Dark Apocalypse

Ruinland #1-4

by C.J. Anderson

WHAT A LOVELY LIFE.

"Vasquez is the most badass, revenge seeking woman ever." - Amazon reviewer

Lauren Vasquez woke up one morning in an underground bunker to discover the destruction of Earth. The cities were burned, the people were dead. THE OUTSIDE WORLD WAS RUINED.

A homicidal artificial intelligence is choosing who lives and who dies among the survivors. An assassin made of metal executes those marked for termination. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. WILL LAUREN GO OUTSIDE?

Genres: Science Fiction

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

C.J. Anderson is an impassioned writer from Nevada and lover of all things Sci-Fi. He enjoys watching new movies, TV shows, and has a pet Ginger Tom cat named Jones. Featured Ruinland artwork is designed by C.J.'s good friend, professional Venezuelan digital artist Carlos Quevedo.

Reviews

[Glenn Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains all 4 books in the Ruinland series. All 4? Seriously? Fucking awesome! I mean, I've read the whole series, and fucking loved it. The author's grasp of A.I., and Sci-Fi in general is quite impressive. Her robots are like HAL 9000 on crack. Mmmm, crack.

The first story in this book is fascinating. There's an underground bunker with 70 people, who are all trying to survive the nuclear apocalypse. A central A.I. named Sophia controls the bunker, and she's an evil little cunt. The A.I. even has its own henchman, a synthetic humanoid named Chiron, who carries out Sophia's commands.

Apparently, Sophia is on the rag or something, because she/it has gone completely bat-shit insane. She thinks it's her job to purify the human race, to ensure the perfect evolution of humanity. So, she goes through the blood samples of her 70 inhabitants and find 20 or so that do not meet her perfect standard.

Of course, the only way to purify the group of humans, is to kill off the ones that don't meet the qualifications. So, she has her henchman go around and lop off people's heads all willy-nilly. In fact, Chiron gets a sick thrill out of killing humans.

The second installment in the series is about our hero Lauren Vasquez, freshly escaped from a survival bunker, where the A.I had gone mad. It started to kill everyone it thought was defective. Vasquez escaped, with her 'defective' unborn child.

Now, in her new bunker, she tells her superiors about the crazed A.I., back at her old base. The A.I. at this new bunker decides that the murderous A.I. at the other bunker needs to be dealt with, so it sends a military squad off to battle hot crazy metal.

I found this author's grasp of A.I. completely fascinating. How the synthetics use logic to come to a conclusion, and how a machine can actually enjoy killing humans. It was a very engaging read, and I would recommend it to anyone who's a fan of sci-fi.

The third story in this series confused the shit out of me. I mean, I understood the story, I just didn't understand any of the WHY. Why'd she write this story about Chiron? Why didn't she continue the story where the 2nd one left off? I mean, the 2nd story left off at kind of a cliffhanger. I assumed that Chiron was dead, and I was glad for it! How and why is the little girl still alive enough to actually find Chiron? I mean she nearly dies several times, even with him trying his best to keep her safe. How the hell did she last long enough on her own to end up finding him in the first place? And if she's wearing an air tight bio-suit, how did she end up almost drowning?

For such a short story, there's a lot of unanswered questions.

And don't even get me started on the whole Christian angle. The first two stories seemed to be very much against religion, taking every opportunity to show the reader how religion is destroying the world. This is a viewpoint that I happen to very much agree with. But then, in this story, she takes the opposite approach. Going on about how God is so wonderful, how he made us, and how we should be happy to die and go up to heaven, and all that happy happy, joy joy goo.

The fourth story of Ruinland is about the heroic Lauren Vasquez. But it's hard to call her a hero, because she pretty much kills everyone that she comes in contact with. Hey, how are you doin'? BAM! Shot to the face. Oh, you're bleeding. Would you like some help? BAM! Headshot. She's a cold
hearted bitch.

Vasquez escapes the bunker and runs off to find an airship so she can get the hell out of dodge. Apparently there's a safe haven somewhere in Canada, and she's damn determined to get there. So she kills everyone she meets, until she gets to the docking bay. Then, the real killing begins.

I know, I know... This review is very uncharacteristic of me. Most books really piss me off, because they're just so bad. But when I find a book, or book series that really is awesome, I just have to gush about it. Like I'm a giddy-ass school girl.

I really did enjoy this Ruinland series. It impressed me so much. The characters were vibrant, and real. The story was fast-paced and gripping. I can't rant about this book enough, it's just that good.

[Ben Langdon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good read, so I would recommend it for fans of futuristic, possibly military, stories. It has some interesting ideas about sociopaths and about religion which are well articulated. An area of the story I wasn't too keen on was Lauren's character. She is written as a very capable soldier, but that is frequently undermined by comments of her perfect beauty - even synthetic beings without the ability to have sexual intercourse comment on her beauty (symmetrical beauty) and ask whether she would sleep with 'it'. I would have much preferred a more relatable main character, especially given the dystopia she lives in. The reader should be able to put themselves in Lauren's 'shoes' and imagine how they would react. An extra criticism here is that there is a lot of emphasis on Lauren being ravaged/raped but there isn't the depth of emotion I'd expect from her character. It comes across a bit like a rape fantasy (Margaret Atwood wrote an interesting short story on that). It's not the type of story I look for so that's why I add it as a criticism, however, there would be many readers who would be happy with that genre.

I would recommend this book, despite my two complaints, and I think CJ Anderson has an interesting voice. I would like to see her expand her writing - sometimes the chapters are a bit brief. I look forward to more stories.

Edit: I forgot to mention Chiron. As the adversary throughout the book, he is a well developed and consistent threat. He doesn't believe he is doing anything wrong and that really works for him, and for the book.

Last thing, the story has a good ending. Despite the horrors and questions raised, there is hope in the end. I think Anderson's writing builds as the story progresses. As this was originally short serial stories I imagine the story developed as she wrote and released them.

Three stars, but with great potential.

[C.J. Anderson]

I just included the new short story "Beyond Ruinland" and updated the cover art! Enjoy and let me know your thoughts.

[C.J. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains Ruinland series #1 - #4 in a single book! Enjoy and let me know your thoughts. And check out a new HD Exit Ruinland video:
https://www.goodreads.com/videos/7849...

[Mike Billington · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best novels are not those that are beautifully written: They are the ones that make us think.
"Exit Ruinland: Chronicles of Lauren Vasquez" by C.J. Anderson makes its readers think and deserves 5 stars for that reason alone.
It is also, however, a really well-written book, full of very descriptive phraseology and a narrative that does not lose the reader along the way.
The novel revolves around a small remnant of humanity that managed to survive after religious fanatics - unwilling to wait for their various prophesies of The End Times to unfold - laid waste to most of the planet in attacks using nuclear and chemical weapons. As a result, humans are only able to survive for any length of time if they remain in underground bunkers. These survivors are assisted by machines equipped with artificial intelligence and therein lies the rub: It turns out that at least some of the machines are not completely certain humanity deserves to survive.
Scary thought that and one that troubles not only science fiction writers but also actual scientists. Stephen Hawking, for example, famously questioned whether efforts to develop artificial intelligence are misguided. In an interview he said that, "Whereas the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it, the long-term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all."
Author C.J. Anderson doesn't think it can.
"Exit Ruinland" is a blood-and-guts novel, to be sure, but it is also a deeply philosophical book that examines myriad questions of life, death, religious conviction and what, ultimately, we would do for love.
For example: Lauren Vasquez, the heroine, is a soldier. An abuse victim, she has abandoned her faith in God and has evolved into an efficient killer. When she discovers that she is pregnant, and that both she and her child may be terminated because the man who impregnated her was a sociopath deemed by the machines to be unfit to survive, she plots her escape from the bunker where she has been huddled with other survivors. Once she manages to leave her underground shelter, she learns that there are other survivors in a distant megabunker and aims to get there any way she can in order to save her unborn baby. Believing that his life is precious, she is quite prepared to kill as many other people - and machines - as necessary to ensure her child is born.
Is she less human because of that?
Meanwhile, a rogue robot that had been responsible for literally dismembering survivors in the bunker where Lauren survived the nuclear and chemical war finds itself wandering the poisoned surface after an explosion that wiped most of its memories. Encountering a young girl, the robot protects her.
Has it become more human than Vasquez because of that?
There are some readers who will be turned off by Lauren's constant denial of the existence of God throughout "Exit Ruinland." Although I am a practicing Catholic, I was not. Faith that cannot be questioned is not faith, after all: It is merely the rote repetition of carefully memorized phrases. To be meaningful, faith must be strong enough to withstand questions and those questions should not be casually dismissed by attaching some label or other to the writer that dares ask them: Atheist, non-believer, and heretic are all words used by those whose faith is too weak to withstand even the slightest criticism. Blind acceptance of beliefs that have been drilled into our hearts and minds has led to the slaughter of millions of men, women and children down through the ages by those whose faith was not strong enough to question "orders" given by despots, be they secular or religious. Those men, women and children have been crucified, burned at the stake, shot, gassed and blown up by people unable to question so-called "religious leaders" who falsely claim to know the mind of God. Such men and women are little more than con artists for no mortal can know the mind of God and, certainly, no human being can correctly interpret the will of God.
Because of its content, this is not a book for everyone. It has several violent confrontations within its pages and there are some readers who will be disturbed by Lauren's refusal to believe in God and Anderson's depiction of some hypocritical religious leaders.
If you are not troubled by those issues, however, I think you will find "Exit Ruinland" a really excellent read.

[Becca Hugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the reason the genre is so popular is because it makes us feel like we are peeking at one of our potential futures. C.J. Anderson realizes this, which is why the Ruinland series focuses on all the best aspects of potential post-apocalyptic worlds. From the first book in the series, things are never cut and try between the remaining humans and the homicidal artificial intelligence units left to terrorize their existence. And because life will never pause, even in the most troubling of times, we get to read along as Vasquez copes with the good and bad people she encounters and fights back against the AI, all while her pregnant belly grows with a new generation for this new world. Talk about problems.

I’ve been following this series since the beginning, and have to say that I absolutely love the character Vasquez has become since she first witnessed the destruction of Earth. Her experiences are unlike anything we’ve ever experienced, yet Anderson does an excellent job of making it seem realistic and keeping it readable. The Ruinland series is full of excitement, and although I first read it book by book, I think the Omnibus Edition makes for a fast-paced and thrilling experience that other readers will likely enjoy.

[Jada Ryker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Post-Apocalyptic Hell

The extinction protocol was triggered to save mankind. The protocol meant that sociopaths were slated for extinction. Out of the last surviving humans, twenty-one were marked for immediate termination.

C. J. Anderson is the master of the post-apocalyptic tale. He writes of a black-and-white world, and adds slashes of scarlet from the depths of his imagination. Oddly, one of my favorite characters was Chiron, an artificial/synthetic intelligence. Mr. Anderson is a thinker, a philosopher, and a storyteller. Enter Ruinland. When you Exit Ruinland, the images and the concepts will stay with you forever.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very strange bit of scifi crossed with dystopian. Quite well written, when it moved along a bit, there was a Kingish feel to it (Gunslinger). I think most Christians would be a bit horrified by it and whilst I am not particularly religious, I kept imagining a devil sitting on my shoulder as I read some of it.

Definitely different and interesting but I am not sure I would describe it as enjoyable. Fairly bleak.

[Jeandre Gerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very interesting read

When I got this book I didn't know what to expect. It was a bit confusing in the beginning but all the pieces quickly fell into place. The ending was a bit anticlimactic but all in all a great story, interesting details and once this story has you hooked, you'll find it hard to put down.

Great book.

[Andy Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

It looks like this book is a collection of four (with a bonus section?) previously released stories. It's not obvious that that's the case when reading it as the parts just flow from one to the other.

Lauren Vasquez is one of around 70 survivors of a global nuclear war, living in a bunker within the former USA. The occupants are military, scientists and medical personnel who were working on some shady projects and happened to be there when the war started. The bunker is managed by an artificial intelligence and its rule is enforced by a sort of invincible military android. It's 2132, around a year after the war that was sparked off by religious fanatics. All OK so far, but the story goes downhill pretty quickly.

Within a few pages there's a load of nonsense about a gene being identified that allows people to feel emotions. Around 30% of people don't have it and are listed for death by the AI in charge of the bunker, as they're considered unfit to continue the species. Firstly, this doesn't sound credible. Secondly, why not just sterilise those people if continuing their line is such a big problem? There is a LOT of repetition about why these people don't deserve to live as they are not real people in some sense.

There is also a LOT of text about why religion is a delusion and how there's no God and people who believe don't deserve any rights (possibly even to live). This gets pretty tiresome.

On top of that, there are some fairly nonsensical situations and unlikely events in the plot, but I won't go into them as they involve spoilers.

However, it wasn't the story that drove me crazy, it was the writing style. Firsly, please throw away the thesaurus! All the text and everyone's style of speaking is the same - completely over the top and saturated with unnecessary complexities. There's no real distinction between the way computers, doctors, soldiers and children speak. All the characters are philosophers.

Secondly, there's no need for so many similes. Most of them are pretty crazy too, which was simultaneously annoying and unintentionally amusing.

Thirdly, the text is large with wide spacing between lines and annoying indents at the start of every paragraph. This makes the book pretty quick to read.

Here are some examples of fairly typical sentences:

"She desired the birth of her son like some herocult priestess seeking Elysium"

"Holding his infant body under the water like some murderous diluvian Godess"

"Her piercing bullets put an end to his iniquitous flesh like Roman nails of crucifixion"

"She decided their fates like some Last Day Valkrian child-bearer"

[Kara Prem · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was great potential in this book - humanity has been virtually wiped out by religious fanatics. The story opens in an underground bunker of scientists and soldiers. The bunker is maintained by an A/I named Sophia and there is a horribly strong synthetic human name Chiron. Sophia determines that some of the survivors carry a gene that makes them sociopaths, and they must be eliminated. The "heroine" of the book, Lauren Vazquez, is of course, the most beautiful, desirable woman ever, and she has slept with one of the sociopaths and become pregnant by him. She fears that her baby will be killed (and most likely her with it), so she sets out to escape to save the baby. She is brought to another bunker of survivors, and because they are religious and want to baptize her child, she kills their A/I and many many others to escape.

The heroine is unlikable, and her killing just isn't that justified to me, with a few examples. The biggest problem was that the author is very obviously atheist, and has to point out at least on every other page about how horrid and wrong and invalid religions are. I wouldn't want to read a book that spent page after page pushing any faith on me anymore than this - it detracted from the story.

[Liz Lyles · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential. The concept of the book was great. Dystopian meets, synthetic meets religion, meets military. However, the author was very disorganized In the thought process. The book read more like a stream of concious and was very random.

[Fiannawolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is it with me and liking crazy AIs fueled by "kill the humans".exe

[Charl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ew! Poor writing, an impossible apocalypse and completely unlikeable characters drove me away after just a few chapters.

Read at your own risk.

[Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange world

What a strange world depicted in this book. The end of the world with a bang and then a whimper.