What do you think?
Rate this book
The War of Souls #1
The Master of Puppets
When Jakari got orders taking her to a primitive alien world, she expected the mission to be like any other. Get in, eliminate the target and get out again. Instead, when she arrived, she found out that one of the leaders of the fascist Char Oram was there, seeking to turn the inhabitants into mindless soldiers that could tip the war in favor of the Char.
When Hayami Takahashi followed a strange woman down a dark street, all she wanted to do was make sure the woman didn’t wind up as the next victim of a kidnapping ring working the streets of Dallas. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a civil war between two factions of shape shifting cyborg aliens.
After Jakari saves Hayami from becoming a test subject in a Char lab, the two of them end up working together to try to stop a war that’s been raging for nine thousand years.
When Hayami Takahashi followed a strange woman down a dark street, all she wanted to do was make sure the woman didn’t wind up as the next victim of a kidnapping ring working the streets of Dallas. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a civil war between two factions of shape shifting cyborg aliens.
After Jakari saves Hayami from becoming a test subject in a Char lab, the two of them end up working together to try to stop a war that’s been raging for nine thousand years.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2022
14 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Molly J. Bragg
9 books209 followersI’m a trans woman with a degree in Astro-physics and a love of storytelling. I love science fiction, superheroes, and giant robots. My hobbies include collecting transformers, watching way too many crafting videos on YouTube, and complaining bitterly about the way a certain comic book company treats my favorite superhero.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 26, 2022
A copy of the book was provided to Sapphic Book Club in exchange for an honest review.
Molly Bragg has quickly become a must read author for. This is the 4th book this year they have published year and offered to the Sapphic Book Club, and every single one of them have been amazing reads. I do not know what it is about Braggs writing style, but every book pulls me right into the story and I do not want to put the book down. I tend to read their books in a day or two, even when they are larger than the average sapphic book.
This story follows Jakari, an alien who has been fighting in a civil war for thousand of years and has been tasked with killing a major figure of the opposition who has set up shop, mysteriously, on Earth, There Jarkari meets Hayami, a Dallas Police Detective, who quickly finds herself caught up in an intergalactic war.
This is the first book in a series and it set up the next book well. Like the rest of Bragg's books, there is lots of queer representation. Jakari and Hayami are well written characters, who are backed by strong supporting characters. There are some flashbacks and recounts of the characters and the civil wars history, to put everything in context but not too much. I am not typically a fan of flashbacks but they were used well here.
This story tackles some big questions and philosophical ideology. By having all of the aliens being several thousand years old, there is this theme that runs in the background of this story about immortality and if beings are meant to live forever. Its not a huge part in this book but it wouldn't surprise me if it because bigger later in the series. The main theme that is tackled is the effect that war and conflict can have on good people. It can be a heavy topic and with Jakari being one of the central characters around this, it is a prevalent one. I think the author has handled well, especially given that there is still a war going on and a budding romance. That can be a lot for a book, but there is some good balance.
All in all, I found myself completely immersed in the story and enjoying the read. There were some heavy sci-fi techno-jargon that needs wading through and some heavy topics that keep it just short of a 4.5 or 5 star book, but it is an excellent read for sci-fi fans.
Molly Bragg has quickly become a must read author for. This is the 4th book this year they have published year and offered to the Sapphic Book Club, and every single one of them have been amazing reads. I do not know what it is about Braggs writing style, but every book pulls me right into the story and I do not want to put the book down. I tend to read their books in a day or two, even when they are larger than the average sapphic book.
This story follows Jakari, an alien who has been fighting in a civil war for thousand of years and has been tasked with killing a major figure of the opposition who has set up shop, mysteriously, on Earth, There Jarkari meets Hayami, a Dallas Police Detective, who quickly finds herself caught up in an intergalactic war.
This is the first book in a series and it set up the next book well. Like the rest of Bragg's books, there is lots of queer representation. Jakari and Hayami are well written characters, who are backed by strong supporting characters. There are some flashbacks and recounts of the characters and the civil wars history, to put everything in context but not too much. I am not typically a fan of flashbacks but they were used well here.
This story tackles some big questions and philosophical ideology. By having all of the aliens being several thousand years old, there is this theme that runs in the background of this story about immortality and if beings are meant to live forever. Its not a huge part in this book but it wouldn't surprise me if it because bigger later in the series. The main theme that is tackled is the effect that war and conflict can have on good people. It can be a heavy topic and with Jakari being one of the central characters around this, it is a prevalent one. I think the author has handled well, especially given that there is still a war going on and a budding romance. That can be a lot for a book, but there is some good balance.
All in all, I found myself completely immersed in the story and enjoying the read. There were some heavy sci-fi techno-jargon that needs wading through and some heavy topics that keep it just short of a 4.5 or 5 star book, but it is an excellent read for sci-fi fans.
January 26, 2023
The plot, the characters, the chemistry - just amazing. Can’t wait for the sequel.
December 1, 2022
3.75... lots and lots of action and a lot of background story explaining and a tiny little bit of romance...
May 3, 2024
PG-13. No sex and just a few moments of intimacy.
The sci-fi aspects were really well done and the aliens were reasonably well thought out.
The author is a trans woman, and she used plural pronouns almost exclusively throughout the book. The aliens were all trans or trans able by virtue of their shape shifting capabilities so I understood a little why the author went that way, but it was extremely difficult and disjoint to read through all the plural pronouns. I have read other books by this author and this level of plural pronoun usage is not in any of the other books, and I had a much easier time reading them and keeping characters and story details straight in my mind. I will continue to obtain future books by this author, I just hope the pronouns don’t get in the way in future books the way they did here.
YMMV.
The sci-fi aspects were really well done and the aliens were reasonably well thought out.
The author is a trans woman, and she used plural pronouns almost exclusively throughout the book. The aliens were all trans or trans able by virtue of their shape shifting capabilities so I understood a little why the author went that way, but it was extremely difficult and disjoint to read through all the plural pronouns. I have read other books by this author and this level of plural pronoun usage is not in any of the other books, and I had a much easier time reading them and keeping characters and story details straight in my mind. I will continue to obtain future books by this author, I just hope the pronouns don’t get in the way in future books the way they did here.
YMMV.
January 9, 2023
The Master of Puppets (The War of Souls – Book 1) by Molly J. Bragg is a spec-fic/romance that is full of action, adventure, shape-shifting aliens, and the beginning of a really lovely age gap romance. I think a ten thousand year age difference counts as an age gap romance, don’t you?
An alien assassin named Jakari has been sent to Earth to find her latest target and eliminate them. When she arrives on Earth, she finds her target is here with a group of enemy soldiers to turn the human population into robotic conscripts that could be used in the war between the Suil (Jakari’s people) and the Char Oram, their enemy. On her quest to kill the Char leader, she gets tangled up with Hayami Takahashi, a Dallas police officer who is working to find the criminals who are kidnapping folks off the streets of the city. The two end up working together with both humans and Suil soldiers to stop the Char before they complete their insidious plans.
This is definitely a story that both fans of spec-fic/sci-fi enthusiasts as well as romance lovers will enjoy. The narrative is fast paced and full of thrills. It’s easy to bond with the characters, both main and secondary. I especially fell for Jakari, and easily understood her motivations. While there is a good deal of techno-babble in the tale, the author made it understandable even to technically challenged folks like me. The budding love stories (there are actually more than one) are delightful and endearing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I’m excited to note that there is more to come since this is the first book in a series. I can’t wait to read more about Jakari, Hayami, and all the other characters I’ve come to know and love.
I received an ARC from the author for an honest review. You can get a copy from Desert Palm Press.
An alien assassin named Jakari has been sent to Earth to find her latest target and eliminate them. When she arrives on Earth, she finds her target is here with a group of enemy soldiers to turn the human population into robotic conscripts that could be used in the war between the Suil (Jakari’s people) and the Char Oram, their enemy. On her quest to kill the Char leader, she gets tangled up with Hayami Takahashi, a Dallas police officer who is working to find the criminals who are kidnapping folks off the streets of the city. The two end up working together with both humans and Suil soldiers to stop the Char before they complete their insidious plans.
This is definitely a story that both fans of spec-fic/sci-fi enthusiasts as well as romance lovers will enjoy. The narrative is fast paced and full of thrills. It’s easy to bond with the characters, both main and secondary. I especially fell for Jakari, and easily understood her motivations. While there is a good deal of techno-babble in the tale, the author made it understandable even to technically challenged folks like me. The budding love stories (there are actually more than one) are delightful and endearing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I’m excited to note that there is more to come since this is the first book in a series. I can’t wait to read more about Jakari, Hayami, and all the other characters I’ve come to know and love.
I received an ARC from the author for an honest review. You can get a copy from Desert Palm Press.
November 27, 2022
This one was okay, folks. I don't regret reading it but then it doesn't really do anything to distinguish itself either. The setting is interesting, with the aliens being basically techno-organic goo that can shape itself into any kind of matter that they want. Unfortunately the author doesn't really think outside the box on this one, and doesn't really explore what it means to be an organism that can be basically whatever the heck it wants to be. Sure they have cultural limitations because they began as a purely organic being, but one would think that later generations would eschew anything conventional. On the plus side, though. Giant mecha.
The biggest weakness of the book, however, is the human lead. Her past really isn't explored, and you never really get the sense of her character. She's just kind of ... there. You start to see actual personality towards the end of the book, but, really, it's a bit late. It helps to think of the main alien as the central character. Her personality and background get pretty well fleshed out, and we spend most of our time with her. I think I would have liked the entire book be from her perspective rather than the humans. So few sci-fi 'aliens come to earth' books take the alien's perspective, and I think had she done that this would have been a much better book.
Like I said, I don't regret reading this and I'll pick up the sequel for when it comes out. Molly J. Bragg has proven that she's capable of greatness, and I'm willing to give anything she writes a try. Three stars.
The biggest weakness of the book, however, is the human lead. Her past really isn't explored, and you never really get the sense of her character. She's just kind of ... there. You start to see actual personality towards the end of the book, but, really, it's a bit late. It helps to think of the main alien as the central character. Her personality and background get pretty well fleshed out, and we spend most of our time with her. I think I would have liked the entire book be from her perspective rather than the humans. So few sci-fi 'aliens come to earth' books take the alien's perspective, and I think had she done that this would have been a much better book.
Like I said, I don't regret reading this and I'll pick up the sequel for when it comes out. Molly J. Bragg has proven that she's capable of greatness, and I'm willing to give anything she writes a try. Three stars.
November 29, 2022
At its core, this is very much a sci-fi story, a tale of humans and aliens working together for a common cause, and the relationships that come about during it. A thousands of years old assassin who might not always follow orders, and a human cop who is trying her best to protect her people, and when their paths cross, well, a mess ensues. But perhaps there is more to it too. While there isn't a lot of romance in this book, what is there is cute, and has me hoping for a lot more in the second book.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it has left me excited for the next installment. Sure, the names take a little getting used to, but the setting is rich and interesting, the characters fleshed out and enjoyable, and the tale well woven.
Note that this is the first part of a series, and while it finished the major arc for that book, the overall plot is still wide open, and you can't but hope for certain things for the main characters.
Definitely recommend.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it has left me excited for the next installment. Sure, the names take a little getting used to, but the setting is rich and interesting, the characters fleshed out and enjoyable, and the tale well woven.
Note that this is the first part of a series, and while it finished the major arc for that book, the overall plot is still wide open, and you can't but hope for certain things for the main characters.
Definitely recommend.
January 18, 2023
4.5 stars
Any lover of mech-themed anime would love this one! There are aliens reminiscent of the movie Returner with bodies made of the same shape-shifting tech they use for much of their equipment. It was an action packed read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to reading more from this series and perhaps getting a little more background on the main human, Hayami. The only negative I could say is in the repetitive history mentions of the main alien.
Any lover of mech-themed anime would love this one! There are aliens reminiscent of the movie Returner with bodies made of the same shape-shifting tech they use for much of their equipment. It was an action packed read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to reading more from this series and perhaps getting a little more background on the main human, Hayami. The only negative I could say is in the repetitive history mentions of the main alien.
December 19, 2023
For me, it is my book of the year. I love the combination of sci-fi, an original alien race with other ways of thinking and culture, discovering the possibilities when working together. Most of all the civil war is not black-white, but grey. Not the one side who is always right, both sides did unthinkable things during those 9000 years. Some of both sides want peace, others want to crash the other side into the ground.
November 19, 2022
Dnf 40%
Boring, like reading pure alien military fiction. I wasnt invested in their stories.
Boring, like reading pure alien military fiction. I wasnt invested in their stories.
November 29, 2022
Great story
I really enjoyed this story. Had a lot of inventive and unique qualities that I enjoyed. Look forward to the next installment.
I really enjoyed this story. Had a lot of inventive and unique qualities that I enjoyed. Look forward to the next installment.
September 23, 2023
Hard to put down
The characters are rich, and the worlds are so very well built. I can't wait to read the next book.
The characters are rich, and the worlds are so very well built. I can't wait to read the next book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews