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Monster Slayer
A veteran of the War, Reina can’t stop fighting. Only now, she’s no longer on Mars, and she’s no longer a soldier. Scarred by her time as an Electronic Warfare Service drone operator, Reina has transformed herself into a notorious cybercriminal, and she’s turned her hatred of the Weyland Consortium into a personal crusade. Her goal? Expose the corp’s machinations and exact vigilante justice.
When Reina’s efforts lead her deep into some of Weyland’s most heavily secured servers, she discovers that its geothermal fracking initiative, Project Vulcan, is far more dangerous than the public realizes. But then again, so is the Weyland Consortium. As Reina digs deeper and contacts old allies, she learns firsthand just how far the megacorp will go to protect its secrets.
As the stakes grow higher, the body count rises. Can Reina expose the threat posed by Project Vulcan? And, in the end, will her crusade be worth the cost?
Written by Android universe co-creator Daniel Lovat Clark, Monster Slayer follows the network deeper into the life and struggles of La Reina Roja, a runner shaped by the War and her desire to expose the Weyland Consortium's darkest activities. The book's multidimensional approach guides readers through the virtual world and the meatspace of New Angeles, offering the most comprehensive exploration of the runner's lifestyle to date.
What good are a console, a couple of contacts, and some military-honed skills against the might of the Weyland Consortium? In addition to its 96 pages of fiction, the hardcover edition of Monster Slayer comes with a sixteen-page full color insert full of setting details pertinent to the story, including backstory on GRNDL, the First Mars Expeditionary Brigade, and the New Angeles underground.
When Reina’s efforts lead her deep into some of Weyland’s most heavily secured servers, she discovers that its geothermal fracking initiative, Project Vulcan, is far more dangerous than the public realizes. But then again, so is the Weyland Consortium. As Reina digs deeper and contacts old allies, she learns firsthand just how far the megacorp will go to protect its secrets.
As the stakes grow higher, the body count rises. Can Reina expose the threat posed by Project Vulcan? And, in the end, will her crusade be worth the cost?
Written by Android universe co-creator Daniel Lovat Clark, Monster Slayer follows the network deeper into the life and struggles of La Reina Roja, a runner shaped by the War and her desire to expose the Weyland Consortium's darkest activities. The book's multidimensional approach guides readers through the virtual world and the meatspace of New Angeles, offering the most comprehensive exploration of the runner's lifestyle to date.
What good are a console, a couple of contacts, and some military-honed skills against the might of the Weyland Consortium? In addition to its 96 pages of fiction, the hardcover edition of Monster Slayer comes with a sixteen-page full color insert full of setting details pertinent to the story, including backstory on GRNDL, the First Mars Expeditionary Brigade, and the New Angeles underground.
112 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2016
10 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Lovat Clark
26 books22 followersDaniel Lovat Clark is a professional geek who writes and designs games for a living in the wilds of New England.
He was born in Boston and grew up splitting his time between the beaches and highlands of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and the green (or snow-covered, depending) mountains of Vermont. He inherited a love of fantasy, science fiction, and science fact from his father and a love of nature from his mother and a love of art and music from both. And books. Books most of all.
Daniel spent nearly twenty years at Fantasy Flight Games. His professional highlights include co-creating the Android setting, design credit for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Third Edition and Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, and designing the beginner game experiences for FFG's line of Star Wars RPGs.
He lives in central Massachusetts with his wife, child, and the legal maximum number of animals.
He was born in Boston and grew up splitting his time between the beaches and highlands of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and the green (or snow-covered, depending) mountains of Vermont. He inherited a love of fantasy, science fiction, and science fact from his father and a love of nature from his mother and a love of art and music from both. And books. Books most of all.
Daniel spent nearly twenty years at Fantasy Flight Games. His professional highlights include co-creating the Android setting, design credit for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Third Edition and Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, and designing the beginner game experiences for FFG's line of Star Wars RPGs.
He lives in central Massachusetts with his wife, child, and the legal maximum number of animals.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 15, 2023
So, the book. Its... just very plain? I mean, there is no surprises, no character arc, nothing new or refreshing. So what do we work with? Well, the idea is that Red Queen is a traumatized veteran of the Mars war (which, was an uprising from Martian colonists against the mega-corporations that abused them. Think of the Battle of Blair Mountain, but in space) and is now in an all-out war against... corporations? greedy ceo's? Its never explained directly and the subtext is so vague that it could be about any political agenda.
So this woman who is very sad about killing so many civilians (and some terrorists, but honestly if we go by the sourcebook and the technology she said see fought against, most of the damage was done by other mercenaries from rival companies) she decided to become a one-woman army. And oh boy is he is not almost indestructible (how many times she was shot with anti-armor bullets) and kind of stupid (decided to fuck with a half dozen mega-corporations to bring Mr. Stone, so I'm very surprised she is like still alive at the end) and then... cyberpunk. She killed the bad guy but there are so many bad guys it came as a waste of time, but instead of tragic it was almost like... eh.
The rest of the cast are names. No, seriously, they have no personality deeper than a wiki resume and they are either bureocrats or other veterans. Thats it. Even the tragedy at the middle of the book was kind of a thing that just happened and that somehow she survived because she is main character.
We barely learn anything about REd Queen, nothing about Angeles or the world of android that you don't get with greater panache in the sourcebook and as a hacker story... ok, here is the thing:
The first thing she does is steal less than a dozen documents and an audio/probably with some trivee, which start the entire plot. And when she does that, she, and I quote "... son she had over ten ZETTABYTES of data in her download queue- more than she cold receive in the time limit...".
So what is a Zettabyte? It is, and I quote again "A zettabyte is a digital unit of measurement. One zettabyte is equal to one sextillion bytes or 1021 (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) bytes, or, one zettabyte is equal to a trillion gigabytes".
And she got 10.
From a half dozen pdf and an audio file.
The entire monthly world traffic is 1.2 zettabyte. You could have saved the entire history of information, from the creation of writing up to now in those files. And those were just a fraction of a fraction of the information in just that node and it took her less than 10 seconds to download them.
This is star trek bullshit. This is the culture madness. How a bunch of 3d files and an audio need so much space and band it... it makes no sense. And it breaks all her hacking for the rest of the story, because there is no semblance of size, of speed or even danger. Its magic with computer vocabulary sprinkle around.
So this woman who is very sad about killing so many civilians (and some terrorists, but honestly if we go by the sourcebook and the technology she said see fought against, most of the damage was done by other mercenaries from rival companies) she decided to become a one-woman army. And oh boy is he is not almost indestructible (how many times she was shot with anti-armor bullets) and kind of stupid (decided to fuck with a half dozen mega-corporations to bring Mr. Stone, so I'm very surprised she is like still alive at the end) and then... cyberpunk. She killed the bad guy but there are so many bad guys it came as a waste of time, but instead of tragic it was almost like... eh.
The rest of the cast are names. No, seriously, they have no personality deeper than a wiki resume and they are either bureocrats or other veterans. Thats it. Even the tragedy at the middle of the book was kind of a thing that just happened and that somehow she survived because she is main character.
We barely learn anything about REd Queen, nothing about Angeles or the world of android that you don't get with greater panache in the sourcebook and as a hacker story... ok, here is the thing:
The first thing she does is steal less than a dozen documents and an audio/probably with some trivee, which start the entire plot. And when she does that, she, and I quote "... son she had over ten ZETTABYTES of data in her download queue- more than she cold receive in the time limit...".
So what is a Zettabyte? It is, and I quote again "A zettabyte is a digital unit of measurement. One zettabyte is equal to one sextillion bytes or 1021 (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) bytes, or, one zettabyte is equal to a trillion gigabytes".
And she got 10.
From a half dozen pdf and an audio file.
The entire monthly world traffic is 1.2 zettabyte. You could have saved the entire history of information, from the creation of writing up to now in those files. And those were just a fraction of a fraction of the information in just that node and it took her less than 10 seconds to download them.
This is star trek bullshit. This is the culture madness. How a bunch of 3d files and an audio need so much space and band it... it makes no sense. And it breaks all her hacking for the rest of the story, because there is no semblance of size, of speed or even danger. Its magic with computer vocabulary sprinkle around.
August 19, 2019
As a tie-in novelization to relatively obscure series of tabletop games and one semi-famous but defunct card game, Monster Slayer doesn't have an extremely high bar to meet, but, like most everything in the Android universe, it's a little better, a little cleverer, and a little more thoughtful than it seems like its going to be. The dialogue is campy and the story, for the most part, follows the beats of a fairly typical stop-the-doomsday-weapon adventure thriller. The action and hacking sequences -- or basically any sections where a lot of things are meant to happen quickly -- are somewhat laboriously detailed, and certainly no one would accuse Clark of having a particularly unique authorial voice. There's no cyberpunk stacatto or noir swagger in the language, and Reina Roja, the antihero with an axe to grind, is almost impressively lacking in personality.
But as a book of lore for Android fans there's a ton of great material, and what Clark lacks in style he more than makes up for in describing a world of espionage that could easily be translated into a very smart RPG campaign. I already know I'll be stealing half of this stuff for the next time I run a sci-fi heist, and I was also genuinely impressed with the second-act twist in which Clark actually lets the doomsday weapon rip -- for every other cliche in the story, there was still a section in the middle of the book where I couldn't believe he'd broken the formula so completely, and I thought it really worked.
The other part of the book (and the Android universe as a whole) that I think is its most interesting and evocative element is the suggestion that there's always more happening in the storyworld than is revealed to the reader, and that those hidden depths most likely will never be fully explored on the page. For every new horror that Roja uncovers on her foray into corporate conspiracy, there seems to be some greater and more malevolent power just off in the dark. These shadowy cyphers are never outright supernatural, but they might as well be -- there's an insistence here that greed itself is a sentient force, pulling the strings.
I also just generally like the idea of hardcover novellas, and I think a book like this is a welcome shift from the 800-page behemoths that are the norm for genre fiction.
But as a book of lore for Android fans there's a ton of great material, and what Clark lacks in style he more than makes up for in describing a world of espionage that could easily be translated into a very smart RPG campaign. I already know I'll be stealing half of this stuff for the next time I run a sci-fi heist, and I was also genuinely impressed with the second-act twist in which Clark actually lets the doomsday weapon rip -- for every other cliche in the story, there was still a section in the middle of the book where I couldn't believe he'd broken the formula so completely, and I thought it really worked.
The other part of the book (and the Android universe as a whole) that I think is its most interesting and evocative element is the suggestion that there's always more happening in the storyworld than is revealed to the reader, and that those hidden depths most likely will never be fully explored on the page. For every new horror that Roja uncovers on her foray into corporate conspiracy, there seems to be some greater and more malevolent power just off in the dark. These shadowy cyphers are never outright supernatural, but they might as well be -- there's an insistence here that greed itself is a sentient force, pulling the strings.
I also just generally like the idea of hardcover novellas, and I think a book like this is a welcome shift from the 800-page behemoths that are the norm for genre fiction.
March 29, 2024
another themed-novel/short story to get me into (yet) another universe. despite being written by the setting's creator, it does a decent enough job showing the world and lore without being too on the exposition side. In fact, I felt there could have been more, were it not for the reduced page count. And that is this book's main issue - it should have been longer to let the paranoia and surveillance aspect of the story settle and echo; and allow for twists and turns (or at least just one). The story reads like an A->B->C highway, with little to no surprises. It's well executed, but is predictable: a shame because it wouldn't need much to be interesting enough to stand out (L5R's novella The Sword and the Spirits managed to do this better despite also being as short; although it dropped the ball elsewhere). The MC Reina feels like a hacker version of James Bond, displaying a but more emotion and personality, but isn't given much to react to. the hacking "battles" were good fun and exciting, but again, i needed more unexpectedness.
6/10
6/10
March 12, 2019
It’s pretty cliche but I love this Android setting fluff stuff. It also makes me want to make a Reina deck! She’s pretty badass.
The last chapter was a bit weird, though. Without the little blurb in the back about the GRNDL CEO we get the impression that Reina is a cold hearted vengeful killer and her reasons for killing someone are occasionally questionable. Wish that was written a bit better.
The last chapter was a bit weird, though. Without the little blurb in the back about the GRNDL CEO we get the impression that Reina is a cold hearted vengeful killer and her reasons for killing someone are occasionally questionable. Wish that was written a bit better.
January 8, 2017
Will be right in the wheelhouse for players of Android: Netrunner or other fans of the Android universe (still a huge fan of Android, the board game). A tight novella with lots of shout outs to game concepts. Probably going to be a bit hard for non-Android reads to get the full measure of.
June 27, 2017
Second of the Android novellas, Monster Slayer is basically an action flick. Nothing wrong with that, but it lacks the ability to go beyond its pages, as the other two novellas do, with stronger themes. Not a bad read, but not a great one either. Just some quick entertainment.
November 22, 2017
Good but short
I enjoyed the story, but as it ended I felt like it was picking up momentum to a larger story. I suppose if this is meant to be a glimpse into to world of net runner, it succeeds. I just didn't want it too end.
I enjoyed the story, but as it ended I felt like it was picking up momentum to a larger story. I suppose if this is meant to be a glimpse into to world of net runner, it succeeds. I just didn't want it too end.
January 3, 2018
A short novella starring one of Android: Netrunner's characters. An action flick, like someone said. Quick read, somewhat entertaining. For fans of the game really, others might find this a bit confusing, due to frequent lore references.
February 17, 2019
Good short story
Know that this is not a full length book- but it is a very good short story that further fleshes out the runner’s life style, motivations, and tools of the trade in the world of Android. The story itself is fast paced and intense. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Know that this is not a full length book- but it is a very good short story that further fleshes out the runner’s life style, motivations, and tools of the trade in the world of Android. The story itself is fast paced and intense. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
March 1, 2020
Reina not really my favorite runner. But I loved this story and really got into her as a character and used her more often purely because of her characterization in this short story. You can finish it in a short evening and feel both wanting more and the story being a perfect ending point.
June 29, 2021
Great story in Android universe
I really liked the story. It reflects most of the Android game concepts in a story. Also, action part of the story is interesting and not overwhelming.
I really liked the story. It reflects most of the Android game concepts in a story. Also, action part of the story is interesting and not overwhelming.
May 9, 2017
Not too bad. Fast paced action novel. Pretty neat for Netrunner fans.
June 22, 2017
Quite a few rough bits showing the merciless side of the Android universe. Reina Roja vs Mr Stone!
January 14, 2019
Great read expanding in the characters and locations in the Android Universe. But if you are not already coming with that base knowledge you might get lost
December 6, 2023
Monster Slayer is cake fondant decorations.
December 15, 2016
True Netrunner Action
This novella brings the Netrunner/Android setting vividly to life. An exciting mix of cyberspace and meatspace action, if you're not already a fan of the Red Queen you soon will be!
This novella brings the Netrunner/Android setting vividly to life. An exciting mix of cyberspace and meatspace action, if you're not already a fan of the Red Queen you soon will be!
April 5, 2017
A book so concerned about being Politically Correct it forgets to be interesting.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews