Cold Solar

Cold Solar #1

by Anthony C. Robinson

A dark and gritty page-turner set in a dystopian near-future Los Angeles the year 2048. Written in the spirits of Dark Matter, Tom Clancy, The Hunger Games, and Divergent . Gripping characters are put through hell in a thrilling story of war, romance, betrayal, and secrets.

A private corporation lands on Mars before NASA in the 2020’s. The secrets they learn from the Martian rock revolutionize energy and genetics for those exposed to an ancient artifact of unknown origin. On Earth, mismanagement of the world economy led to a global collapse. The corporation, rich from its exploits on Mars, buys out the debt of the world governments and takes total control of the globe. Corporate greed drives Earth to treat her own Martian colonies as slaves for personal gain. These colonies throw off the corporate oppression in a violent revolution.

Fast forward to the year 2048 and Bowen, a competition fighter with a twisted sense of sarcastic humor, witnesses his world being ripped in half when the Martian colonists come back bringing a tidal wave of vengeance. In order to survive and stop the horrific violence he learns he must bring a naïve princess of the Martian Empire to safety.

Joanna, a cold-hearted warrior and personal guard of the princess, harbors deep hatred for the corporation and the people of Earth who killed everyone she once held dear on Mars. She learns her leaders are not who they say they are and finds herself caught in the middle of a deep conspiracy fabricated to create the war. She senses her confused feelings toward Bowen constantly splitting between wanting to kill him and wanting to kiss him.

Vladimir, a boisterous alcoholic with a passion for archery, has his nice vacation in Los Angeles turned into a harrowing fight for survival. With luck, skill, and a lot of vodka, he manages to meet up with others seeking to end the war. His attention keeps getting distracted by a hot computer hacker running surveillance for him and his team.

Low spent her whole adult life working as a computer hacker for the corporation. All she’s ever known is punching binary numbers and loyalty to her employers. Upon working an assignment with a crack team thrown together at the last minute she learns she can trust no one in her chain of command. Large powers are committing violent acts to keep the war going, but working together with Bowen, Joanna, and Vladimir, she thinks they might be just enough to set things right.

***An Action Thriller with a mix of Sci-Fi, Mystery, and Romance***

CONTENT
Cold Solar contains soft Sci-Fi elements with near future technology. That means it's written with simple scientific principles that anyone can understand and enjoy. It's targeted toward a general audience so there's no lengthy discussions on chemistry or physics. It possesses just enough Sci-Fi to get you right back to the fast-paced plot!

Genres: Science Fiction, Amazon, Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopia, Action

355 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2017

Reviews

[Michael Dixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's described as "dark and gritty" and personally I didn't think it was either of those things. However, it was also described as a "page-turner" and there I wholeheartedly agree.

It was a fun, not too serious, future, space action romp. If you like those things then this book is for you!

The characters were all fairly simplistic but enjoyable, with a storyline which was complex enough to keep you hooked, without having to concentrate too hard to read.

I enjoyed it and will definitely read the next one.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated the characters

Yep, total dislike. I don't really want to get into it. A History class was a laughable way of telling the reader about the recent past rather than having it appear organically. One thing we do know is that a colony on Mars was able to develop major genetic engineering while a mega corp can't. Then said colony creates an empire while everyone else is stuck on Earth. Then we learn that the superhumans on Mars were somehow prefect enough that it made sense to develop a monarchy because Reasons. The alleged reason is that the best will ride to the top. Sounds amazingly like the ideal of Democracy. Except there's royalty so any indicator that the best rise to the top is a joke.

Note: This is self-published and reads a lot like my personal fiction. If I were to publish it without the help of a paid editor without personal bias, this is what I might get.

[K.V. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The description of cold solar - a dark and gritty sci-fi action thriller - very accurately describes this book. But apart from the fast-paced action scenes between sword, rapier, and staff-wielding masters, this book also involves morals, betrayal, and family values. Robinson has brought our world to life in the year 2047/48. The war between Martians and Gaians (Earthlings) has a complex backstory. The characters have vibrant, individual personalities and the tension between them you could cut with a programmable Martian longsword. I really enjoyed the fight scenes. I was wary about close combat in a sci-fi story where guns exist, but it made sense in a world where everyone wears ample armour and the Martians, especially, are strong and quick. Looking forward to book two.

[Janice Goll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science fiction at its best in a Martian/Earth dyopstian world with royalty, democracy, family issues, greed with great fight scenes. This story has so many challenges and twists that it keeps you interested to the end. A great stand alone story but it also leaves you wanting more. I highly recommend this to all thrill seekers. I loved it.

[Mala Mukherjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Solar is an interesting science-fiction set on futuristic world and its story is set in the Martian environment. Power struggle and human greed is depicted in Martian environment. The story is full of suspense. I am not going to tell anything about the storyline and like to keep it a secret. I recommend it to everyone

[Jane Firebaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book! Sword fighting, space ships, royalty and politics all blended into the perfect book. Definitely a stand alone book, not a cliff hanger, but left me anticipating a sequel anxiously.
I highly recommend it!!!

[J.M. Ralley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth a read. Anthony's attention to detail makes the story stand out. I never saw some of the twists coming and enjoyed this book. I'll be looking forward to others in this series.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Solar is great

I love a good science fiction story! Cold Solar is one of the best I’ve read in a long tome.

[barbaraprichard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truth or Lies

I gave this book a five star rating because it was an excellent science fiction book and I gravitate towards these action stories.

[Donna M. Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read

Started a bit simplistic and formulaic but it kept my attention, it was an easy read, and can say I enjoyed it.

[Samiul Ahad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read

The book is really edge of your seat and unsustainable until the very last page. There are certain inconsistencies as well as some plot holes but these do not in anyway detract from the entertainment value overall. Thanks, Anthony Robinson. I hope to read the sequel shortly.

[J.A. Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

JA Stone

Cold Solar is a stunning vision of future Earth. Robinson is a great storyteller, demonstrating with vivid descriptions and awesome characters! I heard once, that despite the technologies that have grown around it, the Longsword is indeed one of humankind's greatest creations. Well done.

[Kenny Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great science fiction with believable political twist

Great story line with believable political twist. The story focuses on three common earth humans and two Martian humans forced to challenge the well-connected and powerful of both Martian and earth.

[David John Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Gosh what a griping book right from the start I was sucked in to the action and it never stopped I have got to now read the next book in the series I hope there are more to follow soon great read loved it

[Barbara Dunbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold Solar

The end of this book filled me with great anxiety and I don't like that. It is , sadly, realistic that a huge corporation takes over the earth as I watch the United States power bases continue to reach ascension.

[Colin]

Great book

Good characters. Great dialog! I didn't know what was going to happen until the very end. I thought the Solaran knights were the enemy until I read the last few epages. A good read.

[Daniel R. Mott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Wonderful story. It is very compelling and hard to put down. Wonderful story line. I was drawn into the story.

[Irene Saxon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read

Its timeline is so close to ours that it seems entirely plausible as a potential future. Read it, learn from it.

[James Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Fast paced book loaded with action,love the sword play and kights of honor. Type of action read.lookig forward to the next book.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold solar

Great book,characters are very well written and the story line is great, I am looking forward to read the next one

[M. Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's next..

Leaves you hanging wanting more.. Will start next right away. Have to find out what happens to the main characters

[George Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gets you from the start!

Great story line, full of non stop action!
A believable stretch of your imagination, that keeps you turning pages for more

[Sean Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A knights adventure

An exciting tale mixed with midevil kinghts in a fast paced space opera. I am looking forward to the next book,

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my normal book pick, but I enjoyed the Sci Fi. It was a little violent for my normal tastes, but it completely messed with my Kindle ads and I LOVED that! :) Worth a read!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want more!

I really realty enjoyed this book! It has great characters, and a unique story line. I couldn't put it down. A great read!

[Richard Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believable plot with the scifi

I enjoyed the story line of a trodden down society can overcome big brother. The characters really came to life for. Looking forward to the next book.

[Michael W. Cull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book immensely!

[Scotts Kindle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Good read. I enjoyed most of it. My only complaint would be that some of the decisions made by the characters were, to me, unrealistic. Still it was a good 👍story.

[James Rocks · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author of "Cold Solar", the first in his "Inner Solar War" series, claims that his book is dark and gritty; sure, it's more violent than most but that's not the same thing as either dark or gritty. In many ways, the story would be better targeted at a teenage audience though, being brutally honest, not the very high teens and anyway the violence would be problematic. The book's introductory blurb claims its characters are "gripping", that they get put through hell pursuing worthy goals, when, in reality, the characters seem more like cartoonish caricatures. The good guys seem unable to do anything wrong and the bad guys, despite superior technology and training, shoot worse than Star Wars stormtroopers.

Despite a couple of good ideas, the story is quite derivative and, being mostly set in or around Los Angeles, is not particularly wide-ranging. The plot, as implied above, is simple and rather more childish than suggested by the intro blurb and the result is a story that is neither original or innovative. While there is quite a lot of action, the author's writing style is so poor that that action, the story, constantly gets derailed. There are numerous misspellings, weirdly inappropriate descriptions, illogical jumps and a huge number of grammar errors. The book's Amazon webpage credits M Robinson M S, presumably a relation, as its editor but he or she clearly wasn't up to the task since they let so many errors slip through; so many that, by the end of the story, I had begun to wonder if the author's native language was something other than English. Even more irritating was the author's constant, and inappropriate, way his characters constantly "smirked" at each other; a smirk, according to the Cambridge online dictionary, is "to smile in a way that expresses satisfaction or pleasure about having done something, or knowing something that is not known by someone else". The way the author used "smirk" rarely made any sense.

I managed to finish the book, curiosity as to whether the story would improve or reveal something more interesting (I'm nothing if not persistent) but it remained simple and uninspiring throughout. I will not be reading more of Mr Robinson's novels; his poor grammar and dishonesty about the nature of his books are something of a deterrent. The simple fact is that Mr Robinson's stories are nowhere near as dark and gritty as claimed!

I was tempted to give one star but, as stated earlier, the story did involve a couple of good ideas so I'll be generous and give it two.

[Carlene Amaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to write a review because I thought this book had a great deal of potential. I enjoyed the plot, and the characterization was ok. The concept of corporate government was well-portrayed, and women were written fairly reasonably. I would have been much more enthusiastic about the book if it had been even adequately edited. As it was, I was reading along enjoying the ride and got slapped in the face with a ridiculous spelling error, awkward usage error, or obvious rewrite error where parts of the old text had been left in. The mistakes in this book were just too numerous to ingnore and, at times, felt like poor translation from another language or written by a non-native speaker.
As a reader, I am insulted when writers are just too lazy to have someone competent proofread their work. Have some respect for your readers!