Bloom: Book One Of The Metro Cycle

by James Milligan

Shiro Bloom — Investigative Reporter, P.I., and all-around snoop — receives a mysterious package in the middle of the night. Inside the envelope is a data card — protected by security he can't even begin to decipher. Intrigued, he reaches the remote-robot-body Puppeteer and master hacker, Gwen Five-Ginch. A long-time friend, Gwen's curiosity is piqued by the challenge, and she agrees to a he'll investigate the sudden exit of Gwen's socialite girlfriend from their relationship, and she'll crack the card. As Shiro’s investigation starts to give him reason suspect that the mysterious Xian Lin is a figment of Gwen's imagination — a phantom personality given life by the effects of Cognitive Disassociation Syndrome — events turn in an unexpected and deadly direction. Now, with unknown assassins searching for the data on the card, Shiro must decide who he can trust, and who is behind a dangerous plot that could endanger millions.

Genres: Science Fiction

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2019

About the author

A lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy, James Milligan (Jim to his friends) is happy to list among his influences such authors as Ray Bradbury, Gail Simone, Grant Morrison, and William Gibson. A firm believer that stories are an integral part of Human nature, he has studied the mythology of many of the world's cultures, and is always fascinated when he finds the common threads that bind them all together, as well as those that make them unique and different. He is a writer and designer of tabletop role-playing games, whose work has appeared in a number of titles, large and small. He has a love of bad movies, and is an aficionado of terrible films. He is an infrequent, but enthusiastic, costumer and cosplayer. He resides in the Pacific Northwest, where he assists his retiree mother (when he isn't writing), and dotes on his two tortoiseshell cats. They have their own Instagram page. They're pretty cute.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story

A bit of tell rather than show in the early parts by that is needful when introducing a new world. All in all I look forward to more in that world and maybe even with those characters

[Rusty Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well crafted ‘detective’ noir

An enjoyable, engaging ‘detective’ yarn, full of enough future and cyberpunk to keep you going for a few hours. Jim has a way of crafting good stories that pull you in and make you want more.

[Snowpaws · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful venture into a fascinating cyberpunk world that is vivid and alive. The characters are intriguing and diverse, and the plot moves along at a perfect pace. I enjoyed reading Bloom, and I'm looking forward to future novels.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun read for me. I'm not usually into detective stories, but this had a similar feel for me to the Dresden Files stories (without the magic, of course). The writing is engaging and full of personality, and the story drew me in. I'm looking forward to book 2!

[Bryce Raffle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloom quickly pulled me in and built up the pace while building an intriguing cyberpunk world that feels strangely familiar in the way it echoes the world of today. The plot is smart, engaging, and quick-paced, the characters witty, likeable, and interesting, and the cyber noir world was compelling even in the subtlest of details like the graham cracker flavoured edible coffee cup Shiro Bloom nibbles on after drinking it. The book just seemed to get better and better as the plot went on.