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Gravity City: Flesh and Blood
In the unknown depths of space, the celestial body known as Nebuna is the home to a metropolis with a bad attitude and an expansive wasteland filled with legends and mystery.
The tale you are about to read will give you an unflinching ride through the crime-filled gutters and corruption of Gravity City and the wondrous world of what lies beyond city limits. The fight for survival and justice never ceases.
NEW THREATS HAVE RISEN AND GRAVITY CITY IS UNDER ATTACK!
The heroes of Precinct Six find themselves in the crosshairs of the powerful elite, a ruthless robot gang, and deeply-rooted police corruption.
On his quest to hunt down and finally snuff out the elusive Dickey Jets and his crime syndicate, Johnny Rangers struggles with his past and the things he must do to keep his loved ones safe from a looming menace.
Sergeant Finn Samconi soon discovers that being a nice guy doesn’t always get the job done.
Captain Jonas Beta tries to tie up loose ends before more innocent blood is spilled.
Be warned… watch your back in GRAVITY CITY.
“Within the bowels of Gravity City, heroes are scarce and hope is lost. Johnny Rangers fights to keep justice alive as the villains of the criminal underworld rise to achieve ultimate power.”
"Artie Cabrera's work is irreverent, fearless, visionary. He brings a no-holds-barred approach to his writing, a wrestler's dynamic that puts the reader in a headlock, and never lets go. Cabrera puts the edge into leading-edge speculative fiction."
-- Samuel Peralta, award-winning creator of 'The Future Chronicles'
The tale you are about to read will give you an unflinching ride through the crime-filled gutters and corruption of Gravity City and the wondrous world of what lies beyond city limits. The fight for survival and justice never ceases.
NEW THREATS HAVE RISEN AND GRAVITY CITY IS UNDER ATTACK!
The heroes of Precinct Six find themselves in the crosshairs of the powerful elite, a ruthless robot gang, and deeply-rooted police corruption.
On his quest to hunt down and finally snuff out the elusive Dickey Jets and his crime syndicate, Johnny Rangers struggles with his past and the things he must do to keep his loved ones safe from a looming menace.
Sergeant Finn Samconi soon discovers that being a nice guy doesn’t always get the job done.
Captain Jonas Beta tries to tie up loose ends before more innocent blood is spilled.
Be warned… watch your back in GRAVITY CITY.
“Within the bowels of Gravity City, heroes are scarce and hope is lost. Johnny Rangers fights to keep justice alive as the villains of the criminal underworld rise to achieve ultimate power.”
"Artie Cabrera's work is irreverent, fearless, visionary. He brings a no-holds-barred approach to his writing, a wrestler's dynamic that puts the reader in a headlock, and never lets go. Cabrera puts the edge into leading-edge speculative fiction."
-- Samuel Peralta, award-winning creator of 'The Future Chronicles'
225 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 13, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 18, 2020
“Truth was just like a shoe—a man can use a good shine every now and then.”
Wow! I’m totally mystified with this book! Relentless pacing, Bombshell plot twists, Gritty, hard boiled, despondent and heart wrenching, a dismal view of life, a cruel reality too hard to bear, a gruesome story of humans, sentient androids, the very definition of existentialism put into question, the story demonstrates the author’s profound knowledge of reality as it is, without the niceties nor adorned with filigree. Hard to stomach scenarios, it’s filled with despair but also with hope and resilience, a resistance from the protagonist, that keeps up the strength to pull off yet another day. A fabulous world building! Artie Cabrera uses science fiction elements to help us examine deep truths about the human conditions.
There are lots of concurrent subplots that kept me on my toes and engrossed, all intricately related, that unravel bit by bit till the end. I couldn’t make a guess of anything, so intriguing is the storyline! Confusion is the key word, life in Gravity City is confusing and the author reflects it very well.
The Axon building is a showcase of mystery, depravation, extreme limits..I’m so looking forward to the sequel! Congratulations, Artie, you have just geared up my level of admiration towards your writing abilities!
Wow! I’m totally mystified with this book! Relentless pacing, Bombshell plot twists, Gritty, hard boiled, despondent and heart wrenching, a dismal view of life, a cruel reality too hard to bear, a gruesome story of humans, sentient androids, the very definition of existentialism put into question, the story demonstrates the author’s profound knowledge of reality as it is, without the niceties nor adorned with filigree. Hard to stomach scenarios, it’s filled with despair but also with hope and resilience, a resistance from the protagonist, that keeps up the strength to pull off yet another day. A fabulous world building! Artie Cabrera uses science fiction elements to help us examine deep truths about the human conditions.
There are lots of concurrent subplots that kept me on my toes and engrossed, all intricately related, that unravel bit by bit till the end. I couldn’t make a guess of anything, so intriguing is the storyline! Confusion is the key word, life in Gravity City is confusing and the author reflects it very well.
The Axon building is a showcase of mystery, depravation, extreme limits..I’m so looking forward to the sequel! Congratulations, Artie, you have just geared up my level of admiration towards your writing abilities!
March 15, 2020
Doing it right, the wrong way?
This is a gritty noir cop story . . . or is it? You follow this guy who just wants to do good, and protect his city and his family. Sure, sometimes he has to bust some heads and occasionally gets beat on himself, but the violence is a means to an end. The landscape is dirty, the characters are colorful and the writing is fantastic. It's like you're there, in a futuristic NYC, meets the Jetson or the 5th Element because flying cars. I love the realism. And the attachments the characters have with each other. It's my 2nd favorite by Artie. The 1st being, the Legends of Boone Ridge <3
This is a gritty noir cop story . . . or is it? You follow this guy who just wants to do good, and protect his city and his family. Sure, sometimes he has to bust some heads and occasionally gets beat on himself, but the violence is a means to an end. The landscape is dirty, the characters are colorful and the writing is fantastic. It's like you're there, in a futuristic NYC, meets the Jetson or the 5th Element because flying cars. I love the realism. And the attachments the characters have with each other. It's my 2nd favorite by Artie. The 1st being, the Legends of Boone Ridge <3
March 15, 2020
This book is a rocket ride into danger. Robots, flying cars, space detectives, space marines, space bats, this thing is crazy good. And the main character is like if Rick Deckard was played by Dirty Harry. So fun.
December 30, 2020
Flesh and Blood is like a cross between the old-style Humphrey Bogart Detective movies, ‘The Maltese Falcon” etc, crossed with ‘Die Hard’, and set in Ridley Scott’s visually stunning future of Blade Runner. The story is a dystopian, noir, mystery set in grimy, dark future of Gravity City, where humanity has separated into two very distinct classes, the elite that live above it all, and the rest, who try and scrape together a living, and some do, some don’t.
Cabrera has created this beautifully epic back drop to tell his story in, his world building is just magnificent, and is one of the real cornerstones of this story it is just so beautifully written. You feel like you are in the city as the story is told, from the filthy alley with the street kids and the rats living in it, to the seedy pub that Ranger loves to get a drink, to the repair shop where one of the main characters works. Cabrera describes these locations with such intricate detail you can picture them like you are standing there, like you visit these locations on a regular basis, seeing them, feeling them, you swear you can smell them to, it is just written so exceptionally well.
This flows into his Character work, in which Cabrera has created some outstanding individuals to tell his story.
Johnny Rangers is just brilliant, and whilst some might say he is reminiscent of other types of characters in this genre, I would have to disagree. He certainly has elements, thus the reference to classics like Deckard, or McClane, or even Bogart from back in the day (for those old enough!), but Rangers has enough of his own style and class to be unique, and Cabrera has gone to a lot of effort to create his own Legend in Gravity City.
Ranger isn’t the only character though,
There are a multitude of plots running through this story, Drugs, Crime Lords, Crooked Cops, and a plethora of other things that you can read about (I don’t want to give away too much and spoil the fun), but the main plot follows a little girl, who is very different, and she has with her information that will change the world as Gravity City knows it.
Unfortunately, nearly everyone knows she has the information, and there is a massive price on her head, so everyone is after her.
She isn’t an ordinary little girl though, as you will find out. To make things more interesting as well, one of the drug companies was testing a special compound that makes a person faster, stronger, more agile, and heal quicker, the whole X-Men thing in a tablet. They think they had a prototype, a crystal, but it was stolen.
On the night a well-known dancer is sent to kill Rangers, instead of sticking him with a lethal poison, she sticks him with this crystal, turning Johnny Rangers into something new.
Because she knows that Gravity City is going to need someone like him, a cop who is straight, isn’t about to go dirty like so many others, and will do the right thing, by the city, by her, and by a little girl who desperately needs a protector.
Add to this a slew of different crime stories that all run parallel to the main story, and a set of cops that are either broken, dirty, or rookies and maybe someday might be useful, but right now are too green, and you have a eclectic mix of Dark and Desperate, as Rangers tries to stop a city that is on the edge of tearing itself to pieces.
Johnny Ranger is by far, one of the best Character stories you are going to read this year, it is gritty, brutal, but so exceptionally well written, you will find that once you have read it, you will put it down in the pile of books to read again real soon, because it is one of those stories that you just have to read again, it is so good.
If you like Blade Runner, any of the old school D Movies (Bogart style), or any of the classic Bruce Willis stuff, or any of the other classic Murder/Mystery style shows with a strong Male Lead, then you will love this book, it is just epic in every sense of the word.
Cabrera has created this beautifully epic back drop to tell his story in, his world building is just magnificent, and is one of the real cornerstones of this story it is just so beautifully written. You feel like you are in the city as the story is told, from the filthy alley with the street kids and the rats living in it, to the seedy pub that Ranger loves to get a drink, to the repair shop where one of the main characters works. Cabrera describes these locations with such intricate detail you can picture them like you are standing there, like you visit these locations on a regular basis, seeing them, feeling them, you swear you can smell them to, it is just written so exceptionally well.
This flows into his Character work, in which Cabrera has created some outstanding individuals to tell his story.
Johnny Rangers is just brilliant, and whilst some might say he is reminiscent of other types of characters in this genre, I would have to disagree. He certainly has elements, thus the reference to classics like Deckard, or McClane, or even Bogart from back in the day (for those old enough!), but Rangers has enough of his own style and class to be unique, and Cabrera has gone to a lot of effort to create his own Legend in Gravity City.
Ranger isn’t the only character though,
There are a multitude of plots running through this story, Drugs, Crime Lords, Crooked Cops, and a plethora of other things that you can read about (I don’t want to give away too much and spoil the fun), but the main plot follows a little girl, who is very different, and she has with her information that will change the world as Gravity City knows it.
Unfortunately, nearly everyone knows she has the information, and there is a massive price on her head, so everyone is after her.
She isn’t an ordinary little girl though, as you will find out. To make things more interesting as well, one of the drug companies was testing a special compound that makes a person faster, stronger, more agile, and heal quicker, the whole X-Men thing in a tablet. They think they had a prototype, a crystal, but it was stolen.
On the night a well-known dancer is sent to kill Rangers, instead of sticking him with a lethal poison, she sticks him with this crystal, turning Johnny Rangers into something new.
Because she knows that Gravity City is going to need someone like him, a cop who is straight, isn’t about to go dirty like so many others, and will do the right thing, by the city, by her, and by a little girl who desperately needs a protector.
Add to this a slew of different crime stories that all run parallel to the main story, and a set of cops that are either broken, dirty, or rookies and maybe someday might be useful, but right now are too green, and you have a eclectic mix of Dark and Desperate, as Rangers tries to stop a city that is on the edge of tearing itself to pieces.
Johnny Ranger is by far, one of the best Character stories you are going to read this year, it is gritty, brutal, but so exceptionally well written, you will find that once you have read it, you will put it down in the pile of books to read again real soon, because it is one of those stories that you just have to read again, it is so good.
If you like Blade Runner, any of the old school D Movies (Bogart style), or any of the classic Bruce Willis stuff, or any of the other classic Murder/Mystery style shows with a strong Male Lead, then you will love this book, it is just epic in every sense of the word.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews