Information

• Goodreads: 4.19 out of 16 Ratings
• Genre: Science Fiction
• Series: Not Listed, but the ending leaves room for one
• Age Category: Adult

Summary

This is what I like to call ‘dad fiction.’ Think of Avengers, Orphan X, that kind of stuff. I love it – even though I’m not a dad. Ander Rade was offered the opportunity of a lifetime = to be turned into a genetically modified super soldier. After the shitty life full of misery and pain he’d had, he didn’t even hesitate to say yes, to finally have a bit of power for himself. And things were going great, until that one mission that just didn’t sit quite right in his tummy. Coincidentally, that same mission lead to his imprisonment and forced him into the brutal fighting pits. And after years of being in the fighting pits, things have naturally changed in the world that he was unaware of, including one of his old teammates and issues with his modifications. It doesn’t help that who he is, a mod, is now illegal. Rade is presented with another option: help on this mission to get out of the pits. Kind of hard to say no. Full of action, spies, modified super soldiers going at each other. It’s a blast. It’s dad fiction at its finest.

Review

Reading this felt like watching a super cool spy movie. It’s more no-thoughts-head-empty-only-action — and I am okay with that. I had a fun time. It’s not overly emotional or thought provoking. This isn’t that kind of book and that’s not what it’s going for. We’re following Ander Rade as he hunts down an old friend and deals with the complexities of not knowing whose side he is fully on because every corporation is corrupt and every person is grey with multiple agendas.

We’re mostly following Ander and Moreno, but there are a few side characters who are just as interesting, even though they are (admittedly) less explored by the author. I like Moreno, who seems like the only person in this world who actually has and hold to her morals. Rade is still learning what his morals are after spending years killing in the fighting pits and even more years killing anything that his boss told him to without thinking it through. Watching his deconstruction of everything he’s ever believed as he’s hunting down a man who left him for dead is so interesting and a good read. That being said, we don’t really know either of these characters in full depth. I’m sure we’ll get to learn more in the next book – and there has to be a next one with how things were left off.

The world in this book is fascinating. It’s our world, but in the future where people have been genetically modified to become super-soldiers – but then the world decided these people were too dangerous and unfair. The governments decided they actually didn’t want super soldiers on either side. Now, each soldier is hunted down and also unable to fix their declining mods. They’re dying a slow death with no one to help them through it. Moreno is on a special team that uses cool suits specifically to hunt down these soldiers and still be able to hold their ground. It’s cool. There weren’t many moments when reading this that I felt pulled out of the world – I was invested and I was in.

The plot within the book is exactly what I was looking for. Rade is hunting someone down and learning about corruption all along the way and makes exactly one friend while doing so (Moreno). If you want a book that feels like Orphan X, Burn Notice, or anything else that I would classify as action-packed dad fiction, this is exactly the book for you. Don’t expect more from it, though. This is not the book that delves into the human existence or thoroughly explores heavy themes, so you’ll be disappointed if you expect those. The writing for this book is great. It pulls the reader in and makes the reading fun. It’s fast paced and fits in with what the book is – meaning it isn’t overly flowery. The writing is just as quick and cutthroat as the story is, which made it even more of a fun read. It felt like the writing, plot, characters, and everything else easily flowed into what the story was; nothing felt as if it were clashing or out of place.

Overall, this was such a fun read and one of my newest favorite dad fiction books. I’m hoping that there will be more within this, just like Orphan X. I think this will be a super fun and engaging series to read anytime you need a break or need to see some cool action scenes. A ton of fun, and who doesn’t love some good dad fiction every now and then? What are some of your favorite dad fiction reads? Please let me know, I’m always looking for more!