From the current trendy writer of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, comes a more serious story but still trading on his obvious gaming experience and even his musical acumen.  But when I say “serious”, I don’t mean super drama with no relief.  There is still absurdity abounding, wry observations, and moments of fun.  Just moments, though…

Oliver Lewis and his sister manage a farm on the planet New Sonora.  Their grandparents traveled in a generation ship to colonize and now a pivotal moment is happening; a portal has opened to allow communication with Earth and is finally open enough to allow immediate travel between the worlds.  Oliver’s sister, Lulu, has big plans.  Her online ‘business’ has accumulated almost enough funds for her to escape New Sonora and buy a place in Aruba.  Oliver has never wanted to be anything other than the farmer he is.

The farm and most of the infrastructure on their peninsula were built with the technological help of robots that were brought on the ship.  Oliver’s grandfather must have been something of a genius as he found ways around fail-safes and obsolescence to repurpose the robots for agriculture and keep them going. Oliver’s farm is the only one left on New Sonora that is governed by the sole functioning queen hive robot left. This robot is able to coordinate all the other robots.  This is important. Take a note for the quiz later.

Oliver’s generation and his grandfather’s generation (grandfather passed away) are the only surviving generations.  His parents’ generation was completely wiped out by a mysterious disease and the planet was only recently approved for new babies.  Oliver, Lulu and their friends are in their early twenties and completely unprepared for the invasion.

Their first encounter was while searching for a missing scout robot.  They found a strange machine that was apparently being piloted by a petulant boy who was disappointed to find himself in the countryside rather than a city which would have had more targets.  His mother bought him the remote-controlled murder machine as a birthday present.

Everything escalates rapidly from there as Roger, their queen hive robot, begins to understand what is happening.  Without Roger they wouldn’t have lasted very long.

For reasons they can’t possibly fathom, New Sonora, reportedly, has a hotbed of terrorists who are taking over the planet and will soon threaten Earth.  So Earth has authorized a corporation to go in and clean up the planet.  In the form of a game; which sadistic twisted little fucks can sign up for so they can engage in sanctioned murder.  It’s all rather confusing for New Sonorans as they are all farmers and don’t know of a single terrorist.

From here it gets pretty bleak but with Roger’s guidance, Oliver and his friends and neighbors go all A-Team and create a safe enclave on their farm.  Actually, that’s rather an exaggeration; it’s not terribly safe, at all. 

There is no reprieve in sight; their communications to Earth are being controlled so they aren’t able to get their story out.  But they do get communication from the corporation which decides that since they are putting up such a good fight, the game will be more exciting if the corporation provides Oliver and company with additional supplies and gear.  Oliver has no choice but to accept and hope they can stay alive until the game ends, in five days.  Meanwhile, Roger has unlocked files that became available to him in the face of this emergency.  Those files are full of unexpected information that just might keep them alive for a bit longer.  Aside from trying to stay alive, Roger and Oliver are desperate to understand why all this is happening and the answer isn’t simple.

On the surface, we get to know Oliver, Lulu and their friends and their simple plans and goals for their lives; not very different from any young person.  We learn of their relationships with the older generation and the concern and care they have for the older people. And the author presents it all in a humorous and warm vein.  Which makes all the murdering even more heinous.

But what’s riveting about the plot is how he gradually unfolds one secret after another: how the middle generation died and possibly why, why Earth is willing to believe the terrorist fabrication and what they’ll get from the genocide; and then the biggie – what exactly is Roger?

The characters are wonderful.  Oliver is resourceful but terribly naïve and clueless. Lulu is a lot more ambitious; evidenced by her online persona Farm Girl Gigi and her streaming sex site – which might help save them. Their friends and the band they are all in; where they don’t really play much but there is much drinking and camaraderie, which also might help save them.  The giant pig and the magical chickens all have a part to play and even Grandpa Lewis contributes via his journals.  This is such a well-rounded story; there isn’t much required for world-building but we get enough to keep the story grounded.  The dialogue is clever and the pace is fast. And I was not prepared for the end although I might have seen it coming if the author had given away any more clues. It was pretty awesome. ~~  Catherine Book

For more titles by Matt Dinniman click here