Welcome to the Madhouse

The Grace Lord #1

by S.E. Sasaki

NOTE: Alternate cover edition for ASIN B01LZC73OT.

A science fiction thriller in which a young surgeon, Dr. Grace Alexandra Lord, must adjust to life on the Conglomerate's Premier Medical Space Station, the Nelson Mandela. Hired by the galaxy-renowned animal adaptations specialist, Dr. Hiro Al-Fadi, she is stalked by strange androids, courted by a gorgeous psychiatrist, attacked and pursued by bestial patients, and harangued by a mentor with Megalomaniac Hyperactivity Disorder, Grace must race to find a cure for a lethal agent that cant destroy all organic life int eh galaxy. Oh, and she must NEVER be late for the Operating Room!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Medical, Science Fiction Fantasy

436 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2015

About the author

I am a physician surgical assistant by day, evening, weekend, and holiday - which means I help the surgeons with their operations around the clock, whenever they need me - and a writer the rest of the time I am awake. I am cameraman, retractor holder, second pair of hands, and Girl Friday in the OR (another nice euphemism for slave ;D). I practised as a GP for over twenty years in a small rural town in Southern Ontario, Canada after doing stints in research in Ecology and Neurophysiology. When I am not trying to catch up on my sleep or getting dragged around the countryside by my wild and crazy Alaskan Malamute, I write science fiction, fantasy, and create fantastical collages, (which can be found on my website: http://www.sesasaki.com, if you are interested). Welcome to the Madhouse is the first in a series of science fiction books based on the trials and tribulations of a medical space station.

Reviews

[Molly Mortensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ratings: Rape (Only in the prologue. I recommend skipping the prologue entirely.) Mild grossness.

I’ve never read an indie book with so few errors!

The real excitement doesn’t get going until after the halfway point. But it wasn’t boring and because the time was taken to establish the characters, I could properly worry about them. (The tech to resurrect people made things less scary, though I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.)

The Good:

It’s been a while since a book called to me, and this one certainly did. I also lost a bit of sleep on this one. (I suddenly realized it was 3am and the book was over..) I even laughed aloud a few times!

Normally a book has to have magic or super powers to get 8 stars out of me, but Madhouse gets it for characters alone! The characters were all so well done and fleshed out! A nurse who had only two scenes somehow felt like a person. And even the space station AI had personality! (He was a hoot!)

The relationship between the chief surgeon, Al-Fadi, and his anesthesiologist was easily one if the best parts of the book! Though a bit over the top, their constant bickering, joking relationship felt very real to me.

The entire book takes place on the space station the Nelson Mandela. (Or the madhouse as Dr. Al-Fadi calls it.) Most of the world building is confined to what is important to the doctors, but I enjoyed the hints we got about the rest of the world as mankind explores the stars. (and makes war.) One of the coolest parts of this world was the genetically adapted soldiers! Some were part wolf or tiger, or even part orca and they were not only described well, but thought really went into what these people’s lives would be like.

The best way to describe the mood would be Doctor Who. Comedy mixed with tragedy and some potentially scary scenes. (To me a virus that liquefies people is very frightening, but this isn’t horror.) The mixing of comedy and thriller is hard to do so that the comedy doesn’t lesson the stakes, but Madhouse did it well. (I laughed, I was scared, then I laughed!)

The Bad:

It was love at first sight… On the part of the robot! (I didn’t expect that.) My biggest annoyance was how he addressed her. Always by her full name and some wondrous adjective. At about forty percent he decides to stop and I cheered, but he failed at it miserably. By this point it became more funny than annoying though.

I was warned that the prologue might bother me, so I skipped it. Later, curiosity got the better of me (because I was told it was mild) and I wanted to write a full review. I liked the book better without it. I would’ve figured things out too quickly if I’d read it. I recommend skipping it.

Genre: Science Fiction, Robots, Indie, Thriller, Comedy

Point of View: Third Person (Dr. Grace Lord, SAMM-E 777 aka Bud, & Dr. Hiro Al-Fadi)

Series: Yes. First in a new series.

Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Author Request

My Summary:

Grace is the new surgical intern on the medical space station the Nelson Mandela, under the fabulous (Just ask him) Dr. Hiro Al-Fadi.

Bud, created by Al-Fadi, is an experimental surgical Android. He’s either malfunctioning or experiencing the emotions of a human and he doesn’t know what to do about it. Why is he drawn to the spunky new doctor?

When a ship docs without any live patients, they realize a deadly virus has been released into the station. It’s up to Grace and Bud to find a cure.

[Manfred Wendler · Rating 4 out of 5]

*mild spoilers*
To be honest, I finished this book some time ago in autumn, I just haven't gotten around to mark it finished or do a review, as I promised the author oh so long ago! So, with reddened cheeks, let me just drop a few lines about this nice piece of SciFi.
There aren't many examples of medical science fiction around. To be honest, the only one I can think of is the 'Sector General' series by James White, from the 70's. The main thing is, there aren't many authors around who could pull it off believably. It's one thing to write a line of dialogue with 'techno medic babble' for a tv show where the charisma of the actor who has to deliver it helps to make it credible, or doing a book where the reader can always go back a few pages to check what you wrote. In a tv show the ongoing narrative helps a lot to iron out plot holes and medical inconsistencies. No such luck in written drama where you have the 'Wait a minute...!' factor to deal with. So your basics have to be solid and they are with S. E. Sasaki. A physician and GP by trade and surgical assistant doctor by profession, her knowledge and familiarity with all things medical are certainly indisputable and leave her enough time for developing her story, time any author would have had to spend researching.

I like 'Madhouse' very much. The characters are well developed, Grace Lord is a nice main character plunged headlong in this universe of frontline battlefield medicine, her co-characters Drs al-Fadi and Cech with their explosive chemistry and endless bantering are not only great comic elements but also bring us the best moments of another serial story about medicine and humanity in the face of military conflict to mind that certainly I wasn't the only reader to think about while reading. Of course I'm talking 'M*A*S*H'.
The main hero however is Bud. The creation of Dr al-Fadi, the synthetic medic embarks on a journey of his own, a quest, no less, to find out what it means to be human... Bud is without any doubt the most remarkable creation in a SciFi novel I've met for many years, totally loveable, immensely competent, a medical superhero, and a six year old in interpersonal relationships. To watch him 'stalking' Dr Lord, who he fell in love with at first sight, in different disguises while at the same time arguing with the station AI is immensely funny. The more so when Dr Lord is starting to wonder how many BUD type androids there are since she's seeing so many of them...
As I said, I like the book! The only reason I didn't give 5 stars, was that I wasn't so keen on the animal type combat adapted soldiers, but this doesn't diminish my overall delight.

[Leland Lydecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to the Madhouse chronicles the adventures of Dr. Grace Lord as she begins her residency aboard the medical space station Nelson Mandela. Plenty of challenges are in store, from eccentric surgeons to a dangerously manipulative psychiatrist to an alien super-virus, but Dr. Lord is not entirely on her own: she soon finds an unlikely ally in Bud, an android gifted with artificial intelligence.

In fact, Bud is more than just sentient: he feels human emotion. And from the moment he lays optical sensors on the extremely talented, smart, and beautiful Dr. Grace Lord, he falls madly in love with her.

Welcome to the Madhouse is one of the most unique thrillers I’ve read, and although “heartwarming” is an unusual descriptor for this genre, I think it fits. Madhouse is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching read that will restore a little of your faith in humanity and provide you with a great escape from the cold, grey light of reality.

If you enjoy comedy, this book is worth reading for the dialogue alone; especially the banter between the head surgeon, Dr. Al-Fadi, and the senior anesthetist, Dr. Cech. Unlike the American medical system, where various specialists are often at odds and the phrase “we eat our young” is tossed around as if simply surviving the infighting–regardless of quality of care given–is a badge of honor, the medical staff of the Nelson Mandela are like family.

The author has crafted a cast of truly likeable characters. My personal favorite was Bud, although Dr. Lord was a close second, and I was thrilled to learn that they’ll be starring in at least two sequels. If you’re a fan of medical thrillers, space station stories, or really anything science fiction, I highly recommend that you check out this book!

[Pavlo Tverdokhlib · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. It achieves what it sets out to do, and it's entertaining while it does is. However, figuring out what the book wants to be takes some work.

"Welcome to the Madhouse" is interesting, in that it tries to carry 2 tones at once. On the one hand, it tries to be a fairly "hard" sci-fi with horror overtones. On the other, it's almost "Scrubs" in space -sci-fi comedy TV series. In fact, when I was trying to think of a one-liner description for the book, best thing I could come up with was a "medicine-themed Babylon 5".

"Madhouse" constantly flips between the comedy and the suspense/thriller (I wouldn't classify anything here as "strictly horror"). It worked for me, but not everyone may appreciate the switches in tone. The reason it worked for me were the characters. Like a script of a TV series (and that's what "Madhouse" reminded me of most), this is a character-driven work.  

The characters mostly work. The main characters are sufficiently complex to fit both tones, with their reactions being consistent to the type of character they are portrayed to be. Most of the time. There was one occasion towards the end where I felt the author stretched things a bit to produce a reaction of "forgiveness" I didn't really find all that believable. Other, "bit players" are one-dimensional stereotypes, but they also fit. Throwing in the "evil psychiatrist who brainwashes his unsuspecting patients" was a tad too much cliche, though. ‎

The setting is distinct. The world-building is done in broad strokes, but there's enough there to make the world seem grounded, leaving the author plenty of opportunity to build it up in the sequels. The premise of animal-adapted humans is well-executed, leaving lots of room to expand on the concept as needed.

The "tone" thing really rubbed me the wrong way when it came to one particular AI character. About halfway through the book I was already thinking of how I'll phrase this review to show that it didn't work. And then all of a sudden we are given a good explanation, which actually ends up being important in the conclusion of the book. From being my biggest source of annoyance, it went to being the cleverest writing in the book. ‎

If I was to list any criticisms, or rather minor niggles, it would be the editing. I spotted a spelling typo (which jumped out, because it was an AI thinking). Also, early on I was convinced that the author was using the word "breech" incorrectly, although dictionary.com assured me that it can be interchanged with "breach". There were also a few awkward paragraphs where 4-5 sentences in a row would start with "title word 1, title word 2, first name, last name" segment. It's okay when a young AI does it, using different descriptors every time (serves to underline the obsession and all), but when the narrator who is describing the interactions of the main human protagonist does it, it grates a bit.

A more significant concern I had was with how certain themes were handled. "Madhouse" dabbles with a number of serious questions, which makes sense in the context: life-saving medicine is rife with major ethical questions. I didn't quite feel these were handled consistently. At certain points, lots was said about the importance of consent before doing such life-saving actions as cloning a new body with memory of print of the deceased individual (a "de facto resurrection". But then this barrier is circumvented, status quo is restored and everyone is happy, despite a clear violation of what's been built up as an important principle. Basically, it feels like the author tapped an important theme, but then devalued it with a handwave for the sake of the plot development. Which is fine and consistent with the "TV series" feel, but plays into that "clash of tones" I already spoke of. 

Overall, however, "Welcome to the Madhouse" is certainly an entertaining book. Pacing is good, despite the constant jumps between comedy and tragedy. At no point did I want to put the book down out of boredom. It's a nice, light read and I'm curious to see where the series will go from here. ‎

[Zachry Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old adage in the writing world is "write what you know." This is good advice, because few things pull a reader out of a story faster than an author butchering their subject material. This was the primary reason why I greatly appreciated S.E. Sasaki's novel Welcome to the Madhouse, a story about physicians on a medical space station, as written by a physician.

Sasaki's knowledge comes across cleanly and intelligently, which helps the reader focus on a unique and compelling plot that centers around the warring activities of their animal-hybrid patients. The characters are well thought out and exhibit the appropriate flaws one might expect to see in a space ship full of trauma and chaos. In short, it was easy to get sucked into the madhouse.

As a parting note, I would be remiss not to mention Bud. Sasaki inserts some deft humor by way of this neurotic android, who is by far my favorite character. His comical interactions with the ship's AI were my favorite parts of the book.

[Rhian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was offered a free copy in exchange for a review. Full and detailed critique available here: https://rhianwriting.wordpress.com/20...

[Kelsi H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please check out my other reviews at http://ultraviolentlit.blogspot.ca!

This novel has been referred to as a “medical space opera,” which seems pretty accurate. I would say it’s a sci-fi thriller, with a good amount of goofy comedy thrown in. The story follows Dr. Grace Lord, beginning with her first day of her new job on the Nelson Mandela, a medical space station. Her coworkers are an eclectic mix of personalities, including a group of soldiers bred to be half-beast – they are part gorilla, wolf and many more. The human characters are just as unusual, with many psychological quirks. Most interesting is the android character, SAMM-E 777, colloquially known as “Bud.”

Bud quickly forms an attachment to Grace – he begins to evolve, feeling strange human emotions that he struggles to process. This relationship and many others are explored in the first half of the novel, which is focused on character development and world building. There is plenty of drama, with interactions between the doctors. Even the space station itself has a personality, with a humourous streak. I really appreciated the depth of character – as a non-sci-fi fan, the characters were what pulled me through the futuristic story.

In the second half of the novel, adventure begins! (There are also a lot of exclamation marks). A mysterious ship docks on the station – and the medical team realizes that a deadly virus has been let loose. The balance between comedy and drama continues, especially in the banter between the various characters. There are also many interesting ethical questions about the future of medical research – the author clearly has a passion for her subject, as she is a doctor herself. Personally, my rating hovered around two stars overall, as it is not my chosen genre – however, it is impressively well written and filled with exuberant language, so I am rating it closer to 3.5 for readers of sci-fi medical thrillers. It is also the first in a series, so this is a great place to start.

I received this novel from Goodreads First Reads and the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a disclaimer, I received a copy of "Welcome to the Madhouse" via a giveaway on Goodreads.

I've read a lot of science-fiction... a lot... but I can't think of too many examples that address space exploration from a medical perspective. "Welcome to the Madhouse"has a little space opera (expansion of human civilization to include exploration of other worlds and the inevitable conflict that follows), cyber-punk (human augmentation as a means to make a living) and even what might be a nod to Douglas Adams (A.I. struggling to come to terms with becoming more human and what that means for their sanity now that they have one). Some knowledge of science-fiction tropes will help readers but the techno-babble never becomes overly excessive.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to start this review by saying that I won a copy of this book in a giveaway on Goodreads and in no way does this affect my review.

Looking back, I really shouldn't have read this right after The Lunar Chronicles. The themes were similar and I found myself comparing the two which just can't be done. I honestly didn't really enjoy this book. I didn't love or hate but it just didn't elicit any emotions in me really. A couple of the characters were really great but the writing was stiff and awkward. Overall the story was interesting but I don't think I'd read the sequel. (Judging by the ending there will be one.)

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads, and I really, really wanted to like it. The cover is eye-catching and the description had lots of promise. It even came with a nice note from the author. HOWEVER, I was so distracted by the excessive use of exclamation marks and the weak dialogue that I couldn't enjoy the story. It REALLY needs a good copyeditor. If that kind of thing doesn't distract you, I'm sure you'll enjoy it; there's a lot of potential here, but I spent the whole read itching for my red pen.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that you can't put down until you finish it! I really enjoyed it. Loved the android, "Bud"! The animal adapted soldiers were very sci-fi characters but as the story went on I found myself thinking of them as real humans and feeling empathy for what they were going through. The handling of the disaster was very suspenseful. I also enjoyed the lighter moments and the bantering conversations. I can't wait for the next book by S. E. Sasaki!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a book like no other! The plot and the characters were perfect and I am absolutely pleased with everything about this book! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something different. S.E Sasaki does a beautiful job telling a story that I would never thought of reading before!

[Cindy Tomamichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic start to a series I read one after the other. Detailed world building, functional and dysfunctional humans and bio-altered soldiers, androids, and set in the high tension setting of a space medical station.

The authors imagination makes this one of the best scifi books I have read in a long time.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A romp through medical corridors. In space.

It's been awhile since we've seen a new medical space opera. As someone who still re-reads James White's Sector General novels I can only hope that this continues on into a series.

[David Sherrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great read,full of surprises. This is one of the best Science fiction books I have read in a long time. I hope there is a sequel! David

[Lance Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book 1

A wonderful sci-fi action book. Great characters along with a fascinating universe brought alive in this book. Looking forward to book 2.

[Tara Bethune · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope there is a sequel! Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.

[S. Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor House meets Doctor Moreau in this series starter! I loved this book.

Grace is a surgeon who has just received her dream posting, to train under the doctor who works on soldiers and space colonists spliced with animal DNA and infused with some of their primal traits. The ensemble of characters were distinct, funny, memorable, and added intrigue to the plot. The best part is, the ship staff wear color coded uniforms. Look out red shirts! They work on a medical space station that serves as the only place the various spliced hybrid humans comingle and that alone

All the living characters are great but the android who calls himself Bud is my favorite character! Sasaki’s adjective use in his scenes was clever and did a ton to characterize him. It also held a polarized parallel to another character’s development. I don’t want to spoil, so you’ll just have to mull over that bit of vaguery until you buy your own copy.

Speaking of buying, I did not! I found this book in a giveaway and received a free copy for signing up to the author’s newsletter. Buy this book, read it, and let’s talk about it on facebook. Look up Shane’s Book Club, it’s my group. Find my post about this book and tell me what you think in the comments!

So I know I already dropped a mash up tag at the top, but I’ve got more! This book is MASH with Thundercats. Bam!

The end hook worked. I’ve got the second book on my unwieldy To Be Read list.

[Whitney (SecretSauceofStorycraft) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story follows a young surgical resident who is assigned to the premier military ship the Nelson Mandela to serve under the famous attending and surgeon doctor Alfi Shadid. But Nelson Mandela is not just any military hospital shit it houses the military animal adapted. These are humans who have been genetically spliced with animal DNA to be able to more effectively have enhanced abilities. However this requires more medical expertise and this is what young Dr. Grace Lord is wanting to learn. However, things go Ari when her attending turns out not to be the man she thought one of the young gorgeous psychiatrist began stalking her and the surgical robotic Assistance begins to think that he might have fallen in love with her and that’s just the beginning of Dr. Lord’s problems.

Overall, this book was fun, but nothing to write home about doesn’t have anything new or interesting to say and kind of came across a little bit immature and cheesy with the animal adapts is that something that was really necessary for the story so far hasn’t added anything in particular, and the storyline itself was a little bit predictable Overall, it was generally enjoyable, but a very mediocre three star.

[Marielle Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to the Conglomerate's Premier Medical Space Station, the Nelson Mandela.

Here the Conglomerate’s soldiers are patched back together and given enhancements. Here you meet the most senior doctors, bickering in the operating room; a handsome psychiatrist who thinks he can have any woman he wants; and Bud, a lovelorn android obsessed with Dr. Grace Lord, the new combat surgeon.

Welcome to the Madhouse, by S.E. Sasaki.

Now a spaceship of unknown origin has docked bringing a dangerous virus. Its crew have already been dissolved by the infection. Grace Lord and Bud race against time to find a cure and save the Nelson Mandela from being destroyed by the Conglomerate’s battle cruisers to prevent the spread of the virus. And by the way, there’s a sociopath aboard.

I didn’t know what to expect from Welcome to the Madhouse when I bought it. It turned out to be alternately delightful, suspenseful, and funny. I’m moving on to the sequels.

[F. Stephan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a genre where I rarely venture : a space hospital. Well, maybe I should go there more often !

the world
I love wordbuilding and wasn't disappointed. Not only is the hospital well described but the author has a clear reflexion on how humans will adapt to space. This is fantastic and fascinating.

The story
It is well paced, exploring all facets of the hospital

Characters
They are well described with the depth which allows you to feel their differences. Really enjoyable.

As a summary
I loved it and I wouldn't have believed it when I started! Cheers.

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, light hearted yet thoughtful story of a lovely surgery intern, an irascible head surgeon, and a fast learning android. This is a stand alone book, but I can hardly wait to read the next volume!

[Ronald Keeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to the Madhouse by S. E. Sasaki is a medical, science fiction, fantasy, romance novel. It was selected as a Book of the Day by OnlineBookClub.org and was available for free on Amazon. Not Kindle Unlimited (KU) but free. That is a lot of mix of genre. There is also a mystery but it has a lighter emphasis that doesn't really qualify the novel as a fit for the genre mystery.

The novel starts out fast as is logical. Sasaki is creating a world where technology that doesn't exist today has to be described with vocabulary that does not exist. The first third of the novel will keep the reader busy with processing new ideas. The second two-thirds is more slanted toward information in the areas of medicine, biology, and the challenge of the possibilities of change to adapt to former hostile environments. Throughout, there is romance or the possibilities of it. Not sex, romance. For parents who monitor their offspring's YA reading choices; they will be happy. There couldn't be a safer, yet interesting, read.

Grace Lord is a newly assigned doctor on a central medical facility named the Nelson Mandela. Throughout this novel, Sasaki chooses interesting character names. Nelson Mandela is actually an AI (artificial intelligence) and is the space station medical facility. Mandela controls all communication, transportation, security, supply, and non-human robots. Mandela's control of humans is limited to how the AI can use subordinate robotic entities to physically control humans.

With the expansion of Earth throughout the solar system, humans from Earth had to adapt their bodies to exist on other planets as they explored and exploited other planets. Humans volunteered to do this as they adapted and augmented their bodies with various animal parts to acquire former non-human skills that would aid in colonization attempts. Settlers on an aquatic world adapted their bodies with fins and gills for an aquatic environment. Pioneers in a dark world augmented their bodies with the skills of bats for seeing in the dark.

The expansion of the Earth to other planets did not lessen incidents of conflict and war. Super-armies were built up with super-soldiers that had the strength and skill properties of a bear, a leopard, a tiger, a snake, and any other variety of animal whose attributes would make the resultant soldier a winner in the fight. All of the additional skills were an augmentation to, not a replacement of, human abilities. Soldiers get injured. The Mandela Central Facility was to rebuild them, tweak them with new skills, and return them to battle. Dr. Grace Lord, the newest doctor on the station would perform some of the complex procedures required.

Immediately on arrival at the station, Grace is almost killed as she is attacked by an escaped patient under the influence of some drug. With little time to settle in and in-process the station, Dr. Lord is required to meet her boss and mentor Dr. Al-Fadi, an irascible, curmudgeonly, narcissistic, sarcastic Chief Surgeon who immediately informs her that he will change her name to Dr. Grace. There can only be one Lord and that is Dr. Al-Fadi. There is also SAMM-E-777, an assistant surgical operating android who would like to be called Bud. He would also like to have human feelings so he could better interact with Grace, a fully human doctor he is smitten with.

The reader now has three main protagonists, Grace, Doctor Al-Fadi, and Bud the aspiring android. All others are supporting types, even the one evil character, Dr. Jeffrey Nestor, a psychiatrist. For an evil character, he is almost superfluous. His best role is in hinting at a possible sequel to find out what evil he may later do. He is fairly ineffective in this book.

The main conflict situation to watch is the introduction of a virus into the Nelson Mandela Premier Medical Space Station. The virus kills people by dissolving them. Will Dr. Grace, Dr. Al-Fadi, and Bud working together be able to survive and defeat this? They have to try to solve the situation before Conglomerate battleships arrive to destroy the Mandela with all aboard, infected and non-infected alike. It is better to destroy the few to save many. Unless you happen to be one of the few.

There are a few moral dilemma questions discussed that are interesting and apply to today. Is it ethical to continue to repair soldiers and send them back to fight until the one inevitable point, death is reached? Death would the point when repairs can no longer be made. Are using valuable resources for the purpose of killing others the way we want to go? There are other questions (think memprints) but to enjoy the discussions you have to read the book.

The first half of the book captivates the reader and holds attention well. The second half is good but the reader is just sticking around to see if all loose ends are tied up. This is a comfortable YA read.

[Steve Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book from eBook Discovery in exchange for an honest review. It was a good SciFi book with some interesting medical ethical questions posed. Good pace. Recommended

[Jo Auburne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want to say that I fell in love with this book. I read a lot, but only rarely love, love, love a book like I do this one. I highly recommend this read for any sci-fi officianados out there. Wow, what a treat. I'm following the series.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, probably a little more than I should have.
Let me back up a little.
I buy books or download them for one of three reasons: 1) The blurb in the email describing the book, 2) The cover, and 3) the Title of the book. This book was gotten because of the title. I had no clue what it was about until I started reading.
So, when I found out it was a futuristic medical drama, it piqued my interest more than most books.
The book opens with the protagonist (the Grace Lord that the series is named for) being attacked by a simian-adapted soldier who had been infected with a drug that caused psychosis. I flipped back to the title page of the Kindle and looked at the cover again. I thought, I didn't sign up for this. But, being a trooper and never one to give up on a book, no matter what it seemed lie, I kept on. And I was glad that I did. The story itself was layered and varied, with numerous characters peeking their head in at the most inopportune time for Grace.
The book is dense, due to the stories that are intertwined, but it would be worth your while to pick up a copy of this book.

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic sci fi adventure

I originally bought and read this book 5 years ago. I wrote this review in July of 2019, but it is still very true for my third read.

I'm older now and more sensitive to death and destruction, which are sadly well represented in Madhouse.There is a fine line between sci fi and horror, and Madhouse slips over that line several times. I love Grace, Bud, Nelson, and Yaeger. The humor is refreshing, and the plot thrilling and well-written. Madhouse easily passes the "read again" test, holding my attention for this second read.

[Geoff Habiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sci-Fi takes on many forms, and crosses many sub-genres, but Welcome to the Madhouse by S.E. Sasaki is the first sci-fi story that I have read that is a blend of science fiction action and gritty medical drama. Dr. Grace Alexandra Lord has just received a surgical fellowship on the Nelson Mandela, the premier medical space station in the Conglomerate. Working under the brilliant surgeon Dr. Hiro Al-Fadi, Grace hopes to improve her surgical skills working on the augmented and genetically modified super-soldiers of the Conglomerate. What she didn’t count on was the sudden infatuation by Bud, a medical android built by Dr. Al-Fadi, or the obsession by the station’s head psychiatrist. When a medical emergency puts the Nelson Mandela into quarantine, Grace and the other doctors must race against the clock to find a cure.

I loved this book. It is fast-paced, easy to read, with great characters. It’s a blend of classic sci-fi from Heinlein or Asimov mixed with the best of M.A.S.H and E.R. The super-soldiers are genetically modified humans designed as massive tigers, bears, gorillas, and even orcas! The doctors are complex, with personalities that reflect not only their skill, but their inflated ideas about their skills. The banter and dialogue between the doctors feel real and makes each character come to life. Grace comes into her own as the story progresses, starting out as a new member of staff, by the end you feel that she is ready to step into any role on the station. She’s been battle-tested by the quarantine and comes out stronger because of it. Bud, the medical android, is an interesting character who is a super genius, but has a very child-like personality as he grows into his constantly updating programming. (Oh, and I really like the station AI, Nelson Mandela, who has multiple personalities, including one that creates AI poetry.)

Sasaki has created a wonderfully fun tale that blends the best of science fiction with a great medical drama. I highly recommend that you add this book to your collection.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Going into this book, I didn't expect it to be a comedy. The humor was a pleasant surprise. At times it reached a little too far and came across as trying too hard to be funny, but it usually managed to walk the line and I enjoyed it.

I liked all the characters too, Bud especially. The back and forwards banter between the surgeons was amusing and was nicely balanced with the obvious affection the characters had for one another. Grace was a little too perfect in all ways, but I managed to look over her lack of faults.

However, I thought the whole plot-line with the closest thing to a villain the book has was unnecessary, distasteful, distracting, and predictable. It was painfully obvious who they were from the first moment they were introduced. Their character lacked depth, was evil just because they were evil and their plot arc didn't tie well into the primary plot-line. In fact, it had nothing to do with it and was an unappreciated distraction that was wrapped up too quickly and easily to fee satisfying in any way.

Further, I felt the introduction of inferred rape and mental abuse (described as easy, at that) was unnecessary and detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I am so sick of victimized women as plot-points that I almost just gave up on the book after reading the prologue. I was pleased the subject didn't come up again. I understand that this particular plot-point probably just set up the sequel, but I REALLY wish this book had done without it. In fact, it reads like it did and the author went back and added it just for book two.

The writing/editing was unusually good for an indie. I did think some of the dialogue was on the stiff side, even when allowing for android-speak and there was an excess of exclamation marks. But I was mostly pleased.

All in all, however, I enjoyed the book. I laughed and was interested enough to read until the end. I'd happily read book two to see how Bud progresses.

[Shelley Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM NOT a Sci-Fi reader and was recommended to read this book which I was very reluctant...to my surprise & extreme delight, I loved, loved, loved the book. I was hooked when I read the prologue and by page 5 I was now totally invested. The character development was excellent,I got a great sense of not only picturing them in my mind, but a good grasp of their personality. I felt much like SAMM-E 777 (BUD)the android did as he continued to evolve with more human emotions, I got a real emotional workout myself. At times I was actually laughing out load especially at the bantering between the Surgeon Dr. Al-Fadi & the anesthetist Dr. Cech. In other moments I was panicking and could not read fast enough with the worry and fear I felt for the main character Dr. Grace Alexandra Lord. I was especially warmed and a little emotional/teary for the animal adapted White Leopards' when they had to make a choice to give up or keep their babies (human babies) and the dilemma they had regarding their animal adapted body parts harming the babies. I was also surprised at feeling a connection with these animal adapted soldiers and was able to care about them beyond their physical appearance or animal characteristics, the author truly personalized these characters and helped you through acceptance without judgement. I was even routing for a romantic relationship to develop with the tiger adapted Captain Damien Lamont and Dr. Lord. I could go on...it was also very well written with the right amount of medical terminology not to be turned off of and clean adjectives to give you a clear description of what is said or going on without excess of words. A very fast read, I am mourning the end of the book, but very excited to hear that there will be a sequel, can not wait to see what Dr. Nestor will do next! Shelley Austin