The Paradise Factory

Cortex #1

by Jim Keen

She's a policewoman with a past. In a future ruled by AI, one bad decision could get her killed... or worse.

New York, 2055. Former UN Marine Alice Yu is a beat-down cop running from guilt in a bankrupt city. Brutally ambushed and left for dead, she's powerless to prevent a ruthless crime boss from abducting the partner she idolizes. Though it will cost her job in a world with 99% unemployment, she vows to bring him back from the lawless and forbidden Fourth Ward Territory.

Fighting through injuries and resurfacing trauma, Yu relentlessly tracks her mentor's trail. But when her PTSD flares in the face of a cartel death squad, her bloody background could spell her demise. And if she doesn't succeed, the entire city is doomed.

Can Yu save the man she failed, or will her quest for redemption become a suicide mission?

The Paradise Factory is the pulse-pounding first book in the Cortex cyberpunk science fiction series. If you like gritty heroines, loyal friends, and dystopian high-tech worlds, then you'll love Jim Keen's action-packed adventure.

Genres: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Dystopia, Fiction

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 2020

About the author

I write books about the people who fascinate me in worlds that amaze me. What is humanity’s future post AI? What happens when automation consumes the workforce? What will colonies look like on the Moon, Mars, and Europa? What if X happens?

I love crime, thrillers, and stories about people with secrets. If there’s not a big twist along the way, I’d never write the first word.

My own story has had its own share of curves and surprises. I’ve been writing about intelligent machines, spaceships and desperate heroes since my childhood, but that happened while I pursued a twenty-year career as an architect. After working and winning awards in London, Sydney, and New York, I left that profession behind to become a full-time author.

The international bestselling Alice Yu series takes place forty years from now, in a world transformed by mechanical intelligences—AI’s big brother. Yu is a loner cop atoning for past sins. Through the series she discovers what it is to be human, while becoming something much more in the process. If you like the steely future noir of William Gibson, James S. A. Corey, and Martha Wells, you’ll love these sci-fi thrillers.

Alongside the Alice Yu trilogy, I’ve written four free novellas, plus drawn hundreds of illustrations and designs from the future. You can get all of those for free at https://jimkeen.com.

I hope you like the Alice Yu series, its inhabitants and settings. I love hearing from readers, so drop me an email anytime at jim@jimkeen.com and let’s chat.

Reviews

[PamG · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE PARADISE FACTORY by Jim Keen is the first book in the Cortex series and is a New York 2055 cyberpunk story. Alice Yu is a New York policewoman and a former United Nations marine. The book starts with her and her partner being ambushed. He is abducted and she is left on the street injured. With New York bankrupt and 99% unemployment, she elects to bring her partner back from the forbidden Fourth Ward Territory against orders and without backup. As she works to rescue her partner, a young boy, Red, is trying to deliver a letter to Manhattan. Their paths cross and they team up on the lawless Brooklyn Bridge that is ruled by a criminal empire.

The story line is interesting with a setting where sentient machines leading to a breakdown in the human social order and Alice and Red’s dual tasks. However, the writing style of flashbacks and switching points of view between Alice and Red broke up the rhythm and flow of the story for me. Both Alice and Red were characters that you could root for and both had clear goals. The world building needed some work to fully satisfy me. The plot twists were believable and several were unexpected. The ending was dramatic.

Overall, this was an entertaining and intense read. It includes several themes including PTSD, sentient machines, unemployment, greed, criminal empires, murder and much more. While my rating is three stars, I do plan to read the next book in the series. I recommend this to science fiction and cyberpunk fans.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and Jim Keen for a complimentary ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paradise Factory is a rock-solid, jet-fueled cyberpunk apocalyptic thriller. Set thirty years in the future, it envisions a world where artificial intelligence ("AI") and mechanical intelligence ("MI") have replaced most humans in employment. With people unnecessary, the cities are empty hulks controlled by gangs. The bridges and tunnels are trading posts. Most live without anything. The streets are filled with danger. And the Fourth District guarded by the Brooklyn Bridge is so dangerous, the NYPD have pulled back. But what's a cop to do when her partner is kidnapped? Crossing the bridge into the remains of Manhattan may be more than Officer Alice Yu bargained for. With the assistance of only her talking (and backtalking) armored suit and a fairly useless street urchin, Alice is going to take the battle wherever it leads. An exciting futuristic adventure!

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

[M.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Paradise Factory Review is available here.

The Paradise Factory attracts with its cover and the promise of a glimpse into the near future. Set in 2055 New York, the book explores a world ruled by AI in all of its shapes and forms, rendering mankind obsolete.

The rise of synthetic intelligence leads to a complete societal breakdown to the point where law-free zones are suddenly allowed to thrive. Amidst all that, we meet officer Alice Yu, whose partner's been abducted by one of the most fearsome crime bosses in New York.

Against all odds and in direct conflict with police regulation, she enters one of the law-free zones to get her partner back. As she struggles with the demons haunting her, a boy from the gutter literally falls from the sky to turn her situation around.

What I liked about the book was the fast pace and the overall depiction of the future and the existence of synthetic intelligence at different levels with different purposes. What I did not like about the book was the fact that most of the events seemed to resolve themselves and there wasn't enough space for Alice's character development.

Also, the book felt a bit scattered all over the place, mixing genres into a mass that boiled into action that just didn't have enough cyberpunk for me. At first, there was an imbalance between the major POVs but that was gradually resolved. I liked the secondary characters more than Alice, but won't hide that wished the main antagonist was juicier.

The overall impression is of a pleasant quick read with lots of potential to develop, that's solid 3/5 stars. Thanks to BooksGoSocial for providing The Paradise Factory through Netgalley.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is being marketed as cyberpunk, which I found very misleading, as there are no cyberpunk elements. It’s more a post-apocalyptic sci-fi. The apocalypse in this case is brought about by the invention of Mechanical Intelligence, a machine that has made human workforce obsolete. Hundreds of millions are without work and those lucky enough to be employed can lose their job on a whim, with no social security to fall back on. That the humanity is still alive and kicking is more because of stubbornness than for any discernible survival skills.

The story follows Alice Yu, a Brooklyn cop in her twenties --I think -- whose partner is abducted right in front of her. Even though loyalty to one’s partner and initiative are discouraged by her bosses, Alice goes after him. Traces lead to Brooklyn Bridge, a lawless no-go-zone ruled by criminal empire. She knows she’ll lose her job if she goes there, but she goes anyway.

Another story-line follows Red, a young boy who needs to deliver a message over the Brooklyn Bridge, an errand that would pay well if the other kids weren’t trying to kill him for it. The paths of Alice and Red meet on the bridge and they team up.

The plot is straightforward: find the partner and save him. Obstacles come in form of bridge security trying to kill Alice for their boss, a crime lord who has a nefarious enterprise to conceal. The constant fights became boring pretty soon, but Alice is fighting PTSD from her time as a Marine in Mars, which gives some depth to her character. Because of what she considers a personal failure in Mars, she decides that saving Red is more important than finding her partner, a decision that Red disputes, forcing her to face her past.

After all the fighting, the main conflict is solved amazingly easily. If it hadn’t been for the chapter that followed, which showed the truth of what was on the other side of the bridge and gave both the world and the main characters some new depth, this would’ve been a solid three star book. The ending changed that.

I had some issues with the book. One of them was with the way the scenes were set. Namely that they weren’t. Every scene, especially in the beginning, started right with the action or even a beat after it. For example, the book starts a moment after Alice’s partner has been taken, when she is fighting her injuries. No context was offered to where she was, why she was there, and why her partner mattered so much to her. As it was, I had trouble understanding Alice's need to go after him other than the general ‘of course she does’. Were they friends or was there a debt to pay? Was he a lover, a mentor? In a world where such decision means a pretty certain death, it needs to be a good reason. Causes were given later in the book, but it came too late as I’d already formed my opinion.
Incidentally, I’m not a fan of a narrative where character motivations, like the cause of Alice’s PTSD, are rationed and revealed after they have already influenced character’s actions. It made the narrative style was very claustrophobic with too little to work on. I had to put the book down fairly often just to clear my head. That fortunately changed towards the end of the book when all the players were familiar and the plot began to move forward.

I had issue with the world-building as well. If the world is that rigged against humanity, with no chances of survival, how come there are so many humans left? Especially since there’s a constant winter. Why are there no riots? The only one seems to be planned by the bad guys for their benefit. The idea of MI didn’t work well either. How could a machine replace the entire workforce? All it seemed to be able to do is print human body parts. They are so expensive that countries bankrupted themselves to get one, so they can’t be in every factory for example. And if they are supremely intellect, how come one of them could be fooled by a human? All the other technology seemed to be in the service of humanity, like the intelligent jacket Alice was wearing, so why was the humanity in such a bad state. Also, most of the technology appeared to be micro-chip based, whereas MI seems to be based on a Babbagean difference engine -- a cool idea that would’ve changed the entire world-building if everything was based on that; a twenty-first century steampunk world powered by nuclear reactors.

All the issues aside, I liked the book enough to keep reading through the claustrophobic chapters. I liked Alice from the start and Red grew on me. Bad guys could have been more evil, but considering the ending, there’s maybe some use for them in subsequent books. I’m not entirely sure I’ll continue with the series, but I’m glad I read this one.

(I got the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

[TeeBee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must say this is my first cyberpunk read. I dunno if I would consider Altered Carbon cyberpunk or just sci-fi so there's that.

I loved, loved the concept. I'm not a fan of the police state nor cops in general so I do love it when no one places any great importance on their job or their ability fullfil that job. It was very satisfying to see the AI just didn't take Alice's word that her partner had been kidnapped without any proof. That gave me a tiny little smile.

I found it hard to believe that the world has advanced as much as it seems to have done from 2020 to 2050. That's 30 years, and right now we have people drinking bleach to cure COVID 19. Somehow I don't think we are on the brink of a tech boom on that magnitude of this book.

But that's ok I can suspend disbelief enough to keep reading. The writing the prose was just a little too much in a lot of places. It was hard to picket a lot of the settings and people as it was just too much input, as Johnny 5 would say. It was too much too fast to process all of it properly. I think we can all picture a bar without half a page of description. The purple prose was wasted on stuff that we didn't really need to know about.

Alice's detective skill set left a lot to be desired and other than being a Marine she honestly had no business trying to solve anything. She was more of a bash em over the head sort of copper. Not Miss Marple. It just wasn't believable that she was up to the task, and I know that it supposed to be part of the charm of her being in the predicament that she was in, but it wasn't enough for me. Its like yes Miss Marple is old, but she's extremely observant, and people are relaxed enough around her to spill all of their secret because Marple knows how to turn on the old lady charm when she needs to. Alice doesn't have any of those skills. And worse she's not a precision warrior like John Wick to be able to fall back on pure force.

Alice is a strangely created character that I don't think is living up to our expectations and what this plot demands of her.

I will however keep reading this series to see if she improves.

[Anna Mocikat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cyberpunk meets Escape from New York
The Paradise Factory was not what I expected but it was a great book nevertheless. Judging by the cover I expected a typical cyberpunk story set in a shiny megacity with high-tech and low life. However, this book is very different.
It paints a horrifying future in which 99% of the population are damned to endure low-life while only very few profited from the destruction of the world as we know it.
After the second industrial revolution, the majority of the world's population have lost their jobs to machines. But instead of a shiny happy world where no one has to work and people sing Kumbayah as many people believe automatization will bring, Jim Keen paints a much more realistic, and horrifying picture.
Mass unemployment led to mass poverty with only the elites profiting from the "change".
The story is set in New York and in the book, it hardly has anything in common with the city we know today. The privatized police have given up on most parts of the city and now anarchy is ruling.
The heroine is Alice Yu, an NYPD officer and former marine, who enters a law-free zone to save her partner who has been abducted there.
In many ways, the story reminds of Escape from New York; Keen's New York of the future looks very similar to what Carpenter has shown us in the movie. It is grim, it is dirty, it is hopeless.
The whole setting reminded me of the movie so much, that I was constantly waiting for Snake to show up and save the day. However, Snake isn't needed here because with Alice Yu, the author has created a badass female character who is tough as nails. If I ever get into trouble I want Alice to come and save me.
The book is fast-paced and action-driven and I enjoyed it from the beginning till the end. The only critique I have is that the story is set in the 2050s and I doubt we will be able to build a colony on Mars until then and then go to war with them.
Other than that, I recommend this book to fans of cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic dystopia stories.
I'll certainly pick up book 2!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keen has crafted a horrific future that is entirely believable here. The story flowed smoothly and gave tons of context to help me understand why the world is so far gone and how humanity is dealing with the side affects. I really enjoyed the story and how the characters interacted with each other. This was a plot where I didn't know what was coming and that was perfect.

[Bryn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal and dark cyberpunk crime thriller. World feels like a spiritual prologue to those in Gibson's Neuromancer or Stephenson's Snow Crash. A hyper rich 1% living the high life. The rest of the population are permanently unemployable and fighting for scraps. AI-created technological monopolies, smart weapons, cyborgs and a futuristic Vietnam fought on Mars. A tough as nails but damaged main character trying to survive. What's not to love?

[Elizabeth Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I have read fiction. Since we are in the throes of the COVID19 pandemic, finding a world to escape to has been paramount. So why would I choose to read a book about an apocalyptic future…after all, most days it feels like we are already living there. But it was comforting to read this author’s take on how complicated things could get. Some reviewers have found the world-building lacking, but since most of the story takes place in a desperate attempt to cross a single bridge, I think the world-building was exactly what it should be: a small piece of a larger, more complex reality. There are allusions to a deeper truth: where the rich live in mile-high towers, where the poor fight for survival on the earth’s surface, and where there are small, dim pockets of love and compassion (e.g. Red’s uncle – you have to take what you can get). The characters Alice and Red are mysterious at first, but they reveal themselves through the pages, which makes their arc more interesting. In the end, enough is left unsaid that you know the subsequent books are going to be interesting, and there is a lot more world to explore.

I enjoyed this book. I am going to read the sequels. Even though I live in my own mid-pandemic apocalypse reality right now, it was good to escape into a different one with different problems.

[Andrew Goeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 2055, the workers of the world have been replaced with number crunching, soulless MI (Mechanical Intelligence) who are not afraid to have someone fired at the drop of a hat. All social services have been discontinued and unemployment is at a whopping 99%. In the middle of all of this, Alice is trying to survive, as an officer in the NYPD, her job is no longer to protect and serve; it's riot control. When her partner is kidnapped and she has inadequate proof to call for backup, she must make the decision to pursue her partner, or her career. Jim Keen crafts a intriguing cyberpunk novel that has just enough of reality in it to make it seem like it could happen.

Personal Thoughts -

I was really intrigued with this novel. There is a lot of detail into the world building that really shows the care that Jim put into the world and the design of everything. As some who currently works in the government sector with law enforcement, I could quickly see how something like this could become a reality. I am intrigued so see more from this author in the future. I also really appreciate that the author provides small amounts of news & media clippings into the story to help with the world building.

Final thoughts -

Jim Keen creates a fast paced, futuristic romp through NYC. I found the characters very compelling to read and I think that the Author has a very strong ability to create and describe thrilling technological and sci-fi elements of the story. I love reading about unique pieces of machinery and gadgets. I would highly recommend this style of novel to anyone who finds that kind of read intriguing.

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy of the novel!

[Domi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follow police officer Alice Yu in a future New York where AI and reprinting of beings has made humans basically redundant and where the organized crime flourishes. Alice enters an area controlled by one of the biggest crime bosses to get back her kidnapped partner but all that she thought is not what it seems.
I am on the fence about this book, I liked the world building and snippets of information via reports or interviews at the bezinning of the chapters that give you background on how things turned out as they did. For some reason I couldn't get a connection to the main characters even though the writer tried to give them complexity. I finished the book and am sort of curious about what happens next, but I don't know if it's enough to want to read the sequel.

Basically, I just don't know with this book but if this is your genre of preference I guess it is worth the read. It was a 2.5 star for me but I will round it up to there because I cannot articulate what my problem was during the reading.

*** An ARC was kindly provided by the Publisher and Netgally in exchange for an honest review. ***

[Tawny Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A breath of fresh air. This short book is just a snapshot (I assume) of the cyberpunk world this author has built. Action packed, wonderfully paced, gritty characters and a unique perspective on the future.

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dystopian future brought about by greed and uncontrolled AIs and other unstabilizing technologies. Free from Amazon July 2022. Purchased 2nd of three in the sequel for $3.99 on August 15, 2022.

[IM211 -Scattered thoughts- · Rating 3 out of 5]

E-ARC received from Netgalley, thank you Jim Keen Jim Keen & BooksGoSocial for this review opportunity. All thoughts are of mine own.

A post-apocalyptic Dystopian tale where there’s clearly no chosen one with elite prowess, but a wrung woman finds herself intertwined in what was supposed to be a rescue mission but turned to be much bigger and pivotal than she’d planned.

In a nutshell

This story holds great promise and it does manage to deliver it by the end, but I’d trouble to get into it, at the start. For the first couple of chapters I was confused and I didn’t really connect with our MC or the other characters and scarcely felt for them. However, things start to get interesting as the characters' paths start to entwine and we get to see how this future world operates and how it came to be in the first place…plus whose thwarting it for their own gain from the inside?

LIKES & NOT ( in details below)
-LIKED- Character development - world-building - the plot twist-
_NOT - Pacing - writing not really compelling- Confusing world-

It took me a while to actually enjoy what I was reading, it took a good 50% of the book for it to really intrigue me into continuing the story. The writing had a sardonic tone reflecting the state of the world the book is set in, where it’s bleak, uncertain and every hope for reparation has been dashed. The world overrun by artificial intelligence and no sooner people began exploiting it, putting an end to any futuristic dream as NYC recovers from the thwart.

- We get plenty of action ( DUH she's a cop in a no-cop zone), and we see the result of POST-AI invasion with Reprinted-human (which is wicked) turned into mercenaries or deformities being improved with AI sort of implants.

-Plot twist- yes Unpredictable -yes- game-changer -yes-.....anything more - spoilers!-

- I loved how the character development was portrayed here; how they start out to be and how their motives reform as they hurdle through the story.

-

ALICE: we meet a worn-out cop whose partners kidnapped and she sets off on a rescue mission in hopes it will save her job.

But cops aren’t loved in the part of town she’s been ambushed, and despite her attempts at deceit and taking cover she’s tagged for capture and is on the run in a foreign territory. Throughout it all we are given glimpses of her past and how it shaped her and how it continually haunts her. She’s morally grey, with little hope of redemption and her only aim is to escape her own memories before they suffocate her.

RED: Then we have got a teenager, whose jaded from the unemployment crisis and scores a hit when she’s hired as a messenger…only if he gets to the destination first alive. He proves to be annoying but a useful partner in crime to our MC and he grows on you as the story progresses.

Red starts off as her character who is more of a child than adolescent and towards the end, he’s gained a realistic perspective, to say the least, and I’m actually looking forward to more of Red and Alice dynamics in future installments, they barely made acquaintance here (OK more than that, but it has potential!).

BANKS: Then we meet our Antagonist…self-righteous, ambitious and cunning, he isn’t completely succumbed to Tech and neither is he old fashioned, which makes him a very dangerous person to deal with and I’m pumped to see what else we get to see regarding him in the sequels.

-The AI components are the most fascinating elements of the story, take her suit for example who’s built to antagonize the wearer, I enjoyed their little sarcastic quips every now and then.

THE MI, although a lot regarding it has been unveiled and talked about, I still find myself confused as to how it operates exactly. But meeting them finally and realize how deep their roots go in the human world and the prospect itself is terrifying.



All in all, it was a different, entertaining read which paints a realistic picture of the post-AI revolution and how humans thrive through it all.

[Veronique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, Jim Keen and Booksgosocial for the review Copy. This is my honest review and not affected by it in any way.

The Paradise Factory by Jim Keen is the first book in the Cortex series. It is a science fiction novel set in 2055 New York. Most jobs are taken over by Mechanical Intelligence and unemployment is at 99%. The book starts in the POV of Police officer, and ex-marine Alice Yu. She and her partner are ambushed and her partner is kidnapped by a ruthless crime boss. You follow her going into the lawless and forbidden Fourth Ward Territory to bring her partner back.
You also follow Red, a runner boy, who gets a letter he needs to take to the island. Due to circumstances he also ends up in Fourth Ward Territory.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Hangings, Drug mentions, suicide mentions

CAWPILE Rating: 6.93 => 3 Stars

Characters : 8
Alice and Red were amazing characters to follow. Both different motives to be in Fourth Ward Territory. The backstories were well developed and are nicely revealed throughout the story. The side characters had personalities but were too little in the picture to get a well enough image from them. Even the crime boss felt a bit one dimensional. The reasoning about the bridge and what he was doing got a bit lost on me.

Atmosphere : 6
The book was really fact paced and a lot of action was happening. Due to the high amount of action the suspense and the feeling of risk was a bit lost. The book did give a futuristic vibe, with the technology described.

Writing : 7
Starting every chapter with a quote or newspaper article really gave a feel for the world and how our world changed to what is visible in the book.
I did think Jim Keen wanted to show too much of the new technology, that the main story sometimes got lost in the heavy descriptions of everything around the characters. However in the beginning, the descriptions definitely showed what the world was like and gave the atmosphere of this dystopia.

Plot : 7
This book is like an action movie, it had its stakes and fights and was good. The only problem was that it felt like action after action after action, we didn't have a lot of breathers inbetween.
I really did enjoy the breaks to show Alice history on the Mars colonial. This definitely added more to the character.

Intrigue : 6
I wanted to read this book in one sitting, but I had to sleep. That means it got me enough interested to keep reading.
but due to the action after action, you didn't really get a point of suspense or intrigue about what would happen next.
I was interested in the going-ons in the fourth ward territory and how it was build, but that was more of a background story what hopefully becomes more central in sequels.
The last chapters definitely made me interested in the sequel.

Logic : 7
The world Jim Keen created was enormous and honestly, there was so much information about all the technology and how the world now looked that I got lost. I think the book would have been better if it was longer and more plot so the worldbuilding could have been spread out more or was reduced to less change of the now.
What I recall happened, we colonised Mars, mechanical intelligent took over, Climate Change made sure that New York was under ice and a lot of pollution was going on, it was all a little too much to comprehend.

Enjoyment : 7.5
I did enjoy reading this book, as previously mentioned I could have finished it in one sitting. I think the plot was really fun. I am interested in his world and how things changed. I just thought that describing every room we were in and what technology there was a bit too much at times.
I am curious to see what happens after this book and may pick up the sequel

[Katherine Philbrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of the book from BooksGoSocial via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Make sure to check out more reviews at Katherine's Book Reviews.

The Paradise Factory is a fast paced novel that will make you wonder about the future. The protagonist, Alice Yu, is a strong woman who works hard to get herself out of miserable conditions. She follows what she believes in, even if that means it will change her life and make her lose her job. I admire her perseverance and think she is an interesting main character to follow, even if I do wish she was more rounded out. Through her, the main theme of PTSD is explored which I feel is done well. My favorite part of this novel is its description and setting. The descriptions of the year 2055 are rich; it is easy to feel and understand what is going on during this time period. I felt myself getting excited reading about a year that seems so far away right now, especially when learning about artificial and mechanical intelligence.

I like this book. Jim Keen writes well. His use of setting is great and the plot, while it could possibly have felt stale, is original and exciting. The past is fast which is expected of a futuristic novel like this one. The narrative shifted too much for my taste; the POV switched between characters and I feel that distracted me from the story overall. At times it was hard to know exactly what was going on. It almost felt like there were too many actions/events going on at once and I had to stop and try to figure out which thing happened first. I could have finished this book in one sitting but did not because of this issue. I also wish there was more character development, especially with Yu. While we do see her grow in certain ways, it does not feel like enough and the reader should have gotten to know her more. All in all, this book is a good science fiction/fantasy novel that is easy to get into in the beginning. I suggest this book to anyone who wants to write about our society in the future. This book teaches you that no matter where you are, if you have the strength you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd say this is a solid effort. Nothing really blew me away, but there were plenty of good nuggets scattered throughout the book. There was also some spots that were shakier and less polished.

Ultimately, it really felt like the pilot episode of a TV show (thought I know there are novellas that precede it). It gave you just enough to pique the interest and you'll probably check out a couple more episodes, but it didn't really grab you like some shows/books do.

I think what dragged the book down a bit for me was trying to wrap my head around the idea of "99% unemployment", because that didn't mean anything in terms of the world. Maybe 99% of people aren't working in an office or a gas station or a grocery store or as dentists, but the book clearly shows a society that has simply moved on to another economy based more on a typical dystopian, unregulated barter system. There's still cash, for some reason but you don't get a sense of what what it's really worth. A minor quibble, however, on my part. Just something that really struck me as undeveloped in the worldbuilding.

I thought Alice Yu was an interesting character, easily the best thing about the book. Red, to me, was a throwaway character but if he returns in subsequent novels, I hope he gets more of a personality than spiky red hair.

Near the end of the book the UN is introduced as an organization that is charged with finding illegal use of Machine Intelligences, which are presented as sentient beings, but immediately the UN seems to violate the rights of a sentient being. Very curious. Seeing how Keen navigates this world of MIs, cops and crime is one of the more intriguing aspects of the book.

I learned about this book randomly through a reddit post where the author mentioned that the book was available for 99c on the Kindle store. On that basis, it was a great deal and if you don't mind spending a couple bucks and you like sci-fi, The Paradise Factory is not a bad choice at all.

[Sheryl Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having read a few dystopian novels about how we might be live in the future recently, I was intrigued when I saw this book on @netgalley (thanks for the eARC 😊)

It’s set in the near future (roughly 2050) but the world has changed due to Mechanical Intelligence. Robots have taken all the jobs!

It’s the first book in what I imagine is a trilogy, but I won’t be reading on. I didn’t finish this one. Got 20% in, and realised I still didn’t know what the story was about, where it was going, what point was trying to be made. And the characters weren’t engaging enough to continue. I’m all for a slow burn, but I didn’t feel like anything had happened, despite some ‘action’ scenes.

The author has taken on a bit too much I feel and the world building is a struggle to get through. The idea of MI taking over interests me, and I got on board with the idea that this would lead to unemployment and therefore a change in society. That, for me, would have been enough. To explore what that world felt like. However, the author has also thrown in climate change (the book is set in a frozen NYC), mentions that there’s now flying cars. And one of the main characters did her Marine training on Mars.

It’s just a bit too much - the best books of this type don’t stray too far from what could really happen and this one takes the changes too far. It jolts you out of the story when you read something and go ‘REALLY?! In 30 years time?!’

I feel if a book hasn’t grabbed you before the Kindle says you’re 20% through it, then it’s probably not the book for you. Only my second DNF of the year. Not one I’d recommend!

A ⭐️ review for me, since I didn’t finish it and don’t feel I’m missing out.

[Elize Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paradise Factory by Jim Keen, describes a futuristic New York 2055 environment. The storyline embedded in a world of lawlessness, guilt, poverty and death provides a magnificent insight into a future world. Keen describes the different events in detail and I appreciated the manner she described the background and personal experiences of the main character, Alice Yu. The description of the character makes the reader understand Yu's frustrations and the trauma that formulated her current worldview.

The storyline remains easy to read and stays interesting during all time of reading the book. Yu coming from a law enforcement environment carrying a magnitude of baggage still aims to fight against the badness evident in the New York landscape during the time. The book offers a combination between searching for criminal leaders and also caring for the people you love. Readers who enjoy action, futuristic thinking and out of the box thinking, this book offers a must-read to see if Yu's mission will succeed.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jim Keen tells an exciting tale of a cop, a kid, and The Paradise Factory (ebook from BooksGoSocial) built into the Brooklyn Bridge. In 2055 the world has gotten much colder, millions are jobless due to AI improvements, and cheap flying cars have eliminated most bridges. Alice Yu is a marine veteran of the war on Mars still dealing with her nightmares as a probationary cop on the NYPD. Her partner’s been kidnapped and she’s convinced that she’ll be fired unless she rescues him. Even her AI jacket (who wanted to be in a spacesuit) doesn’t give her much of a chance. Red has been given a chance to deliver a letter on the other side of the bridge, and is being chased by other kids so anxious for the job that they’re willing to kill. The illegal factory on the bridge and it’s owner presents challenges that only the two working together can survive. Wow! I already ordered the sequel. Review printed by Philadelphia Free Press

[Anne Szlachcic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by the Author and based on this one it won't be my last .

The Author has created a terrible but potentially realistic world where AI's and MI's have taken the place of a human based workforce - 99% of humans are unemployed , if you have a job you hold onto it with all you have .
The cities are controlled by gangs -filled with danger - if you have nothing there is nothing to lose except your life what is left .?
When a cop , Officer Alice Yu , is brutally attacked and left for dead and her partner is abducted by a ruthless crime boss she must face her fears and enter the Fourth Ward . An area that only the most desperate live in , one where only the most desperate can leave . What will she find ?, can she survive ?

This an interesting premise of what can and might happen in our future - a thoroughly entertaining book .

I was given an arc of the book by NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Payton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consistently fast-paced, The Paradise Factory is a cyberpunk adventure following Alice and Red as they navigate dystopian New York in 2055. Keen sets up an incredibly plausible future where AI and MI reign and humans are no longer at the apex of civilization. Fans of science fiction and post-apocalypse survival stories will find themselves rooting for Alice as she desperately attempts to save her NYPD partner, and hoping for the best outcome for Red and his frantic mail route to secure payment to support his family.

The time jumps and shifting perspectives made the first half of the novel feel jumbled, but the second half definitely made up for it and set up a promising sequel. I look forward to what Keen writes next! Thank you to BookSirens for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Arkan Tyce · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wasn't expecting much out of the book, it's the writer's first novel if I recall correctly, however it couldn't meet the lowest of standards I had. Maybe I'm wrong but here's my gripes with it:

- Cyberpunk elements are not interesting, they have minor differences from what we've already seen in the genre. Conscious AI and super fast computers but with nothing new to say.
- World building and characters leave something to be desired, both feel like the focus was on the more boring aspects, felt like it had lots of potential.
- The book, which you pay full price for, is actually cut in half and you can get the rest digitally by signing up to the author's mailing list. Not sure if this is gonna be the next big marketing ploy used in this industry, but it sure doesn't feel like a free "extra" if it's tied in that close with the book you already bought.

The pros:
-The only good thing out of the whole book were the fighting scenes. Very nicely choreographed.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first few pages of the book are really interesting, then it is all downhill after that. The world created by the author was so dysfunctional it was unbelievable and it didn’t take long for me to have concerns about the way he constructs a story. Chapter one ends with Alice badly hurt, trying to find her partner with no backup. Chapter two completely ignores Alice and starts with somebody called Red having a bad time in a bar trying to get an impossible job as a messenger. I nearly gave up at this point.
It took until chapter five before I finally decided this dystopian world made absolutely no sense and I really didn’t like this book.

[Bill Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gifted this book, with idea about the author or his previous work. To say I was sceptical would be an understatement. I have been a science fiction fan since the '50s, so the genre in all its shift through the year are familiar.
I was more than pleasantly surprised; I was hooked after the first couple of chapters! Mr. Keen built a dark, dense, and completely foreseeable future, then populated it with real human beings. The action is well-paced and gripping. He injects many ideas about tech that seem totally believable, and very frightening.

Good Stuff!

[Merri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great vision of the future

This is a forward thinking book, not just an action, adventure cyberpunk book even though it has all the excitement of those genres. It has all the elements of critical thinking and consequences that can occur in our future lives as it is happening already. Can't wait to read the free novella and the next book in the series. Have them already. Thank you! Love the imagination and thought behind this book

[Drew Lauder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it, a bit gloomy. Did not get a clear idea of how big the Bridge was or is and felt that would have helped. Also unclear why Red was being chased.
I bought the next one right away something I don't usually do.

[David Moyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun roller coaster of a book, non-stop action and energy with plenty of surprises. Keen somehow manages to to flesh out the characters and build a tangible, believable world without once letting you or his characters rest. Books 2 and 3, here I come.

[Davene Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

The architectural descriptions are a delight, and the style of writing made me feel as if I was reading a dream. Alice & Red are strong characters, and I did eventually warm up to the jacket. There are too many ideas, designs, and concepts to read this book only once, and the artwork is phenomenal!

[Tim Shepard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goo book

Not sure the title fits the storyline. But the book was an interesting read and fast paced. A well thought out plot with interesting characters.