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The Midnight Book Club #8
Re-roll
Life can be a bitch.
In the near future, breathtakingly humanoid robots called Mechs are for sale, and they're designed to fulfill whatever role you husband, wife, best friend, slave. Manufacturers allow new owners one free "roll" to randomly determine their Mech's three leading characteristics. But as everybody knows, scoring your ideal traits is a crapshoot, though you can always re-roll—at a price.
BookShots
- LIGHTNING-FAST STORIES BY JEREMY BATES
- Novels you can devour in a few hours
- Impossible to stop reading
- All original content from Jeremy Bates
"Thriller fans and readers of Stephen King, Joe Lansdale, and other masters of the art will find much to love in this highly recommended, action-packed read." - Midwest Book Review on Island of the Dolls
"Bates' approach to the story is surprisingly restrained, cultivating impressive frights in the unnerving environment...an understated horror story that will remind readers what chattering teeth sound like." - Kirkus Reviews on Suicide Forest
"Bates takes an intriguing premise to shocking lengths, revealing the outcome only in an epilogue. A graphically violent story with building suspense and a moral about where weaving such a web may lead." - Booklist on White Lies
"Jeremy Bates has written a great book that would make a great Hollywood screenplay." - Suspense Magazine on The Taste of Fear
"The Catacombs is easy to consume whole, like a shocking, but delicious, pint of ice cream, as Bates never shies away from the bad or the ugly. If you are looking for something to give you chills before you go to bed or make you think twice about turning off your light, then The Catacombs is the book for you." - San Francisco Book Review on The Catacombs
"This is one of those books that invites you to read it in one sitting." - Hellnotes on Suicide Forest
"The story culminates in a tense situation and a surprising yet satisfying ending...well written and an exciting thriller." - Suspense Magazine on White Lies
"Read this book. It will give you the major creeps. It's one of those that will make your skin crawl." - Scream Magazine on Island of the Dolls
"The Catacombs is a thrilling descent into the unknown, peeling back the dark layers like a rotting onion, tears running down your face as you try to climb your way out. A hypnotic story of buried truths, disfigured creatures, and lost histories told with an authoritative voice full of heart and insight." - Richard Thomas, Bram Stoker nominated author on The Catacombs
"Big on suspense...think of The Blair Witch Project with the exception being that this takes place in...a real haunted setting." - HorrorAddicts on Suicide Forest
"Here's an enjoyable book to lose yourself in. Jeremy Bates doesn't miss a trick, teasing and misleading, ratcheting up the tension as the heroine...loses traction on a slippery slope of deceptions." - Glenn Kleier, New York Times bestselling author on White Lies
"A horror story like none other...makes for a read that will delight horror fans who want their novels steeped in psychological suspense as well as action." - Midwest Book Review on The Catacombs
"Jeremy Bates has written a spellbinding horror story that steadily heightens in suspense until the tension of individuals in desperate straits reaches epic proportions, resulting in an explosive climax followed by a nerve-racking scene in the epilogue." - Bestsellersworld on Suicide Forest
In the near future, breathtakingly humanoid robots called Mechs are for sale, and they're designed to fulfill whatever role you husband, wife, best friend, slave. Manufacturers allow new owners one free "roll" to randomly determine their Mech's three leading characteristics. But as everybody knows, scoring your ideal traits is a crapshoot, though you can always re-roll—at a price.
BookShots
- LIGHTNING-FAST STORIES BY JEREMY BATES
- Novels you can devour in a few hours
- Impossible to stop reading
- All original content from Jeremy Bates
"Thriller fans and readers of Stephen King, Joe Lansdale, and other masters of the art will find much to love in this highly recommended, action-packed read." - Midwest Book Review on Island of the Dolls
"Bates' approach to the story is surprisingly restrained, cultivating impressive frights in the unnerving environment...an understated horror story that will remind readers what chattering teeth sound like." - Kirkus Reviews on Suicide Forest
"Bates takes an intriguing premise to shocking lengths, revealing the outcome only in an epilogue. A graphically violent story with building suspense and a moral about where weaving such a web may lead." - Booklist on White Lies
"Jeremy Bates has written a great book that would make a great Hollywood screenplay." - Suspense Magazine on The Taste of Fear
"The Catacombs is easy to consume whole, like a shocking, but delicious, pint of ice cream, as Bates never shies away from the bad or the ugly. If you are looking for something to give you chills before you go to bed or make you think twice about turning off your light, then The Catacombs is the book for you." - San Francisco Book Review on The Catacombs
"This is one of those books that invites you to read it in one sitting." - Hellnotes on Suicide Forest
"The story culminates in a tense situation and a surprising yet satisfying ending...well written and an exciting thriller." - Suspense Magazine on White Lies
"Read this book. It will give you the major creeps. It's one of those that will make your skin crawl." - Scream Magazine on Island of the Dolls
"The Catacombs is a thrilling descent into the unknown, peeling back the dark layers like a rotting onion, tears running down your face as you try to climb your way out. A hypnotic story of buried truths, disfigured creatures, and lost histories told with an authoritative voice full of heart and insight." - Richard Thomas, Bram Stoker nominated author on The Catacombs
"Big on suspense...think of The Blair Witch Project with the exception being that this takes place in...a real haunted setting." - HorrorAddicts on Suicide Forest
"Here's an enjoyable book to lose yourself in. Jeremy Bates doesn't miss a trick, teasing and misleading, ratcheting up the tension as the heroine...loses traction on a slippery slope of deceptions." - Glenn Kleier, New York Times bestselling author on White Lies
"A horror story like none other...makes for a read that will delight horror fans who want their novels steeped in psychological suspense as well as action." - Midwest Book Review on The Catacombs
"Jeremy Bates has written a spellbinding horror story that steadily heightens in suspense until the tension of individuals in desperate straits reaches epic proportions, resulting in an explosive climax followed by a nerve-racking scene in the epilogue." - Bestsellersworld on Suicide Forest
91 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2018
43 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Bates
46 books1,840 followersUSA TODAY and #1 Amazon bestselling author Jeremy Bates has written over twenty novels and novellas, selling more than one million copies worldwide. His work has been translated into multiple languages and optioned for film and television by major studios. Midwest Book Review has likened his storytelling to that of Stephen King and Joe Lansdale, calling him a "master of the art." Bates is a KDP Select All-Star and the recipient of the Australian Shadows Award and the Canadian Arthur Ellis Award. He was also a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards, the only major book honors chosen by readers.
His latest novel, *The No-End House*, is a standalone horror story set in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, where a pair of volunteers must navigate nine mysterious rooms in a sinister house. Scheduled for release by Kensington Publishing in July 2025, it’s a chilling tale of survival and escape.
Visit Amazon to get DENISOVANS for a special release-date price now.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0F...
Also, MOUNTAIN OF THE DEAD is currently only $0.99 in a limited-time deal.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079KW3N72
Finally, visit Jeremy’s website to receive a free copy of *Black Canyon*, winner of the Lou Allin Memorial Award.
https://www.jeremybatesbooks.com
His latest novel, *The No-End House*, is a standalone horror story set in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, where a pair of volunteers must navigate nine mysterious rooms in a sinister house. Scheduled for release by Kensington Publishing in July 2025, it’s a chilling tale of survival and escape.
Visit Amazon to get DENISOVANS for a special release-date price now.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0F...
Also, MOUNTAIN OF THE DEAD is currently only $0.99 in a limited-time deal.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079KW3N72
Finally, visit Jeremy’s website to receive a free copy of *Black Canyon*, winner of the Lou Allin Memorial Award.
https://www.jeremybatesbooks.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 20, 2025
Can I get a reroll? 😂
June 14, 2022
The year is 2049 and AI has advanced to the point that one company offers "companion" robots that are lifelike as can be. The only trick is, once you spend a fortune on purchasing a Mech, when you turn it on, you get three trait "rolls" made randomly from a list of over 100. If you're not happy with how your Mech turns out, you can re-roll the traits, but it will cost you. Mr. Kim has saved up for his very own Mech, and when it finally arrives he has a party with his (only) two friends to roll up his new companion. But when they don't turn out the way he hopes, things spiral downward rapidly.
The whole premise for the story was pretty interesting, and it started out in an intriguing manner. But near the midway point when the whole crux of the arrival of the Mech comes, the story went as downhill as Mr. Kim's hopes. Thankfully, Bates wrote this as just a long short story/novella, because the way it went, I would have been really mad had I had to read too much more. The latter half of the book felt like some 15-year old boy took over, not just in how the supposedly adult characters behaved and spoke, but also in the writing itself. A promising Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk story turned into a pubescent boy's mediocre fantasy in a matter of paragraphs. What a disappointing end to a promising story.
The whole premise for the story was pretty interesting, and it started out in an intriguing manner. But near the midway point when the whole crux of the arrival of the Mech comes, the story went as downhill as Mr. Kim's hopes. Thankfully, Bates wrote this as just a long short story/novella, because the way it went, I would have been really mad had I had to read too much more. The latter half of the book felt like some 15-year old boy took over, not just in how the supposedly adult characters behaved and spoke, but also in the writing itself. A promising Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk story turned into a pubescent boy's mediocre fantasy in a matter of paragraphs. What a disappointing end to a promising story.
November 16, 2021
Set in the future, Kim has savd a years salary to buy himself a Mech, a human-like AI. Once it arrives he has a roll party where he's given three rolls to give his Mech a personality and traits. He has specific wants and is so devastated by his AI he doesn't even turn her on the first day. Then after only one day he spends the remains of his savings for a re-roll. It doesn't turn out too well for him.
March 5, 2019
An intriguing and entertaining short story.
Imagine that your new mech, your planned lifelong companion, is being delivered to you in just a few short days. You have everything prepared ... clothes picked out for your mech, a few friends invited for the trait rolling party, and are ready for your life to change. The setting is 2049, and this is the situation Mr Kim finds himself in.
" Called Mechs, they were the first anthropomorphic social robots to have lifelike skin, and lungs that mimicked breathing. They also sweated, emitted body heat, and performed every human function with the exception of eating and processing food. "
Mr. Kim hopes to roll three top tier traits and not end up with garbage traits for his mech, as re-rolling for new ones cost almost as much as a brand new mech, which costs an entire years salary. Unfortunately for Mr. Kim, he is extremely difficult to please, what is positive to others is unacceptable for him. The story finishes up with a shocking and satisfying ending that I enjoyed very much.
Imagine that your new mech, your planned lifelong companion, is being delivered to you in just a few short days. You have everything prepared ... clothes picked out for your mech, a few friends invited for the trait rolling party, and are ready for your life to change. The setting is 2049, and this is the situation Mr Kim finds himself in.
" Called Mechs, they were the first anthropomorphic social robots to have lifelike skin, and lungs that mimicked breathing. They also sweated, emitted body heat, and performed every human function with the exception of eating and processing food. "
Mr. Kim hopes to roll three top tier traits and not end up with garbage traits for his mech, as re-rolling for new ones cost almost as much as a brand new mech, which costs an entire years salary. Unfortunately for Mr. Kim, he is extremely difficult to please, what is positive to others is unacceptable for him. The story finishes up with a shocking and satisfying ending that I enjoyed very much.
October 30, 2021
Racial Slur in the First Chapter
Sometimes, I’ll come across an expression that in origin, is pretty innocuous and not necessarily meant as a slur. Given that, I’ll continue reading to give the author benefit of the doubt. Other writers have used such continuous offensive references to black people, that I avoid their books altogether.
Authors need to be accountable for what they choose to write and research the potential offense to a race. To “call a spade a spade” should truly be eliminated from slang usage and for me to catch this in the first chapter, makes me wary.
With that said, I did not yet finish the book, however may update my rating at the end if Mr. Jeremy Bates redeems himself and I find no more racial slurs and enjoy the book as a whole.
I have read two of his other books, one which was outstanding and the other, lacking in almost everything except juvenile scare tactics.
Sometimes, I’ll come across an expression that in origin, is pretty innocuous and not necessarily meant as a slur. Given that, I’ll continue reading to give the author benefit of the doubt. Other writers have used such continuous offensive references to black people, that I avoid their books altogether.
Authors need to be accountable for what they choose to write and research the potential offense to a race. To “call a spade a spade” should truly be eliminated from slang usage and for me to catch this in the first chapter, makes me wary.
With that said, I did not yet finish the book, however may update my rating at the end if Mr. Jeremy Bates redeems himself and I find no more racial slurs and enjoy the book as a whole.
I have read two of his other books, one which was outstanding and the other, lacking in almost everything except juvenile scare tactics.
January 15, 2018
Loved It!
True to form, Jeremy Bates does it again. His story is full of life-like characters, their background characteristics well developed, the storyline is fleshed out with enough details you can actually picture it (like a small movie) playing in your head. Flowing from scene to scene Without annoying disruptions (such as typos, errors in sentence structure, storyline or character inconsistencies) that break through like an annoying TV commercial. If you're like me, when this happens you're either forced to re-read the paragraph, or depending on the events playing out, re-reading the entire chapter.
Thankfully as I mentioned above, this story flows seamlessly from page to page and you find yourself unwilling to put it down. Before you know it, it's over. Highly Enjoyable and Highly Recommended!
True to form, Jeremy Bates does it again. His story is full of life-like characters, their background characteristics well developed, the storyline is fleshed out with enough details you can actually picture it (like a small movie) playing in your head. Flowing from scene to scene Without annoying disruptions (such as typos, errors in sentence structure, storyline or character inconsistencies) that break through like an annoying TV commercial. If you're like me, when this happens you're either forced to re-read the paragraph, or depending on the events playing out, re-reading the entire chapter.
Thankfully as I mentioned above, this story flows seamlessly from page to page and you find yourself unwilling to put it down. Before you know it, it's over. Highly Enjoyable and Highly Recommended!
July 24, 2025
ok i really enjoyed this read! mr Kim buys a mech but he doesnt like the mechs traits so he decides to re-roll her traits. he ends up with something again that he is dissatisfied with. after pursuing a different avenue because he is now broke stuff starts to go downhill for mr Kim. not a fan of sci-fi reads but this one i must say was pretty good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2025
Hadn't realised it was such a short book. Set in the not too distant future it's the story of Mr Kim, the nerd who buys himself a Mech. A realistic partner with 3 random traits. He soon discovers the grass isn't always greener.
March 31, 2018
This is by far my favorite author right now. Re-roll is a great short read. If you haven't yet read Jeremy Bates, start with Catacombs. You won't be disappointed.
Want to read
January 23, 2021🎁 Books 2, 4-6 & 8 in the Series are FREE on Amazon today (1/23/2021)! 🎁
June 8, 2021
Good story. Not as pungent as other works from this author.
April 13, 2022
Very good short story with a wonderful twist at the end.
May 19, 2022
Twilight Zone of Horror
I'm a huge Bates fan. I love the twists. Such a nostalgic feel type of horror story. I'm impressed. Must read!
I'm a huge Bates fan. I love the twists. Such a nostalgic feel type of horror story. I'm impressed. Must read!
November 5, 2025
4.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews