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In the Future, Even the Broken Can Make a Change...
When a nascent AI hacks her holo device, Molly Bates has to think fast and get out of the military before anyone discovers what has happened. The only problem?
The swiftest way out is also the most embarrassing. Mortifyingly embarrassing.
Ever the underdog, Molly refuses to stay down. What follows is a rough and tumble adventure that takes Molly, and her team of change makers, up against an enemy with power they had not considered.
Regrouping off world they set up base on an asteroid that has its own mysteries to uncover.
Set on the foundation laid by the Kurtherian Gambit Series, Awakening tells an entirely new story in the Age of Expansion--when the Etheric Empire is fast becoming the Etheric Federation with all of the trials and tribulations that come with bringing together different peoples, systems, and ideals.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 10, 2017
1028 people are currently reading
395 people want to read
About the author
Ell Leigh Clarke
71 books126 followersRelapsing theoretical physicist, professional geek, sci fi novelist, and Doctor Who fan.
Though she is originally from England, she is mostly what her friends call a “digital nomad”, hanging in whichever country calls to her… as long as it has good wifi, and coffee.
@ellleighclarke
Official Ell Leigh Clarke Fan Club for book discussions and shenanigans: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ellle... Join Us <3
Though she is originally from England, she is mostly what her friends call a “digital nomad”, hanging in whichever country calls to her… as long as it has good wifi, and coffee.
@ellleighclarke
Official Ell Leigh Clarke Fan Club for book discussions and shenanigans: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ellle... Join Us <3
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
June 2, 2023
I have read all of Michael Anderle’s Kurtherian Gambit books but have kept away from the dozens of books that seem to have been spawned by this series. This is the first I have tried and to begin with I thought I had made a big mistake. Unfortunately, although the story does improve, it also became quite annoying.
We meet Molly right at the start of the book but learn very little about her before she has her brain hacked by an AI.
I hoped that we would find out more about her as she tried to come to terms with the AI, but I found the dialogue between the two inane and irritating. Then within a few pages she has left her job in the military and is suddenly a P.I.
Once the story gets going the AI ‘Oz’ becomes a little less annoying and we begin to get to know Molly a bit better. The problem is the story feels disjointed and it doesn’t help that Molly is so erratic and it’s difficult to make sense of some of her decisions. Bethany Ann is her big heroine, I just wish Molly was as consistent and decisive as her idol.
Part of the reason I became so annoyed with the book is every time I started to enjoy the story something would happen to irritate me again. It appears that this doesn’t bother any of the other reviewers, so it probably is just my problem.
Finally the last few chapters were a bit of an anticlimax.
We meet Molly right at the start of the book but learn very little about her before she has her brain hacked by an AI.
I hoped that we would find out more about her as she tried to come to terms with the AI, but I found the dialogue between the two inane and irritating. Then within a few pages she has left her job in the military and is suddenly a P.I.
Once the story gets going the AI ‘Oz’ becomes a little less annoying and we begin to get to know Molly a bit better. The problem is the story feels disjointed and it doesn’t help that Molly is so erratic and it’s difficult to make sense of some of her decisions. Bethany Ann is her big heroine, I just wish Molly was as consistent and decisive as her idol.
Part of the reason I became so annoyed with the book is every time I started to enjoy the story something would happen to irritate me again. It appears that this doesn’t bother any of the other reviewers, so it probably is just my problem.
Finally the last few chapters were a bit of an anticlimax.
June 16, 2017
Not Bad
The dialogue was a little stiff and awkward, and the book would have been better in first person, BUT... decent effort!
The dialogue was a little stiff and awkward, and the book would have been better in first person, BUT... decent effort!
May 20, 2017
Centuries in the future, in a galaxy far away, our heroes discover a sinister plot to trick the legislature into imposing Obamacare. Yes, really. No, they don't call it that. Yes, it's a cunning plan to force everyone to buy healthcare and then jack up the price.
The milieu is basically modern-American. The intervening centuries have left a patina of science-fictional tropes (there are space ships, weapons can be set to stun, there are aliens - though of course they are humanoid and sexually compatible), but for all the effect this has had on the way people live their lives, this book could have been placed in Chicago.
The protagonists are Molly Bates - a genius nerd, Oz - a newborn AI, and Joel - an ex-special-forces freelancer. They don't fight the sinister plot, so much as stumble on it and hustle to stay alive. It was hard to care about them, which was a pity, because the right characters could have made this book work.
The milieu is basically modern-American. The intervening centuries have left a patina of science-fictional tropes (there are space ships, weapons can be set to stun, there are aliens - though of course they are humanoid and sexually compatible), but for all the effect this has had on the way people live their lives, this book could have been placed in Chicago.
The protagonists are Molly Bates - a genius nerd, Oz - a newborn AI, and Joel - an ex-special-forces freelancer. They don't fight the sinister plot, so much as stumble on it and hustle to stay alive. It was hard to care about them, which was a pity, because the right characters could have made this book work.
May 13, 2017
Big change but agreeable!
This new series in the kurtherian world show us a different kind of heroine, one who is totally different from Valerie or Bethany-Anne. Molly felt like a work in progress, a sheltered girl with ethic issues that is released from her cage and will cause mischief. I want to know what she will become, so I guess I'll add this series to my favourite. I like the style of miss Ell, for a new author she made a good job for her first book!
Hope to continue reading about Molly and co.
This new series in the kurtherian world show us a different kind of heroine, one who is totally different from Valerie or Bethany-Anne. Molly felt like a work in progress, a sheltered girl with ethic issues that is released from her cage and will cause mischief. I want to know what she will become, so I guess I'll add this series to my favourite. I like the style of miss Ell, for a new author she made a good job for her first book!
Hope to continue reading about Molly and co.
February 8, 2024
Excellent
I admit that I was a fan of sci-fi, but I hadn't read many books in the sci-fi genre until I was introduced to this series. I absolutely fell in love with this series and all the writers of this series. I'm glad this series isn't over. I can actually read or listen to it over again and enjoy it just as much.
I admit that I was a fan of sci-fi, but I hadn't read many books in the sci-fi genre until I was introduced to this series. I absolutely fell in love with this series and all the writers of this series. I'm glad this series isn't over. I can actually read or listen to it over again and enjoy it just as much.
July 6, 2017
First word that comes to mind is
unimaginative
.
Yes Molly has her cool badass moments but that doesn't make up for how for most of the book she was either annoying or just straight-up boring. There where just way to many plot holes/inconsistencies for the book to be bearable.
Not to mention the forced dialogue and the constant giggling and laughing over things that weren't even remotely funny. Also, the author never bothered with basic character description. Like I understand leaving the reader to their imagination, but she never explained whether Joel was a human or not. It was mentioned that he was fond of the ancient human fighting style jujitsu/karate, but that doesn't really say much. How do Crash and Brock look like? Other than their name, military history and gender nothing more was said about them. Seems like knowing what kind of alien they are would be very important.
Despite my harsh criticism, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read. I liked seeing a female smart badass main character. It had so much potential. Maybe with some rigorous editing this book could've been great.
Yes Molly has her cool badass moments but that doesn't make up for how for most of the book she was either annoying or just straight-up boring. There where just way to many plot holes/inconsistencies for the book to be bearable.
Not to mention the forced dialogue and the constant giggling and laughing over things that weren't even remotely funny. Also, the author never bothered with basic character description. Like I understand leaving the reader to their imagination, but she never explained whether Joel was a human or not. It was mentioned that he was fond of the ancient human fighting style jujitsu/karate, but that doesn't really say much. How do Crash and Brock look like? Other than their name, military history and gender nothing more was said about them. Seems like knowing what kind of alien they are would be very important.
Despite my harsh criticism, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read. I liked seeing a female smart badass main character. It had so much potential. Maybe with some rigorous editing this book could've been great.
October 31, 2017
I suppose it's ok as mindless escapism and scenery chewing, but be certain to keep your brain switched off the entire time. It shows the protagonist as incapable of dealing with personnel issues and management, but her assistant keeps telling her what a good job she's doing and apparently meaning it. Protagonist declines to take a tactical option because then the opposition would know who it was, when a congenital idiot could and would figure it out. She verbally and threatens an antagonist in his den, completely unprepared should the antagonist decide to act, which he should have and inexplicable did not. Seriously, the protagonists in this book are all dumber than than rocks, the antagonists are even stupider, and anyone that stupid on either side should have been dealt with by third parties a long time ago.
I will not be reading any more of this author's books. Ever.
I will not be reading any more of this author's books. Ever.
April 19, 2018
This a pretty interesting story about a girl trying to figure out herself. I do like the fact that the side characters are just as memorable as the Mc is. If book 2 is half as good as this book, I can see myself getting invested in this series.
Long story short. Girl is super smart, but socially awkward. Girl is runs away from her past. Joins the military. Is too smart for the military and gets booted. Then starts a company to help change the galaxy....oh...btw, she also has a fully intelligent A.I. with her helping her out. Making them both more human in the process while also learning to deal with her past.
yeah.....and the A.I. is snarky af.
Long story short. Girl is super smart, but socially awkward. Girl is runs away from her past. Joins the military. Is too smart for the military and gets booted. Then starts a company to help change the galaxy....oh...btw, she also has a fully intelligent A.I. with her helping her out. Making them both more human in the process while also learning to deal with her past.
yeah.....and the A.I. is snarky af.
April 8, 2020
I enjoyed this book pretty well, but there were things about it that made the reading experience not as enjoyable. First, I was confused about the timeline. Based on the timeline from the Kurtherian site, I was led to believe this book took place soon after the end of the Kurtherian Gambit series. However, this book mentions BA having not been seen in years, but she had made a public appearance right at the end of the Kurtherian Gambit series. That meant it had only been a few years since BA should have last been seen, not a large amount of years like this book made it seem. This book also mentioned the planet featured having been colonized centuries ago, and its makeup was of several species including humans. Humans had only been outside of Earth for something like a bit over 170 years when the Kurtherian Gambit series ended, so I don't know how it would have been centuries for this planet to have been colonized unless humans were a somewhat new addition. It sounded like the planet was colonized with humans at its origins though. This just confused me like crazy. It was like Ell Leigh Clarke had no idea when in the timeline this book was supposed to take place and so made it seem all over the place. A second annoyance with the book was that the whole AI thing seemed confusing in presentation in addition to being a bit like a copy of Tom or ADAM in BA's head. It had been mentioned that EIs existed on this planet, and in the Kurtherian Gambit series, it had been mentioned that EIs could evolve into AIs. Adam being an AI was hidden knowledge, but the ability of EIs to evolve into AIs didn't seem to be hidden knowledge. Still, with this book, the AI that got into Molly's head was viewed by her as the first AI. I don't know how she would think this if her planet knew about EIs. It should have become common knowledge, at least among EI/AI researchers that AIs did exist and could evolve from EIs. Given that Molly was something of a computer scientist, she should have known that her AI is not the first. Maybe Ell Leigh Clarke was not informed by Michael Anderle that multiple AIs have been introduced into the Kurtherian Gambit timeline by this point, and it was Ell Leigh Clarke's ignorance being transferred onto Molly rather than an actual fault with Molly. The whole AI suddenly appearing in a head and developing a personality over time was a total copy of Tom and then Adam with BA from the Kurtherian Gambit series. I still enjoyed it, but it seemed unoriginal. The last thing that bothered me with this book wasn't really a bother but something I was wondering about and too lazy to look up. The planet's name reminded me of the planet from the Bad Company book called Blockade, but I wasn't sure if it was the same planet. I read Blockade before this even though Blockade may take place after. If it is the same planet, I am hoping to hear about some elements from Blockade appearing in this series. That book had more original things than this one. Still, this book was a fun read.
Oh, one last weird thing about this book was talk of the etheric. They mentioned one of the races having a connection to the etheric that awakened upon death. I thought the etheric was something that only the Kurtherians and those affected by them really knew about, so I am wondering what the deal is. Is this race one that had been affected by the Kurtherians before, or are they some sort of aberration in the Kurtherian Universe? Did Ell Leigh Clarke intentionally create an aberration for the universe, or was it intentional?
Oh, one last weird thing about this book was talk of the etheric. They mentioned one of the races having a connection to the etheric that awakened upon death. I thought the etheric was something that only the Kurtherians and those affected by them really knew about, so I am wondering what the deal is. Is this race one that had been affected by the Kurtherians before, or are they some sort of aberration in the Kurtherian Universe? Did Ell Leigh Clarke intentionally create an aberration for the universe, or was it intentional?
June 2, 2017
Passable SF
Good points:
- The protagonist is a moderately interesting character.
- This author, unlike Michael Anderle, has fairly good grammar skills, at least self-edits proactively. I'm not entirely sure I found even one error throughout the novel!
Improvement points:
- Dialog generally felt forced, to me, and sometimes a bit awkward.
- Pacing wasn't handled well. There were many times when I wondered how the current details were moving a story along. Reminded me of a Rifftraxed movie I watched where the main character was shown to be walking, and then walking more, and then walking yet more, and the Riffers were wondering how these scenes contributed to the movie. An example, in this novel, was when supplies were to be delivered to a spaceship. For a moment, I thought there would be an actual plot point regarding the supplies being late, but...they were just late, lol.
- This may just be a matter of style and personal opinion, rather than technique, but I thought views were switched out too fast and easily. There were many scenes where Molly and Joel would be in a room together and the points of view would switch between them every other sentence or two. To me, this is jarring, and I have to scramble to keep up with where I'm at in the story. This style makes perfect sense in a MOVIE, but not in a novel, where we are, essentially, living in the character whose point of view we are using. Having definite starts and ends for each character's point of view makes it easier to transition. I hated fast point of view switching when the Dragonlance authors used it, decades ago, and it still bothers me. One point of view, one scene.
- Character motivation... I think the author, here, was attempting to set up a Batman style motivation, but kinda missed on it. I'm not sure that ONE event where she screwed up and got her parents into trouble, and almost killed, equals a crusade motivation against people like those that came to kill them. It was one event, where she believes SHE was responsible. I think the protagonist would be more motivated to NOT get involved in the world's troubles, for fear she'd screw it up further (I may be projecting, heh). I don't believe parental death would be required for a Batman style origin, but perhaps years of being cheated by those in power should have been presented, or something similar.
Other comments:
- Not sure why this needed to be presented as a Kurtherian Gambit related novel. Barring a couple of off-hand references, this could have been in anyone's universe.
- The author is doing well for a first start and had the guts to put a novel out there. With a bit of tuning, this novel could be a fairly good one.
Good points:
- The protagonist is a moderately interesting character.
- This author, unlike Michael Anderle, has fairly good grammar skills, at least self-edits proactively. I'm not entirely sure I found even one error throughout the novel!
Improvement points:
- Dialog generally felt forced, to me, and sometimes a bit awkward.
- Pacing wasn't handled well. There were many times when I wondered how the current details were moving a story along. Reminded me of a Rifftraxed movie I watched where the main character was shown to be walking, and then walking more, and then walking yet more, and the Riffers were wondering how these scenes contributed to the movie. An example, in this novel, was when supplies were to be delivered to a spaceship. For a moment, I thought there would be an actual plot point regarding the supplies being late, but...they were just late, lol.
- This may just be a matter of style and personal opinion, rather than technique, but I thought views were switched out too fast and easily. There were many scenes where Molly and Joel would be in a room together and the points of view would switch between them every other sentence or two. To me, this is jarring, and I have to scramble to keep up with where I'm at in the story. This style makes perfect sense in a MOVIE, but not in a novel, where we are, essentially, living in the character whose point of view we are using. Having definite starts and ends for each character's point of view makes it easier to transition. I hated fast point of view switching when the Dragonlance authors used it, decades ago, and it still bothers me. One point of view, one scene.
- Character motivation... I think the author, here, was attempting to set up a Batman style motivation, but kinda missed on it. I'm not sure that ONE event where she screwed up and got her parents into trouble, and almost killed, equals a crusade motivation against people like those that came to kill them. It was one event, where she believes SHE was responsible. I think the protagonist would be more motivated to NOT get involved in the world's troubles, for fear she'd screw it up further (I may be projecting, heh). I don't believe parental death would be required for a Batman style origin, but perhaps years of being cheated by those in power should have been presented, or something similar.
Other comments:
- Not sure why this needed to be presented as a Kurtherian Gambit related novel. Barring a couple of off-hand references, this could have been in anyone's universe.
- The author is doing well for a first start and had the guts to put a novel out there. With a bit of tuning, this novel could be a fairly good one.
May 13, 2017
Who do i have to bribe for the sequel??
I find myself struggling to figure out how to start this review. Maybe I should be giving myself a chance to digest this book first, or wait until I've reread it three or four times like the main TKG books, but I really feel this book deserves feedback at the earliest possible moment.
Initially, I felt like the story got a bit of a slow start. I wasn't bored, by any stretch, but I wasn't feeling that wonderful "hooked" feeling, either. That changed somewhere in the middle of the scene where Joel was waiting out the bots while Molly and Oz were back in the vehicle. You'll see...it isn't all that far into the book!
From that point on, I felt like I'd just hopped on a fantastic ride at an amusement park, and I sort of resentfully watched the percentage left to read decreasing, far too rapidly.
I'm guessing that for many TKG fans, there's a bit of trepidation each time a new author or new arc joins the universe. Michael Anderle is good at giving his readers a sense of ownership over the stories and the people in them. We have high expectations of those who want to write in our favorite Universe... thankfully, Michael is an attentive guardian who picks no one but the best. And Ell Leigh Clarke is definitely one of those!
I still can't believe this is her first foray into writing fiction. She is a natural!
I adore her main character, Molly. As much as I love Bethany Anne from the main TKG arc, I can't truly relate to a tail-kicking superhuman with stunning good looks and a penchant for expensive shoes. But a geek, who is broken and socially inept, but smart enough to know those things about herself? Well heck, I've known her for most of my 46 years on this Earth.
What I'm left with, just a few short minutes after reading the author notes in the book, is a simple question...who do I have to bribe to get the sequel in my grubby little mitts? By yesterday would be good!
I find myself struggling to figure out how to start this review. Maybe I should be giving myself a chance to digest this book first, or wait until I've reread it three or four times like the main TKG books, but I really feel this book deserves feedback at the earliest possible moment.
Initially, I felt like the story got a bit of a slow start. I wasn't bored, by any stretch, but I wasn't feeling that wonderful "hooked" feeling, either. That changed somewhere in the middle of the scene where Joel was waiting out the bots while Molly and Oz were back in the vehicle. You'll see...it isn't all that far into the book!
From that point on, I felt like I'd just hopped on a fantastic ride at an amusement park, and I sort of resentfully watched the percentage left to read decreasing, far too rapidly.
I'm guessing that for many TKG fans, there's a bit of trepidation each time a new author or new arc joins the universe. Michael Anderle is good at giving his readers a sense of ownership over the stories and the people in them. We have high expectations of those who want to write in our favorite Universe... thankfully, Michael is an attentive guardian who picks no one but the best. And Ell Leigh Clarke is definitely one of those!
I still can't believe this is her first foray into writing fiction. She is a natural!
I adore her main character, Molly. As much as I love Bethany Anne from the main TKG arc, I can't truly relate to a tail-kicking superhuman with stunning good looks and a penchant for expensive shoes. But a geek, who is broken and socially inept, but smart enough to know those things about herself? Well heck, I've known her for most of my 46 years on this Earth.
What I'm left with, just a few short minutes after reading the author notes in the book, is a simple question...who do I have to bribe to get the sequel in my grubby little mitts? By yesterday would be good!
February 24, 2018
Absolutely Wonderful Book!
First off, I wrote Elle a message midway through this book asking her some inane questions! (Sorry 😶). After reading and listening (immersion style as I like to say), I understand completely and thoroughly, I mean who, besides myself, would write the author halfway through and basically say, BTW what's the book about?!? It's hard to get the Army out of the boy! I thought I heard some Doctor Who type references in there. When I listened to the author notes and you said Timey Wimey in your comments i said yep and cool, I am a long time Who fan going back to the fourth Doctor, but that's not what this review is about, oh one more A theoretical Physicist, more cool. The reason finally I love it, is. Molly figuring out her place in space (LOFL) and that she wants justice for those that are trodden upon, and oppressed (The reason I joined the Army and what I did once I got there) I can relate to when I was 17 and wanted to help the oppressed, which is the reason I went in the direction I did de opresso liber (freedom from oppression). This is what I see Molly and her merry band of misfits doing, I say that in jest because they're bad ass! She is like BA in a way, now that a physicist is writing this one there is some real science in there with Galaxy names, etc. This review isn't one of my normal ones. This book was just great at setting things up, I'm on my Kindle Fire and towards the end it pops up when you have the next book in the series and says Read now? Hell yeah, it's 0400 (4 am) and I am ready for more and since I'm disabled and can't work I can read anytime I like. This happened with the first KGB Series, I see a pattern here and that is these books are great! Thanks Elle, keep em coming,and thanks Michael for finding her...
First off, I wrote Elle a message midway through this book asking her some inane questions! (Sorry 😶). After reading and listening (immersion style as I like to say), I understand completely and thoroughly, I mean who, besides myself, would write the author halfway through and basically say, BTW what's the book about?!? It's hard to get the Army out of the boy! I thought I heard some Doctor Who type references in there. When I listened to the author notes and you said Timey Wimey in your comments i said yep and cool, I am a long time Who fan going back to the fourth Doctor, but that's not what this review is about, oh one more A theoretical Physicist, more cool. The reason finally I love it, is. Molly figuring out her place in space (LOFL) and that she wants justice for those that are trodden upon, and oppressed (The reason I joined the Army and what I did once I got there) I can relate to when I was 17 and wanted to help the oppressed, which is the reason I went in the direction I did de opresso liber (freedom from oppression). This is what I see Molly and her merry band of misfits doing, I say that in jest because they're bad ass! She is like BA in a way, now that a physicist is writing this one there is some real science in there with Galaxy names, etc. This review isn't one of my normal ones. This book was just great at setting things up, I'm on my Kindle Fire and towards the end it pops up when you have the next book in the series and says Read now? Hell yeah, it's 0400 (4 am) and I am ready for more and since I'm disabled and can't work I can read anytime I like. This happened with the first KGB Series, I see a pattern here and that is these books are great! Thanks Elle, keep em coming,and thanks Michael for finding her...
July 12, 2018
Excellent beginnings of what,hopefully will be another amazing series
Very different from what we've seen in the KGU so far.
No one is a super soldier. No one is trying to save the galaxy. There are no vampires or weres.
What we do have is a protagonist with depth, and possibly a slight case of Asperger's Syndrome who is learning about herself, her strengths and flaws, and is trying to become a better person. Taking what some consider to be a disability and turning it into her greatest strength.
She has started to surround herself with a competent crew who appear to have her best interests, and those they choose to help, at the forefront of what they do.
She's not a leader...yet, but is tying to model herself after the Queen Bitch herself. A lofty and laudable goal, especially for someone who doesn't quite understand people yet.
The only major issue that i have is in the first half of the book. Specifically, the translations. Since we already know that the characters aren't speaking in English (or whichever language that you are reading this in) there is no need to add made up words and then translate them. It's a sign of a new author, and I'm glad that Mx Clarke has already gotten past it.
All in all, i expect this series to be as enthralling as the others.
Mr Anderle has had the great fortune to enlist authors who are as dedicated to this universe as he is. Ad Adternatatum!
Very different from what we've seen in the KGU so far.
No one is a super soldier. No one is trying to save the galaxy. There are no vampires or weres.
What we do have is a protagonist with depth, and possibly a slight case of Asperger's Syndrome who is learning about herself, her strengths and flaws, and is trying to become a better person. Taking what some consider to be a disability and turning it into her greatest strength.
She has started to surround herself with a competent crew who appear to have her best interests, and those they choose to help, at the forefront of what they do.
She's not a leader...yet, but is tying to model herself after the Queen Bitch herself. A lofty and laudable goal, especially for someone who doesn't quite understand people yet.
The only major issue that i have is in the first half of the book. Specifically, the translations. Since we already know that the characters aren't speaking in English (or whichever language that you are reading this in) there is no need to add made up words and then translate them. It's a sign of a new author, and I'm glad that Mx Clarke has already gotten past it.
All in all, i expect this series to be as enthralling as the others.
Mr Anderle has had the great fortune to enlist authors who are as dedicated to this universe as he is. Ad Adternatatum!
July 19, 2017
My problems with this book are myriad, but I'll stick to the big issues:
1) The book takes place on a planet that accepted a few humans 150 years prior, most of the characters are non-human, but ALL the characters have human names, to include surnames. Why are there aliens names William, Henry, Erik, etc. I can kinda accept the half-human being named Paige since the name could have come from her human parent, but still, it's ridiculous.
2) The author spends a lot of time telling us how smart and awesome the MC is, but it just doesn't work. SHOW me, don't tell me. She comes off as yet another forgettable Mary Sue. She's good at everything and everyone loves her.
3) The AI is supposed to something that never existed, but they have EIs and there was the AI in the original series, and he wasn't exactly a state secret. The dialogue with the AI gets old very quickly.
4) The author is trying to create yet another Bethany Anne clone. We have plenty of those in the main series and some of the spin-off series, we don't need another one. I would have preferred to not have another super-attractive, good at everything, foul-mouthed, super ninja. It's a played out trope.
1) The book takes place on a planet that accepted a few humans 150 years prior, most of the characters are non-human, but ALL the characters have human names, to include surnames. Why are there aliens names William, Henry, Erik, etc. I can kinda accept the half-human being named Paige since the name could have come from her human parent, but still, it's ridiculous.
2) The author spends a lot of time telling us how smart and awesome the MC is, but it just doesn't work. SHOW me, don't tell me. She comes off as yet another forgettable Mary Sue. She's good at everything and everyone loves her.
3) The AI is supposed to something that never existed, but they have EIs and there was the AI in the original series, and he wasn't exactly a state secret. The dialogue with the AI gets old very quickly.
4) The author is trying to create yet another Bethany Anne clone. We have plenty of those in the main series and some of the spin-off series, we don't need another one. I would have preferred to not have another super-attractive, good at everything, foul-mouthed, super ninja. It's a played out trope.
January 31, 2020
Weak sauce.
This story, set several hundred years in the future, could be translated to North America 20 years ago with only minor editing. A self-driving car is shocking and unusual. They can't translate common languages on the fly. People are tracked-down by canvassing door to door.
In the first chapter, we are introduced to a ground-breaking A.I. which arrives fully mature, but for some reason, halts its development at the human level. No singularity for you. At one point the story goes on for more than five chapters but the author seems to forget the A.I. entirely. Its whole job in the book is to act as a problem-solving MacGuffin.
The sci-fi elements are just bad. Species from different planetary biomes can apparently have viable offspring... because "DNA and science and stuff." The good-guys are adopted by an alien creature that is, in all important ways, identical to a cat. A half-assed romance is attempted between the two leads but it feels forced. I could go on and on with a list of formulaic tropes but I'm done.
This story, set several hundred years in the future, could be translated to North America 20 years ago with only minor editing. A self-driving car is shocking and unusual. They can't translate common languages on the fly. People are tracked-down by canvassing door to door.
In the first chapter, we are introduced to a ground-breaking A.I. which arrives fully mature, but for some reason, halts its development at the human level. No singularity for you. At one point the story goes on for more than five chapters but the author seems to forget the A.I. entirely. Its whole job in the book is to act as a problem-solving MacGuffin.
The sci-fi elements are just bad. Species from different planetary biomes can apparently have viable offspring... because "DNA and science and stuff." The good-guys are adopted by an alien creature that is, in all important ways, identical to a cat. A half-assed romance is attempted between the two leads but it feels forced. I could go on and on with a list of formulaic tropes but I'm done.
May 19, 2017
Can't wait for the next book!
Ok, let me just state that I am a huge Michael Anderle fan. I have literally read every book in his rapidly expanding universe, and I am beyond thrilled with Awakened: Age of Expansion. I think it has great potential to be my favorite series in the Kutherian Universe except for the main/ original arc. I really enjoy reading a book where the MC doesn't have all the answers and shows great potential for growth in all aspects of his/her life... Even better, she's a nerd!
So, Ms. Clarke, I am very eagerly awaiting the next book in your series because I literally read your first one in ONE sitting. I couldn't put it down to even eat. Thank God I didn't have plans for tonight because nothing got done except your book. Keep up the amazingly good work!
Ok, let me just state that I am a huge Michael Anderle fan. I have literally read every book in his rapidly expanding universe, and I am beyond thrilled with Awakened: Age of Expansion. I think it has great potential to be my favorite series in the Kutherian Universe except for the main/ original arc. I really enjoy reading a book where the MC doesn't have all the answers and shows great potential for growth in all aspects of his/her life... Even better, she's a nerd!
So, Ms. Clarke, I am very eagerly awaiting the next book in your series because I literally read your first one in ONE sitting. I couldn't put it down to even eat. Thank God I didn't have plans for tonight because nothing got done except your book. Keep up the amazingly good work!
August 20, 2018
Sorry. I didn't like Molly.
I made it through 15% of the book. I didn't appreciate the character of the main character. She has no moral fiber, no integrity, no compassion and is entirely self-centered. She is a typically over-powered character (in the Kurtherian universe), but lacks the pathos that makes some of the other similar characters bearable. There is a substantial backstory that was disclosed too slowly, making it difficult to follow the plot and character motivations. The dialogue was juvenile, puerile, and sloppy including an endlessly annoying dialogue between the main character and her ridiculous AI. If you haven't read most of the Kurtherian Gambit books, most of this won't make any sense. If you like this style, I recommend the Brownstone books by the same author.
I made it through 15% of the book. I didn't appreciate the character of the main character. She has no moral fiber, no integrity, no compassion and is entirely self-centered. She is a typically over-powered character (in the Kurtherian universe), but lacks the pathos that makes some of the other similar characters bearable. There is a substantial backstory that was disclosed too slowly, making it difficult to follow the plot and character motivations. The dialogue was juvenile, puerile, and sloppy including an endlessly annoying dialogue between the main character and her ridiculous AI. If you haven't read most of the Kurtherian Gambit books, most of this won't make any sense. If you like this style, I recommend the Brownstone books by the same author.
March 5, 2019
Great introduction to an excellent series. This series is an offshoot from the Kurtherian series that stats with Death Becomes Her. I happened to read this series before I read any of the Bethany Ann books, so I was a bit in the dark at first, but it didn't really matter when all was said and done (or read). This is a stand alone series that has some characters in common with the Bethany Ann series.
Overall, the plot line develops well throughout the series and is a great addition to the Kurtherian universe. In my opinion, this is one of the better written series that I have read over the last six months. If you've read any of the other Kurtherian series, you should enjoy this one.
I went through each of the books in this series in about three days each, while working full time. Sleep is overrated.
Overall, the plot line develops well throughout the series and is a great addition to the Kurtherian universe. In my opinion, this is one of the better written series that I have read over the last six months. If you've read any of the other Kurtherian series, you should enjoy this one.
I went through each of the books in this series in about three days each, while working full time. Sleep is overrated.
April 19, 2022
I wasn't quite sure where this book was going, at first, although I immediately felt for Molly in her predicaments. But it didn't take me long to really latch on to this story, and roll with it, and I'm so glad that I did.
I'm very much looking forwards to reading further about Molly, Joel, and the gang and, with a twelve book series, I'm all excited about where it's going to go, too.
But, in the meantime, I look at my reading list, and see that I've got yet another new series to start reading, before continuing on with this one.
I'll be hopping over to the first book of the Vigilante Chronicles: Vigilante. I haven't a clue what it's about, despite buying the books when I first discovered the Kurtherian Universe series, so many weeks ago now, so I guess this is another step into the dark.
But, if it's anywhere near as good as Awakened has been, I'll be one very grateful reader!
I'm very much looking forwards to reading further about Molly, Joel, and the gang and, with a twelve book series, I'm all excited about where it's going to go, too.
But, in the meantime, I look at my reading list, and see that I've got yet another new series to start reading, before continuing on with this one.
I'll be hopping over to the first book of the Vigilante Chronicles: Vigilante. I haven't a clue what it's about, despite buying the books when I first discovered the Kurtherian Universe series, so many weeks ago now, so I guess this is another step into the dark.
But, if it's anywhere near as good as Awakened has been, I'll be one very grateful reader!
January 12, 2018
A review of this would be muddled so I'll come back to it because I liked it enough to listen to the next one. This is more a reminder to myself
I had issues with the narrator - she sounds quite the wrong age for our heroine and it kept throwing me out of the story. I also disliked how every character she wasn't sure about had a horrendous cockney/mockney or estuary accent.. however she read competently - other points not withstanding.
I also had issues with the lack of constant characterisation - some just did random things for no apparent reason. And the poor world-building ... god Ilona Andrews could teach some of these people sooooo much.
All that said - the story was interesting I'm going to try the next one and then decide.
I had issues with the narrator - she sounds quite the wrong age for our heroine and it kept throwing me out of the story. I also disliked how every character she wasn't sure about had a horrendous cockney/mockney or estuary accent.. however she read competently - other points not withstanding.
I also had issues with the lack of constant characterisation - some just did random things for no apparent reason. And the poor world-building ... god Ilona Andrews could teach some of these people sooooo much.
All that said - the story was interesting I'm going to try the next one and then decide.
July 21, 2018
Well, as far as reviews goes, this one is going to be kind of weak, because I am 7.5 books into the series (if you include Giles) and am finally getting around to writing the reviews. How good is Ell? About as good as it gets, if you are not a fan yet, you will be. I am pretty good about reviewing books as I read them, it means a lot to the author and it means a lot to me as the reader that they at least get some acknowledgement from me for a job well done, other than when i get to fan boy out on them at conventions. How good is this series? I am 8 books in and I am FINALLY making time for reviews, that is how good it is. ENJOY!!
May 14, 2017
Exciting, Fun Read
Molly is a sympathetic compelling super genius still finding her moral compass. Fortunately she has Joel and her AI. Her AI came into being while she was experimenting with writing computer code while drinking. Unknown to her at the time, the AI came into sentience attached to her mind. I really liked the references to Bethany Ann who is her idol. I like the humor and creative use of swearing. Is Gaitune-67 actually the Meredith Reynolds Base? The book really gripped me and I am anxious for the next book.
Molly is a sympathetic compelling super genius still finding her moral compass. Fortunately she has Joel and her AI. Her AI came into being while she was experimenting with writing computer code while drinking. Unknown to her at the time, the AI came into sentience attached to her mind. I really liked the references to Bethany Ann who is her idol. I like the humor and creative use of swearing. Is Gaitune-67 actually the Meredith Reynolds Base? The book really gripped me and I am anxious for the next book.
July 7, 2017
Way to go Ell!
Molly- representing all us clever but socially unblessed ones she took me by surprise! I was expecting mini-BA but she's just like any of us, trying to do what's right in a world that makes no sense. Blending seamlessly into the KGU I felt at home from the beginning of Awakened and I can't wait to find out what BA left behind the door in the basement and getting to know more about the other characters (the fortune teller? Intriguing...). As always, love the author's notes at the end and the addition from Oz was awesome!
Molly- representing all us clever but socially unblessed ones she took me by surprise! I was expecting mini-BA but she's just like any of us, trying to do what's right in a world that makes no sense. Blending seamlessly into the KGU I felt at home from the beginning of Awakened and I can't wait to find out what BA left behind the door in the basement and getting to know more about the other characters (the fortune teller? Intriguing...). As always, love the author's notes at the end and the addition from Oz was awesome!
February 1, 2019
What you have here is a science fiction book about a woman (Molly) whose brain is interwoven with an artificial intelligence. She has left the military and teams with a guy named Jack. Together they set off on a plan to right wrongs, particularly those done by a group called The Syndicate. They recruit others, get their own spaceship, relocate, have a series of run-ins with the evil Syndicate people, and continue to make plans for the future.
It just never really captured my interest. The interplay of the AI and Molly's mind was interesting but rest of the book was so-so
It just never really captured my interest. The interplay of the AI and Molly's mind was interesting but rest of the book was so-so
May 13, 2023
Go Molly!
And back again to Michael's universe! Enjoying our young Molly and her trek into space, and away from the evil politicians with time and plots on their hands. I loved her issue of ethics, and having ethics get redefined to suit her needs. How well people justify half-truths and live well with it. So Molly needs to research her methods so she can continue as a "fair" and trusted confidant and build trust in herself and others as she tries to right wrongs a d save their world. Not a bad goal.
And back again to Michael's universe! Enjoying our young Molly and her trek into space, and away from the evil politicians with time and plots on their hands. I loved her issue of ethics, and having ethics get redefined to suit her needs. How well people justify half-truths and live well with it. So Molly needs to research her methods so she can continue as a "fair" and trusted confidant and build trust in herself and others as she tries to right wrongs a d save their world. Not a bad goal.
May 12, 2017
Awesome
Awakened is an awesome story by new comer Ell Leigh Clarke, and the heroine Flight Sergeant Molly Bates is a young woman who was broken in spirit, and seemingly drifting through life. Molly is a wonderful combination of Bethany Anne and Tabitha, and yet unique in her own way. Loved reading her first adventure and I am awaiting her next one. Highly recommend this book as a wonderful addition to the TKG Universe.
Awakened is an awesome story by new comer Ell Leigh Clarke, and the heroine Flight Sergeant Molly Bates is a young woman who was broken in spirit, and seemingly drifting through life. Molly is a wonderful combination of Bethany Anne and Tabitha, and yet unique in her own way. Loved reading her first adventure and I am awaiting her next one. Highly recommend this book as a wonderful addition to the TKG Universe.
May 15, 2017
Really Good Reading!
I have eagerly read all of the KG series as each came out. A fast reader, I generally finish each book the day I get it. I have always been an avid reader but now that I am retired I am obsessive!
This new addition to the KG empire is one of the best yet. Fast paced, fun, great action and quality writing style combine to make Awakened a book well worth reading.
I have eagerly read all of the KG series as each came out. A fast reader, I generally finish each book the day I get it. I have always been an avid reader but now that I am retired I am obsessive!
This new addition to the KG empire is one of the best yet. Fast paced, fun, great action and quality writing style combine to make Awakened a book well worth reading.
June 2, 2020
This was a fantastic story in a well written book! Anything I have read, involving Michael Anderle with the outstanding co-authors he picks has been top notch material! High kudos to Ell Leigh Clarke for taking on a character (Molly) and yet professing to know so little about Science Fiction. For someone who didn't write Science-Fiction before, she did a sweet job of it. I highly recommend this book!
May 12, 2017
For those that read Bethany Ann...know that another has been found.
A little off beat, a little off course but totally going to kick your butt. Molly is struggling to find herself and trying hard to be right. Even when she slips she wants to be right. These book is a great beginning to adventure.
A little off beat, a little off course but totally going to kick your butt. Molly is struggling to find herself and trying hard to be right. Even when she slips she wants to be right. These book is a great beginning to adventure.
May 12, 2017
I enjoyed this book a lot, especially molly. She's very different from most of The Kurtherian Gambit characters I'm used to from this universe. She is someone who still has a lot of growing to do as a person and as a leader.
I'm not normally a person who takes time to write reviews, but I had to put out there how much I loved this book and looking forward to reading more from this series.
I'm not normally a person who takes time to write reviews, but I had to put out there how much I loved this book and looking forward to reading more from this series.
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