Drones

by Rob J. Hayes

Alternate cover edition of ASIN B07CBNLPGV


In the near future Emotional Transference is the drug of choice.

Garrick is a Drone, going to ever-increasing extremes in order to sell the emotions. But he does it for a reason—because some memories are just too painful to bear.

When his dealer is murdered, Garrick must search for a new way to remove his unwanted emotions, but soon finds himself embroiled in a plot that threatens to go deeper than he ever imagined. Between terrorists bent on preserving the inner space, assassins with a debt to pay, and a social media giant with its claws in the government, can Garrick survive long enough to uncover the truth and let the world know?

Genres: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Dystopia, Fiction, Audiobook

ebook

First published April 7, 2018

About the author

Winner of Mark Lawrence's 3rd Self Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO) with Where Loyalties Lie

Rob J. Hayes has been a student, a banker, a marine research assistant, a chef, and a keyboard monkey more times than he cares to count. But eventually his love of fantasy and reading drew him to the life of a writer. He’s the author of the Amazon Best Selling The Heresy Within, the SPFBO-winning piratical swashbuckler Where Loyalties Lie, and the critically acclaimed Never Die.

Reviews

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

DRONES is the latest work by Rob J. Hayes who is probably my favorite independent author today. His THE TIES THAT BIND books were what got me into grimdark storytelling and I absolutely love his BEST LAID PLANS and IT TAKES A THIEF duologies. So, when I heard he was going to do a dedicated cyberpunk novel I was absolutely there.

So, is Drones any good? Yes, yes it is. It is a big departure from his usual work but I have to say that's not a bad thing. It reminds me very strongly of the movie STRANGE DAYS starring Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett. The premise of Strange Days was about the sharing of memories as the new drug of choice in the future. Drones is a related concept about the sharing of emotions as a soon-to-be-legalized drug.

Garrick is a Drone, which in the future is basically a junkie who allows himself to be milked of emotions in order to get money as well as feel the bliss of complete oblivion. Garrick doesn't actually WANT to feel emotions but instead wants the privilege of being numbed as is the side-effect of being harvested. He goes through life in a complete daze and occasionally has sex to get his endorphins up as well as sell that emotion. Garrick used to be a soldier but he's really running away from the pain of his lost daughter. One day, Garrick finds out his dealer has been murdered and he's now irrelevant as the companies are producing their own emotions without the need of Drones.

Garrick is a complicated character as he's a pretty accurate depiction of a junkie. Despite the fact he can, when motivated, kill as well as plan with the best of them--what he wants is always just another fix. It dominates him, his morality, and his relationships to others. The need to have his emotions purged and achieve a perfect oblivion is everything to him. It doesn't make him likable but he's not supposed to be even as he manages to survive against the people against him because no one takes him seriously as a threat--and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be.

This is an excellent cyberpunk novel and has some nice parallels to the War on Drugs, legalization argument, pharmaceutical handling of opiods, PTSD, and just being a good story itself. It's not a happy story and Garrick isn't a particularly charismatic lead given he's a degenerate burnout but it's a fascinating one and just decent sci-fi.

9/10

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy from the author. My review is honest, as usual.

This is one of those fast paced books where the action almost never lets up, and you can't put it down until you're done. Thankfully, it's a short read and a very entertaining one at that.

I was drawn in by the concept of Drones. Emotional Transference is an intriguing idea, and selling emotions...well, personally, I'd have a lot to offer. Anyone up for some anxiety?

Garrick is a well developed character, flawed, selfish, hurt, and despite all of Garrick's flaws, Hayes managed to make me care for him. The world building is minimal, only what's necessary to tell the story.

Told in first person and present tense, the writing style is perfect for the pace of this book. The reader is right there in the moment with Garrick, giving it a thrilling sense of immediacy.

The author could have explored the premise a bit more. The consequences of transferring emotions, the ethical side of it etc. He does so only superficially, but that hasn't actually bothered me because this book is simply about Garrick. And Garrick is in a lot of pain, and now in a lot of trouble.

If you're a fan of sci-fi/cyberpunk and find the premise interesting, this book will not disappoint. At only about two-hundred pages, it's the perfect alternative to an action film.

[Stephen Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rob J Hayes is fast becoming a favourite author of mine. I had struggled to find a book and stick to it in the last few months. Once again i devoured a Rob J Hayes book quickly. Its a fun ride with a few twists and turns. Its also very thought provoking as well. The moral dilemma of emotion harvesting and our reliance in social media. I recommend everyone read this.

[Lynn K : Grimmedian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent near future dystopian SciFi, and a fast paced page turner. Rob J. Hayes has a real talent for taking mediocre characters with selfish tendencies and turning them into someone that readers will care about. Without info dumps, Hayes takes us on a journey of high tech that contrasts sharply with our base human emotions. Seen through the eyes of the protagonist, we learn the plot through his experiences, his motivations, and the details of the world around him. The world building is tight and focused and the dialogue is deeply engaging. This is a highly entertaining book that will leave you pondering all the ‘what if’s’ of invasive technology being used in humans, and will stick with you long after the last page.

Highly recommended.
Full review and notes to come soon on Grimmedian.

[Richard Nell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall 8/10

All-around great, short sci-fi cyberpunk. Mr. Hayes took a little break from grimdark fantasy to satisfy his muse, and the result is a dark, intimate, and relevant story about a man who'd rather feel nothing than his own emotions. I really enjoyed it and tore through in a couple days.

Setting/World-Building
A noirish, high-tech-but-not-too-high-tech vision of the future, where mankind has colonized the moon and buy and sell emotions like drugs. I'm not a big sci-fi fan, but I found this very accessible and didn't roll my eyes once. The setting here is the backdrop and not the point. It lets us play with the possible while the characters strut their stuff, and the plot intrudes. Everything came across as believable and realistic without being forced.

Plot
Our 'hero' is a drone. His past haunts him, and now he earns a living experiencing emotional highs and selling them off, in an ever-more dangerous escalation of addictive behavior. But what happens if he loses his fix...and what if everyone was like Garrick...

I think the plot basically just worked. It's quick, it's interesting, and fun to read.

Characters
James Garrick, aka Robot, is much akin to the cynical detective narrating his descent through the filth of a corrupt society. In fact I was waiting for him to bust out a cigarette on many occasions, and kind of felt disappointed he didn't. Your like or dislike of Mr. Garrick may depend on your own level of cynicism, but I found him interesting in any case and a worthy teller of a fast, brutal tale. Through his eyes we see corrupt corporate executives, terrorist/freedom-fighters, gangsters, addicts, and one rather scary assassin.

Writing
This was my first experience with the author, and I quite liked the style. I started to think of it as 'Pierce Brown writes grimdark'. Sentences are often short, visceral, and emotional. Description gets to the point, and twists it. A great style for the genre.

Final Thoughts
This story was an excellent introduction to the writer, and I'd now comfortably buy any of his other work. Writing in multiple genres isn't so easy as one thinks, and even as a tentative dabbler in sci-fi I found this readable and well done. Thanks very much to the author for the read.

You can find this and many other excellent reviews over on Fantasy Book Review.co.uk.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Drones has a great opening. It grabbed my attention from the get-go. The pacing never slows down, and short chapters filled with short, punchy sentences make it a compulsive read. 

Garrick is a Drone, he doesn’t want to feel any emotions (for a reason) so he experiences them, illegally harvests and sells for a good price. Soon after his friend/dealer gets killed Garrick finds himself embroiled in a nefarious plot of a powerful corporation. 

Thanks to a relatively short length, non-stop action, and strong twists Drones kept me engaged in the story. I find the premise brilliant and Hayes’ short thoughts on emotions that sell/don’t sell spot-on. I liked the neo-noir aesthetic and characters. 

Garrick is a conflicted antihero (well, he’s more of an antihero than a hero, right?), trapped in a difficult situation and making choices out of desperation he doesn’t want to feel.

My only issue concerns the treatment of a brilliant premise, moral and ethical consequences of selling and experiencing emotions. We get glimpses of misuse of emotions and learn about a conspiracy. There was space to explore these themes, deepen characters and the world but Hayes focused on a strong action instead. Not a bad choice as it makes Drones almost unputdownable. On the other hand, when and where it tries to get deeper (into Garrick’s trauma, risks of harvesting emotions, family things) it feels unconvincing. Too little build-up, changes that feel too quick, questionable ending.

Drones is a good book. I enjoyed it. That said, with a little more details and character-study it could’ve been a great book. Well worth a read anyway.

[Julia Sarene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great read!

I personally love characters who aren't really integrated into human emotions - like Mr. Data or Seven of Nine from Star Trek for example. And this started out a bit like that, as the main character is a drone - someone who sells their emotions for a living.
As you can imagine - a book about selling and buying emotions has a bit more of a focus on that topic. Usually I really hate that, as I am a very pragmatic person myself - but with this one it was done really well and worked perfectly for me!
I clicked with the main character right away, and enjoyed the whole story right to the end.
The end is pretty open - another thing I usually don't like. But here it is the perfect ending. Left me annoyed at being over - in the best possible way!

I'd definitely recommend this one!

[Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very slick near-future sci-fi! Strongly recommended!! I will follow-up with more notes as soon as I have a spare moment.

[Al Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dang! If Rob J Hayes isn't one of the finest independent spec-fic authors out there, I have yet to read those others.

Probably known better for his dark fantasy, the author takes a trip more into the realm of sci-fi with his current release, Drones, and boy is it a humdinger.

James Garrick is a Drone, a person who sells their emotions to others, in his case to escape his torrid past. Life is moving along very nicely and emotionless, when he finds his only friend and traffic harvester dead. What at first looks like a robbery, Garrick's path instead sets him on a murder-mystery that threatens to rattle the very society in which he lives.

Set in the near future, where social media has almost taken over, the world is interesting and frighteningly possible. The tale careens along at a breakneck pace, starting with a stunt that involves parachuting off a New York skyscraper and takes in a trip to the moon as we endeavour to get to the bottom of things.

The story is told in first person, which I like particularly in the case of these mysteries, as we see what the protagonist sees, feel what they feel (or not, in this case). James Garrick is likable, despite his many failings, and makes a compelling lead.

When you start reading, if you're like me, you'll probably think this is akin to Total Recall (the good one), but in truth it's more like a feature length episode of Black Mirror.

Read and enjoy!

[Alexia Cambaling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

From the moment I saw the pitch of selling emotions, I was immediately intrigued by this book. I tend to like cyberpunk in other media but somehow, I've never read a book with that kind of premise. The world presented in Drones was good, it was believable and presented a good setting for the story. There are the usual tropes in cyberpunk like corrupt governments and evil corporations but I didn't really mind. It still fit the story.

I really enjoyed the story. Each chapter starts with the description of an emotion and the narrator comments on how it sells. It shows me Garrick's line of work and how it affects his day-to-day life. In the beginning to middle sections, he basically sells or gives away every emotion he feels. As he loses access to the technology, I can almost feel his withdrawal and how much he relied on the technology. Due to his backstory (which I won't spoil), I can really understand why.

There are a lot of tense moments in this book and there are a lot of twists which I didn't expect to happen and a couple of those which I did. The writing was good, it was fast-paced and never boring to read. The narration fits the character's thoughts perfectly and fits as his character changes.

The ending was good, although I did feel a bit unsatisfied as I wanted to see how the character's actions later played out. Still, I enjoyed it.

All in all, Drones is a good fast-paced read. Recommended for fans of cyberpunk.

This review is also on my blog The Bookworm Daydreamer

[Richard Writhen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drones is a good example of the emerging genre of Neo-Noir (or post-cyberpunk lawl). It details the emergence of a similar future technology to the one found in notorious cult film Strange Days; yet instead of one’s memories being recorded and sold, their emotions are. The donors are people known as “drones,” and they are left cold and emotionless with all caring removed from their minds by the “harvesters,” or dealers who then make a profit by selling the finished product. But that is where the similarity ends, as the narrative of Drones focuses on a lot of corporate and political intrigue and almost first-person shooter-esque combat scenes. The prose is very fluid; simply put, Drones reads like a dream. There’s a lot of sentence fragmentation, but as it’s written in first –person present tense a la Hunger Games, it definitely works as a stream-of-consciousness style glimpse into the thought patterns of its partially imperfect narrator, James Garrick. There are plenty of WTF moments in the plot as Garrick gets into one misadventure after another like a robotic James Bond, meeting everyone from terrorists to assassins along the way, and getting into rediculously tight situations like shootouts with military ops and being stranded in gangland territory without a penny on him. Add to that a touching side-story about the child that he’s become estranged from and you have quite the read. Recommended, 4 out of 5 stars.

[Rhian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege of reading this before it's release then a short while ago we saw a New Scientist article about handheld devices with the ability to sense your mood. Rob and I had the same reaction, "shit, it's happening". Everybody should read this. A great read that's current with a good pinch of social comment and shades of Bladerunner and Total Recall that I've been itching to be released to the big wide world ever since I read it. Read it, read it now! Then share it!

[Rob Hayes]

Finally got around to listening to the audio version (yes, I really should have done it long ago). Fred Filbrich did a fantastic job.

[Nunya Biznes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drones is the story of James Garrick, a man who makes a living selling his emotions on the black market. He's one of the best in the world, taking special requests for those emotions that accompany dangerous actions: Fear, Terror, exhilaration. After a tragic accident for which he felt overwhelming guilt and shame that he could not handle, he found a black-market emotion harvester, someone who could take his guilt away forever. He becomes a drone, which is what they call themselves, a person who never wants to feel, whose one goal in life is to feel nothing.

Suddenly, emotion harvesters all over the world are being murdered, taken out by professional hit squads, leaving James and drones like him without anyone to take their emotions, and he has to find out why, and how he can rid himself of all the emotions boiling within.

Drones is a fast paced novel that will catch and keep your attention right to the end

[Miriam Michalak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I'm not usually a fan of sci-fi but having enjoyed Rob J. Hayes fantasy romps I thought I'd give it a go - and am so pleased I did. The story is set in a near future where our protagonist puts himself through extreme experiences to create emotions which he can then sell. When his black-market "emotions harvester" is murdered he is left having to deal with his own emotions & what it means to be human.

The plot was fast paced, characters well fleshed out - there's terrorist plots, dodgy dealers, soul-sucking social media and trips to the moon :)

I particularly liked how a description of a different emotion (& the subsequent sale-ability & use of such an emotion) topped each chapter - each one gave me pause, reflecting on how I experience such an emotion.

Ace!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review to come soon. Loved the concept of emotion harvesting and Me.com was an interesting addition as well. Fun, short, sci-fi

Updated review:
Fear: Coursing. Pulsing. Crushing. Fear is a bestseller, not just for me, for all us Drones. It gets the blood pumping, the adrenaline flowing. More than any other emotion; fear makes you feel alive.

Emotions are what drive us. Some of us seek them out. Some of us shove them as far away from ourselves as possible. While still others sell every single emotion that they can, good or bad, these people are called Drones, and James Garrick is one of the best. Rob J. Hayes book, Drones, is a short, fast paced read that's set in the world of black market emotion selling.

For the last four years Garrick has been selling his emotions and he specializes in all the ones that keep the adrenaline pumping. But with the political world in uproar over the legalities involved in harvesting emotions, the underground world that Garrick inhabits starts to become more and more tense. Before long Garrick finds himself trapped between a corporation that wants emotional harvesting to be legal, and a terrorist group that will fight till the end for emotions to be left alone.

The man taps his skull. "This is sacred. It's the most sacred thing we have. It's what makes us alive. Makes us individuals. Makes us able to choose. People like him, they want to make us slaves."

There are a lot of interesting themes in this book that I really enjoyed and hadn't experienced before. The idea of harvesting emotions was done really well. You don't lose the memory that those emotions belong to, just the emotion itself, so you're able to look at it from a purely logical point of view. But if you repeatedly have your emotions harvested you can go through strange withdrawals. Making every emotion feel like you're experiencing it for the first time. Guilt, shame, fear, and many more are magnified without the experiences in our past to temper them. Garrick goes through these harvesting withdrawals and has to reassess his life as a Drone constantly through out the book, which really helped to humanize an otherwise unfeeling character.

Joy. I'm still feeling joy at the taste of my coffee. I'm in a bad situation. I have no way to rid myself of myself of my emotions and I've got so many of them swimming around with my memories. Panic closes in on my chest. The shakes come back and I feel sweaty all over again.
I decide to put my situation out of my mind for now. Or at least I try to...I head into the bathroom and turn on the shower. As hot as it goes...Shame I can't just wash my emotions down the drain.

I honestly don't have any complaints about this one, it was a fast paced read with a lot of things I liked. The characters were a little on the selfish side, but it worked really well with the overall story. A person that doesn't feel emotions is going to be more selfish than not, it's only logical to take care of yourself first, it's emotions that push us to do otherwise.

If you're a fan of sci-fi, adventure / quest type story lines, or adult coming of age stories (meaning our main character is an adult or has to find himself again), this book is definitely worth checking out. There are strong female characters in the story as well, but Rob J Hayes never veers off track into unnecessary romance which I greatly appreciated. I don't mind romance but only when it adds to the story and Drones had enough going on without it. This book was everything I wanted in a fun summer time read.

(if you enjoyed this review more are available on my blog at http://bookstocombattherain.blogspot....)

[David O'Brien]

A fast paced book which challenges ideas on emotions and our relationship with technology and social media. It twists and turns as it develops and is thought provoking. It's not my typical genre of book but if you like the futuristic and a synth-type setting this will tick all the right boxes.

Rob Hayes's books are always a great read and flip the script on any preconceptions you might have before you start reading. I've not read a bad book from him yet.

I'd definitely recommend.

[S. D. Howarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced sci-fi whodunnit with a very intriguing premise that remains with you a while. I normally read fantasy but do branch off every so often and enjoyed eating through the listen in three sessions.

I found it a slow burner, a quick read but three star story 'until' the terrorist incident where it warps away. Prior to that I didn’t feel Garrick and I felt so-so with whether I liked the narrator (albeit very well performed) as it doesn’t feel as lean as current works. Saying that, I liked the focus and the single pov. Garrick has a lot to contend with and seems flat initially - but well within character for a drone (which cannot be discounted and clever writing).

He gets around Earth and the moon quickly and while some parts of the plot drop together a tad too conveniently, he has an interesting conundrum, diminishing friends and PTSD and dealing with a wealth of emotions to counter and at times - brutal. He is a cool character, reminiscent of a Michael Marshall Smith novel and it is nifty writing in keeping the plot to emotions (and the knowledge of the process).

I'd personally have liked to have felt the sci-fi more, a richness beyond the dream tech. Feel immersed in the world and stars and comes across more as a local Altered Carbon, than Bladerunner. It is minor, and fades away when the tension, narration and stakes ramp up to a dramatic conclusion.

I have to say, while the hotel scene was cool, Kendal stole the book for me - she was an awesome character. I'd have read the book just for her, but Garrick's journey is thought provoking and scary in what the future may bring.

I recommend anyone reading this novel to pick up the rest of the authors’ collection, and look at Michael Marshall Smith.

[Dominick Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really awesome book.

However, it stops just short of a conclusion by denying any sort of resolution to the story. All it needed is an extra fifty words to wrap everything up, and say what happened.

You can't tell if they succeeded or failed in their mission. It just ended.

So it dropped from a five to a four star for me.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

tearing up in the end and hoping that there isn't a future that this is happening.

The idea of emotion-harvesting was quite interesting concept and on first glance it sounded like somewhat of a good idea at times .. but is it?! Is it really?
This little dystopian sf makes you think about the bigger picture and feel.
really liked the premisse and the execution.
proof Rob can write anything from fantasy to sf and its definitely for me.
highly recommend!

[Geekess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the Audible version, but that edition wasn't on GR at the moment.

4.5 stars out of 5, rounded up to 5 because of the surprisingly good entertainment.

I'd never heard of this author, which isn't that strange, because I don't know éveryone. But I'm usually hesitant to read self-published books. They are more often than not not really on a level I like, either in writing technique or in story quality.
But someone on reddit recommended this writer to me, and because this is his latest book and it is on audible, I thought, why not try it. If it is total rubbish, I'll ask for a refund.

It wasn't rubbish. Oh not at all. From the first page I had a lot of fun with this book. The premise is fresh and thought provoking. What if you could opt to sell your emotions. To get rid of them in the process? What kind of people would do that, when it is actually illegal?
A person would have to be a cold, heartless monster to even consider this, right?
But the main character (Garrick) isn't cold and heartless. He has too much heart, if anything. His constant struggle to get rid of his emotions, his unabashed selfishness through most of the story to get a new dealer who can give him what he so desperately needs, makes him a bit of an anti-hero. I love anti-heroes (hey, Thomas Covenant, I'm looking at you!).

The villain is very realistic, in this day and age. It is hard to say something about that, without spoiling the story.
I love how the story ended. Some people won't, but this was the best way, I think.

Now, on to the less good points.
The writing was sometimes a little bit unbalanced/unpolished. It was noticable because of the extremely polished writing I've read prior to this book, so if I had been reading pulp before this, it may not have been an issue. As it is, it is minor.
There were some red herrings/guns on the mantlepiece that weren't used, though, and I don't like that. I really expected the contents of the induced nightmare to be of more importance. I even expected a more 'Existenz/Matrix' like approach, because of that, but that wasn't the case.
The second half of the story felt rushed and a bit forced. That may just be me, I was expecting something else. But it didn't flow entirely naturally, especially the last parts.

The action writing is very well done, and it felt very realistic, as if the writer really had an ex-military background (don't know if that's the case). Pacing was fast and plotting fairly tight. Not too many useless scenes, as you normally see in self published books.

After finishing the book (and I didn't want to finish it), I immediately started looking for more books by this writer. I found that his topics are all over the map in genre and subjects, which I like (but dread as well; can a writer do enough research to pull it off?). I will read more of his books as soon as possible, I'm hooked!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Recieved For Free*

A very slick cyberpunk thriller that packs quite a lot into its relativly short length. This was my first exposure to Rob Hayes, and I am suitably impressed. I always appreciate when a book manages to tell a full story, and Drones almost just about manages to pull it off (almost, because the ending has a slight Blakes 7 vibe - no one will get that referance).

With Drones you will get some very good characterisation, excellent world building, and a plot that makes sense throughout.

Give this one a go

[Vicki Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drones is a fantastic Blade Runner-esk story that is scary to be honest because it leaves you thinking ‘this could actually happen!’ The concept of being able to sell your emotions is absolutely compelling and it is truly astounding the things the main protagonist, Garrick, puts himself through to earn credits and carry on with his life style. There’s clear darkness and tragedy to his character as he is partially trying to escape the guilt of his past throughout the story. I will admit that I am very new to the world of Sci-Fi, both written and visual, but I found this book extremely hard to put down. The story flowed well, without dragging with the introduction of excellent secondary characters that support Garrick through his journey of accepting his past and questioning the world he lives in. I particularly enjoyed the fact the story takes place ‘off Earth’ and explores the futuristic concept of colonies on other planets and the moon.

The ‘big bad’ in the form of an organization that wants to control the population through emotion harvesting was by no means a boring ‘villain’ even though an ‘evil organization is common in this genre. The ending leaves you wanting more as you have many questions to what will happen next and how will the world react to the truth regarding what they have let happen to them partial through their own choice, but I also didn’t feel like the story was unfinished. Hayes certainly has a talent for writing in many different genres and I would hope to see more from his Sci-Fi musings in the future, although I am looking forward to more in the First Earth series.

[Martin Sear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy from the author to write an honest review. I have really enjoyed this authors especially the ties that bind trilogy is one of my favorite series, and would definitely recommend those books to anyone. This book, i did not feel was as good, but then the subject matter is not one i,m a fan of and would generally choose to read. The story is set in the future where people buy and sell emotions, but for the lead character it becomes a quest to unravel the reasons for a friends death. As always the author has told the story well and the further the story progressed the more i enjoyed it and enj0yed the characters. I think i would have enjoyed the story more if it went on to other titles and i felt it ended to soon and feel i would have been more interested in buying a following book continued form the first. If dystopian societies and near future books are for you then i'm sure you'll enjoy what was to me a new idea and new type of story to read. Would i read another book set in this type of setting? im not so sure, would i read another book by this author? Definitely

[Chip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit implausible, but overall I enjoyed it.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER - I received a free copy of this book to review for the 2023 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC).

I love when writers take something from current events, news headlines, or X (formerly Twitter) and amp it up a thousand percent. Rob J. Hayes has done exactly that with his Sci Fi novel, Drones.

From his website, I see that Hayes has written quite a number of fantasy and science fiction books prior to releasing Drones in 2018 but this is the first book of his I have read.

Our hero/anti-hero is Garrick, an emotion drone. In the future people, nicknamed drones, purposely put themselves into situations where they experience extreme emotions and then have them harvested and sold on the black market to individuals interested in experiencing the emotions. Imagine experiencing the fear/thrill of jumping off of a building without putting yourself into harms way. Once harvested, the drones feel nothing for a few hours and then, while they retain their memories, they no longer remember the emotions connected to them. This part is extremely important to Garrick because we learn, early on, that he has shot and killed his young daughter.

When the maker of the emotion sapping and delivering machinery gets the process legalized by congress, Garrick is suddenly out of a job. He goes back to his former job, a member of a private security “army” where he quickly finds himself in the middle of a terrorist attack by a group wanting to stop the company from buying and selling emotions.

I cannot share much more without giving away too much of the plot but I can tell you that things notch up pretty quickly with lots of action and Garrick getting involved with some very interesting characters.

The best part of this book is the ongoing theme of emotions. Every chapter starts with a definition of an emotion, such as Fear, Pride, Relief, Love, etc., and the corresponding value it has on the blackmarket. With the current discussion of AI and the fact that computers are emotionless, Drone delves deeply into the question of the good and bad of emotions when it comes to making decisions. There is even a great scene that conjures up the philosophical question of the Trolley Problem (look it up if you are not familiar with it).

As a reader of hard science, science fiction, some of Hayes’ technology and space travel left me a bit cold. Otherwise, I greatly enjoyed this book and recommend it not only for its action packed science fiction story but for the philosophical questions it raises.

[Robert Lechleitner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drones marks my second book from Rob J. Hayes and it comes as no surprise that this was an absolute hit with me. It's got so much going for it that it checks a ton of boxes for things I love. Plot-driven, Cyberpunk setting, fast-paced, no filler, and interesting technology that's both unique, believable and scary. The ending leaves pretty abruptly for the readers to come to their own conclusion of how things conclude. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. In the case of Drones, it works well giving off a sense of hope for the future that I felt satisfied with. Rob J. Hayes is without question becoming a new favorite author of mine. Really looking forward to reading more from Mr. Hayes in the future.

[odedo1 Audio book worm. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbelievable conspiracy !!!


This Science fiction will eventually become true, maybe in a different way but it will.
Even today the already experiment with those virtual reality glasses or googles and they are getting better all the time which eventually when they will solve sound, smells and perfect movement people will get addicted to those because who don’t want a better life and the author Rob J. Hayes have written an excellent science-fiction addiction story which is totally believable.
Choosing Fred Filbrich for narration was also an excellent choice, he have done such a perfect narration which just kept you totally in the story.

Oded Ostfeld.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars: free from the author via his news letter. This was my first read from Rob J Hayes and I really enjoyed this sci-fi dystopian short story. I am generally not keen on first person narratives but this worked well. There was enough to get me connected with the main POV character. So much so that I did shed a tear in the last chapter. The short epigraphs for each chapter was genius and sets the scene nicely and gets you reflecting on emotion and what it means to be human. Overall, a fast paced engaging plot with a small cast of characters to keep you emerged and engaged.

[Rob Grafrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of harvesting emotions and then reselling them to others is an interesting one, and makes for a good premise upon which to build a story of a man trying to forget his past who gets himself wrapped up into a big, fat world-changing conspiracy. Although I know it wasn't hard sci-fi, I still would have liked to have gotten more hints into the supposed mechanism of the emotion extraction and transplantation.