Counterpunch: A Military Sci-fi Action Adventure

Zero-point Awakening #5

by ZZ Adams

Having just started an alien invasion, most heroes would feel a certain level of responsibility... Scattered across the globe after Elliot teleported the team with the broken alien sphere, the heroes are forced to find their way home, or at least as far as the Strand hotel (Hey, they have good muffins!). But as well as the oncoming alien armada, there’s still Hellinix, the Blood of Breogan, and the Children of Gaia left to deal with. Will Elliot ever start accepting responsibility for his blunders? Is there really a country called Arseholeville? Is a shark moat actually an effective intruder deterrent? Because it all feels a bit like the team might be fiddling while Rome burns, as somewhere out there, Hellinix is moving forward with its plans and all the evidence points to the inevitable conclusion that they want the aliens to come. Hell, they seem to be counting on it. This science-fiction thriller is a dark and humorous tale of wayward superheroes, the evil megacorporation stalking them, and the teamwork it will take to save the world.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2021

About the author

Meet Damian Jay Clay and Andrew J Savage, two formerly respectable and marginally talented writers who joined forces in 2020 with the ill-fated mission of bringing you exciting speculative fiction. Based in the UK and Japan, these two work from the comfort of their virtual office on Discord--but be warned, they are now at my mercy, a vengeful being determined to punish them for their crimes against literature. Will they escape my matrix and save themselves, or will they ultimately be fully assimilated and destroyed?
Find out on zzadams website and join my newsletter to stay updated on their fate. Muhahahaha...Haha!

Reviews

[Sahara Foley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book as our would-be hero's are separated and flung around the world.  Thankfully, Arthur and Eliot ended up together in the desert.  At one point, I was confused whether they were in the present or had done some type of time travel.  As crazy as this series has gotten, it would've worked. 

Then there was Kat and Millicent.  This is where my love for this series evaporated.  Poof.  I'll get into that later. 

My two favorite characters are still Arthur and Stanley. I do want to know what's inside that Pandora's box that Stanley activated. Hmmm. 

I think some events that happened really don't make any sense and just kinda flimflammed together.  Like when Eliot finally faced his family.  The confrontation seemed forced and with no emotion.  Just a small amount of fighting and then, ta-da, you're the winner.  Em, nope.

I feel like the writing has gotten looser as the series has progressed and everyone talks and acts the same.  But my biggest reason to hate on this series is the agenda the authors are pushing.  Out of the 5 main characters, I can't count Stanly since he's an orangutan. 4 of them are either, bi, lesbian, or gay.  That only leaves Arthur as a straight guy and he's not every really human anymore.  So, these numbers don't add up.  Out of the USA population, only 3% of people are LGBTQ.  Which means only one person out of the five would be gay.  Nope, that's an agenda I don't believe in and won't support. 

If you're not offended by over diversification being pushed at you, and you enjoy crazy, zany plots, you might enjoy the rest of the series.  For me, I'm calling it quits, even though I do want to know more.  I give this one 3 stars.