What do you think?
Rate this book
Modified
Only one person can warn the Venusians about an astronomical catastrophe but he is an android slave. High in the clouds of Venus, the Venusians live in three glorious floating citadels while the androids known as Automatons labor on its surface. Both feared and admired, the intelligent Automatons have been outlawed. As a last resort to keep the few remaining alive, they’re banished to toil below. Escape is impossible, and most do not have a concept of freedom. With suspicions they are sentient, many colonists are against their ruthless sacrifice for the benefit of humanity. Yet disruption of their vital mining of ore and geo-engineering, would doom the cities to failure. When strange events involve Terik, the son of the cities founder, and Joules, the daughter of an inventor, questions of sentience seem confirmed when they happen upon a super intelligent android named Jarvis. Built by the automatons they realize they must help him survive and convey his warning about an approaching comet from the Scattered Disc. Thrust into moral conflicts, survival and political battles, Terik and Joules are drawn together in a profound friendship as they risk their lives to help Jarvis, and get his message to city leaders. In a classic future that is drawn between between good and evil, fear and courage, life and transformation, they face a new world, knowing the fate of the Automations and the Venusians will change forever.
215 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 20, 2020
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 23, 2022
The first time that I actually bought a book of the writer on a congress, had a little conversation about it and had a few nice lines written by Kim on the title page. My god, I wanted to like it so bad that I was apprehensive to read it, just out of fear that I might not like it and still feel the need to write a review. And it came to pass that my fears did materialize. I read it, did not like it and wrote a review.
Well here goes. The cover-art is beautiful, and by the writer herself, so you get to see what some of the protagonists look like in the writers imagination. Kim van Kramer is a very accomplished illustrator so the cover is an absolute pleasure to behold.
The novel is about the betrayal of loyal robots (automatons) that slave away under hellish circumstances to keep the floating cities of Venus habitable. About their creation of a next level intelligent robot. About the son of the dicator of Venus falling in love with the daughter of the original inventor of the robots, like a futuristic Romeo and Julia. About a comet coming to destroy Venus. About lot's more.
And while this could be the ingredients of a great story, sadly that is exactly what is lacking. A story. The book is bursting at the seams with interesting ideas and fascinating visions, but it never takes off. It remains endlessly in the process of starting up. Halfway through the novel, their are so many storylines that you realize the writer will need four more volumes to tell the tale, not the 150 pages you still have to go. And there I lost my interest. Frustrated, because if some restraint had been practiced and some careful culling of unnecessary sidelines, this novel could have been an enjoyable experience instead of this massive let down.
That is also when the disadvantages of self published work are becoming major nuisances during the reading. I become unforgiving to spelling mistakes, faulty sentences and misspelled names of quoted authors (I'm looking at you Allan Turig), to the point where I want to whip out the red pencil to start correcting. God knows, I am nobodies Strunk and White, but this was certainly off-putting. This book is not only lacking a storyline, but it is also in dire need of proper editing for readability.
There it is. I like the writer, I like the cover-art, I like the ideas, I even like the world building, I am severely disappointed in the fact that all these great ingredients did not make a worthwhile read. Please Kim, get a proper editor for your next book, even if it is self published.
Well here goes. The cover-art is beautiful, and by the writer herself, so you get to see what some of the protagonists look like in the writers imagination. Kim van Kramer is a very accomplished illustrator so the cover is an absolute pleasure to behold.
The novel is about the betrayal of loyal robots (automatons) that slave away under hellish circumstances to keep the floating cities of Venus habitable. About their creation of a next level intelligent robot. About the son of the dicator of Venus falling in love with the daughter of the original inventor of the robots, like a futuristic Romeo and Julia. About a comet coming to destroy Venus. About lot's more.
And while this could be the ingredients of a great story, sadly that is exactly what is lacking. A story. The book is bursting at the seams with interesting ideas and fascinating visions, but it never takes off. It remains endlessly in the process of starting up. Halfway through the novel, their are so many storylines that you realize the writer will need four more volumes to tell the tale, not the 150 pages you still have to go. And there I lost my interest. Frustrated, because if some restraint had been practiced and some careful culling of unnecessary sidelines, this novel could have been an enjoyable experience instead of this massive let down.
That is also when the disadvantages of self published work are becoming major nuisances during the reading. I become unforgiving to spelling mistakes, faulty sentences and misspelled names of quoted authors (I'm looking at you Allan Turig), to the point where I want to whip out the red pencil to start correcting. God knows, I am nobodies Strunk and White, but this was certainly off-putting. This book is not only lacking a storyline, but it is also in dire need of proper editing for readability.
There it is. I like the writer, I like the cover-art, I like the ideas, I even like the world building, I am severely disappointed in the fact that all these great ingredients did not make a worthwhile read. Please Kim, get a proper editor for your next book, even if it is self published.
Displaying 1 of 1 review