The Courier

San Angeles #1

by Gerald Brandt

A far-future science fiction debut set in San Francisco—action adventure with a cyberpunk tone.

Kris Ballard is a motorcycle courier. A nobody. Level 2 trash in a multi-level city that stretches from San Francisco to the Mexican border, where corporations make all the rules. A runaway since the age of 14, Kris struggled to set up her life, barely scraping by, working hard to make it without anyone’s help. Witnessing the murder of one of her clients changes everything. Now she’s stuck with a mysterious package that everyone seems to want.

Now the corporations want Kris gone, and are willing to go to almost any length to make it happen. Hunted, scared, and alone, she retreats to the only place she knows she can hide: the Level 1 streets. Running from people that seem to know her every move, she is rescued by Miller—a member of an underground resistance group—only to be pulled deeper into a world she doesn’t understand. They work together to stay ahead of the corporate killers, until Miller falls into their hands. Kris realizes being alone isn’t the answer, and she’s willing to do anything to get him back.

Genres: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Fiction, Dystopia, Young Adult, Thriller, Audiobook

293 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2016

Reviews

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kris isn't thrilled to receive a last-minute courier job that will take her across and through the traffic of the sprawling LA megacity. And that's even before she realizes that the job has put her directly in the center of a plot involving corporate intrigue, hired thugs, and gruesome murder. It isn't long before she's using all of her courier skills to evade the killers sent to silence her.

I found The Courier's setting and synopsis utterly captivating. A gritty, near-future dystopian world of overbuilt cities ruled by warring corporations? Intrigue, schemes, and chases? A cyberpunk, tech-infused plot? Unfortunately, however, The Courier just wasn't a good fit for me.

The plot itself is fast-paced, and while like many thrillers, the events themselves don't necessarily make sense and many of the characters indulge in bouts of extreme plot-supporting stupidity, there's certainly enough action to go around. I also thoroughly enjoyed the worldbuilding. In Brandt's future, urban sprawl has bound all of coastal California into one multi-layered megacity. The city itself is divided into multiple levels, with worst conditions on Level 1 and only the top level, restricted to the wealthy, open to the sky.

I suspect most of my discontent is due to characterization, and, in particular, Kris's state as perennial victim. From the start, Kris is desperate, on the run, out of options, trapped in a situation she can't understand or control. She is the pawn of greater forces, repeatedly running from protector to protector, always desperate, always the victim. She talks about a time "When I thought I couldn't get by without someone, a man, to help me," but in my opinion, she never made it out of that mindset. To do Brandt credit, Kris's lack of agency is acknowledged in the novel, and in fact forms a significant part of her inner monologue:

"Even though what was happening was different, the feelings were almost the same. I had become a victim again."

Kris's role as victim is, in fact, integral to her character. Rape makes an appearance in both her backstory and in the plot itself. Sure, the narration involves stock phrases such as "I took the memories and locked them away with the tears," but the whole thing felt viscerally wrong to me. I strenuously object to the common practice of using rape threats and "close calls" to increase suspense, or using sexual abuse to create hyperbolically tragic backstory for characters. The scenes were described with what felt to me like a distasteful relish, and Kris's reactions felt off. There was one scene in particular, where she is in a house with a man she finds attractive and leaves the bathroom door unlocked while she showers, and thinks ruefully,

"But it may as well have been locked. Miller didn't even stick his head in to make sure I had a towel. I wasn't sure if I should be disappointed or relieved."

Not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved that the guy she's attracted to isn't a sick creeper who would watch her while she showers the blood off her injuries? Really? Maybe that reaction is due to her history of sexual abuse, but if so, it's never confronted in the novel.

The Courier's plot is intriguing. While it unfortunately was a miss for me, if the issues I've described aren't triggers for you and you're looking for a fast-paced story, The Courier may be worth a look.

~2.5

~~I received a copy of this ebook through Netgalley from the publisher, Berkeley Publishing Group, in exchange for my (depressingly) honest review. Quotes are taken from an advanced reader copy and while they may not match the final version, I believe they speak to the spirit of the novel as a whole.~~

Cross-posted on BookLikes.

[AH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be prepared to suspend belief...then enjoy this romp through a futuristic city as courier Kris Ballard is sent for her last delivery of the day and witnesses a terrifying murder. Delivery incomplete, she flees the scene through the multi-leveled city, chased by many different parties, all with an interest in the package.

The Courier was fun to read, especially all of the chase scenes. I loved the concept of the futuristic city divided into different levels. I found the main character Kris quite likable and remarkably bad ass (and very lucky) especially when evading the bad guys.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a review copy of this book.

[alayla ! · Rating 3 out of 5]

→ 3 ☆

“i was who i was, and there was no use in hiding it.”

kris is badass, orphaned, and in trouble. the standard for a dystopian novel. the story wasn't too bad, just overused. there was a slight romance subplot. basically everyone (or mostly) is trying to kill her for 95% of the book.

mwah,
alayla. 📖

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Gerald Brandt’s The Courier: A Sand Angeles Novel a homeless, orphaned, young woman faces the chaos of a futuristic San Angles on her motor bike as a courier. The corporation rule and everything you do is at their mercy and watchful eye. When Kris is hung out to dry by a corrupted dispatcher, she discovers how truly depraved the corporations are. Rescued by Miller, a tech specialist for an underground organization fighting the corporations, they discover together that betrayals run deep.

Amazing imagery to this imagined world.

Intense and graphically violent this action packed story running on a high velocity that will have your pulse pounding and you white knuckle reading.

I received this ARC copy of The Courier from Berkley Publishing Group - DAW in exchange for a honest review. This book is set for publication Mar. 1, 2016.

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun story set in a dystopian future. Our gal is clever and lucky. Most of the world is out to get her. There is a lot of grit - seriously, lots of dirt and dust and decaying concrete. The bad guys have all the tech and weapons, and she's got a motorcycle with bald tires.

I'm not sure about the rest of the series yet...

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁]

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

DNF at 15%

The world of THE COURIER is a future dystopian version of a combined San Francisco and Los Angeles (I think), where space is presumably at a premium, b/c people are building up instead of out.

Our MC (Kris) is a courier--she delivers packages on a motorcycle while wearing kick-ass, high tech riding gear--in this brave new world, where an informal caste system based on seven complete and separate levels of the city determines an individual's quality of life (melodrama included for later reference):

People that worked or lived on Level 1, which used to be open air and grass and trees, had the sense to stay out of any water that managed to drip its way down there. Rumor had it the stuff could kill you in three days if it touched your skin. I used to live in that hellhole, so I knew different. I even got desperate enough to drink it once, when I ran away from home. I had peeled the moss off an old brick wall, hoping it would act like a filter, my hands shaking from hunger and thirst, and squeezed the lifesaving fluid from it. It must have worked; I’m still here. Maybe I just got lucky. It didn’t matter. I was never going back there.

But despite moving up a level and getting a decent job, it didn't take long to figure out things were about to turn nasty for Kris:

“It’s just a short run, a pickup on Level 4 and a delivery on Level 2. You can take the paperwork home with you, honey, and drop it on my desk in the morning.”
I just stared at her. Having Dispatch let you take the paperwork home with you was like being plucked off the street and taught how to fly a shuttle to and from the Sat Cities. Shit like that didn’t happen . . .

*alarm bells*

Initially, I was intrigued, but it took about two seconds for me to become disgusted with Kris's bad attitude and double standards. I can't recall a more negative or obnoxiously self-pitying character. I'm not saying she hadn't had a hard life, that her cynical outlook wasn't warranted--all the best characters have survived any number of Bad Things and/or overcome adversity.

BUT.

They don't waste time feeling sorry for themselves or on melodramatic remembrances. They don't bitch and moan about every, single minuscule aspect of their existence.

BUT.

Kris does:



1. If they came at all.

B/c poor, poor Kris is a low level and not a priority.

2. Almost pleasant.

Nothing is ever pleasant for poor, poor Kris. Almost is as good as it gets.

3. People would be out doing whatever it was with all their cash.

Poor, poor Kris wouldn't know.

4. Something about congestion and pollution and death tolls.

*EDVARD MUNCH FACE*

And that, my friends, was just one page.

Worse than that, she's all talk:

“I’ve been waiting forever. What, did you decide to walk all the way here? And why did you take the wall? The aisles are way faster.”
Aww, hell. Why did he have to be an asshole as well as a freak? I took a deep breath and held my tongue for the second time in the last few minutes. There was no point in getting reported and having Dispatch even more upset with me. All this for a few extra bucks? I should have just gone home.

That was her second "should've just gone home" inner monologue (the first was when she took the last minute delivery), but she was too scared of Dispatch to do anything besides rant internally.

ALSO, she likes to name-call, but, again, never out loud. *flares nostrils*

Beyond my hatred of the main character, the writing was . . . pretty awful.

The chapters were short and choppy. As soon as I acclimated to one POV, it would change to another, often covering the same time period. The shifts were abrupt and sometimes confusing, especially when I would find myself in the mind of a psychopath.

I probably could have eventually adjusted to the POV changes, but the weird fixation and the various and redundant use of "gut" pushed me over the edge.

The third time Kris felt her gut clench (at only 8% into the book), I did a word search and discovered it was actually only the second time. The first mention of her gut had to do with it burning. My bad. Beyond those first three, there were EIGHT more:

...low flame burning in my gut...
...my gut clenched...
I felt my gut clench...
...and the food in my gut had turned into rock.
...twisted its tentacles into my gut.
...sharp thrill settled into my gut.
...a scream tore from my gut.
...the anger building in my gut...
...had been churning in my gut...
My gut clenched...
...regret again settled into my gut.

There were also four "gutted" men, "years of built up fish guts," one head driven into someone else's gut, one gun pointed at a gut, and one assumption that "Quincey would probably just gut him." <------I'd take that bet.

And I'm done. THE COURIER by Gerard Brandt was not for me. I'm a character-driven reader, so hating the main character would've been insurmountable by itself--my dislike of the writing was bonus. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Not recommended.

[Cameron Curtis · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Courier is certainly a dystopian sci-fi book that you can read that has content you can experience, but I wouldn't recommend it. DNF @ ~75%.

I’ll preface by saying I didn’t really have much… well, much preface for this book aside from the loose premise of “gritty future dystopian multi-level megacity”. I’m a sucker for that sort of setting (I found The Courier when looking for books similar in setting/tone to Coruscant’s undercity). However, I kinda wish I’d left my experience at that.

Let's get the positive (singular) out of the way first:
- Setting: I really think the concept for San Angeles is brilliant; an overgrown megacity where every time the wealthy run out of space, they simply build another city on top of the existing one, leaving the less fortunate buried in the old city under concrete, dust and sorrow. I wish that Brandt had given this world a better cast of characters and a more enthralling story to experience it through. Also, for a story set in 2140, there is almost zero sci-fi tech (aside from the fact that we now have satellite cities). People still are using car keys and cell phones (or, sorry: "comm units") in their daily lives, including the mercenaries who work for the megacorps that are supposed to be more powerful than the government.

Now onto the gripes:
- Styling: The narrative stylings of The Courier evoke memories of high school literature papers, as Brandt felt compelled to describe every scene of action in horrific, excruciating detail while simultaneously saying nothing at all. "I hit the wall. My arm scraped the wall. I heard the sound of my clothes scraping the wall. I fell slowly to the floor with my arm bloodied after scraping the wall." Most of the actions scenes felt like a paragraph extended to the length of a chapter.

- Kris: I think the idea of Kris' character is one that had a lot to offer; a simple, naive courier who ferries messages between the constantly clashing megacorporations of San Angeles that suddenly finds herself catapulted into a war centering around the message she carries. However, Brandt seemingly could not decide if Kris was supposed to be a clueless cog being ping-ponged around a system she didn't understand or Kris Ballard, Super Soldier Extraordinaire™ who could deftly evade the highly trained corporate mercenaries hunting her down without a hitch. Every scene of Kris being described as a helpless victim was immediatly followed up by her becoming a 16 year-old John Wick and fending off bloodthirsty killers with ease.

My last complaint transcends the traditional description of "a gripe" and moves more into the realm of "an unforgivable grievance."

Why, for the love of god, WHY Brandt felt compelled to write Kris as a 16 year-old is beyond me. Especially since nearly every male character is busy leching at Kris for every waking second of their presence in the story (when they aren't busy unzipping their pants or trying to kill her, that is). I was already off-put by the needlessly gratuitous SA flashback that Kris had ~halfway through the book (you know there are other ways to show that a character is helpless and downtrodden, right?), but the multiple other incidents of characters trying to take advantage of Kris put it over the top.

And then we're supposed to go and root for Kris to get together with Miller, the one male character who didn't immediately try to kill or assault Kris? A man who is described as "21 but looks more like 30"? Piss off with that.

If you want to write a sexually-charged dystopian action novel, maybe don't have your main character be a "helpless 16 year old".

There you have it. This book was a waste of the few hours I spent listening to it, and contains some scenes that were really, deeply unnecessary and unsettling.

[Dark Faerie Tales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A courier caught up in a conspiracy, one that just might cost her, her life.

Opening Sentence: The tires of the motorcycle chattered on the broken concrete of the road, breaking the quiet electric hum of the motor.

The Review:

Kris is courier and it pays the bills mostly, and the end of the day she isn’t that thrilled when Dispatch hands her a late delivery, especially once it becomes clear that this isn’t going to be quick or easy. But when Dispatch makes it clear she might not get anymore deliveries unless she takes it, Kris heads out to pick it up. The pick-up isn’t smooth, but when she goes to deliver and sees a man standing over a bloody body she knows this is not going to end well.

Kris runs and for the next few hours she can barely stay ahead of them. She has Quincy chasing her, and after trying to hide down on Level 1, she knows that there are other players looking for this package. Kris just wants to get rid of it, but it is looking impossible. After evading the people chasing her, she gets rescued by Miller. Miller is a member of ACE, the underground resistance. He takes her to meet with Nigel Wood, one of the leaders of ACE.

When another attempt is made on her life Kris and Miller are beginning to wonder who is telling people their secrets. Will they figure out who to trust before it is too late? Will Kris manage to stay alive long enough for people to realize that she doesn’t know what is in the package? Or that she isn’t a threat?

This is was interesting, I liked it quite a bit more than I thought I would. Kris is tough and quick, which is what saves her life more than once. The worldbuilding was different and yet it kind of felt like a combination of shows that I had seen before, but for the first time in books! The corporations are really in control of the world, there are levels underneath Earthside, but the average person hasn’t seen the real sun at all. Plus, they have space travel, not that the characters partake in that, but that is part of what is going on. The secrets that are contained in that package.

There were a couple of things that I was like ehh about, but overall, I enjoyed the book and the relationships that were built in it. I am actually looking forward to reading the next book. I can’t wait to see what happens to Kris next.

Notable Scene:

I slipped the bike into gear and rode slowly out of the parking lot. The Ambients bolted to the ceiling at regular intervals, would be starting to dim soon, casting the streets into an early evening gloom and making it harder to see the potholes. A fine mist covered my visor and I wiped it with my hand, leaving behind a greasy smear. It must be raining on Level 7 pretty hard too, to make it mist like this down here. By the time the water got down to Level 1, it would almost toxic form the trip.

FTC Advisory: DAW/Penguin provided me with a copy of The Courier. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[Viking Jam · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://koeur.wordpress.com/2016/02/0...

Publisher: Berkley

Publishing Date: March 2016

ISBN: 9780756411398

Genre: SciFi

Rating: 2.2/5

Publishers Description: Kris Ballard is a motorcycle courier. A nobody. Level 2 trash in a multi-level city that stretches from San Francisco to the Mexican border—a land where corporations make all the rules. A runaway since the age of fourteen, Kris struggled to set up her life, barely scraping by, working hard to make it without anyone’s help.

Review: This was boring with a capital ‘B’. Good writing, poor character development, stunted movement and page after page of internal dialogue. The storyline just didn’t pull me in I think in part to the lack of descriptive detail. What does a multi-level city look like that spans the breadth of California? The only thing I could visualize is one huge multi-level parking garage which is well, boring. At regular intervals Kris reminds us that she needs a new back tire as the threads are showing through. Then all of a sudden she is griping about her knobby tires not providing good grip when cornering on pavement. Its the little things.

Even outlandish SciFi can be believable as it transports you to an alternate reality with purposeful world building that is revealed through concise movement. Sorry to say this had none of that and left me wondering what this could have been with some minor tweaking. Great idea, poor execution.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read!

The reader is on a fun ride from beginning to end with Kris and she evades the bad guys and helps the "good guys" (still up for debate in my opinion).

Kris is a fun character to follow, but you get other perspectives in the novel to which help to round out the world Kris lives in. The different perspectives help to paint the picture of a futuristic corporate America where politicians are truly puppets to forward the corporate agenda. Different countries are controlled by competing companies who are trying to create a worldwide monopoly. This sci-world that Brandt creates isn't too far-fetched so it's easy to believe in this world enough to enjoy the story Brandt writes.

There is some mature YA-crossover potential in this book due to sex and language. However, I think fans of sci-fi YA novels or thrillers while enjoy this book a lot.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Near-future thriller about a young courier who is sent on a suspicious delivery, witnesses a murder, and finds herself caught in the middle of a cut-throat corporate war. The story is simple and fast-paced, the kind that could be easily translated to film, but I found its elements to be somewhat derivative (the tiered megacity concept is one I encountered just a little more than six months ago in another new novel.) There's nothing fresh or exciting here but it might serve as an adequate beach or airplane read. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and I'm not interested to read the follow-up.

[Darin Calhoun · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been awhile since I've read a cyberpunk book, but I feel Gerald Brandt's book would make William Gibson proud that the genre is in good hands.

[Babydoclaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the story, amazing how much trouble Kris gets into and manages to get out of.

[Ev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixteen year old runaway, Kris, is a motorcycle courier in a futuristic 2140. Her region starts at San Francisco south to the Mexican border. It is a time when huge corporations make all the rules with the politicians all puppets. Kris left when she was fourteen and has been working very hard to make ends meet without help. Circumstances have her be a Level Two – a nobody, garbage to be thrown away.
She has been getting along with her quiet life. Although nothing overly exciting happens, neither does anything too bad. That is until the day she walks in on one of her clients who is being murdered by a corporate assassin squad. She turns, leaves, and runs for her life, still having the client’s delivery in her possession. She finds herself alone and keeping away from those she knows keeping them safe by them not knowing where she is. There is no one Kris feels she can trust.
Then a member of the resistance finds her and aids her. Kris feels she has little choice but to trust Miller and go with him. And this is where the action really gets going.
The reader must ask himself, will Miller be able to keep Kris safe? What price will they have to pay for her decision to run and his to help her?
The book is very exciting. Be aware there is some graphic language spattered throughout the book. It wasn’t enough to bother me, but it is why I gave four stars rather than five. I recommend this read to anyone who enjoys action/adventure and/or futuristic themes and are ok with some graphic words here and there.
This book was won by me in a contest at Good Reads. Writing a review is not a requirement, but what I wanted to do. The opinions stated here are my own.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could probably push to a 4.5 if not for a couple issues I had with the book here and there.

When I read the description of this novel I bought it immediately and I was fairly excited to read it. The description felt sort of like an urban cyberpunk style, which the novel sort of achieves. For me though, the description felt reminiscent of a combination of something William Gibson would create and the show Dark Angel created by James Cameron. Essentially, a hi-tech dystopian action novel. Now, it does hit that mark, but I wouldn't say it's better than either Dark Angel or any William Gibson novel, but it was still a really exciting and fun read.

I'm a big fan of strong female protagonists and the whole courier aspect reminded me a lot of Dark Angel, but it quickly deviated from that memory within the first couple of chapters. I sort of had expectations of building a good character rapport with her delivery company as in Dark Angel, but that was merely a blip in the story backdrop. That was merely motivation for the main character to get her hands on the package.

The overall world building by Gerald Brandt isn't bad, some reviewers seemed to think it wasn't fully developed, but there are two more novels after this one. There are some aspects of this futuristic city-scape that are ridiculous, but this is Sci-Fi... that's par for the course. So just buckle in and enjoy the ride. The world is similar to how we live today, but certain things are taken to massive extremes. Large megacorporations are what really run the whole show, this is very similar to what you find in the Aliens universe and quite a few others, but the way the corporations operate reminds me a bit more like Aliens. In order to confuse their enemies they've taken to low tech package delivery to throw others off the scent. Sometimes they send packages with real information, but most of the time it's worthless info. It may seem weird, but I actually rather liked this explanation as the general need for a robust personal courier industry.

This is where Kris, the courier comes in, she's been asked to deliver a package by one of the major corporations. However, it appears that she may have some real info, given the fact the whole novel is about her escape and subsequent chase through the levels of San Angeles to escape assassins that want to get their hands on the information! Kris manages to elude them and find help with another character that helps her escape named Miller. Kris and Miller foster a fast relationship, but they work together to get away from those chasing after Kris. Miller finds himself in the crosshairs of those chasing Kris and they both have to get away. It was an incredibly fast paced and wild ride and if that's a story you can get into then The Courier nails that aspect of its goal.

As far as the character development goes, it is okay. One of the story arcs that I feel is so tiresome to read about is that anytime (usually men) write about a female character with a "tough" past it often revolves around sexual assault of some kind in their past. Whether this is being raped as a kid, a teen, or whenever in their life... and due to this trauma it gives the character a "deeper" background and more hardened resolve. I know sometimes they try to use this as a gritty aspect of the dregs of society, but that stuff happens everywhere. Sexual assault is not a unique aspect of a fallen society by any stretch of the imagination. There are just so many other things in life that exist that could motivate a character, even in a downtrodden society. It doesn't have to be this. Male characters don't have this background nearly as often and at this point it's tiring. It's almost as if every author that includes this in the book uses it as a sort of "foreshadowing" where later in the book they will be in a similar situation and they will say "never again" and fight back or kill their assailant. It's frustrating and there is just more general possibilities... like all the ones authors seem to find for a male character. (I am not trying to come off as insensitive of this topic, but am just trying to point the overuse of sexual assault being the reason for a characters 'dark past' used far too often as a literary mechanic.)

The other part that is pretty cliché is the whole standard fair Knight's Tale aspect of the story, where our female lead character gets rescued by a nice guy and then she falls for him. This is also overdone way too much in everything, but the author seemed to be somewhat self aware of this trope with Kris talking about Miller being like a knight. The one saving grace to this is the fact that later she steps up to save him. I am truly hoping this sets up the second book as more of a power couple story, because there aren't nearly enough of those around and it's a story mechanic I like a lot. As long as Brandt can continue to write Kris as growing her competency and a character that can handle her own in a fight... someone that complements Miller, at least, then it will make for a much better story.

In the end "The Courier" had a lot of ideas I liked and it was exactly the action packed type of novel I wanted to read. It absolutely delivers on that front. If you can get beyond the cliché parts of the tale and aren't too squeamish about violence this is pretty intense and fast paced story. Let's hope the second novel can keep the adrenaline rush alive.

[Timothy Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark, energetic, dystopian West Coast America where even being a simple courier can be a life-and-death struggle. Heroine Kris may have a gloomy, cynical side, but she's a hero for the age and quickly lovable in the fast-paced corporate conspiracy thriller! Can't wait to read the rest of the series!

[L.E. Doggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been awhile since I have done this but it is more like 3.50 stars but can't do that. Good suspense, action scene details and an well thought out world. Easy to read and the suspense draws you along. Kinda of short though and Gerald does not go very deep into his characters. The plot goes along well, but even though there are twists there are few surprises.

Yet I do recommend it if you like suspenseful stories. I will be getting the next one in line.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Source* Publisher
*Genre* YA, Science Fiction
*Rating* 3.5-4

*My Thoughts*

The Courier is the first installment in author Gerald Brand'ts near future Science Fiction trilogy called San Angeles. Brandt's protagonist is Kris Ballard, a motorcycle courier in a world where corporations run everything, but use couriers for things they don't want to send over the Net. San Angeles is actually an area that stretches from San Diego to San Francisco. There are (7) levels to the megalopolis. The higher you go, the more likely you will be able to see actual sun, and not filtered light. Kris lives in the lower levels.

*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*

http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...

Expected publication: November 1st 2016 by DAW (first published March 1st 2016)

[Joshua Palmatier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Gerald Brandt's debut novel and it's a strong showing. He's definitely someone to watch. I enjoyed this take on a near future thriller.

Premise: Kris is a courier, running packages back and forth on her motorcycle in the massive layered city of San Angeles. The population has become so dense that we've built upwards as well as outwards, and now cities have distinct layers, each level a distinct class, with few people ever seeing the sky. Kris originally lived in the lowest level, barely surviving after her parents died and she ran away from her aunt and uncle. But she's worked her way upwards and the courier job allows her to see the levels above her, although she's never been outside. She's happy with the life she's carved out. But then she gets a strange message to deliver a package at the end of her shift that turns exceptionally bad when she walks in on a brutal murder. Now she's on the run from a corporate assassin who wants whatever's in the package and is willing to do anything to get it. Can Kris outsmart the assassin and the multiple corporations who want the package?

This is entirely a thriller, set on a near future Earth. The sci-fi elements are intriguing, but it's the setting itself--the layered city that stratifies the class structure of this future world--that's the most interesting and compelling. San Angeles (which I assume is a massive city spanning both San Diego and Los Angeles) is dirty, dark, realistic, and gritty. And the situation in which Kris finds herself is totally believable, with corporations ruling the future, vying for our lives as if they were commodities for their own profit. Kris herself is a compelling character, one that you want to follow and want to see succeed. She's smart--street smart--because of her past, but not so smart that her situation isn't filled with tension. She doesn't know all the answers, and much of the novel is her reacting to situations as best she can, not necessarily making the wisest decisions. In other words, she's realistic.

Overall, I thought this was a strong debut novel. I had a few quibbles with things here and there, nothing major--such as the assassin, who I thought wasn't as strong a character as he could have been, and then one particular reaction from Kris that I can't talk about because it would spoil something in the novel. But again, those were quibbles. The setting and the characters are definitely worth the read, and have kept me waiting for the sequel since I finished this.

[L.E.Olteano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted at Butterfly-o-Meter Books on Mar 1 2016 :

In a Flutter: Fast-paced chase!
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: I loved San Angeles, with its levels, and corporations having their own agents and running things! Really fun, interesting, layered – pun intended, lol! – world.
Characters: I loved Kris. She was a survivor, having lost her parents, dealing with her aunt and uncle, running away and making it on her own as she did and does. She was easy to like, I loved her attitude, her humor, her young and somewhat vulnerable heart when it comes to potential love interests.
Plot: The chase arc was super fast paced, exciting, thrilling. Lots of action, suspense, tension – delicious! Loved it! The subtle maybe-falling-for-the-sweet-agent thingy was pretty fun too, and I loved the ending because of that. All in all, an exciting and thrilling mix.
Writing: A mix of first and third person, past tense narrative, mostly from Kris’s POV but also with insets from other other characters here and there, enough to round up the plot and make things easier to understand chase-related.
Curb Appeal: Cool cover, hooking blurb – good impulsive buy material for my Sci-Fi-ish punk reading moods.

I had a really fun time reading this baby. I recommend it to lovers of YA and cyberpunk, it’s got everything you could want: a charismatic MC, a thrilling chase, some yummy help xD, a cool world. Great fun!

[Paul Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bike messenger in a futuristic West Coast city. . . sound familiar already? Yep. But luckily it goes off in a different direction than Dark Angel and Heinlein’s Friday. For one thing, Kris Ballard hides her girl-ness. For another, while she’s doing well, she’s not a kick-ass fighting machine; she’s winging it and barely surviving, which makes it more exciting as everyone underestimates her. So even though the premise is the same, the execution isn’t.
As one would expect, the plot centers on something she’s delivering, and when things go wonky everyone’s after her. About halfway through the story comes into focus, involving much more than just futuristic Earth, and of course corporate shenanigans, not so much espionage as infighting between factions of one up and coming company who wants to play with the big boys. There’s also an anti-corp group involved, I suppose you can call them the Resistance.
There wasn’t anything great about the writing, but I did like the main character, as well as the world-building. The idea of one vast city stretching from San Diego to Los Angeles has been mentioned before, but what’s new here is levels, with the lowest being the poorer sections, where people can go their entire lives without ever seeing the sun. As for Kris, she’s feisty yet vulnerable when no one else is around to see. It’s hard for her to trust anyone, considering her family history, but as you get to know her she’s thoroughly likeable and you end up rooting for her.

[Aildiin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting novel about a future where earth is ruled by corporations that are sometime at war with each others and a young woman caught in the middle of it despite of herself.
The world-building makes this look a bit like Shadowrun without the fantastical aspects.
There are more books coming in the same world.
The story deals with a courier ( Chris, 16 years old) suddenly stuck in middle of a corporate war with a bunch of corporate black Ops teams after her and the package she carries ( the plot around the package is very weak, tbh). There's a decent amount of action centered around San Angels ( San Diego to San Francisco has become a huge multi-layers megalopolis).
This is more 3.5 stars than 3 stars for me and I will probably read the next book. The current plot gets resolved at the end of the book.

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it up until the protagonist decided she wasn't a 16 year old street girl who had been dealing with exploitative men on a daily basis but actually a suburbanite flibertigibit who could be reduced to a puddle by a guy taking off his shirt.

Then it went from abused history to "oh god, my friend who I've known for years at work is suddenly super rapey" and I had to actually stop reading.

Skip this one.

[Christal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come.

[piranha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up from 2.5, and I might yet change my mind.

Dystopias with competent female protagonists are usually a shoo-in for me, but this one was a mixed bag. Because while Kris, the motorcycle courier who gets accidentally involved in evil corporate shenanigans of the highest order, is above-average competent for a 16-yr-old runaway, some of her feats are pretty unbelievable, because her foes are allegedly the best corporate money can buy, and she, without training, outdoes them to the point where even characters in-book point it out. Dear author -- that's not a good thing; even your own characters were trying to tell you to tone it down.

And I hated the romance. Nothing wrong with Miller per se, but insta-luv always bothers me, and Kris' thoughts about him in the shower didn't at all ring true for a sexual abuse survivor, especially one whose abuse didn't happen that long ago. Mine is decades old, and I still never think to myself that it's too bad a new sexual interest didn't push beyond my boundaries. I mean, I get it, Miller is hot where Uncle was not, but seriously, male author-dude, creepoid factors rule over hotness.

The world building looked initially intriguing, but it soon became clear it wasn't all that in-depth and inventive -- in some aspects 2140 is going be much more technically advanced, and yet here people still use keys and they courier paper (where the heck does that come from since they seem to have paved over the entire west coast with 7 levels of solid city, from Los Angeles to San Francisco)? Also, how did *that* happen, since population growth in the US is actually way below 1%, the lowest it's ever been, and projections don't really account for that many people? Large west coast cities will roughly double in population by then, but they sprawl so much that unlike on the east coast, I don't see that world come true -- author should have set it in the NYC/Washington corridor. ;) Anyway, there isn't much mention of everyday life for everyday people on the various levels (how do they make their money, why is there so little automation), so 7-level city in 2140 is much less interesting than it could have been.

Aside from the incredible competency of the untrained Kris, the action is fast-paced and that kept me on my toes. The McGuffin (the package Kris is couriering) turns out to be something amazing, but unbelievably nobody but me seems to see it that way; the big corporations are just interested in getting one over on each other. Considering people like Bezos, Musk, and Branson, I don't know whether I buy that either.

So yeah, mixed bag and not as good as it could have been. Will still read the next one though.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book as the back said cyberpunk, dystopia and west coast megapolis. It sounded interesting. But it didn't come together, being more of a YA'ish book that had lots of potential that is never explored.

The main character is a 16 year old orphan. I never really got to like her. She isn't all that interesting to follow. Her portion is first person, while all other action is from a third person. We are led to believe she can outwit assassins & other heavy hitters without any training. Even the characters throughout the book comment on this.

What made everything fall flat were two things. One is the huge twist in the middle of the book, the reveal of what is in the package. It is like a big slap in the face and doesn't really fit with the rest of the narrative. But the only thing the corporate types think about is how it will cause a war. A species altering discovery reduced to a background item.

The second is that the world of 2140 isn't all that advanced. Or interesting. It feels like its LA, say around the year 2000. But with levels instead of 2D neighborhoods. The cars have ignitions, though they are electric. Keys that need to be twisted. Paper. Really, the courier has people sign paper for the delivery. Not very cyberpunk. The network is barely tapped, mainly to track people. The phones are "comm units" that don't do much. There is cash. Very little thought was put into how the world functioned with 100+ years of technological changes. (Think about the fact that someone of limited means today has access or possesses things that the richest in the world couldn't have 100 years ago)

In the end I was skimming to see what happened, as reading again and again Kris's angst was getting too much. The ending was ok, but not enough for me to continue.

[Erin (thatwritergirl) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointment for me. The premise was good, it promised a lot of action, but ultimately The Courier fell flat for me. The main character, Kris Ballard, was sixteen but it was difficult believing she wasn't in her twenties. I think the story would've worked a lot better had she been older. Like many of the side characters mention, Kris is VERY lucky throughout the novel, almost to the point of being unbelievable. Especially since in San Angeles, everyone is tracked and hiding is virtually impossible.

This all starts off because Kris is given a late night courier run. She is to deliver a package from one corporation to another, but witnesses a murder along the way, and is thus swept up in a conspiracy she wanted no part of. Most of the novel is Kris on the run, being chased by various people for the package she contains. Usually I enjoy novels of this variety, but the story just didn't click for me. I gave it two stars instead of one for two reasons, however. The first being that I finished the book and the second being that I'm torn between wanting to read the second book or not. Part of me wants to think the story gets better in the last two novels, but I had such a hard time getting through this one that I'm not sure I want to continue. I read this as part of my A-Z marathon, so maybe by the time I get to O, I'll want to continue. I'm definitely not chomping at the bit to read the second one.

I'm sure this will appeal to others, especially those who are fans of conspiracy theories, street-smart, savvy characters, and futuristic novels. This one just was not for me.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars, but I can't quite go 4. I didn't expect much of this book, since I got it as part of a giveaway. But it turned out to be surprisingly readable and interesting. I really liked the world building of San Angeles itself (the satellite city setting really isn't at all developed and was kind of a throwaway). The book does require a pretty hefty suspension of disbelief, as Kris is way, way, way too lucky in avoiding way too many people chasing her. I would have liked the book better with fewer lucky escapes and more thought and planning on the part of our protagonists in order to avoid having to have so many lucky escapes. There were some amateurish antics, mainly (but not exclusively) on the side of the 'good guys'. I am looking forward to the next installment, but I do hope Brandt will rein in the lucky escapes and let his characters mature into competent and seasoned agents. It's really a shame the author had to go with the tired, tired trope of the sexually abused runaway - it's been so overdone and he doesn't do it justice at all.

[Cam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a thriller set in a near future where all of California is one big city, even built up level by level, with corporations in direct control of places and people. An orphaned courier gets a late night assignment and thereby entangled in a nascent inter-corporate war. The delivery goes awry, and she barely weaves her way alive through all the assassins, spies, sadists and corporate sociopaths that come her way. There's a YA romance subplot that makes me think this one may have been intended for the YA market first, but maybe the rest of the series isn't. Decent enough overall, with non-stop action that becomes a weakness as the novel keeps going from incident to incident without enough pause, character development, or world-building to make it more than what should have been straight-to-paperback (or is it ebook nowadays?) That said, fine for a plane flight or beach read and I could see wanting to read the rest.

[Vakaris the Nosferatu · Rating 2 out of 5]

all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu

About the Book: Corporations own everything. From the water, to the sky, to your privacy. But people, including those very same corporations, rivals, have found ways to deliver messages anyway. Here come couriers, such as our 16 year old Kris. Who got dealt a bad card, and sent out to deliver a message many bad, very bad people want…

My Opinion: The story is otherwise great. Dystopian world, just on the verge of proper space travel and colonization or whatever that plotline was. With a very interesting perspective. But then someone decided to hook the 16 year old girl who gets groped by every dude that comes too close, with a 21 year old. Nothing grander than a kiss happened, and still I don’t understand why she had to be a teenager? Or why wasn’t he then too? I’m sorry, this is outright nasty.