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Division Zero #4
Guardian
Agent Kirsten Wren thought she’d seen the true face of evil, but an elder demon didn’t prepare her for an even more insidious enemy—politics.
She returns to active duty after a month off to recover from what happened on the Moon, gloomy over not being able to spend all day with her adopted son. After the fiasco of her last relationship, she takes things slow with a potential new boyfriend, but wonders if she’s capable of trusting a man.
Her usual routine goes off the deep end when an influential senator requests her by name to investigate a haunting at his earthbound vacation home. A string of escalating spectral assaults on random people by the same entity leaves her frustrated and unable to connect the dots. Once the angry spirit attacks her son, Kirsten suspects she’s its true target.
The more she learns, the more she suspects the senator is darker than the spirit he wants destroyed. Kirsten is determined to bring him down, but doing the right thing could cost her guardianship of Evan and threaten the very existence of Division 0.
She returns to active duty after a month off to recover from what happened on the Moon, gloomy over not being able to spend all day with her adopted son. After the fiasco of her last relationship, she takes things slow with a potential new boyfriend, but wonders if she’s capable of trusting a man.
Her usual routine goes off the deep end when an influential senator requests her by name to investigate a haunting at his earthbound vacation home. A string of escalating spectral assaults on random people by the same entity leaves her frustrated and unable to connect the dots. Once the angry spirit attacks her son, Kirsten suspects she’s its true target.
The more she learns, the more she suspects the senator is darker than the spirit he wants destroyed. Kirsten is determined to bring him down, but doing the right thing could cost her guardianship of Evan and threaten the very existence of Division 0.
- GenresScience Fiction
440 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 16, 2017
15 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Matthew S. Cox
197 books266 followersBorn in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.
Hobbies and Interests:
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- deliberate), and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
Hobbies and Interests:
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- deliberate), and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 9, 2015
Matthew Cox has never let me down in one of his stories. I love the series of Division Zero. It is a science fiction set in the future and if you have never read any of Matthew's books, this is a good place to start. He is a fantastic writer with lots of wonderful stories to tell.
May 28, 2017
Overcoming Specters Of The Past
•••NOT for the homophobic, transphobic, closedminded, or feint of heart!•••
This series must be read in order. For continuity and lack of spoilers, Virtual Immortality should be read first. The first book is Into The Beneath. The second book is Division Zero. The third book is Loose Ends. The fourth book is Lex De Mortuis. The fifth book is Thrall. This is the sixth book. I can't wait to read whatever comes next!
Kirsten is finally getting over the horrors Konstantin put her through... Or at least trying to. She has been seeing Sam and that seems to be going well. Being Evan's mother in fact and not just feeling has given her the family they never had. Nothing and noone can take that away from them... Not EVER again! Too bad her leave is over and it's time to go back to work. Friends, family, and her partner Dorian are more than she ever thought she would have. A rash of strange hauntings is sending her running all over the city and she has no idea what's going on. Are all the hauntings connected? Or is there a new type of supernatural threat unlike anything she has ever seen before? Why is a Senator asking for Her by name? How did she even get on a Senator's radar? Will Evan start resenting her for all the time she has to spend working? Does he feel like she is abandoning him again? Who or what is causing Evan's nightmares? Is it her fault?
***This series is suitable for adult readers who enjoy dystopian futuristic sci-fi with plenty of intrigue set in a post postapocalyptal world where nothing is as it seems and the paranormal vies with advanced science for control of the world :)
•••NOT for the homophobic, transphobic, closedminded, or feint of heart!•••
This series must be read in order. For continuity and lack of spoilers, Virtual Immortality should be read first. The first book is Into The Beneath. The second book is Division Zero. The third book is Loose Ends. The fourth book is Lex De Mortuis. The fifth book is Thrall. This is the sixth book. I can't wait to read whatever comes next!
Kirsten is finally getting over the horrors Konstantin put her through... Or at least trying to. She has been seeing Sam and that seems to be going well. Being Evan's mother in fact and not just feeling has given her the family they never had. Nothing and noone can take that away from them... Not EVER again! Too bad her leave is over and it's time to go back to work. Friends, family, and her partner Dorian are more than she ever thought she would have. A rash of strange hauntings is sending her running all over the city and she has no idea what's going on. Are all the hauntings connected? Or is there a new type of supernatural threat unlike anything she has ever seen before? Why is a Senator asking for Her by name? How did she even get on a Senator's radar? Will Evan start resenting her for all the time she has to spend working? Does he feel like she is abandoning him again? Who or what is causing Evan's nightmares? Is it her fault?
***This series is suitable for adult readers who enjoy dystopian futuristic sci-fi with plenty of intrigue set in a post postapocalyptal world where nothing is as it seems and the paranormal vies with advanced science for control of the world :)
September 5, 2018
Gah Guardian is probably the best book out of the entire Division Zero Series!
Kristen was put through hell with Konstantin and she's finally trying to move past them and attempt dating again. She's also having the best time with being Evan's mother and finally getting the family they both never had.
But now that Kristen's break is over she's to report back to work to handle a ghost problem she was personally requested for.
.
.
.
I don't want to give away too much with this book, but trust me, if you've read the previous books in this series you won't be disappointed with Guardian!
Kristen was put through hell with Konstantin and she's finally trying to move past them and attempt dating again. She's also having the best time with being Evan's mother and finally getting the family they both never had.
But now that Kristen's break is over she's to report back to work to handle a ghost problem she was personally requested for.
.
.
.
I don't want to give away too much with this book, but trust me, if you've read the previous books in this series you won't be disappointed with Guardian!
Read
September 7, 2018Kirsten is still at it!!! She is trying to get over what happened in the last book. She's taken some time off but now it's time to get back to work. She thinks there's a politician out there up to no good but if she pursues it she may lose her adopted son. How can she defeat him and keep her boy???
Lots of intrigue, a new relationship, new villain, and awesome characters. Love this series, can't wait for more!!!
Lots of intrigue, a new relationship, new villain, and awesome characters. Love this series, can't wait for more!!!
August 30, 2018
Political issues always suck!
The handling of them is rarely justice for anyone. Power being so curruptting even those who start good change. I enjoyed seeing how this story played out. If anyone could find a loophole this woman could.
The handling of them is rarely justice for anyone. Power being so curruptting even those who start good change. I enjoyed seeing how this story played out. If anyone could find a loophole this woman could.
April 30, 2022
Guardian
Not having read the previous books in the series it took me a while to get into this story and figure out who was who. Once I did the story was enjoyable with its mix of sci-fi with ghosts and demons and thrilling action.
Not having read the previous books in the series it took me a while to get into this story and figure out who was who. Once I did the story was enjoyable with its mix of sci-fi with ghosts and demons and thrilling action.
June 23, 2022
Cox fuses psionics and cyberpunk with a political thriller, producing a tale that is equally detective procedural and high-speed action.
This novel is the fourth in the Division Zero series. Proceeding past this point without reading previous volumes might induce precognitive dissonance (c.f. slang dictionary: spoilers).
Returning from a month’s recuperative leave, Agent Kirsten Wren moves straight from relaxed hours with her adopted son, Evan, to high stress days investigating possible spectral assault on an influential senator. As the same phenomena manifest around other people, she grows more certain a vengeful ghost is behind all the attacks; however, with the victims unconnected by geographical area, social strata, or any other criteria she can think of, she has no way to predict where the spirit will strike next or why it seeks to harm these people. And digging too deeply into a politician’s life in search of dirty secrets risks both her own happiness and what little acceptance psionics have.
Cox continues his skilled gestalt of psychic power and cyberpunk, expanding the world enough to avoid staleness without overburdening the narrative with new background. Where previous volumes introduced the economic, social, and metaphysical structures, this novel brings politics to the forefront. As such, while the threats of harm are of equal level, many stem not from criminal activity, magic, or other assailable target, but rather from immoral yet legal use of influence.
However, Cox doesn’t skimp on fast-paced action. In parallel with politicians who offer to grant or withdraw support and senior officers who choose to weigh immediate good against long-term consequences, spirits attack the innocent (and not so innocent) and fanatical preachers incite their followers to murder psionics.
Therefore, while this book doesn’t contain the same revelations of the morality and qualities of the afterlife that the previous volumes do, readers who enjoy Cox’s mix of gritty threat and more abstruse ethical dilemmas will not be disappointed.
As with previous novels in the series, Cox provides all the evidence that Kirsten discovers, allowing readers to form their own theories free from the irritation of only discovering the key fact after she has reached an unlikely yet true conclusion. And keeps monomania and idiocy to a minimum, avoiding situations where characters ignore a line of inquiry that seems obvious to the reader. However, he also makes full use of both close point-of-view and the uncertainties of psionic senses to keep the most likely conclusions shifting enough to maintain tension.
Kirsten remains a well-written character. Having successfully adopted Evan, she has a more settled quality; but also faces the greater obstacles of raising a growing boy over the long-term, both general and specific to psionics. She displays similar shifts between stability and uncertainty in her burgeoning relationship with Sam; she knows he cares, but still suffers visceral fear of commitment from having emotions forced on her by Konstantin. As such her struggle will be immediately recognisable to any psychopomp caught in a metaphysical struggle for a dystopian world – or indeed anyone with a job, home life, and less-than-perfect ex.
With the adoption resolved, Evan also develops, providing a youthful perspective on both the world and the training of psionics. Echoing the post-abuse behaviours and beliefs that Kirsten displayed in the first book, yet displaying different nuances, he seems a plausibly unique child without sacrificing the commonality that makes the reader immediately sympathetic.
The supporting cast are similarly both recognisable and complex. Even characters who only appear in a single scene are formed from the intersection of more than one trait, producing a sense of a world where people who, for example, hate the police are more divided by their differences than united by their common opponent.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking science fiction that’s driven by character rather than world but that doesn’t skimp on the futuristic.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
This novel is the fourth in the Division Zero series. Proceeding past this point without reading previous volumes might induce precognitive dissonance (c.f. slang dictionary: spoilers).
Returning from a month’s recuperative leave, Agent Kirsten Wren moves straight from relaxed hours with her adopted son, Evan, to high stress days investigating possible spectral assault on an influential senator. As the same phenomena manifest around other people, she grows more certain a vengeful ghost is behind all the attacks; however, with the victims unconnected by geographical area, social strata, or any other criteria she can think of, she has no way to predict where the spirit will strike next or why it seeks to harm these people. And digging too deeply into a politician’s life in search of dirty secrets risks both her own happiness and what little acceptance psionics have.
Cox continues his skilled gestalt of psychic power and cyberpunk, expanding the world enough to avoid staleness without overburdening the narrative with new background. Where previous volumes introduced the economic, social, and metaphysical structures, this novel brings politics to the forefront. As such, while the threats of harm are of equal level, many stem not from criminal activity, magic, or other assailable target, but rather from immoral yet legal use of influence.
However, Cox doesn’t skimp on fast-paced action. In parallel with politicians who offer to grant or withdraw support and senior officers who choose to weigh immediate good against long-term consequences, spirits attack the innocent (and not so innocent) and fanatical preachers incite their followers to murder psionics.
Therefore, while this book doesn’t contain the same revelations of the morality and qualities of the afterlife that the previous volumes do, readers who enjoy Cox’s mix of gritty threat and more abstruse ethical dilemmas will not be disappointed.
As with previous novels in the series, Cox provides all the evidence that Kirsten discovers, allowing readers to form their own theories free from the irritation of only discovering the key fact after she has reached an unlikely yet true conclusion. And keeps monomania and idiocy to a minimum, avoiding situations where characters ignore a line of inquiry that seems obvious to the reader. However, he also makes full use of both close point-of-view and the uncertainties of psionic senses to keep the most likely conclusions shifting enough to maintain tension.
Kirsten remains a well-written character. Having successfully adopted Evan, she has a more settled quality; but also faces the greater obstacles of raising a growing boy over the long-term, both general and specific to psionics. She displays similar shifts between stability and uncertainty in her burgeoning relationship with Sam; she knows he cares, but still suffers visceral fear of commitment from having emotions forced on her by Konstantin. As such her struggle will be immediately recognisable to any psychopomp caught in a metaphysical struggle for a dystopian world – or indeed anyone with a job, home life, and less-than-perfect ex.
With the adoption resolved, Evan also develops, providing a youthful perspective on both the world and the training of psionics. Echoing the post-abuse behaviours and beliefs that Kirsten displayed in the first book, yet displaying different nuances, he seems a plausibly unique child without sacrificing the commonality that makes the reader immediately sympathetic.
The supporting cast are similarly both recognisable and complex. Even characters who only appear in a single scene are formed from the intersection of more than one trait, producing a sense of a world where people who, for example, hate the police are more divided by their differences than united by their common opponent.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking science fiction that’s driven by character rather than world but that doesn’t skimp on the futuristic.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
August 31, 2018
This series has not let me down! I REALLY loved the ending. I dont think it could have been better! Loved Sam and she deserved a good man. This is one of the best science fiction series' I've come across that ISN'T a romance. Really engaging and edge of your seat beginning to end. I don't know if there are more planned but I'd be ok if there was. I honestly believe she's come full circle. She'd got a good thing going and add Evan into the mix. I was quite happy and it was emotional and Kristen just made you feel what she was going through. I recommend reading this in order though. Loved it!
April 11, 2021
Lot of fun
Love spending time with Kristen an Company. This time she may be in over her head with a powerful senator. But Kristen has a lot of friends, even if you can’t see most of them.
Love spending time with Kristen an Company. This time she may be in over her head with a powerful senator. But Kristen has a lot of friends, even if you can’t see most of them.
April 26, 2022
“It took me a while to remember that happened in the previous book lol so I was kind of lost at first but once I was back in the game I enjoyed Kristen’s journey, she clearly knew what staying strong means.”
December 27, 2024
Excellent book by Matthew
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews