The Golem Cypher: T.R.I.X.

by B.V. Bayly

Once one of the best assassins in the galaxy, Cadell is now the hunted.

The Ascendency, the ruling galactic empire and Cadell’s ex-employer, has stripped him of everything and placed a significant bounty on his head. Forced to live with the shadows of his past, Cadell hides on the backwater planets of the outer rim. Away from anyone who would recognize him.

When his old friend and mentor, Salis, dangles a job in front of him that will get him an Ascendency pardon and let him clear his name, Cadell is ready to take it on. Armed with his constant companion, a strange alien symbiote named T.R.I.X. and his skills as an assassin, Cadell sets off to complete the strange job.

How hard could it be?

But before long a crude Bounty Hunter, named Jacko, is on his trail with a squad of elite Ascendency soldiers at his command. Dead or alive, they will stop at nothing to find Cadell. His situation worsens as he narrowly escapes capture and arrives at his destination only to find every Bounty Hunter in the galaxy converging on the same planet. Despite the odds stacked against him, Cadell fortifies his resolve and unleashes T.R.I.X. to deal with anyone standing between him and completing the job.

As he gets closer to regaining his freedom, friends and enemies become blurred, and the noose around his neck tightens.

393 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2017

About the author

B.V. Bayly is an exciting up and coming new author on the science fiction scene. His writing is a mix of comic action and science fiction.

Bayly’s series Eden’s Ore hit the market as a huge surprise. The first book in the series, Eden’s Ore: Secrets, thrilled both readers and reviewers in the UK and across North America. The dystopian series is about the world going dark as it runs out of energy, a newly discovered ore with its ability to produce unlimited energy, and the dark secret the ore carries with it that tears the world apart.

Reviews

[Francene Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like action, this is the novel for you. I can envisage each scene in my mind’s eye as if BV has mentally shifted his vision right to my imagination. The concept resembles some of the mind-leaps in the novel; the way the main character Cadell communicates with the alien being who is part of him—body and mind; the link between the alien spacecraft and it’s pilot.

Without any regard for his looks, and disregarding each new pain his body endures, Cadell surpasses his mixed-human counterparts, and has little sympathy for their weakness until a woman with similar mental abilities lowers his defense enough to be able to understand her perspective.

I felt empathy for the unique, and so far foreign in type, character, so, understanding his motives, I wanted him to succeed and achieve his goals. BC Bayly’s clever writing of the events only his conception could perceive left me enthralled in the technology of worlds and situations I have no knowledge of.

At the end of the gripping novel, where Cadell achieved his goal, I longed for more.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way way better than I was expecting from a free promo copy. Absolutely captivating and works with some really deep issues within a brilliantly created universe. I cannot wait for the next book, and highly recommend it - do not be put off by the lousy blurb which was written by a less-than brilliant editor.

[Dionne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

I have to say, this was a wonderful story. I loved Cadell and Trix. They make up a great team. They both want the same thing and it endeared me to this story. I'm looking forward to reading more about them, and Kirin.

[Carole O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good Science Fiction story from beginning to the end, plenty of action, I am not one to give spoilers, but I will say it is well worth buying this book, I really enjoyed it.

[Ryne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one took me while to get through. I love the relationship between Cadell and Trix. It's similar to Agent Venom from the Spider Man comics, in that there's a disabled soldier that forms a bond with a shape-shifting organism. I like that the "aliens" are all mutated humans, except for Trix who is in fact an alien life form. The action is really well written, especially when The Golem becomes involved. The plot dragged for me because I hadn't developed a connection with Cadell and Trix until about a third of the way through, when Sanctia is introduced. Her relationship with our two protagonists breathes new life into the story, giving it a sense of stakes and immediacy. It does slow back down for a bit after that, but by then I was invested in the fates of these characters.