Blade Gunner

Liquid Cool #2

by Austin Dragon

Liquid Cool is the action-packed and funny, sci-fi/cyberpunk detective series! Who is Blade Gunner? In the next installment of the sci-fi/cyberpunk detective series, author Austin Dragon shows you when two forces of evil want to kill each other—get the hell out of the way! The Liquid Cool Series is the sci-fi classic, Blade Runner meets the Old Hollywood classic, Maltese Falcon. There is plenty of gritty action, suspense, thrills, and even a few laughs. Sinister secret megacorporations. Savage Cyborg cults. And the Blade Gunner. How does Cruz, our private eye (and unlikely hero), solve this case—let alone survive? Off-worlders will do anything to stop the unknown man called Blade Gunner—even to blow up a supercity from space! The seedy spousal surveillance case doesn’t look so bad after all, but it’s too late to go back. You haven’t read a cyberpunk novel like this. Welcome to the high-tech, low-life world of Liquid Cool.

Genres: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2017

About the author

Austin Dragon is the author of the new military sci-fi Planet Tamers series, epic fantasy Fabled Quest Chronicles, the sci-fi detective Liquid Cool series, the international epic After Eden Series, and the classic Sleepy Hollow Horrors. He is currently working on new books and series in science fiction, fantasy, and classic horror!

He is a native New Yorker, but has called Los Angeles, California home for the last twenty years. Words to describe him, in no particular order: U.S. Army, English teacher, one-time resident of Paris, political junkie, movie buff, Fortune 500 corporate recruiter, renaissance man, dreamer.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective noir always gives me a warm feeling of familiarity - the 1st-person asides, the tough-guy/moll relationships, the PI's unflappable secretary, the wry humour. This was a good rendering of a cyberpunk version - I liked the main character, Cruz, and is aimed, I would say, at a YA readership (despite - or because of? - the gallons of gore). It's stuffed with so many characters that it also carries an element of farce, which, given the title and the author's nom de plume, is probably intentional. It's not Chandler or Hammett, but I found it an entertaining read on a wet Sunday afternoon.

[Stephen D Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine read

Mr. Dragon held course and upped the ante with his second foray into life at the Liquid Cool Detective Agency.
More danger, much greater chance for infection, higher stakes. But still the marvelous fun, intricately woven plot lines, dynamic characterization, all the while planning a wedding that has to please his in-laws to be...
Mr. Dragon has successfully defended the space that he carved out with the publication of Liquid Cool. It is his and his alone. All hail!
Gotta get to the third book, now.

[Saleenmcqueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

I love the characters, I love how Cruz turns his abnormal characteristics into super powers. The Wans are my favorite, keep the weird and keep the powerful. Oh and everyone read these books if you're into smart funny, action, and surprises.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blade Gunner (Liquid Cool, #2) - a review by Rosemary Kenny

Our intrepid hero Cruz takes on another intriguing and amazing all-action adventure in his latest outing, courtesy of the brilliant Flame of Cyberpunk Fantasy that is his creator - the one and only Austin Dragon - in this ARC copy I received to allow me to give this completely honest, (as always!) review.

Shielded in his inner sanctum on the 100th Floor, by feisty would-be office manager Punch Judy, Cruz is astounded to be confronted by the
sight of his secretary being overcome in brutal fashion before his very eyes, by a svelte and chic dame who insists she's worried about her missing twin sister.
Can Cruz survive not only her deadly female lures and wiles, but also his soon-to-be in-laws' invasive intentions, regarding his forthcoming nuptials to their daughter Dot? (aka China Doll).
Will an encounter with Mr Looper the building's 'watchman' prove to be more inflammatory than Cruz expected?
Who are the street johnnies and what part do they play in finding Blinky?
Who is the twins' brother and what is his intention towards the Up-Top elite society his sisters were expelled from?

As the action moves from the city of Metropolis to Up-Top you'll be bewitched, bothered and maybe even bewildered about who's on the good guys' side and who's betraying and double-dealing whom, between the Royal Lux family, the mechs, the humans, the artillery et al - but rest assured, Cruz is more than just a survivor - he even manages to get married in the middle of a mission without his 'outlaws' being any the wiser and even losing their dignity and possibly their reputation by donning Elvis suits at the end - I loved it and I'm 'gunner' say you will too!

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a follow up to the first book in the series that I really enjoyed. While the book still represents a fun romp of a future private investigator, the colorful cast of supporting characters that was so interesting in the first book has been pushed into the deep background...very deep, in this novel. While it’s still an enjoyable read, it simply lacks the uniqueness of the original like many follow up stories.

[Mark Zodda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable story about Liquid Cool. The action is fast and I often have no idea of what is really going on, but that's what you get in when Cruz is on a case or just poking around into things. I'm looking forward to seeing how he continues to evolve (but hope that Cruz doesn't become too smug and righteous).

[Bruce Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is volume #2 in the Liquid Cool detective-noir / psyberpunk series. It's every bit as fast-paced action with loads of humour and great, if somewhat eccentric characters as volume one. I will be reading more of this series.

[Kellen Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really am still enjoying these books. I feel like I might have glossed over a part in the middle making the end a little hard to see the pieces come together. I really like the world that is being built here. I'm going to give this one another go later in this year and give a better review.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jut like the first book, this is a fun read. There was more reintroduction of the characters than seemed necessary. And it seemed like the plot was a bit more disjointed toward the end than I remembered in the first book.

[Laura Bury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep up.

A fast and quickly twisting plot. I enjoy the Easter egg literary references - like the Martian named Carter. Austin Dragon has an amazing imagination and this series is a lot of fun.

[Jacqueline Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Stellar Book!

This series gets better and better with each book!. Austin Dragon has done it. I would not be surprised to see these become movies or a tv series.

[C.A. Knutsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting new developments

The author continues to find new and interesting ways to keep the reader interested in his cyberpunk world. It was fun to read.

[Laurie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Cyberpunk

As I read this book, I was thinking that the series would make wonderful movies. Amazing book, plot and story line :)

[Ferenc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this free e-book from the author for a honest review.

First of all, let me tell you that I read this book in 2 days. Because it's that good.

The novel is the second installment of the Liquid Cool detective series. It is only loosely related to the first book (Liquid Cool: The Cyberpunk Detective Series), having the same characters and taking place in the same rain-soaked, futuristic city of Metropolis (mostly). However, reading the first novel would definitely help in understanding the characters and the world they are living in.

Compared to the first novel, this one contains far less world-building and character descriptions in it, which for me was a big plus, since I already knew where the book is taking me. Furthermore, the reading was more captivating, the story action-packed...truly a captivating read. On the negative side, the seemingly unrelated stories and characters make it difficult at first to see the bigger picture - almost halfway through the book, and I still had no idea where it was going (Admittedly, this could be a positive thing in a detective novel).

In this installment, our detective, Mr. Cruz has to solve a case involving robots, cyborgs and super-cyborgs. And of course, he masterfully saves the day. There are many characters the reader already knows from the first novel, like PJ, Run-Time, Dot or Phishy, who are there to help our main character, as always. Of course, being a new case, there are many new characters too, but thankfully, the author decided to use names that are somewhat easier to remember (as compared to the first book).

I recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good detective story, a sci-fi/cyberpunk story, or both. It has shootouts, hovercars, cyborgs, mega-corporations and uber-criminals. What else can you wish for?