Deus Ex Rand

by D.J. Bodden

Welcome to Mackurd. When the Collapse made the simple things complicated and the complicated things man-eating monsters, most people ran around like sissies and got eaten. This is not the story of those people. This is the story of unlikely heroes kicking undead pelvises and shooting monsters before their names become an issue, all while trying to keep the squad mascot from stealing all the beer. It's a short story of the Collapse, set in the world of the Black Year Series.

8 pages, ebook

First published November 15, 2015

About the author

D.J. Bodden is a tech-startup COO who writes books because words are magic. He's an avid reader of science-fiction and fantasy, a gamer, a former pilot and coffee trader who's been to every continent but Antarctica. He's been woken up by gunfire, jumped out of helicopters, and climbed medium-sized hills in scorching weather; He likes to make people laugh for the wrong reasons; He tries to sell people grimoires disguised as fiction; He is scared of spiders, and only recently learned to ride a bike.

D.J. lives in Switzerland with his wife and thinks it's important that they should someday be adopted by a fox.

Reviews

[Eden Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Skyrim had a baby with Fallout, and then the Lord of Madness slapped that baby with a crazy-stick, Deus Ex Rand() is the story that baby would tell you. The voice is great and the story kicks all the butt. Reading it is like spending 15 minutes playing your favorite first person-shooter, except better because insanity and magic and hilariousness and the aforementioned beer-drinking dog.

[Marquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you stick around you'll never be bored" pretty much of sums it up for D.J. Bodden's Deus Ex Rand. This short story packs a literary punch. Bodden combines literary fiction and a combat setting with quirky paranormal characters and a snarky, noir-type, first-person narrative that won't quick. This is a quick read to say the least but more importantly a smart read that's highly recommended.

[Peat · Rating 4 out of 5]

99 times out of a hundred, I don't read whats in DMs from people who added me on Twitter. Just not my thing. But the author seemed an interesting guy so a few months later when going through them, I opened up the link.

I'm happy I did so.

This the tale of some guy in a post-apocalyptic world, propping up a bar and telling the reader a little about how they helped make the world this way. Its mostly humour-tinged action and Bodden has a solid grasp of both, neither overdoing it or underselling himself.

Would I read his other books? I've a big pile so no guarantees, but I'm thinking about it.

[Barbara McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this short little tale. Particularly the narrator, an affable war veteran who shares his recollections of the events that occurred during 'the Collapse'. The story is crammed with characters and action and seems like a good lead into the authors other works. I did have to re-read parts because there is so much going on and I was trying to remember who was who, but I think that is just because you have a lot to absorb in so few pages.