Red Queen

by Jeb Kinnison

Set on a California college campus just a decade or two from now, the world of Red Queen is post-terrorist disaster, repressive and censored — governed like China today, but with a stagnant economy and no jobs for young people. In that sense it is a dystopia, though not so far from our own day and time; only a few steps beyond where we are now. The students are cowed but not unaware, and they seize the opportunity to make a difference when their smarts and courage allow it. And so they change the world.

This is Book 1 of Substrate Wars, the series: A growing band of campus freedom-fighters discover a new technology that could either destroy the world, or save it. They take on the responsibility of using it for good. Homeland Security is one step behind them. Spies and traitors lurk. Shall it be repressive bureaucratic stagnation, or expansion to the stars?

Red Queen is a story about the yearning for freedom and agency in a world dominated by bureaucrats and propagandists, and it would not have been published by a major house. The world of Red Queen is just a decade or two away, and looks very much like the world we live in, just a few steps worse. In the tradition of Heinlein's If This Goes On--, I have extrapolated from current trends and imagined the politics that result. The authoritarian tendencies we see in modern western states will probably be reversed at some point--but what if they just keep getting worse? This is especially true of the US, with its 9/11-justified surveillance and interception of every citizen's email and message metadata, and a penal-industrial complex that imprisons about one in three black men at some point in their lives, often for victimless crimes like drug possession. A more serious terrorist incident might lead to even more restrictions on freedom and privacy. And that's where Red Queen begins.

Genres: Science Fiction, Amazon, Dystopia

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 9, 2014

About the author

Jeb Kinnison grew up in the Midwest, studied computer and cognitive science at MIT, and wrote programs modeling the behavior of simulated stock traders and the population dynamics of economic agents. He went on to do supercomputer research at a think tank that developed parts of the early Internet (where the engineer who decided on ‘@‘ as the separator for email addresses worked down the hall.) Since then he has had several careers—real estate, financial advising, and counselling.

Reviews

[Merril Anil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like Penny in Big Bang Theory.... No clue what the guys were talking about"

First of all a huge thanks to Shannon. A . Thompson and the author and his team for providing me a copy of this book to read.

I think by mistake i stumbled upon Einstein's diary rather than a Fiction because it was filled with cryptic stuff that suddenly made me feel like i was back in my physics class staring with hazed eyes at my teachers and fellow students, without any clue as to what was going on. In short i felt like the dumbest kid in the class.

To be fair to the author, i would like to say that it could be all me and my inability to perceive or comprehend the stuff that were being talked about and that is why i am going to group the review into what was good and what was bad about the book

Lets start with the bad stuff

What went wrong for me

To begin with, this book is for those who have an IQ level of 120 or above so naturally, me being a person whose IQ level barely touches the two digits margins, this book ran way above my head. I had no clue what was going on and what was happening until i came back and read the synopsis.

The major problem is the setting which comes without proper explanation as to whether the events are taking place in a far future and if yes then how did we reach there and what had been the progress and what is the world exactly like. In short there is no proper formation of the basic landscape where the book is build on.

The language is highly technical, way too much complex for a fiction book and you need to be well versed in the field of Physics or rather quantum physics to understand the things being talked about. I suspect even then you would not be able to understand the logic as it starts at the toughest level and never lowers itself to make the readers grasp the basic string of the story.

I guess what they say about geniuses is true. Talking to them is tough because even their lowest level of communication is way too alien for the average brain and for someone like me it would be a complete catastrophe

Now the good part

It was by the middle that the author explained what is Red Queen Effect and that was when i actually started appreciating the basic theme of the book. I think it was a brilliant theme to tackle in form of fiction and the basic story was actually pretty brainy but i guess that is where it went wrong... Being too brainy.

for the sake of people like me... Red Queen effect is when one organism is required to step up their game in order to stay in the competition. The author itself uses a brilliant example of this in our modern world where each country is acquiring weapons in order to have an edge over other countries and this tug of war is basically Red Queen Effect

The idea and the concept is brilliant and there are actually so many powerful elements that are discussed about the world we live in, a whole new set of ideologies are brought forward and the book gets its pace only towards its last run. The satirical mirror of our governing bodies and the countries around, pointed out in the book was good too.

Unfortunately you require a higher functioning of brain and patience to sit through and brush everything else to find out the deeper good


The Book is not for everybody as its not even fiction and more on the lines of Science journal and that is why i say that this book is for those who are connoisseurs in the field of quantum physics or whatever field the book was based on (see i am dumb even to know which field it was talking about ) . The language is pure science. The whole theme and concept was brilliant but i wish the author had stooped down to our levels to make us understand what he meant to say as he definitely had a lot of wonderful concepts to share which got lost somewhere in the science land.

Somebody needs to explain this book to me


How was it?

[Rexy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Shannon A. Thompson and the author for giving me a copy this book. :) Sorry for the super late review! :(

"Red Queen" has an intriguing start, with an extreme Islamist terrorist group bombing a UN building stationed in the USA. The aftermath from this bombing was written with realistic descriptions.

The next part started out great too, the depiction of Justin Smith's character seemed interesting...
but then everything changed.

When Justin started talking about his work with a professor in computer programming and something something,.... err, I started getting lost. My mind had to grasp at straws to fully digest just what the hell I was reading. The next pages were full of technicalities and hooplas-microchips, processors, computer generation, mutants, software, machines that can transport you to another planet, yada yada yada. I have to consent with a fellow reviewer's review- Penny from The Big Bang Theory suddenly channeled herself into me too.

I wish I could say everything finally made sense in the next chapters....but I can't :( That moronic feeling pretty much took over 90% of the book. The chapters shifted from one scene packed with technical stuff to yet another scene packed with even more technical stuff. Aside from those microchips, processors, atoms and mutants thing, this book also turned out to have rebel groups and government spying and conspiracies!

Err.... Considering I'm not into that kind of stuff....I think it follows that this book also isn't my cup of tea.
Here's everything in this book in a nutshell: High evolved computer mutant organisms, government spying,Alice in Wonderland references, a gay college professor, college students dealing with a fcked up society and a machine that can travel lightyears to a new planet...or something. Every one of them piled together, one on top of another, while I spent my 3 and a half hour journey in a daze wondering what the hell I'm reading.

I only started enjoying myself at around 85%, when finally some things like the machine that can take them to another planet or something became slightly, take note, slightly, clear to me in purpose. I finally found the plot starting to look cool, haha. I wish the general plot focused on the college gang's ability to control the machine for good with a bit more narration and not scientific hoopla.
(Maybe that would happen in the second book, who ows?)

Although there's a bit of young adult heroism and romance angle in this book, I find their significance in the story too small. It almost feels as if they were just a crammed bit in the story amidst all the technical stuff so it would appeal a bit more.

...This book has been sitting on my "currently reading" shelf since February. To be honest I abandoned it lots of times since then, and restarted reading about 10 times...but I pushed myself to finally finish it tonight. It pains me to only give 2 stars...but I promised to be honest and that's what I'm doing now, warts and all. :(

I hope the next reader who picks this out enjoys it more than I do. I really do. He or she will have to be smarter and more into science stuff, that's for sure

Again, many thanks to Shannon and the author for letting me review this novel. This novel was clearly "out of this world" (quite literally too, if I might add, hah!). Sorry that it isn't my cup of tea :( I send you both the best of luck though.

[Karlie Nyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a curiously good read - the future of the US is terrifying and probably closer than we think. If you are more science minded than I am -- I love science, and I eat up any documentary I can find that is science based, but this was beyond me -- definitely check this book out. Politically minded? Check this book out. Concerned about the future of the US? Check out this book. I'm excited for book 2.

[Chris Pavesic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Queen: The Substrate Wars begins with a quotation from Robert Heinlein’s 1950’s novella, The Man Who Sold the Moon: “There is nothing in this world so permanent as a temporary emergency.” This idea sets the tone of Kinnison’s novel and permeates all of the events within his fictional world.

The novel is set in a not-too-distant future world with events that mirror our own society: Readers will recognize similarities in events like the AIDS epidemic, the creation of agencies like Homeland Security, and how some people use online games like World of Warcraft and other social media to create connections and send messages in “the real world.” The differences between our world and the story world of Red Queen: The Substrate Wars lies in how much personal freedom has been reduced and how far technology has developed. As it states in the book blurb, the technology being created could either save the world or destroy it; the stakes are no longer just personal freedom versus governmental control. The characters are actually fighting their governments for the right for the human race to exist.

**SPOILERS**

It is hard to discuss the novel without giving away huge spoilers. (Of course I have this problem with most of the novels I review!) I really enjoyed the chapters with the ALife Simulations. The narrative of these chapters focused on the evolutionary development of the artificial life forms. It traces them from the very start of their existence, focusing on the entire species rather than one character, and each ALife section relates in some way to the actions taken by the main characters in the novel.

My favorite character in the novel is Professor Walter Wilson. Kinnison creates a very interesting character. Wilson is a homosexual male who grew up in a world that initially did not tolerate this lifestyle, although the level of acceptance evolved, and even flourished, over time. He survived the AIDS epidemic, although his lover did not. Infected, Wilson has to take what he terms a “daily wonder pill” to prevent the progression of the disease. Because of this loss, he never developed another close, romantic relationship. Instead, he threw himself into his work. He flourished in the academic world, even winning a protest against University regulations in the past when a security officer removed a poster with an image of a gun from his office door. Wilson also had a positive impact on his students, who maintained contact with him even after they left the University.

The twist with this character comes with the reduction of personal freedoms in The Red Queen society. At the start of the novel, Wilson has come under fire from the University officials because he commented on a biological difference between the genders. Any statement that points out a difference between people is considered offensive and subject to censure. This, however, is not as simple as it appears on the surface. The censure may be retaliation for the protest he won in the past, it may be an issue because his former students have become leaders in the resistance against The Red Queen governments, or it may have something to do with the ALife simulation project Wilson is running. The University’s actions do encourage Wilson’s former and current students to rally behind him. It is not really a “call to arms;” rather, it is the situation that starts a chain of events and it is fascinating as a reader to watch each domino fall into place.

I did enjoy this novel and look forward to the second book in the trilogy!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and timely review.

[Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally on Fables Library

This book sounds epic, I knew that once I read the summary of what it was about, I had to read it. I just had to. So when I was asked to read it in exchange for an honest opinion, I gladly did. So, did it lead up to my expectations? Yes and no.

Red Queen takes place in a world were everyone is equal. There is no racism, sexism or any other types of problems like that, because once someones feelings get hurt, the Violator of that persons feelings has to deal with the government. I'm not saying that there's nothing wrong with an equal world, but the idea of a world where you say one thing wrong you end up dead in a ditch is kind of scary. This is the setting of the story, something most people would see as good, yet with underlying troubles all the same.

If you're looking for intelligent, smart main characters in college, who seem to know what they are doing, then you'd love this book. The story switches between the views of several characters. Justin, Professor Wilson, Dylan and several other characters. Justin is the main character mostly, the guy who gets things done. He's a college student working with Professor Wilson and Rasna on an Artificial Life lab and is one smart kid. Steve discovers something truly incredible, a way to transport and see other places around the world and universe. Something that either helps or hurts them in the end. Professor Wilson comes in contact with The Grey Tribe, and gets in trouble with the government. Justin wants to help the Professor, resulting in a downward spiral. Everyone is now wanted by the government, will they survive and stand up for what they believe in (a free world)?

The government did some creepy things too, things that made my skin crawl. They had their ways to make people cooperate with operations, to make them like what they were doing, they even found out ways to make them feel differently. They made people feel the way they wanted them to feel. Please, let's all take a minute to think about what that would be like. Everyone imagine it? Well, I know I sure do, having my emotions controlled would, I think, cause me to turn insane. If I didn't want to help but was happy to, if I was determined to do something yet couldn't because they didn't think it was right and somehow I felt it was wrong....scary...

Also, if your looking for a quicker book to read then try this one. Most of the story is dialogue between the characters and few descriptions, it makes the story fast-paced.

There were some things I didn't like, I'm not going into any details, but I felt like somethings were rushed, characters to willing and parts that were too easy to overcome.

Okay and on a somewhat off topic, I read the about the author and I have to point out something really cool. Jeb Kinnison, when he was 12 called someone I thought was cool, Isaac Asimov. Yes, Isaac Asimov, how cool is that people?!?!?!?!!?!? Cooler than an iceberg!

[Kjirstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting premise... in a future U.S. that had gone much more repressive after a horrible nuclear terrorist attack, a group of independent-minded grad students stumble upon a way to travel instantaneously to... pretty much anywhere. It has all sorts of other implications, too, such as being able to move anything you want (hello, gold bars!) to anywhere you want, and to surveil and track pretty much anyone, anywhere.

But the group of students just want to be left alone, to pursue their studies and figure out how this all works... except that the government, catching wind of the discovery, doesn't want to let them do that. Governments being what they are, they're all trying to get control of this discovery for themselves.

It's a fast-paced race to stay ahead of the g-men (and stalker ex-boyfriends who rat you out to the g-men), and thoroughly entertaining. I was immediately moved to pick up the second book in the series.

[Christina de Vries · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very intrigued by the synopsis when I was contacted about this book and it did not disappoint me. It was fast-paced and exciting. The characters were really well made but I would have loved to have gotten to know them a little bit better. In the beginning of the story some of the writing could get a bit too technical for my taste, but it definitely picked up and got easier to follow as the story progressed.

I can’t say that I’ve read anything quite like this before so I went into this with a very open mind and was definitely pleasantly surprised!

I’m really looking forward to seeing where this series goes and I definitely recommend this if you like political thrillers and science fiction.

[Kim Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, Red Queen is a intriguing read. At first, it is because its a new world with new characters and understanding this new technology. When this happens, its watching the characters make decisions that put themselves in danger or choosing who is trustworthy. Although there was nothing that was extreme, the book sets up perfectly for the next one with more possibilities. With that said, Red Queen is no doubt a political sci-fi thriller pageturner that I recommend for all of you.

Full review and author interview here: https://klling.wordpress.com/2015/02/...

[Todd Ficarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, fast-paced story. A little simplistic at times. The series seems to be written for a younger audience (teen/young adult).

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent hard science fiction story with not too subtle pokes-in-the-eye of the contemporary PC/fascist culture.