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SkyLine #1

The Dragon Commander

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A future police department corrupted by artificial intelligence massacres an entire city district. Major General Christopher Droan and his highly skilled team are called in to stop the threat, but to succeed they must embrace the same power that threatens to destroy their world.

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It shouldn’t have been possible four years ago, and it was happening again.


Major General Christopher Droan survived a crisis once before.
It left him with trauma, and a deeper understanding of his dad’s distrust for technology.
Chris tried to put it behind him, to focus on the love of his life, recent fiancee Sheba.
But, in the year 2350, Cold Fusion, AI nanotech police officers, and the SkyLine between a dying Earth and a developing Mars are parts of life.
It’s a turbulent environment to be a Major General, even one resigned to desk work. The calm can only last so long. When tragedy strikes Precinct 117 in Shanghai, Chris and his unit are forced to gear up again
They never thought they’d see something the likes of what shook their world four years ago. That was only the beginning.


What waits for them in the heart of a robot with a beta personality matrix will change the planets on both ends of the SkyLine, mankind, and Major General Christopher Droan, forever.


85 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 21, 2018

20 people are currently reading
40 people want to read

About the author

Kennedy King

7 books20 followers

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5 stars
18 (32%)
4 stars
20 (36%)
3 stars
8 (14%)
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6 (10%)
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Meenaz Lodhi.
1,037 reviews89 followers
February 8, 2019
“You cannot shoot a thought.”
“Does the world ever leave hell?”
A surprising turn of events kept me hooked from the beginning. Rogue AI? Hackers? An unexpected and shocking discovery makes me go on with the series!
Profile Image for Emily Pennington.
20.9k reviews369 followers
September 15, 2019
Finch swiped his station pass with no luck. With the poor condition of Precinct 117 in Shanghai, he figured it was a malfunction and tried three more times before he thought maybe it was instead a test of some kind. With only three weeks on the force, he was still a rookie and always being tested. Greg, another rookie, pushed the door open for him. They talked about their new AI partners. Finch had a beta model drone named DA-Vos with a personality matrix to let it adjust to be the perfect partner. That just made his Squire apologize all the time and act more ‘clingy’. Greg’s Squire was the latest AI shapeshifting thing that would only do things their partner physically could not do themselves – because they were so expensive to operate. Then the Chief arrived to give them their assignments, calling for a meeting in 5 minutes.

As Finch turned, he was surprised to see DA-Vos’ face was a strange yellow color he had never seen before. The Squire looked upset, asking if they heard what he heard, if it was a horrible joke, telling him to do what?? No! Greg started to react, but his own Squire partner pierced his chest with a spearhand; then its face turned crimson and the arm changed to a laser that it fired at Finch. DA-Vos, however, had used its own body to put a shield around Finch to protect him from the laser blasts, telling Finch to remain quiet and still. Greg’s partner then moved on to another officer to attack and kill until everyone but Finch was dead.

Major General Christopher Droan returned home to his fiancé, Sheba. They had a wonderful dinner and spent time together before a shocking phone call came in. Chris had to immediately report to the World Crisis Council consulate regarding some sort of attack on Precinct 117! Apparently all of the AI-controlled Squires had turned on their partners. Chris grabbed an old-fashioned pistol his antiques-loving father had given him and put it in his belt. Sheba knew that could not be a good sign. When he told her what was happening, she wasn’t sure if it was related to her dreams, which had been alarming her recently. Those who worked the mines on Mars, to make the Fusion technology possible for usage on Earth, usually ended up with dreams and some bad physical reactions. They called it 3D – dragon dissociative disorder. Eventually, awake or asleep, with long-term exposure hallucinations occurred of fearsome beasts with scales and claws, looking very much like the Dragons that Earth legend described. Something very bad might be happening now. But Sheba hadn’t told Chris anything yet, and she – though born on Mars – had never worked in the mines, unless residue from her uncle was affecting her all these years later. She stared at the ceiling after Chris left, trying not to remember the yellow eyes that glared at her in the darkness of her dreams.

This was a very exciting story as it got rolling along! There are multiple things happening, keeping the suspense and tension moving the story line briskly along. The characters are developed well and give the reader at least a little hope that Earth can fight back successfully. Grab your copy and find out what’s going on and who could possibly be able to change the fate of the two planets! [Note: Maj Gen name was spelled 3 different ways, so I picked one, not knowing which the author preferred.]
Profile Image for Frank Geimer.
510 reviews8 followers
September 15, 2019
I really enjoyed reading this short story from Kennedy. The world building is great and the storyline believable. The characters are coming out and are on their way to be well defined. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Profile Image for Martha.
867 reviews49 followers
May 2, 2019
This was a quick read; intro to a series.

Major General Christopher Droan leads a special team who has survived some traumatic battles. They have seen and survived devastating attacks. Droan is trying to put his love life first as he helps his fiancé, Sheeba, plan their wedding. Sheeba is afraid to tell Droan of the nightmares that are increasing. When she’d like to keep Droan close to hand, he is called away to meet his team at the site of a radical attack.

Droan suspects that something is troubling Sheeba but she isn’t telling him the problem. He has no choice but to respond to the call out. A strong precinct in Shanghai has had all of the officers killed but one, Finch. The attack wasn’t from outside, but rather by the AI partners of the officers. Finch only survived because his new partner, DA-Vos, protected him. What, or who, could cause these specialized AI units to turn on their human masters?

The story has intrigue and some strange paranormal twists. Sheeba’s nightmare visions have a strange connection to an unexplained power that challenges Droan. How can Droan deal when confronted with “You cannot shoot a thought”?

I really liked the action and intrigue in the story. Droan’s assignment is a little confusing but I imagine it would come clear in the next book. There is some sexual contact (not vulgar) and some (gruesome) killing. The writing is easy and the story moves quickly. I just feel it could have used a little more depth and clarity. I recommend this to readers who like military sci fi with cyberpunk and dragon elements.

Source: NetGalley 2019. My rating 3.75.
Profile Image for SciFiOne.
2,021 reviews41 followers
May 19, 2020
2020 grade B-

I voluntarily reviewed this 22,000 word novel after receiving a free copy.

Good plot, good prose, easy to read & follow, decent world building, limited character development. It was a fun read and would probably be liked more by readers who want a lot of "on screen" action. I'm more of a Heinlein, Asimov, Foster, McCaffrey fan.

There is a lot of story for such a short book, so something had to be minimized. It was the characters. I didn't even know what most looked like until hints were dropped later. Visualization was not problem though. I just made something up, and the writing is so well done that knowing who is who was never confusing.

More importantly I never really identified with any of the characters. That was probably a good thing since most of them died pretty gory "on screen" deaths. The rest were emotionally damaged or physically changed. For all intents and purposes, the protagonists lost- sort of?

All told it was not enough to make me go out and buy any more of the series. Still I am glad I got a chance to read it. Thank You.

The book would probably be considered adult because it is pretty graphic in both the sex and violence categories - again not a problem for me.
Profile Image for Neil.
1,593 reviews14 followers
December 9, 2020
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Like all short stories this felt very rushed.
Names seem to be thrown at you and the story leaves you in the lurch
wanting to know what is going to happen next.
Maybe that is what the start of all series should do but does not mean you have to like it.

Profile Image for Michelle L. Reeve.
136 reviews2 followers
October 8, 2019
Chris doesn’t trust technology. It has failed him before. Now he is forced to trust an AI to save humanity. Can the AI be trusted? Great book with strong characters and lots of action.
905 reviews9 followers
November 18, 2018
Interesting premise, but the plot was a little lacking in details. Probably will be better as you read the rest of the series. Shoot-em-up type of story.
Profile Image for Alex (Gadget Girl 71).
108 reviews6 followers
April 18, 2019
SkyLine is set way into the future. The world isn’t the world we know now. The World in this future is slowly dying. The year is 2350 and the world is run by the WCC (world crisis council).

Finch has just graduated out of the academy, and for the last three weeks he has been assigned to precinct 117 in Shanghai. It is well known that this precinct isn’t in the best shape. It was a relic from a time gone by, before the WCC took over. However all the officers have a Squire assigned to them courtesy of the WCC.

The Squires are robots, but not the type of robots we know. These robots are AI’s made out of nanotechnology and Cold Fusion (the elements of which can be found under Mars’ crust, which they have been mining since they colonised Mars), also making them capable of shape shifting. They are so black and shiny that you can see your reflection in them, and all they have for a face is a shiny black oval. To make people feel more relaxed around them their faces light up in a lavender colour when they speak.

On this particular morning just as Finch was getting ready to clock in for that days shift all hell breaks loose. All of the squires turn on their partners and they are massacred, all that is but Finch. Today is Finche’s lucky day as his Squire protects him from being massacred. He thought he was the unlucky one having to babysit a child like Squire as it’s in beta testing, it has been given a personality matrix and a more human name than all of the other models. His name is DA-Vos.

Major General Christopher Droan, has been called back to take charge of his unit. As they have already dealt and survived with a similar crisis. They have been tasked with hunting down the rogue Squires and eliminate them before they carry out more carnage.

The Major General doesn’t trust all the new technology that has become available to earth. To him Cold Fusion technology was the work of the devil. Going on a mission like this he wont be going anywhere without his old style guns an M16. As you just never know if your Cold Fusion gun would let you down.

What makes this mission so different is that the Major General doesn’t know how it will change his life and maybe the earths future.

For such a short book it’s fast and action packed with cool science of the future. So much so, it’s such a possibility this is how things could be in the future. It’s like Terminator and I Robot in one, or a much more up to date version that feels more believable than I Robot. I’m really looking forward to the next chapter in the SkyLine series.
Profile Image for Leah.
1,281 reviews5 followers
May 4, 2020
Audiobook, n by Amber Lee Connors

This book began as a mixed bag for me, but by the end I did not enjoy it. For starters, the narrator had a very sharp sibilant that was rather ear-shattering. The author seemed to bend over backwards to come up with synonyms for "said" which came across as telling (not showing). The story, while nothing new, was interesting, and I felt the character interactions were good. Other than the "said" nitpick, the writing was good. What bothered me in the end was twofold: gratuitous sex, and a rather flat execution. The first instance was quite early in the book; it was explicit, vulgar, annoying, and completely superfluous, adding nothing at all to the story or character development. As the story progressed, there was more of this, as well as ridiculous plot contrivances that merely echoed what came before. By the end I was disappointed and unimpressed.
Profile Image for Josie ❃The Bubbly Book Reviewer❃.
205 reviews37 followers
May 22, 2020
Science fiction/fantasy, good characters, good lead in to a series.

I really liked the way the author developed the characters in this book. Considering they only had 85 pages to do it in, they did a great job. My personal negative would be with the two love/sex scenes which while they were written well did not seem to fit the rest of the story and in my opinion, were unnecessary in this sci/fi story. But each to their own, you might like them.

Somethings change but others stay the same - Favourite quote: “Costs the Precinct millions more to pay for the Squires than it does for us. They don’t lift a shapeshifting finger unless it’s something we can’t do ourselves.”

I would like to thank “Hidden” Gems Books and author Kennedy King for my complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Louise.
102 reviews
March 11, 2020
Great Preface

This is a short book giving the explanation and history of the Dragon Commander.

In this book set a few hundred years in the future, we have colonised the moon and Mars. While mining on Mars a substance is found that can be used in cold fusion.

Earth has been lead to ruin with over use of fossil fuels, etc. With the development of cold fusion the hope is that further damage can be minimised.

There’s also been development of AI’s and with nanotechnology developed from the mining on Mars, robots are developed as Sires (partners) to each police officer. In one of the trial police stations all but one of the robots fires on their partners.

This then leads us to our prologue for the series
109 reviews1 follower
November 15, 2018
I kind of liked the story, but ….

The story starts with the nearly complete and violent annihilation of those in Precinct 117. Finch is the only survivor because his new AI partner, DA-Vos, protected and saved him while the other AIs (called Squires) killed their partners.

Major General Christopher Droan leads his team to Precinct 117 an action into a tragedy like they saw four years early. At Precinct 117 Chris learns of a danger to Earth and Mars and the cause will be the Chrysum on these two worlds.

There's potential, so I’ll wait for the next book to see if the “but” expands or goes away.
Profile Image for PelicanFreak.
2,218 reviews
February 25, 2019
Wow; this was such an interesting read; I really couldn’t put it down! It’s packed with action, tragedy, mystery, a fascinatingly scientific plot that leaves me needing more and the author even personified a robot and had it prompting real feels.

It didn’t exactly end on a cliffhanger, but I absolutely must have more.
Manuscript is mostly clean, proofing-wise. Character development is well-done. Overall a fast, fun read!

4 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Profile Image for Elizabeth McDaniel.
2,383 reviews
September 16, 2019
This action packed futuristic story was interesting and intriguing and full of adventure. Major General Christopher(Chris) Droan and his fiancé Sheba’s lives will never be the same after this assignment.The concept of a human turning to an Ai cyber dragon is fascinating. Can’t wait for the next one since this first book has some cliff hangers hanging.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for David Myers.
1 review
September 17, 2019
I enjoyed this book. The twist at the end was very unexpected. The main character, Chris, is vividly ensconced in my mind. Kenny brings each character to life in a way that keeps each one separate and easy to follow, each with a distinct personality. The mixture of genres made me scoff at first, as I'm not a fan of the secondary genre, but the final ending was cool, very cool, even if his mission does involve interstellar mythology
Profile Image for Scarolet Ellis.
7,445 reviews53 followers
September 17, 2019
SkyLine The Dragon Commander by Kennedy King is a wonderful story. This is book number one in this wonderful start to brand new series writen by a brand new author for me to read. I do not usually read Sci-Fi stories but this one was wonderful to read. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about Sci-Fi fantasy and Sci-Fi romances in thier stories.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Pat Eroh.
2,621 reviews49 followers
November 3, 2019
Fast-paced with so much action. I love this book. I was hooked immediately/from the start, wondering what will happen to humanity, Skyline and the whole universe. I loved the main character, Chris. This is awesomely written with an awesome cast of characters. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Tamara.
291 reviews1 follower
May 22, 2020
 I was not impressed

This was different from what I was expecting, for a short book it is an okay intro to the series. I just felt like the author was all over the place and threw in some very random scenes. The mild romance element didn't seem to belong at all.

This book is set in the future with advancements where robots are being created to do more and to evolve but are not quite there yet. After a few turn on their partners, a special group is brought in to take of the rogue machines.
634 reviews17 followers
July 5, 2019
This is a pretty good read. It’s got an interesting premise and there’s lots of action. The AI squires of a precinct in Shanghai attack and kill their human partners without provocation. A team is sent in to find out why, and to fix the problem. This story is well written and the world building is very good.
Profile Image for Neil.
26 reviews
March 10, 2020
His body is transformed into the only weapon to save everyone.

The Dragon Commander should be the hero bu his team is broken or dead and he has become the evil image Sheba has been seeing. His attempt to block the machine takeover of the Skyline, fails and he is totally corrupted, but can he fight back to protect the
Skyline, Mars and Earth?
237 reviews
July 26, 2019
Nothing resolved cliffhanger

Annoyed that this was a set up for the series and the reader is left hanging. From the description I had hope this would be a book akin to a David Weber or Elizabeth Moon - no such luck.
12.8k reviews191 followers
July 16, 2019
Fantastic story from a first time author for me. Lots of suspense to keep you reading
232 reviews2 followers
September 15, 2019
If , like me, you enjoy mind - stretching,stories,
space - flights/fights and tales of courage, then
this is for you.
Enjoy !!

Phyllis S.
Profile Image for Ray Lee.
23 reviews1 follower
September 17, 2019
A new twist on on technology gone bad. I can't wait for further books in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for CR.
4,304 reviews42 followers
October 8, 2020
Great for AI fans!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews