Rath's Deception

The Janus Group #1

by Piers Platt

On the cut-throat streets of Tarkis, orphaned teens like Rath end up jailed … or dead. So when the shadowy Janus Group offers Rath a chance to earn riches beyond his wildest dreams, he seizes it. But the Janus Group is as ruthless as the elite assassins it controls. Rath will have to survive their grueling, off-world training, and fulfill all fifty kills in his contract before a single cent comes his way. And ending so many lives comes with a price Rath can't anticipate. It'll certainly cost him what's left of his innocence. It may well cost him his life.Interview with the AuthorQ - What makes the Janus Group series special?A - Growing up, I loved books like Ender's Game and the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan series. When I sat down to write the Janus Group books, I wanted to capture what I liked best about those books - sci fi thrillers or action thrillers in a fast-paced style. The series is best characterized as cyberpunk science fiction thrillers, with a little detective and police procedural elements thrown in to boot. Finally, I like my characters to be relatable, and facing overwhelming odds - the plot is action-packed, and keeps you guessing. plot twists ahead!Q - What order should I read the books in? A - Last Pursuit is a short story set in the Janus Group world - it's the prequel, and the story that inspired me to write a full series. You can read that first (for free), then Books 1-3 (Rath's Deception, Rath's Gambit, and Rath's Reckoning) in order from there. Books 1-3 are a complete story arc - Book 3 resolves everything from Books 1 and 2.Q - Why should readers give these books a try? A - Because the Janus Group books are fast, inventive, page-turners that kick ass and take names! They've been described as "Jason Bourne" meets "Bladerunner." Any fans of hitman books, science fiction assassin tales, or cyberpunk thrillers will enjoy them.Q - Can readers get the whole series in one bundle? A - Not yet - sorry, just haven't had a chance to get around to it! But sign up for my newsletter at (copy and paste into your browser), or follow me on my author page here at Amazon to find out when I do release a bundle.Thanks for reading!The Janus Group Series eBook fi actionSci fi thrillerCyberpunkGalactic Empire / Corporations / ConspiraciesBounty hunter / KillerAction adventure / Suspense / PulpCrime / Detective / Mystery / MurderAIs /Artificial intelligenceSpace / Space travelGenes / Genetic engineeringSpace warrior / Military

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Cyberpunk, Space, Space Opera

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2015

About the author

I grew up in Boston, but spent most of my childhood in various boarding schools, including getting trained as a classical singer at a choir school for boys. I joined the Army in 2002, and spent four years on active duty, including a year-long deployment to Iraq in 2004 as a tank and scout platoon leader.

When I’m not spending time with my lovely wife and daughter, I’m frantically working on my next book.

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Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly average read. It was mildly interesting but never exciting. It was pulp sci-fi with a noir mystery feel.

The world building was pretty good and the plot was moderately interesting. The flaw that held this back from being a more entertaining read was the fact that none of the characters inspired any level of emotional investment. Another slight flaw was the complete lack of humor.

The basic plot was pretty cool. Rath is recruited by the mysterious Janus Group into their assassins guild. Recruits are trained and then have to fulfil a contract of 50 kills before they are free to live on the wealth they have earned. This basically followed him through that process and we got to see a bunch of his missions as he worked his way towards his goal of 50 kills. There was a few other POV characters mixed in including a detective who was investigating guild kills and a journalist who is doing the same.

I found the time jumps a bit disconcerting at times as the story just sort of leaped from one time to another. I felt like that could have been handled better. Outside of that and the other flaws I have mentioned this was a fairly good self published book. It actually felt a lot like the spy and crime thrillers I read in my younger days with the exception that this was set in the future and had some cool future technology thrown in to spice things up. The sci-fi setting and technology was actually the big plus for this book. It was interesting and the author did not waste time telling us how every little bit of it worked which I felt helped the pacing of the story stay quite steady.

All in all this was an OK action/mystery sci-fi.
Rating: 3 stars.

Audio Note: The narration by James Fouhey was pretty good.

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of RATH'S DECEPTION by Piers Platt
[Janus Group #1]

Rath's Deception is the first in a delightful hard-science fiction series set in the somewhat distant future. [Distant because of many colonized planets, faster-than-light travel, medical upgrades far in advance of anything dreamed of today--except in science fiction, and highly-advanced nanotechnology, controllable by the user.] The protagonist is a young man with whom most readers can identify. We first meet him at fourteen, devoted to his brother Vonn, who works for a small-time criminal enterprise, and in avoidance of their addicted parents. Rath has an eidetic memory, but when he loses Vonn, he leaves home and drops out of school. Three years later he is "recruited" for testing to enter an organization so secretive that the real name is never known, "employees" (contractors) are killed if incarcerated, and the mere idea of such a group is considered fantasy, a sort of long-lasting urban legend.
Author Piers Platt neatly constructs a multiplicity of worlds, and smoothly handles the science and medical aspects. The Group's ability to mimic, not just in voice and mannerisms, but in biological appearance, is phenomenal--and fascinating.

[Sven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het einde van mijn vakantie nadert en de drukke kajakweekenden komen eraan. Maar gelukkig al redelijk wat kunnen lezen tijdens dit verlof. Op reis geen toestellen mee behalve smartphone, stel dat we de route kwijt raken, maar thuis telt deze restrictie niet en dus nog maar eens een epub gelezen. Rath’s Deception van Piers Platt. Een eerste deel dat ik gratis, en legaal, mocht downloaden om kennis te maken met deze auteur en zijn The Juno group reeks.
De auteur
Piers Platt zat sinds zijn tiende op kostschool waar hij opleiding kreeg tot koorknaapje. Later studeerde hij militaire geschiedenis en ging hij in een leger programma. Na school ging hij effectief in het leger om in 2004 in Iraq op missie te gaan. Daar begon hij met het schrijven om het nadien, na verschillende weigeringen, in de kast op te bergen. Wanneer hij hoorde over het zelf uitgeven van boeken ging hij direct aan de slag. Vier maanden later was het boek een New York Times bestseller.
Het boek wat ik gelezen heb is Rath’s Deception, het eerste deel in The janus group reeks.
Het verhaal.
Ik zal nu eens proberen om het verhaal te vertellen zonder al teveel spoilers mee te geven.
Op Tarkis belanden tieners zoals Rath in de cel of dood. Om uit de arme wijken te raken is de enige oplossing mee te gaan werken met The Guild. Een moordenaarsgilde die van elke wees een getrainde vecht-en moordmachine maakt. Rath moet zich eerst bewijzen tijdens verschrikkelijke trainingen en mentale testen of hij het wel waard is om toe te treden tot de organisatie. Na de training moet Rath moorden via contracten en na vijftig moorden krijgt hij de helft van wat de organisatie betaald werd voor al die contracten. Rath verliest zijn onschuldigheid maar als hij niet oplet, kan het ook zijn dood zijn. Rath beweegt zich van contract naar contract in de hoop zo vlug mogelijk het geld te ontvangen en zich naar de rijkere buurten te kunnen begeven. Maar de vraag blijft of The Janus group zijn belofte zal nakomen of niet.
Mijn gedacht.
Platt taalgebruik was zeer goed te volgen. Geen al te moeilijke Engelse termen waar ik een woordenboek voor nodig had. Het leest enorm vlot.
Het verhaal op zich is zeer goed geschreven. Het bevat de nodige spanning maar ook genoeg diepte. Eigenlijk schreef Platt een verhaal over een maffia groep maar dan met sci-fi invloeden. Ruimteschepen, andere planeten het passeert allemaal wel de revue behalve buitenaardse wezens.
De personages die gebruikt worden in het verhaal zijn echt wel zeer goed uitgewerkt. De connectie met Rath is er als lezer van het moment dat je start met lezen. Zijn karakter is het meeste uitgewerkt maar dit is logisch want hij dan ook het hoofdonderwerp.
Het verhaal bevat her en der kronkels zonder het al te ingewikkeld te gaan maken. Maar geen kronkels die echt onverwacht naar boven kwamen. De meeste zie je al aankomen van hoofdstukken ervoor maar dit stoort niet.
Het einde laat de spanning enorm toenemen en laat wel duidelijk merken dat het met dit einde ver van over en uit is met het verhaal. Er zijn nog genoeg verhaallijnen die geen afsluiter gekregen hebben maar op deze manier blijf ik curieus naar het volgende deel.
Die volgende delen ga ik ooit zeker nog eens lezen. Eerst maar eens al die ongelezen boeken in mijn kast en tablet gaan uitlezen. En ik kan nog jaren verder. Terug over dit boek. The Guild deed mij een beetje denken aan de Snaken uit de boeken van Raymond e Feist. Ook een boevengilde waar met regels en straffen de orde gehandhaafd wordt. Zeer leuk om dit eens te lezen in een sci-fi verhaal. Het volgende boek wordt een waargebeurd verhaal en dus iets helemaal anders dan dit net uitgelezen verhaal. Iedereen nog veel leesgenot gewenst.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent cyberpunkish thriller but nothing to keep you on the edge of your seat.

So Rath enters a very hush-hush guild of untraceable assassins. He has 50 kills to perform before hitting the jackpot and retirement. A journalist and a cop are trying to get proof of the existence of this guild.

After basic training it's basically a succession of murder before a subplot emerges and goes toward an end you can see coming from miles away around half the book. The characters are a bit functional and could have been better developped. I never cared for any one of them, Rath included.

It's well paced and decently written though and if I weren't enthralled I weren't bored either.

[Vaughn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I found the book absolutely painful to read. Perhaps I'll give the second book a go, but only because I finally became partially invested in the last few chapters.

A few of my major issues with the novel:

The world (universe) that the novel is set in seems so lazily constructed. I only got a decent sense of the uniqueness of a few of the later planets visited, otherwise I don't see why this novel wasn't set primarily on Earth. In one instance the author didn't even bother to give a proper name to a "local dialect." Instead he literally used the words "[local dialect]" and left it at that (the exact line is, "Be careful, he may speak [local dialect]). Though later on another planet we were treated to a monologue translated from Mandarin Chinese and read phonetically to a group of people which I thought was ludicrous. If you know Mandarin you know it's a tonal language and I simply didn't believe that the character, who didn't even know what a "deep scan" in a computer security system was (in a universe that is so technologically advanced that humans have colonized multiple galactic systems), knew how to read Mandarin Chinese phonetically in a way that could be understood by those listening. The reason is because at no other point are any other languages mentioned other than the mysterious [local dialect], in addition to the fact that the character doesn't actually learn any other language (as far as I know) because he is augmented with a multi purpose tool that can function as a translator. And speaking of translating, at one point we are treated to two German words in a descriptive paragraph. "Biergarten" as opposed to "beer garden", and "Hefeweisen" as opposed to "wheat beer." This came off as incredibly self gratifying on the writers part, and in no way interesting or satisfying on my part as the reader. The words stuck out like a sore thumb because the narrator did not change, the story simply changed focus to another character and the words only seemed to say, "Look how cultured I am as a writer and how cultured this character is by extension."

My second major issue with this novel was the amount of times I read the word "grimace" or any variation of it (hint: several times per chapter). By the end of the book a was rolling my eyes because the word had become a joke to me. Sometimes characters grimaced at things that were not, by any means, grimace worthy. It was by far the laziest "show don't tell" I have read in a long time.

I also didn't have any perception of how much time was passing in the story. Towards the end of the novel I was surprised to learn that I was around 8 years behind what I thought the time frame of the novel up to that point had been. It wasn't a surprise for the main character so it shouldn't have been a surprise to me, the reader. Perhaps it was a intentional choice, but it made me feel alienated as I had to reimagine the main character as older than I had thought he was. In addition, there were many times when it seems like time magically spead up in moments, where within just a few thoughts or sentences entire minutes (which in this novel was a glaring issue because timers are used often and relied upon) had passed.

Another major issue with the novel, and ironically what saved it from a one star rating, was that the parts of the novel that weren't spent with Rath, our main character, were excellent. I was most excited when people were talking in a room about Rath or, in a few characters cases, gathering clues pertaining to the mysterious guild of assassins. These were the clearest moments in the novel and were very refreshing in lieu of the often ridiculous and sometimes unbelievable happening within the main action. Even for a novel about hyper futuristic assassins, I simply couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to accept that Rath could come so close to death so often (so close that the people watching over him assumed he was dead too) and not die. In this regard it felt like the author constantly wrote himself into a corner and conveniently got out every time.


Luckily these issues became more sparse towards the end, with the exception of the facial expression that shall not be named, and the novel was actually capped with a really smart ending. I may pick up the second novel to see if the improvements continue, in which case I can see myself enjoying this series overall. As it stands, though, I can't recommend the series based on this first entry.

I expected more from a novel with such hype.

[E.J. Fisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Call me morbid, but I’m kind of a sucker for cold-blooded assassins. When the author offered me a free read-for-review copy, I agreed without hesitation. The premise alone was enough to pique my curiosity: mysterious group recruits and trains troubled orphans to complete contract kills, and once the contractors complete 50 kills, they’re entitled to 50% of the profits from said contracts. But everything is not as it seems…

I have to say that for the first half or so of the book, I anticipated rating it 4 stars. There was something about Young!Rath that irritated me a little, but I was curious enough about what would happen that I was willing to keep reading. I’m honestly not sure if I really love Rath as a character, but he did grow on me as the book progressed, and I do like his story.

I found all the contractors’ technological capabilities really intriguing. At first I thought all their implants/hemobots/Forges would give them a level of power and skill that would make the things they did seem totally unrealistic, and while that was still the case to an extent, they didn’t seem too out of place given the futuristic environment. I found all of the tools Rath used to solve problems really interesting, and even with his enhanced abilities, he still had to fight his way through every mission, so it didn’t seem nearly as far-fetched as I was afraid it would.

As the story moved forward, I became more and more curious about what was going to happen. Realistically I probably would have given the book 4.5 stars, but I’m rounding up to 5 simply because I was pretty engrossed there toward the end. There were a couple of parts where I was thinking “Ehhhhh...I know this is sci fi but I doubt that could have actually happened” and I did feel like there were some kind of expository chunks of dialogue that gave the reader a lot of information that I would have preferred to figure out on my own. But neither of these things made me scoff or throw my Kindle across the room in disgust, so I’m just kind of overlooking them.

I do have to say that I appreciated the fact that the author has a military background and therefore used correct terminology when it came to firearms, tactics, etc.

One other small thing I enjoyed was the occasional glimpse into the control room where The Group was monitoring all of its contractors. There was something fun about getting that inside look, and I liked how those scenes also told us a little about what the other contractors were doing. I’m very excited to see how things play out with the other two contractors who have been introduced to the story, particularly Contractor 339...because if there’s anything I love more than badass assassin characters, it’s badass lady assassin characters!

The intrigue of Jason Bourne meets the tech and grit of Terminator...in space. This is kind of a dark story verging on cyberpunk, but it’s a story I enjoyed very much.

Oh, and it might be worth it to suggest reading the prequel short story, Last Pursuit. I actually read it while I was about halfway through this book. It could serve as a good introduction to the series, or in my case, a refreshing look back at a different character going through the same struggles as the characters in the main story.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Janus Group is an interplanetary corporation that operates assassins. For law enforcement its existence is no more than rumor and it's been that way for a few hundred years. They have a unique recruitment program. They recruit orphan teens, male or female, and offer to teach them the trade on a very specific contract. They must accept any job. At the end of 50 assassinations the recruit will split 50% of what Janus Group received for all the jobs. The 50/50 plan. If they get killed on the job, too bad. If they get arrested, too bad. If they tell anyone, they're dead.

Rath agrees to recruitment. His parents are dead and his brother was killed by a gang. The idea of millions in his bank, maybe hundreds of millions, is too attractive to pass up.

The book follows him through testing for the obscure group and his training. He's then released on the populated worlds with augmentations. Nanobots enrich his blood and provide drugs when needed, facial and hair implants allow him to change his identity at will, augmented sight and hearing give him even more edge.

Despite technicians and watchers giving him no chance to make it to the money, Rath develops his skills and his resourcefulness. But things get deadly when he's contracted to kill a missing female assassin from the group, and things get really weird when he reaches his last kill.

Given the subject, the book is generally not as gruesome as you'd expect. Rath has determination to get through recruitment tests and training and Platt has created a character who you're determined to root for, despite his work. Especially when Rath's world goes pear-shaped you really want him to make it out alive.

It's an interesting future with a really nasty secretive corporation as the bad guy. It may be that, as determined as he is, Rath is a little inept at what he does that makes him sympathetic. Despite his first job ending up being far more bloody than intended his kills are mostly focused on fairly bad people, and one contract that he's forced to take is one he avoided taking and is extremely unsettling for him. In addition, the Group has his life in its hands and can kill him by remote control at any time. It's a motivator to follow instructions.

This first volume in the series is currently free on Kindle (check before you click) and also available in paperback and as an Audible selection. The two volumes that follow are Rath's Gambit, and Rath's Reckoning. There's also a Janus Group short story available free on Kindle.

[AudioBookReviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My original Rath's Deception audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Rath’s Deception by Pier Platt is the first novel in a series called The Janus Group. After becoming an orphan at a young age and fending for himself on the streets of Tarkis, Rath is recruited by the Janus Group to become a sought after intergalactic assassin. The contract is for 50 kills. If the contract assassin survives 50 kills, then he or she is entitled to 50% of the money that the Janus group made on that contractor's kills. It’s an enticing prospect, but intense prospect for a destitute young man who has never killed anyone. As Rath progresses through the grueling training and his kills mount, he becomes aware that there is something not quite honest about the Janus group. Simultaneously, the police are constantly on the hunt for a way to bring down the Janus group, which is essentially a group of highly trained and efficient murderers. Meanwhile, Rath must figure out a way to complete his 50 kills and retrieve the money that he was promised.

This is an action packed and unique novel. I really enjoyed every part of it. Rath is trained by the Janus group to become a killer, but he is still a sympathetic character. Rath is a determined, but ultimately becoming a world weary man, focused on this one objective. However, knowing his back story makes it hard not to like him. Meanwhile, the Group only seems to become more vicious and ruthless as the novel progresses. The police detective and reporter that are trying to track down the contract killers are an excellent addition to the story, because then the reader doesn’t have to hear about each of Rath’s kills and the story moves forward. I also really liked the little insights into the Janus Group’s operations that are revealed during Rath’s missions and the use of 3D printer-like technology. The one thing that I didn’t like about the novel was that it was hard to tell how much time had passed from chapter to chapter. Overall, it was fast paced and action packed story.

The narration by James Fouhey was well done. Each of the characters was distinguishable and the voicing fit the characters. The production quality was good as well. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes action packed stories about rebel assassins mixed with a police mystery.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

[Siim Aus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately i did not find this book gripping, novel or even interesting in tiniest of bits. Its plain, unimaginative and so very shallow. Every time i turned page, i fought urge to put the book down. Finally I did. I just did not get any feel of character development, plot development or anything a kind. Just some super-tech description without any attempt to relate to physics. Plain third-eye view of some linear characters unerring and untroubled plodding through unlikely events. Somehow Sandersson writes better fantasy, Corey writes better sci-fi action and Gibson is better at Cyberpunk. I am all for giving writer a good chance at trying but I hate when crap is advertised as oh so super good thing.

[C.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

High-stakes thrill ride - truly entertaining

Platt has found his niche in writing a series that is fresh, inventive and captivating. Rath, orphaned, is sold the idea of joining a super-secret organization of highly-lethal assassins. His task? Get 50 confirmed kills and he gets 50% of the monetary rewards. The only thing is, he can't get caught and he can't fail, regardless of the assignment. Can he make it to 50, and can he trust his employers?

Think Jason Bourne with the high-tech of James Bond combined with a space-age covert military operator and you have a hint of what Rath and the Guildsmen are capable of. Excellent storytelling.

[Micah Till · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rath's Deception is a burned spy story with a twist. Instead of starting with a veteran agent who is framed for something they've never done, we follow Rath, orphaned and disconnected on the lower tier of his planet (both socially and physically), as he is recruited by The Guild (also known as the Janus Group) . He is trained as an assassin and given the type of equipment one might actually expect a shadowy organization in a high-tech society to rely on. His goal is "50 for 50." Upon his 50th kill he will receive 50% of the proceeds from his missions.

Rath isn't the smartest agent on the block—in fact, there are times I really wanted him to get busted for being so stupid—but he has one natural advantage: a photographic memory. Platt realistically turns this strength on its head though. Rath cannot forget the faces of those he's killed. Add in a washed out police officer and an investigative reporter looking for the story of the century, and all the elements are in place for a wild ride.

And Rath's Deception delivers. I was engaged and invested in the story all the way through. That isn't something I can say about most sci-fi assassin stories. The plot is predictable and there are definitely points that could use improvement (time skips are common, but vague; group techs should have names and identifying features so we connect with them too; everything is a little too obvious for smart people not to catch on both in-universe and as readers; etc.), but the writing is clear and well edited and the audio performance is excellent. I definitely enjoyed this book.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a tedious read! "Rath's Deception" is terribly unimaginative, stale and shallow. There is little to no character building nor any character arcs and world building is virtually non-existent (okay, I know there are multiple levels to the city and flying cars - great!). The plot consists of little more than crudely constructed assassination attempts by the main protagonists on which he escapes literally every-f*cking-time from the brink of death by pulling some weird stunt with his 3D-printer gadget that defies probably every single law of physics. Ergo: This sure ain't hard sci-fi, but it is also beyond the realms of any point of plausibility for the most indifferent science fiction reader.

The writing is lazy and at one point I was sure I was going to personally strangle Platt if he used the word "chagrined" one more time. At the halfway mark I finally gave in to the urge of putting the book down for good which had already plagued me for most of the book by then. I must admit I am very much stunned by the positive reaction this book seems to gather but people's expectations for a good reading in general and for great science fiction in particular seem to have plummeted significantly over the last decade...

DNF@49%

[Ian Massey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably un-taxing SF adventure featuring an anti-hero that, so far, has become neither likable or unlikable.

The emphasis is on the action, rather than character building, with a large amount of the book spent describing the increasingly elaborate kills that the title character pulls off. Consequently, there is little background on the universe that the story takes place in - it's obviously far-future and mankind has spread to the stars, but no history is given.

One rather jarring scene, where the action seems to fast-forward without explanation, is resolved later in the book, which was quite satisfying, but there are a number of details which need cleaning up - for example, if the Forge can create pretty much everything why, on after one mission, does Rath remind himself to bring cleaning supplies and why can't the Guild simply remote destroy Forges? Minor complaints, though...

[Graeme Tindale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very enjoyable. The plot is interesting with lots of side excursions to keep in mind. The development of the character is good and one is always wondering how it shakes out. That said, it is decently written but not brilliant. While I am interested in seeing where is the story leads, it is not a book that I would like to come back to or remember strongly in future. Hence, the four star rating rating – but I do recommend it.

[Mayhem-RW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rath, the younger brother of Vonn, was chastised by Vonn for showing off his idyllic memory to show a teacher up. Rath wanted to quit school and join his brother on the street, but Vonn knew better. He knew a person could get killed on the street, especially someone like Rath, who was fourteen years old. Then Despino kicked in the door and took Vonn to his boss to be murdered because he was a rat, an informant. Rath left his drug-addled mother and his alcoholic father that night. Three years later, he stole a police officer’s handgun right out of its holster but got caught by a detective. The detective did not haul him down to the precinct. However, he did give him a job offer. Fifty for fifty. Rath did not believe the detective. It was an urban legend. Fifty kills for fifty percent of the jobs, payable upon the contractor reaching fifty kills.

The world-building is good enough to envision some of the story’s locations. The character’s backgrounds lead to the character’s actions and interactions, which was done very well. However, the protagonist is a fourth-level contractor with a photographic memory, and the controllers don’t expect him to make his fifty.

This suspenseful science fiction legend is full of action and adventure. It could even be said that it has more than a bit of cyberpunk in the storyline. I give this read five stars out of five stars.

[Dave Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action and mayhem.

Rath is a teen from the dregs of a planet that is heavily populated and stratified. Drugs and crime surround his family. His older brother tries to protect him and keep that lifestyle away from him. But, his brother, Vonn, is in that life, and makes a mistake that costs him his life. And Rath's life changes forever.
Recruited and trained as an elite assassin, Rath uses his skills to exact revenge. If he can accrue 50 kills, he can retire.........or, can he?
This was a fun read, and as the action continues in the next book, I expect the twists and turns of his adventures to escalate.

[Salvatore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun scifi'sh romp. A nice read to pass the time.

Not much in terms of character development for our main character other than accumulating more and more stress along with more and more nightmares. I would love it if he evolved.
Also as others have pointed out he may be the luckiest and clumsiest assassin you might have read of. After the 100th lucky escape it gets repetitive.

Despite all these misgivings i'm looking forward to the next book

p.s i have NOT received a free book to provide this review :P

[Cindy Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't have any expectations of this one, but I liked it. It ended up being about a young kid, Rath, who lives in the future. His brother was killed by a mob type guy and he was left on his own to survive. He takes up with an organization-- the guild-- who gives him the technology and skills to be one of the world's best assassins. He never really had the stomach for the killing but he makes it to 50 after which he is supposed to earn a ton of money. Its all a hoax--as he comes to find out, but he's not alone in his desire to take down the guild. Stay tuned.

[Adena Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waterdeep has its Assassin Guild. It seems logical that a futuristic scifi society would also have its dark underbelly, and where there is crime, there are assassins. Why not an assassin guild? If there is a guild, how would the assassins be recruited and trained? It is unlikely to be in the same way as the hero in Lin Carter’s Under the Green Star. What happens with Rath seems logical, from his background to his recruitment to his missions to his being backstabbed. So what happens when an assassin is double-crossed? Let’s find out. Next book, please!

[Jim Kratzok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story.

This is book 1 of The Janus Group series. Rath is a Guild assassin, a professional who is working on completing his contracted 50 kills. He's not in the top tier of assassins, he a level 4, but still seems to be determined to get the job done. The terms of his contact are that after he completes his 50 kills, he gets paid 50 % of the accumulated payments that clients have made for his "expertise" over the years. The question is, will he make it?

[Martin Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Rath the legendary Guild is the way out of the slums of Tarkis to a comfortable life as an assassin. Gradually he comes to question the whole operation of the guild as he approaches the completion of his 50 hit contract. But what does the Guild have in store for him once the contract is complete?

[Carolyn Garcia jolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly great

I got this book for free on prime and honestly didn't expect much. I was surprised to find that I couldn't put it down. Great plot, great action, great characters. I will definitely be headed for the sequel.

[David Minor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read and I enjoy reading a well written novel. Readers of military science fiction should enjoy this book.

When did machine take over the world so that I have to have a working count before I can post

[Adam Windsor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Serviceable but not terribly engaging SF tale about an orphan recruited into an interstellar league of assassins. Suffers from a lack of emotionally engaging protagonists and a pretty much entire lack of antagonists: the shadowy bad guys are so shadowy as to be non-existent, on the page.

[John Shearer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raths Reception (1)

This story is typical for a sci-fi novel. All the characters are more interesting than the story as a whole. At times the story drags and till it gets moving again is very suspect.

[L.Logan Boswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different than most sci fi.

A different twist on most sci fi. Interstellar assassin.. I almost stopped reading because I din not want to read about someone assassinating people but the writing was so good that it kept me interested.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting, a guild which need each member have 50 kills as a test and then they would approved you and after that riches guaranteed to come. our main character here embarked on a path with this guild. this is a easy read but have also element of thrilling.

[Evelyn Goughnour · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome book!

They collect orphans and train them to become assassins. They do a full surgery on the orphans to make them so they can be anyone and have any color of hair and skin.

[Neil Molyneux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scfi action adventure

A Very entertaining book with a good pace well written & engaging characters, that lead you on a assassins moral story leads well into the next book

[Zetagilgamesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space Spies

Fast paced and exciting. The characters are interesting, the situations are engaging. This feels like the setup for the rest of the story over the next two books.