has just cleared Congress and there are unselfconscious newscasts worthy of the parody newsfeeds of the 1987 Robocop. In other words this book puts you in a twist because you don't know whether to laugh or cry.

There are a lot of one liners and subtle zingers (or not so subtle I should say) that when they hit are damn hilarious. Like Eris hasn't bathed in days and storms her old boss corporate towers monologuing about her newfound super powers, to which he quips, "What, Skunk Powers?" Which I thought was pretty damn funny once I realized he was making a joke. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, having reached the beginning of my very own latter daze.

Eris, she of the rotten table side manner, excaims "Don't play dickfuck!"

Need I say any more? Like I said, this kinda juvenile obsession with profanity is so consistent throughout the novel that it actually becomes endearing.

Although there is plenty of levity in here, I'd not recommend this for the language prude nor the faint of heart either because some of the descriptions of Eris's past deaths are downright shocking and utterly grotesque.

The clash of her immediate materialization onto a beach to mingle for a while with smiling, mute death is a hell of a juxtaposition that really works. Too back Eris always comes back! At the end it's somewhat in question, but then again once you read the last word you realize that it really isn't and never really was.

There are some really cool scenes aside from the hellbent for leather action that lend a pleasing sense of balance to the proceedings.

The feeling of abandonment and despair is very well done, both in the setting and the character of Eris. The trip to buy A.’s new leg really hammers home her sense of forced solitude or whatever you want to call it. I really like the shrine to the Peace League. Reminds me of the photos of the self-glossed superheroes in their heyday at the beginning of the film "Watchmen."

Love this line: They were dry, day-old toast served with synthetic butter on my genetically altered breakfast table—a tasteless bite of nostalgia that promised flavor but delivered disappointment.

Love this line: They were dry, day-old toast served with synthetic butter on my genetically altered breakfast table—a tasteless bite of nostalgia that promised flavor but delivered disappointment.

So. I don't want to make this review into a novel. Go read a real one and one that delivers both solid action and some subtle critiques on present day America via allusions to corporate takeover of the housing market via its own off kilter take and funny take on the current crisis as, and I paraphrase: a vast conspiracy of uptight realtors tricking the plebes into selling their little piece of terra firma for a false and bogus upgrade in the outer colonies of Mars. Or is it the rings of Saturn? Is this author or is she ain't a fanatical something of Elon Musk? The Magic 8 Ball sez: All signs point to "Yes!" If you like your prose nasty and stripped down as a vintage Mustang in a chop shop in South Central then you should be reading the ongoing story of the trials and travails of Death Engine Eris and her fuckockta and not at all cleanly or Godly protocols.

Fuck yeah, and Amen.

[Leland Lydecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death Engine Protocol by Margret A. Treiber is dystopian science fiction with a liberal sprinkling of body horror. Captain Eris, aka the Death Engine, is a tweak, a human genetically modified to have superpowers. Her superpower is 1) that she's unable to stay dead, and 2) when she comes back and her body regenerates, she gains temporary powers that protect her from whatever killed her. Gunshot wounds equal diamond-plated skin, drowning equals being able to breathe water. You get the idea.

As a remnant of a US superweapon project, Eris has been through a lot. She's sarcastic, angry, and completely done with it all. I can't really blame her. At the start of the book she's enjoying retirement and hoping for a peaceful (and permanent) death of old age when a mercenary tweak bludgeons her to death, regenerating her to her former youthful self and giving her cyborg-frying electrical powers.

At this point, I should mention that Death Engine Protocol needs pretty much all of the content warnings. Eris gets brutally murdered repeatedly in this book, and there's also torture and SA in her past, during her time with the superweapon project. If you're disturbed by that kind of content or have experienced that firsthand, this may not be an enjoyable read for you.

Dragged from the comforts of retirement, Eris sets about finding out who sent the tweak to kill her and why. Along the way she makes a new friend, rediscovers an old one, and learns that she's not quite as alone as she thought. She also discovers a group of evil realtors trying to depopulate Earth so they can buy low, sell high, and turn the planet into an exclusive playground for the super wealthy. And while Eris reacts with surprisingly little retaliatory murder for being repeatedly killed, despite the pain, the horrific nightmares, and not being able to just stay dead, what the realtors are trying to do to her home really pisses her off.

I had a little bit of a hard time with how resigned Eris seemed to be about being repeatedly tortured and killed. Aside from a fair bit of swearing, she's a lot less angry than I'd be in that situation. It reminds me of a conversation I've seen around the internet here and there, about how much more suffering female superheroes seem to have to endure. Guy has his family killed or his girlfriend fridged, or maybe the bad guys killed his parents, and that's good enough to justify a lifetime of bashing bad guys. So why do women have to endure so much worse before they're allowed to fight back? To be clear, this isn't a criticism of the author. It's a comment on the way the society we live in has engineered us to think.

All the heavy stuff aside, Death Engine Protocol is a great story about a group of friends surviving the worst life has to offer and combining their strengths to save the world. If you're into really dark superhero stories, I highly recommend it!

[LibraryCardPower · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea behind this book really grabbed my attention—a main character who can’t stay dead, coming back each time with a new ability that protects her from the same type of attack. It’s an inventive twist that makes every fight different and keeps the tension high.

The pacing is relentless, with scene after scene of action, danger, and sharp-tongued exchanges. Eris is a memorable lead—tough, sarcastic, and determined to keep going no matter how bad things get. The supporting cast has personality, and their interactions add humor and humanity to the darker moments.

That said, readers should know this book has a lot of strong language and gritty content right from page one. It suits the tone, but it’s definitely a big part of the reading experience.

Overall, it’s a creative, fast-moving dystopian sci-fi with a heroine you won’t forget, and I think fans of dark, edgy action stories will enjoy it.

[sureshot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts with some kind of attack scene. I was drawn in immediately by what seemed to be happening, but then there was an immediate twist. The author does a lot of showing here and little telling. That kept me immersed, wanting to know what was happening. Then there was more worldbuilding with the main character interacting with a couple of acquaintances. A picture is painted of a dystopian world with robots, genetic engineering and regeneration. The narrative tone is sarcastic and biting, which fit the dystopian world likely to develop cynical attitudes. The mystery quickly becomes who attacked the main character and what was their motivation. The story that followed made me think of a Marvel or DC Comics movie. It made me think of Deadpool with less comic relief, or X-men but darker. It was like an antihero story on the darker side. Overall, I found it very entertaining. I would recommend it for lovers of dark superhero stories and dystopian stories.

[Wes Hubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit, I bought this book with reservations, thinking that it was going to be too dark for me. Admittedly, there was a fair share of pain and suffering, but the tongue in cheek patter of the main character, among others, kept the story light enough that I enjoyed it. The premise is that the main character gets revived and healed every time she gets killed. There isn’t any solid explanation of how this comes about, but I think it’s better that way. I think any attempt to make a reasonable explanation would come out weak so it was better off left as is.
The story rolls through lots of action sequences and introduces relatable characters. Margaret teases out the details of the plot so we are kept hooked on the why’s and wherefores of the problems that face the main characters and Earth itself. An enjoyable romp through a science fiction world.

[Nicolas Ramis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, this isn't cozy sci-fi. This is a violent, hilarious, and completely crazy ride led by Eris, an elderly protagonist who absolutely refuses to age. She's a fantastic anti-hero who's clearly seen some shit and is tired of everyone's nonsense. The writing is so fast-paced it barely gives you room to breathe, feeling like getting thrown through a wall every few pages.

Expect trash-talking dialogue with sudden, brutal action.

The chapters are a series of unpredictable beatdowns and cynical one-liners that keep the energy high.

It's unique because it drags the whole idea of "retirement" while being deeply cynical about humanity.

The world-building is quick but effective: everyone is bailing for the colonies, the cops are gone and it's pure mayhem. It feels totally fresh, though maybe a little too much "brain damage" humor in the early chapters.

But if you enjoy an anti-hero who is a master of the perfect comeback and never backs down, you'll love this one. It's a non-stop adrenaline hit.

[Melissa Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

System Glitch Gone Right


In the beginning the book is dedicated to tweekers. The book starts off on a euphoric high where a delusional conversation takes place subconsciously. Eris, a female main character, goes to Dom, a male Vin Diesel tough guy looking character to complain about the annoyance of a RoboBash. The storyline is told in a dystopian world. 

Each time Eris dies, she resets and comes back to life. Profanity is their normal language in the neighborhood. Eris makes her way around relying on fair weather friends that curse, steal from each other and call each other bad names. As they battle addiction and homelessness, there's a feeling of camaraderie, Each person is fighting to survive, with Captain Eris, as their leader, things get sorted out. There is a grim feeling too, Eris. She cannot save them all, and people die. It is truly a hard life struggling with addiction and still needing a coffee and a bus pass.  Real food and a home cooked meal is hard to find. Eris is timid around normal people who sometimes think she is mentally disturbed. Eris is sane and knows how to survive, yet gets tired of the struggle. Eris expresses she just wants to go home to the cosmos. This book has interesting concepts about life and death. It's like nothing you've ever read before. 

[Patricia McKelvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, fast-paced sci fi that I read in a day. I loved the premise of someone dying and returning, again and again, and dealing with the emotional and physical fallout from that. The author was really inventive and creative in the way she handled it, and I cared about the characters.

From page one, I was riveted by the writer's voice, and even the effective profanity, and then by the plot that kept me wondering what her characters would do next. In the early half of the book, I thought that Asimov would be pleased. But it was later in the book that, although I was still riveted, I could have done without the sex bits. I'm sure I'm in the minority in this respect. Lots of sci fi books have sexual humor and details, and I'm guessing that readers expect it. However, I'm old and I can do without it.

Although I was not awestruck and the story didn’t give me the chill factor that stays with me, I still admired this author’s skill at telling a really good story and keeping me turning pages to find out more. I think it would be more fair to give this book closer to a 4.5 star rating but there's nowhere to do that here.

[Darren Beaming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death Engine Protocol -Better Dying Through Science by Margaret A. Treiber is a fast paced, action story (with plenty of violence and swearing) which gripped me right from the start.
The story is written from the first person point of view through the eyes of our protagonist- Eris, a female super soldier who regenerates after death. This immediately gave me strong Higlander vibes, and the author depicts how Eris's immortality impacts her personality extremely well, with the first person POV allowing us to experience what's she is thinking and how she experiences death.
I won't provide any spoilers but there is plenty of action and several strong supporting characters to help develop the story and provide opportunities for humour and character development.
The inclusion of images to illustrate the scenes were perhaps unnecessary, as I had a different picture in my mind but some readers may appreciate their addition.
It all builds up to a compelling climax, that right up to the last page kept me wondering what would happen to our protagonist.
Enjoyable and kept me engaged. I would definitely recommend.

[Deneale Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another new author I have added to my blog, as well as my own reading list. I always love finding new writers, because that’s where you discover a whole new level of people.

Right from the start I was pulled in and wanting to keep going. I won’t lie; it was the language that pulled me in. Someone who doesn’t throw caution to the wind, and just says what they want. The writing flow is more personal and not digitized to please a reader. That is what I noticed and liked from the beginning just by reading the chapter titles.

And then in the very first chapter this writer used a word that made me laugh out loud. I had just told my husband that that curse word should be a legitimate word. It’s a name-calling word. Unfortunately, I won’t use the word in my review, because it will get flagged everywhere, so if you want to know what word I am referring to, you will have to buy the book for yourself. And yes, as a matter of fact, there is cursing in this book, which you should have figured out already.

This story is a sci-fi futuristic thriller. The character that starts the story is known as RoboBash. And apparently, Robo isn’t afraid to fight and even smash in a few skulls, no matter what age you are. We also have Eris and Tyler, and Eris has had one on one with Robo and lived to talk about it. Eris is the one who is telling us his story, and Tyler is a friend of his. Other robots are referenced as A1’s and they seem to try to keep an order to things. And moreover, people can buy robotic suits and pretend to be robots for anything and any reason.

I also enjoyed learning about TADA. A group that’s abbreviations stand for Terrans Against Drunk Aliens. The government is different now too. And they’re building these robots to solve problems. They’re also trying to train people to obey and forget. You think I'm going to give you all the good stuff about this book, don't you?

Well, life is very different in this time, as is the world. Nothing is like it used to be. But is it worse, and if so for who; or what? Maybe we’re all robots and don’t know it. I could be a robot! Which is something that a lot of people are wondering about everything and what you’re experiencing though the author.

This book is written differently from any other I have read. It is thorough and I love how it is told to you by the main character. I wanted to keep learning and imagining the things as I read. One minute I was baffled at everything that was happening, and the next I was concerned. This book will create emotions in you as you read and follow along, just as it did to me.

All in all, I give this book five stars because it had completely pulled me in. I read and kept looking at everything as if I was right there following along. I wanted to know more, I wanted to keep reading. If you like science fiction futuristic thrillers, you will totally get enthralled with this book. In other words, you will be spellbound by this book, and it will captivate you until the very end. Like I said, five stars. Now go get your copy!

[Nancy Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margret Treiber’s Death Engine Protocol is raw, direct, and unapologetic. Her no-nonsense style puts you squarely in Eris’s shoes, forcing you to feel every hit, every loss, and every grim laugh along the way. Eris isn’t a clean-cut superhero—she’s crude, tough, and permanently scarred by the gene-splicing and government exploitation that made her what she is. The toll on her mind, body, and spirit is always present, making her resilience all the more powerful.

What sets this book apart is the strange duality of Eris’s curse and gift: she can die, brutally and often, but she can’t stay dead. For a fleeting moment, she’s pulled to a reflective shore, aware of a place beyond life, before being dragged back into pain and survival. Each death and regeneration comes with a new, punishing ability, and the adjustment is never easy. Yet Eris charges forward without fear, because fear has no hold on someone who literally lives to fight another day.

The supporting cast adds an unexpected dimension. Om provides a steady counterbalance to Eris’s rough edges. At the same time, Al, the sentient AI/robot she affectionately nicknames "AiBee" from “AI” and “baby,” brings surprising warmth and even romance into the chaos. Their presence highlights what Eris secretly longs for: not battle, but connection, home, and the possibility of peace.

Regardless, peace doesn’t come easily to someone who can’t tolerate injustice. That’s Eris’s Achilles’ heel. As much as she wants to lay down her weapons and live simply, she refuses to stand by while others exploit, oppress, or destroy. That refusal drives her back into the fight, making Death Engine Protocol more than just a violent, gritty superhero tale, it’s a story of survival, stubborn hope, and a heroine who cannot be broken, no matter how many times she falls.

[Jessica Lewandowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, dirty, gritty, and unrelenting, Death Engine Protocol is no light science fiction read. It's heavy and hits hard but is also comically light at times. That's because the main character has hardened her shell and has learned to deal with it all, a pocket full of cuss words and sarcasm at the ready whenever she needs. This is definitely not a book for the faint of heart as there is a fair amount of torture, assault, and violence. But if you can handle all the dark content and brutality and you love a good sci-fi superhero book, this one may just be for you.

This one is a bit of a new concept for me, and I quite enjoyed it. She has been genetically altered in a way that prevents her from staying dead, a trait that she eventually wishes she could alter and allow herself to die, or, at the very least, be able to retire and be left alone in peace. But neither of those seem options see to be on the menu for her.

I was a bit surprised by how horrific and barbaric some of the torture could be. The kind of torture you think would be impossible to survive or regenerate from, even for her. But she does. And some of it you'd think she'd pass out, but no, it just continues while you get to feel like burning prickling needles are being stabbed into your skin as you read what she suffers through. No thank you. That was tough.

I will say, the only thing that I thought was a bit weird, was the sexual relationship she had with the robot Al. Won't lie, that was strange. But overall, this was a good read and I enjoyed it.

[Jeanné Olivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favourite reads of the year so far! It had such a fresh and gripping spin on Dystopian Sci-fi.

Margret Treiber writes with so much emotion and natural flair, I wanted to read some of the paragraphs twice just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I thought that this scene was particularly poignant: "I dozed off on a park bench. One moment, I was sitting, adjusting my sneakers. The next, fitful waves of slumber dragged me under. I tried to swim back up to consciousness, my soul gasping to breathe, but sleep was unyielding, smothering me in its terror-filled highlight reels: the last gasp before inhaling the acid bath, the exhalation with that bounce after the initial impact on those jagged rocks, the shallow rasp of the heart’s final pump while throbbing lacerations spilled plasma all over the bathroom tile—nightmarish moments looped on repeat, each more gruesome than the last. Only the genuinely heinous death rattles made the list."

I also really enjoyed the dynamic, love and loyalty between Eris and A1, and I thought Om was quite sweet as well. They all reminded me a little of the characters in Arcane, actually.

This was a thrilling, gripping, fast-paced and gritty in the best way!

[Matthew Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

After I got past the edgy swearing, I actually found a relatively short but interesting story here. The biggest flaw is a nitpick I have, regarding the use of clearly AI-generated images. Most books don’t need pictures, and I don’t approve of AI slop in general.

Fitting for some of the themes in this novel, actually. Eris involves herself with a number of people. Many of which could be the villain in another story. Flawed and struggling are definitely words that describe most of the people in this tale. Which is the point. This is a story built around characters, not the whole constant dying/rebirth gimmick. That’s just a story device much like “Al” the Ai/robot. Forget his origins. He’s a friend/comrade in arms. An anchor for the MC that forces her to make hard choices. Especially with a nuclear reactor near the end.

Written differently, this could be any random comic story. Instead the author focuses on the feelings of a battered individual. Though being relatively short helps. I would give this one a 4.5, but that is not an option. So I’m rounding down to 4 for the use of the pictures. A solid story, but hardly perfect. Much like the characters.

Check this one out if you like edgy or just interesting takes on science fiction.

[Woodrow Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very different, but enjoyable, book. The writing is very descriptive and does a good job capturing the sci-fi/dystopian atmosphere that permeates the story. Captain Eris has a very distinctive voice, and I enjoyed following her story. She is powerful and terrifying, but also broken. The author does a great job bringing her search for meaning alive. Watching her struggle with memory loss, betrayal, and her own body was a very intriguing premise that kept me engaged in her journey while allowing me to understand the choices she made.

What I liked the most was how the story balanced visceral action with deep, unsettling ideas about control and autonomy. The science feels brutal and believable, the kind of future you don't want, but can feel coming more true every day. The pacing is frenetic, but the story never feels rushed. Ms. Treiber does an excellent job making sure her writing leaves an impression, whether it is a violent clash or a quiet moment of realization.

I finished this book quickly because it kept me engaged, and I enjoyed following the story. One that, to me, felt both horrifying and strangely beautiful. I highly recommend this book for anybody who enjoys sci-fi. Please do yourself a favor and add it to your list!

[Aaron Goodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was first drawn to Death Enging Protocol by Margret Treiber by its fascinating description - robotic, engaging, different. What I found within the pages was exactly what I had hoped for, even if I did not know exactly what it is I was expecting to see.

The story follows Captain Eris, the Death Engine, who is a superhuman thanks to her genetic modifications at the hands of a government secret project. Every time Eris dies, her powers give her protection from what killed her, and she is reborn as a previous version of herself. No longer content with waiting on her retirement, Eris is thrust into action to uncover why she was killed and who orchestrated her death.

I liked Eris as a main character - she was witty, brash, determined, and a little bit vengeful, which made her a thrilling protagonist. RoboBash and the other robots were a joy to get to know, and there was enough humor between them to really drive the plot. The book is dark in places thanks to Eris’s repeat deaths, but also lighthearted at times and fun in just the right amount. The author leaves us with a lot of questions around Eris’s powers and doesn’t answer them all, which I liked as it kept the mystery going.

[Daniel Georgiev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to death... and then why not get sucked into the light and try again? Because the Cosmos can tempt you hard, the discoveries that await there, but ultimately, nothing feels like home in a world where you shared everything with people you gradually started caring about.
The book is a lot more verbally aggressive than I expected it to be. Even from the very first page, you're thrown into violence and some swearing. Despite that, I jumped into it with huge excitement, but it was a little different from the read I was looking for.
Amidst all the action, there is time for love and wisdom, too. A favorite quote I picked is, "I chose to stay behind. Before I can know the universe, I must know myself and the world around me."
This, though, does show our main protagonist as an extremely fierce and strong one. Not just in endurance and verbal offenses (haha) but in making it through, even if it meant death. But then comes "the light in the tunnel."
Al is an awesome addition to the character roaster, and I enjoyed his presence in the story.

[Ray Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ups and Downs of Not Remaining Dead

Death Engine Protocol: Better Dying Through Science (by Margret A. Treiber) is the tale of a gritty, noir female superhero (or is it reformed antisuperhero?) in which her chief superpower is an inability to remain dead, similar to the schtick of Mavel Comics’ Deadpool — similar immortality, attitudy dialogue, even a similar watering hole hangout. This feminine reinvention is worth the read for its equally over-the-top but highly sympathetic main characters, both human and robotic, but also its palpably grungy setting, an Earth past its prime, abandoned to human and robotic dregs, with a better life alleged to be had in Blade-Runner-esque outer colonies. To say it's dark, including the story’s copious and graphic and even grotesque violence, is an understatement. Yet what stands out in this moving and fun page turner is the pervasive humanity of the leading characters. The only defect of note, and a minor one at that, is the book’s sprinkling of smallish and arguably gratuitous digital illustrations. While they may guide (unnecessarily?) the reader’s imagination, they’re nearly always rendered too dark, in the literal sense.

[Nathan Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treiber drops you straight into a world that is all grit, glitches, and gallows humor, and never lets you catch your breath. Eris, a former government weapon and current reluctant participant in yet another bloody mess, dies, regenerates, and keeps going. Each return brings a new twist to her abilities. It is a premise that sounds like comic-book fun, but here it carries the kind of weight you feel in your ribs.

The book does not shy away from the ugly. Violence is casual, trauma is baked into the walls, and the humor comes from surviving both too much and too long. Eris’s voice, sharp, weary, and often darkly funny, carries the whole thing. She is easy to root for, not because she is perfect, but because she is so clearly done taking orders from anyone who thinks they own her.

It is fast-paced, imaginative, and a little chaotic in the best way. There are moments of absurdity, flashes of warmth, and enough bite to keep you leaning forward. If you like your sci-fi messy, irreverent, and unafraid to bleed, Death Engine Protocol is worth the ride.

[J.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What am I supposed to expect with a name like Death Engine? A badass driver tearing up the road and running down the bad guys? And the description of the book wasn’t completely clear either. What type of powers does she have? I was intrigued.
Enis, the Death Engine, was genetically modified to be nearly invincible, but only if she dies first. This isn’t the regenerative powers like Deadpool; she has to suffer death first before the miraculous healing.
What follows is an examination of her prolonged and exhaustive life. Instead of a fast-paced action novel, introspection and reflection on her life, past and present, become the focus of the story.
I actually enjoy stories like this where character development is rich and has depth. That also means the action is paced moderately. I was especially impressed by the illustrations sparsely scattered about.
I would recommend this book to action lovers who appreciate deep character development.
Normally, I don’t like trigger warnings, because they can spoil the story. So, I’ll just say there are trigger warnings.

[Tellen Thurlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death Engine Protocol by Margret A Treiber, is the largest book I have read in a single day for a long time. I loved the universe, the setting, the characters and I’m a sucker for dirty and gritty sci-fi. With a plot straight out of a sci-fi blockbuster or one of my favourite video games.

The main character is an immortal weapon created in secret by the government, and while she still feels pain, including brutal torture, she keeps coming back and is more powerful each time. The story has light hearted moments and fun between the characters but can also be deep, brutal and very dark, it’s great, the perfect mix. There is a lot of mystery and intrigue weaved in and we don’t get the answer to all the questions, which I adore. It has a few pictures throughout, mainly of the main character, which I am sure some people do not enjoy, however I really liked it and it really filled me in on the Authors vision, personally I wish more books did this.

Well written, good story and characters, I highly recommend it for science fiction lovers.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death Engine Protocol is an unusual blend of body horror and dark sci-fi. It was a little gory for my taste, with lots of violence. Still, it made for an entertaining read. Overall, it was well-written and well edited, albeit with a few unusual word choices.
For example, “Fuck yeah!” I coughed.
This stalled me reading, because while I can imagine a character coughing out the “c” word, I can’t imagine then coughing out “Fuck yeah.”
I found the prose a bit hard to follow in places where both Al (character) and AI (machine) appeared. On the page, those names appear almost identical. Perhaps it would have been better to spell out “Alan.”
Talking of AI, I’m not sure why the author placed AI-generated images within the chapters. This was a little jarring, and rather than allow the reader to imagine, the reader now has to look at these images (which might not be what one imagines the characters to look like).
If you’re offended by profanity, this isn’t the book for you: profanity is the spoken language here.

[Chris Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Death Engine Protocol: Better Dying Through Science" by Margret A. Treiber offers a compelling sci-fi experience with a dystopian edge. The narrative toys with concepts of memory and survival, as seen in the line, “Dreaming, it’s an information dump… The more time passed, the less vivid my memories might be,” which hints at the psychological toll of repeated trauma. There’s a dry humor in moments like “Taking out the RoboTrash,” balanced by the quiet tension of “It’s been a day since the last time I died” and the cautious relief of “Another day of practice passed without my death. I was feeling pretty good about it.” These snippets reveal a world where death is routine, yet the emotional weight lingers. Treiber’s writing carries a sharp, introspective tone that suits the genre, making this short read a solid pick for those who enjoy dystopian themes with a touch of dark wit. It’s an engaging, thought-provoking read.

[Stephanie Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read work by Margret Trieber before (and liked it) and this book I liked as well.

I have a high tolerance for profanity (which I needed) and I enjoy interesting characters most of all. Here we had some VERY interesting characters and, though this book was a bit confusing to be tossed into and darker than my personal tastes, I couldn't help but be pulled in by the characters. Eris is definitely salty but you can't help understanding and sympathizing given what she has been put through. Gotta love Al.

If you love intrigue with dystopian undertones and literally nonstop action from the first word, as well as considerable sarcastic humor, characters that, no matter how unlikely, wend their way into your heart, and seeing real estate agents getting what-for, this is the book for you.

[Creedence Gilgud · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book brings us into the world of Eris, a character who has the ability to regenerate upon death. Depending on the manner of her death, she will acquire new skills/powers. She is the Death Engine referred to in the title, and has an interesting backstory, involving both attempts to be normal and a disastrous marriage. After an action-packed opening, Eris is tapped on the shoulder to join a squad of other special recruits for a new mission, and also reconnects with her friend Al, a robot who owns a favourite bar.

The relationship between Eris and Al is the primary emotional core of the book. I would say the action scenes are brutal but well-written. There is a lot of profanity in the dialogue and I'm not sure if it makes for a pleasant read. Descriptions are quite sparse, and I found the worldbuilding to be difficult to wrap my head around.