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Quirk & Moth #1
The Mandroid Murders
They say, “Never work with androids or children.”
Quirk had one job to do, deliver papers to a Milan mafia boss, before leaving Earth for his home in the asteroids. But that was before being tailed, poisoned—oh, yes—and hijacked into raising foulmouthed fourteen-year-old convent girl Angelika Moratti, aka Moth, who'd rather see him asphyxiate in space.
Fleeing assassins, Quirk, Moth and her syRen® android S-0778 ride the space elevator to the Moon, where Quirk hires on to hunt an ex-terra-former who somehow used an android to murder his doctor. But which android of the two hundred under Lunaville’s dome? The trail of bodies grows, time is running out; the only way they can save the dome and the two thousand souls beneath it is to solve The Mandroid Murders.
Quirk had one job to do, deliver papers to a Milan mafia boss, before leaving Earth for his home in the asteroids. But that was before being tailed, poisoned—oh, yes—and hijacked into raising foulmouthed fourteen-year-old convent girl Angelika Moratti, aka Moth, who'd rather see him asphyxiate in space.
Fleeing assassins, Quirk, Moth and her syRen® android S-0778 ride the space elevator to the Moon, where Quirk hires on to hunt an ex-terra-former who somehow used an android to murder his doctor. But which android of the two hundred under Lunaville’s dome? The trail of bodies grows, time is running out; the only way they can save the dome and the two thousand souls beneath it is to solve The Mandroid Murders.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 9, 2022
9 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Robin C.M. Duncan
10 books14 followersI am a Civil Engineer by profession, and have written since 1980, but seriously only since 2013. My debut novel The Mandroid Murders published in 2022, its sequel The Carborundum Conundrum in 2023, and my latest, The Rigel Redemption, in June 2024. My stories feature in Space Wizard Science Fantasy’s four Worlds Apart anthologies, and the Gallus anthology from the Glasgow SF Writers' Circle. My story The NEU Oblivion was long-listed for the 2019 James White Award. In addition to the GSFWC, I belong to Reading Excuses, the British Fantasy Society, and the British Science Fiction Association.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
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June 26, 2023Here's the author's preview at Scalzi's: https://whatever.scalzi.com/2022/08/1...
Excerpt:
"The story follows the trail of Gregor Callan, a quadriplegic, who volunteers to participate in Androicon’s testing of their new tech. Callan was paralysed in a terra-forming accident. Synaptic Mapping (the tech in question) enables him to experience the physical freedom that most of us take for granted, but when the link to his body is severed, Callan finds he is no longer accountable to his physical form. There are signs that he was unbalanced even before his original accident, but the chip on his virtual shoulder is given freedom to roam, and the consequences are less than optimal, shall we say: private detective Quirk is called in to find Callan and stop him."
Read on for the author's medical experience that led him to write this one. Harrowing experience!
Not at our libraries, 6/26/23
Excerpt:
"The story follows the trail of Gregor Callan, a quadriplegic, who volunteers to participate in Androicon’s testing of their new tech. Callan was paralysed in a terra-forming accident. Synaptic Mapping (the tech in question) enables him to experience the physical freedom that most of us take for granted, but when the link to his body is severed, Callan finds he is no longer accountable to his physical form. There are signs that he was unbalanced even before his original accident, but the chip on his virtual shoulder is given freedom to roam, and the consequences are less than optimal, shall we say: private detective Quirk is called in to find Callan and stop him."
Read on for the author's medical experience that led him to write this one. Harrowing experience!
Not at our libraries, 6/26/23
November 4, 2023
Took me awhile to get into this book. Overall, I felt it was just alright. The characters grew on me finally, but the writing wasn't my favorite. There were almost too many futuristic/fictional terms/words/phrases (like "plass", "plaper", etc) that some sections were hard to follow because I couldn't figure out or remember what they were referring to, so that kind of took away from my experience reading the book.
September 27, 2023
The plot was twisty and unexpected, and in the end worked out well even when you think it won't. I warmed up to some of the characters after disliking most of them at first. The jargon and corporations within corporations were confusing, especially at first. The world building was done thoughtfully and plausibly, and the use of corporations using human/droid labor seems very realistic, sadly. As you would imagine, there could be a lot of money tied up with living "off-planet", at least at first. There were definitely some cool ideas about space travel/futuristic living and working, and future healthcare concerns. I may even read the second one...
November 13, 2023
1.5 stars.
Just couldn't quite push to the ok column of 2 stars, as I had no love for either Quirk or foul-mouthed Moth, or any of the other characters. Maybe the only character that I like was the android.
Most of the book was slow and "quirky". Understand trying to be sci-fi by using terms like Plass and Pleather, instead of glass and leather. Star Wars does this to an extent, but this was over the top.
The story in the last few chapters got somewhat better, once they were after the main antagonist, but even that fell flat in the end like the rock falling on the dome of Lunaville.
Glad others liked it, but will not be reading the next in the series, even if it was free.
Just couldn't quite push to the ok column of 2 stars, as I had no love for either Quirk or foul-mouthed Moth, or any of the other characters. Maybe the only character that I like was the android.
Most of the book was slow and "quirky". Understand trying to be sci-fi by using terms like Plass and Pleather, instead of glass and leather. Star Wars does this to an extent, but this was over the top.
The story in the last few chapters got somewhat better, once they were after the main antagonist, but even that fell flat in the end like the rock falling on the dome of Lunaville.
Glad others liked it, but will not be reading the next in the series, even if it was free.
August 13, 2022
Mandroid Murders . . .
Quirk and teenaged Angelika Moratti (“Moth”) are an amazing pair of characters who lead the reader through this suspenseful mystery to discover who is on a murder spree. Laughter-provoking actions, intriguing dialog, and chilling suspense will move the story line forward as they race to find the answer before the bodies pile up ever higher in this sci-fi setting.
Quirk and teenaged Angelika Moratti (“Moth”) are an amazing pair of characters who lead the reader through this suspenseful mystery to discover who is on a murder spree. Laughter-provoking actions, intriguing dialog, and chilling suspense will move the story line forward as they race to find the answer before the bodies pile up ever higher in this sci-fi setting.
August 12, 2022
Great start to the Quirk & Moth series, it had a great blend of scifi and mystery thriller. I enjoyed the writing style and was invested in what was happening in this world. The characters felt like real people and I enjoyed going on this journey.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 16, 2022
Duncan, Robin C. M. The Mandroid Murders. Quirk and Moth No. 1. Space Wizard Science Fantasy, 2022,
Robin Duncan is a civil engineer and short story writer from Glasgow. The Mandroid Murders is his first novel, and it is one of the best new independently published novels I have read this year. Quirk, a detective from the asteroid belt, is tricked by an Italian mobster into bodyguarding his badly behaved 14-year-old niece. Her name is Angelina, but she prefers to be called Moth and dreams of becoming a graffiti artist. The mobster’s rivals want to kill her so she cannot inherit the family business. Meanwhile, on the Moon, an android with an uploaded consciousness wants revenge against the corporation that put him there. Quirk and Moth must solve the case, whether they want to or not. The androids and other technologies are inventive and plausible. The frenemy relationship between Quirk and Moth is a lot of fun. I hope the next novel in the series is well on the way. 4 stars.
Robin Duncan is a civil engineer and short story writer from Glasgow. The Mandroid Murders is his first novel, and it is one of the best new independently published novels I have read this year. Quirk, a detective from the asteroid belt, is tricked by an Italian mobster into bodyguarding his badly behaved 14-year-old niece. Her name is Angelina, but she prefers to be called Moth and dreams of becoming a graffiti artist. The mobster’s rivals want to kill her so she cannot inherit the family business. Meanwhile, on the Moon, an android with an uploaded consciousness wants revenge against the corporation that put him there. Quirk and Moth must solve the case, whether they want to or not. The androids and other technologies are inventive and plausible. The frenemy relationship between Quirk and Moth is a lot of fun. I hope the next novel in the series is well on the way. 4 stars.
June 14, 2023
The Mandroid Murders is a great start to a brand new series, Quirk & Moth by Robin C. M. Duncan. The Mandroid Murders kept me on my toes racing to the end with all the suspense and twists along the way to keep me tightly glued to the pages not able to lay it down once I started reading.
Quirk & Moth are two very interesting characters that kept me hooked page after page. Quirk & Moth didn’t get along very well with each other. Quirk was hired by Moth’s uncle to raise her. Quirk was not interested in raising a fourteen-year-old girl but I assume the price was right.
Quirk set out on his day to deliver some papers to a Milan mafia boss, before leaving Earth for his home in the asteroids. But he was detained by Moth and her uncle.
When an android kills his doctor Quirk decides to take on the case to find out which android killed the doctor but there are like two hundred under Lunaville’s dome. But before they can find the killer more bodies are found. Can Quirk and Moth find the killer before it is too late for everyone under the dome?
The Mandroid Murders was a great read. I love the world that was created for The Mandroid Murders. I loved the writing style. I loved the blend of a murder mystery, Science Fiction, and a thriller all rolled into one story.
The Mandroid Murders was told from different points of view which I like as I like getting the story from different characters and seeing the world through their eyes.
I do believe that The Mandroid Murders would make a great TV show or movie. I can’t wait to read more about Quirk and Moth’s great adventures in the next book The Carborundum Conundrum.
I would recommend The Mandroid Murders to all science fiction and mystery fans! Grab your copy of The Mandroid Murders today!
Quirk & Moth are two very interesting characters that kept me hooked page after page. Quirk & Moth didn’t get along very well with each other. Quirk was hired by Moth’s uncle to raise her. Quirk was not interested in raising a fourteen-year-old girl but I assume the price was right.
Quirk set out on his day to deliver some papers to a Milan mafia boss, before leaving Earth for his home in the asteroids. But he was detained by Moth and her uncle.
When an android kills his doctor Quirk decides to take on the case to find out which android killed the doctor but there are like two hundred under Lunaville’s dome. But before they can find the killer more bodies are found. Can Quirk and Moth find the killer before it is too late for everyone under the dome?
The Mandroid Murders was a great read. I love the world that was created for The Mandroid Murders. I loved the writing style. I loved the blend of a murder mystery, Science Fiction, and a thriller all rolled into one story.
The Mandroid Murders was told from different points of view which I like as I like getting the story from different characters and seeing the world through their eyes.
I do believe that The Mandroid Murders would make a great TV show or movie. I can’t wait to read more about Quirk and Moth’s great adventures in the next book The Carborundum Conundrum.
I would recommend The Mandroid Murders to all science fiction and mystery fans! Grab your copy of The Mandroid Murders today!
August 9, 2022
I read an ARC of this book, and definitely recommend it!
There are lots of elements to love, from a fussy detective with a troubled past, to a fourteen-year-old foulmouthed convent girl, to androids, cool tech, a space elevator, and body-jumping!
Check this book out--it's a fun read with great writing and characters.
There are lots of elements to love, from a fussy detective with a troubled past, to a fourteen-year-old foulmouthed convent girl, to androids, cool tech, a space elevator, and body-jumping!
Check this book out--it's a fun read with great writing and characters.
August 11, 2022
I read an read an early version of this book and loved it. Quirk and Moth are hilarious! The plot and mystery elements are well developed and suspenseful. The future sci-fi elements were well thought out and had great world building. I highly recommend reading!
August 2, 2022
What a powerful & well written book. A roller coaster journey that commanded me to read it non stop. Such a compelling story, I couldn't read it fast enough.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 22, 2023
I’m in somewhat of a conundrum about my feelings on this book. There are things here that I like, really REALLY like! But also things that drag my rating down. I’ve opted to give ‘The Mandroid Murders’ a 4 star rating as a compromise.
Things I liked:
ALL the tech, from the SyRen’s to the Luna dome, Exo-suited miners and astroid belters is VERY plausible and well presented & executed. Right up there with the best of the hard sci-fi series.
The things I didn’t like are more fleeting and harder to pin down. I’ve still not quite warmed to the main characters but that’s ‘me’ and not for any lack of skill on the author’s part presenting them.
Each of them, Quirk, Moth, Callen, Mary Quan, Uncle Toni, Aunt Giuliana are well rounded, humanly flawed and each operating for their own best interests. I just never really clicked with them. Mary Quan was probably my favorite even tho she’s a corporate lawyer. She has a cat, she can’t be ALL bad. :p
The real enemy here is the corporations and corporate greed. While Callen is obviously off his rocker, his initial grievance is accurate.
Moving on to the second novel. Maybe they’ll stick this time.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Things I liked:
ALL the tech, from the SyRen’s to the Luna dome, Exo-suited miners and astroid belters is VERY plausible and well presented & executed. Right up there with the best of the hard sci-fi series.
The things I didn’t like are more fleeting and harder to pin down. I’ve still not quite warmed to the main characters but that’s ‘me’ and not for any lack of skill on the author’s part presenting them.
Each of them, Quirk, Moth, Callen, Mary Quan, Uncle Toni, Aunt Giuliana are well rounded, humanly flawed and each operating for their own best interests. I just never really clicked with them. Mary Quan was probably my favorite even tho she’s a corporate lawyer. She has a cat, she can’t be ALL bad. :p
The real enemy here is the corporations and corporate greed. While Callen is obviously off his rocker, his initial grievance is accurate.
Moving on to the second novel. Maybe they’ll stick this time.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 28, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed The Mandroid Murders. The two main points of view, Quirk and Moth, were both well-written and fun to read: Quirk with a dialect reminiscent of a salty 1950s detective, and Moth with a quick spitfire mindset that still left room for her fourteen year-old vulnerability. The story was engaging from beginning to end, making it an easy and captivating read. I look forward to reading the next adventure with these characters!
August 19, 2023
“The Mandroid Murders” (Quirk & Moth Shambles #1) by Robin C.M. Duncan ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Snarky SciFi. Location: Earth and the Moon. Time: Alternative 2099.
THE SERIES: Private Detective Quinton Kirby, known as Quirk (33) lives in the asteroid belt. He’s raising foulmouthed Moth (14), aka Angelika Moratti. This is annoying to both of them. Moth comes with S-0778, a violet-eyed syRen android. Quirk used to work for C-Corp, and was married to the boss’s daughter. Until the boss betrayed his daughter, and she betrayed Quirk.
THIS BOOK: Quirk is on Earth quietly doing a paper drop for mob boss Toni De Fantano. When Toni ends up in a deadly situation, he asks Quirk to raise and protect Toni’s niece Moth. He poisons Quirk to guarantee his cooperation, because only Moth has the saliva-based antidote. Fleeing Earth assassins, Quirk, Moth and S-0778 head for the Moon, where Quirk is hired to find Gregor Callan, an ex-terraformer who used an android to murder his doctor.
Author Duncan alternates Quirk and Moth’s current story with chapters from Gregor Callan’s recent past and present. Once Quirk, Moth, and S-0778 get together, the beginning narrative makes more sense. I’m a big fan of world building descriptions, and Duncan does them well. But sometimes this book seems longer on description than plot, with word space given to lists of androids, how things work in detail, etc, instead of summarizing those and getting to the action.
The characters really are the stars. I love how Quirk labels his own expressions, such as the “Please don’t Taser me, I’m a Harmless Detective Smile”, the “Half-Smile of Condensation”, and the “Simple Smile #3: no agenda, just happy to see you”. And how he refers to his suit by its brand (the Merrion”). So it’s long and filled with description overload, but Duncan has created a fun concept and plot with likable, snarky characters, so it’s a solid 3 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼♀️ Thank you to Book Sirens, SpaceWizardScienceFantasy, and Robin C.M. Duncan for this ecopy.
THE SERIES: Private Detective Quinton Kirby, known as Quirk (33) lives in the asteroid belt. He’s raising foulmouthed Moth (14), aka Angelika Moratti. This is annoying to both of them. Moth comes with S-0778, a violet-eyed syRen android. Quirk used to work for C-Corp, and was married to the boss’s daughter. Until the boss betrayed his daughter, and she betrayed Quirk.
THIS BOOK: Quirk is on Earth quietly doing a paper drop for mob boss Toni De Fantano. When Toni ends up in a deadly situation, he asks Quirk to raise and protect Toni’s niece Moth. He poisons Quirk to guarantee his cooperation, because only Moth has the saliva-based antidote. Fleeing Earth assassins, Quirk, Moth and S-0778 head for the Moon, where Quirk is hired to find Gregor Callan, an ex-terraformer who used an android to murder his doctor.
Author Duncan alternates Quirk and Moth’s current story with chapters from Gregor Callan’s recent past and present. Once Quirk, Moth, and S-0778 get together, the beginning narrative makes more sense. I’m a big fan of world building descriptions, and Duncan does them well. But sometimes this book seems longer on description than plot, with word space given to lists of androids, how things work in detail, etc, instead of summarizing those and getting to the action.
The characters really are the stars. I love how Quirk labels his own expressions, such as the “Please don’t Taser me, I’m a Harmless Detective Smile”, the “Half-Smile of Condensation”, and the “Simple Smile #3: no agenda, just happy to see you”. And how he refers to his suit by its brand (the Merrion”). So it’s long and filled with description overload, but Duncan has created a fun concept and plot with likable, snarky characters, so it’s a solid 3 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼♀️ Thank you to Book Sirens, SpaceWizardScienceFantasy, and Robin C.M. Duncan for this ecopy.
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November 20, 2024On the basis that I wrote this book, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to log it on this platform as me having read it this year, since I did, probably three or four times!
Modesty forbids me from rating it, of course! ;O)
[EDIT] - November 2024
I have just listed back to this book in full, with the excellent narration of Adi Cabral. Okay, look, I *wrote* the book, but Adi has brought my work to life in a way made me love my story all over again, and I want to acknowledge that here. 5 stars for the narration :)
Modesty forbids me from rating it, of course! ;O)
[EDIT] - November 2024
I have just listed back to this book in full, with the excellent narration of Adi Cabral. Okay, look, I *wrote* the book, but Adi has brought my work to life in a way made me love my story all over again, and I want to acknowledge that here. 5 stars for the narration :)
February 29, 2024
3 1/2 stars. It's a pretty good story and I like the characters, and there is some investigating that goes on, but it's light on any actual detecting and figuring out the clues seems to be more luck than skill. This is perhaps not so much due to incompetence as to withholding of information from Quirk. It just seems to try a bit too hard to make sure nothing ever goes Quirk's way. Moth is entertaining, as is the Android 8 in a dry sort of way.
August 11, 2024
Quirk is a private detective delivering papers to a mafia boss in Italy when he is poisoned and forced to travel to the Moon with Moth a teenage foul-mouth convent girl to escape assassins. Quirk is hired to solve a murder involving an android on the Moon. Quirk and Moth uncover clues to try to save the lives of two thousand people living under Lunaville’s dome. I really enjoyed reading this unbelievably amazing science fiction thriller mystery novel.
June 13, 2023
very Entertaining
This is part Scorsese mob movie, part android sci-fi and part dystopian evil corporate villain. It’s very entertaining all the way through. Recommended!
This is part Scorsese mob movie, part android sci-fi and part dystopian evil corporate villain. It’s very entertaining all the way through. Recommended!
January 14, 2024
Good entertaining sci-fi with fun (if a little over-the-top) characters. Will look forward to checking out book 2 after some of my other reading backlog.
August 30, 2024
It started as just a simple courier job. Next thing our hero knew he was trying to solve a murder plot on the Moon with a 14 year old sidekick. Yeah, this is not how he expected his day to end, but sometimes you just have to work with what you are given.
This is book one of the series, so all good there.
This is a science fiction story with a heavy dose of action and mystery thrown in. The story is well written and easy to read with a well developed setting that has lots of interesting features to it. The characters are also well done and do an excellent job of bring the story to life. Sometimes it was hard to decide which was more interesting, the details of the setting or the snarky interactions of the characters. Both are great. Add in a nice mix of action and mystery, along with a healthy element of humor and you have a delightful story. Overall, I found this story to be highly engaging and lots of fun. Time to move on to book two.
Highly recommended.
This is book one of the series, so all good there.
This is a science fiction story with a heavy dose of action and mystery thrown in. The story is well written and easy to read with a well developed setting that has lots of interesting features to it. The characters are also well done and do an excellent job of bring the story to life. Sometimes it was hard to decide which was more interesting, the details of the setting or the snarky interactions of the characters. Both are great. Add in a nice mix of action and mystery, along with a healthy element of humor and you have a delightful story. Overall, I found this story to be highly engaging and lots of fun. Time to move on to book two.
Highly recommended.
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September 17, 2022Second Kindle Unlimited in a row I have DNFed rather quickly because of poor writing. In this book it was compounded by a very unappealing protagonist .
October 25, 2022
I just couldn't bite into this. Scalzi recommended it so I paid my money, but 30% in, I wasn't attached to characters or story, which sucks. I hope you like it more than I did.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews