Playing the Odds

by Milton J. Davis

For nearly twenty years corporate security cyborg Carlos Mejia has lived a life of danger and privilege in the United Cites. But one day he receives a life-changing contact. The corporation that employed him and funded his tech has gone bankrupt, and now he is an asset to be collected and liquidated! Desperate to stay alive, Carlos seeks the help of street hacker Michelle Carter to dump his tech and become 'normal.' What they discover is a conspiracy that threatens to set the United Cities on a destructive path . . . unless they stop it.

43 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 25, 2020

About the author

Milton Davis is owner of MVmedia, LLC , a small publishing company specializing in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Sword and Soul. MVmedia’s mission is to provide speculative fiction books that represent people of color in a positive manner. Milton is the author of eight novels; his most recent The Woman of the Woods and Amber and the Hidden City. He is co-editor of four anthologies; Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology and Griot: Sisters of the Spear, with Charles R. Saunders; The Ki Khanga Anthology with Balogun Ojetade and the Steamfunk! Anthology, also with Balogun Ojetade. MVmedia has also published Once Upon A Time in Afrika by Balogun Ojetade.
Milton resides in Metro Atlanta with his wife Vickie and his children Brandon and Alana.

Reviews

[Darrell Grizzle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to hear Milton Davis read Playing the Odds at DragonCon 2019, and I remember being captivated by the story. Reading it now in ebook form, I found it just as exciting and engaging. This is a fast-paced story of adventure and intrigue, set in a cyberfunk future where cybernetic bodyparts can be recalled by the manufacturer – which is a serious problem if, like Carlos Mejia, you’re mostly cybernetic. Carlos is running for his life with the help of the bad-ass hacker Michelle Carter. The story is action-packed from the very beginning, and I’m glad this story is being developed into a 3D CGI animation series. I hope we see much more of Carlos and Michelle in future stories.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something truly captivating about the escapism and empowerment fantasy in this novel. It is indeed a rollercoaster, and the breakneck pacing keeps the reader hanging on for dear life in the course of its scant pages. But that’s absolutely part of the charm—arguably, the *point*—and whilst I might have appreciated a bit more time to really get to know Carlos and Michelle when they were not fighting for their lives, I chalk that up to part of the neo-noir mystique that makes them so utterly fascinating as characters.
The action here is the highlight, and it is remarkably well-choreographed.
This was a great read, and thoroughly enjoyable as an action romp through a cyberfunk future!