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Whose DNA will escape a depleted Earth--yours or the one per cent's? Who owns your new world--you or the company? And do you dare speak your mind on a world where the very air you breathe is a corporate asset? Welcome to Scat's Universe, where companies rule, regulators are corrupt and democracies are financially bankrupt. And where one company will soon turn its back on a desperate, resource-poor Earth to build a galactic empire. Join ex-Marine killing-machine Sebastian Scatkiewicz as he takes on the most powerful corporation of them all in the biggest land-grab ever ... "A big, intelligent, interesting novel" 'full of ideas and conflicts that resonate in today’s world, as good sci-fi is supposed to' 'All-in-all, a Science Fiction spectacle.' |
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Genre: Science Fiction Adventure, Space OperaThe Reviews:John Y, Amazon Review
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the sequel. I couldn't help but root for Scat through all his trials and tribulations. Scat's backstory, his post military life, and the political intrigue in this post FTL spacefaring society drew me in and captivated my imagination. The ending is fantastic and perfectly ends this story while setting up the next. Ron, Goodreads Review Amazing. A gripping story which starts like a space opera, gradually playing itself out all over this arm of the Milky Way, then suddenly it blossoms into something every different: something the author planted the seeds for from the start, but the reader tends to miss for the space opera. For a first novel, an amazing feat. Yes, it finished without telling the whole tale, but it drew the reader far enough along to provide short term closure. There was a jarring gap in the middle--intentional I think--where previous plot points are resolved without telling the reader how. Off stage, as it were. In fact, several major actions occupy off stage. Scat, the protagonist, is human enough to engage readers tired of too many superhuman humans. A very good read. (After I digest it for a few day, I may award another star.) Robert W, Amazon Review: This book includes the same time period as birdie down and frames the larger events taking place. There was very little to not like, alien tech, evil military, clueless political people, a big picture ex-military get-it-done guy set on a interstellar stage. I look forward to the continuing saga... Daniel L, Twitter: It was a really, really good book! Tim C, Amazon Review: Great stuff. Loved the concepts going on here, I like when someone creates a new and believable universe. There's a whole lotta book going on here, so strap yourself in for the ride! 10 out of 10! Andrew S, Amazon review: Jim Graham has done a wonderful job with creating Dystopic vision in the 23rd century where Earth is in a controlled chaos, and the galaxy does not fare much better. I found it easy to warm to the main character Scat, very quickly and the author did a very nice job of creating an ensemble of characters which the reader either loves or despises. The plot had great flow. A good amount of dialogue and excellent action as well. All-in-all a Science Fiction spectacle. My only surprise is that this book is free! I would have gladly paid for it, give the quality of the plot and characters. I look forward to 'Army of Souls' when it comes out. D Fox, Amazon Review: A lot of fun to read. Really interesting story and storyline. A good imagination and writing by the author. I really enjoyed this book Andrew G, Amazon Review: This is a great story I was hooked almost straight away, for a first novel Jim Graham should be proud, I recommend this book to all science fiction fans. abookadayreviews.blogspot: Trained in the Marines special forces, and really, really good at his job, Sebastian Scatkiewicz is not given to deep thinking about either the missions he is sent on or the politics behind them, and that's gotten him into trouble when he's chosen to take matters into his own hands to get the job done. He's already once been disciplined and demoted to babysitting geologists. In Scat's world, the Marines are sent to help find resources, to get in and get out after discovering deposits that countries aren't aware they have, and while a job is a job, the moral bankruptcy underpinning Earth's billions fighting over resources at any cost has insulted his sense of fair play, and when he takes matters into his own hands, another line of work is strongly recommended. We find Scat on Prebos, working at a mining operation run by Lynthax, pulling out a rare mineral used to keep climate change at bay on Earth, a very poorly paid and dirty job. When the miners from Trevan discover their planet has voted for independence, the corporation not only sends in troops to make sure their interests are protected should the miners join the rebellion, but because of his past work in special forces, Scat is asked to go to Trevan with the insurrectionists being shipped home, to become one of the rebels, but secretly to work undercover for Petroff, Lynthax's unscrupulous security chief. What Scat doesn't know, is that Lynthax has also gotten their hands on an alien technology that Lynthax plans to use to corner the market on space exploration. Governments in the West have long since given up on space, as overpopulation sapped their resources, and political unrest took up all of their attention, leaving the corporations free to explore and expand out into the galaxy. But Lynthax's discovery is a game changer, likely to give them complete control over all the other resource companies and governments. What Petroff hasn't factored into his plans is Scat's strong sense of justice, and the fact that the artifact his R & D people have been playing with was designed for a completely different purpose. Also, he doesn't notice that, as it is used, its power grows, nor does he realize, in his zeal to maximize Lynthax's profits, that its real owners have plans of their own. Scat finds himself leading an entirely new band of "soldiers" fighting for independence, and also exploring completely new worlds, using devices based on "the thing" on Prebos, which seems to be trying to tell Scat something important. He's never been one for soul-searching. He'd rather have a well-defined mission with known bad buys worth taking out, but this struggle for independence turns out to be for far more than just upending the Western bloc's incompetence and fighting for freedom from corporate hegemony, and Scat's going to need every skill he has to pull off the biggest and most unexpected rescue mission in history. I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading the sequel, currently in preparation, titled "Army of Souls." The character of Scat is well drawn, and while the plot is exceedingly complex, with a huge scope and lots of moving parts, the author seems able to keep us from getting confused, although if you put the book down for more than a week or two (as I did when life interfered with reading time), it can be difficult to recall all the twists and turns without backing up a bit. The corporate empire theme pervades Scat's Universe, but some folks are already unsure that might not be a prescient view of our future, so it's a theme worth thinking about, even for those of us who feel, as Scat does, that politics is for "the politicos," and the rest of us have real work to do. The workings of the alien device rely on an postulation of a power source we've rarely understood or even imagined, and the "game changer" for the reader is switching into a context that rarely shows up in sci-fi -- but that's a spoiler I won't give away. Suffice it to say that you probably won't see it coming. I enjoyed this book a great deal and hope you will as well. Rob, Goodreads Review: This was a fun military sci-fi read and a interesting combination of viewpoints. I look forward to the sequel. Roy, Goodreads Review: Action packed and a good read. Just one complaint. The rebellion ended too abruptly for me, and I later found the missing attacks to have been included in a separate novel, Birdie Down. Well worth a read though and The Watchers, introduced at the end, look interesting and are the subject of his sequel novel. Bob B, Amazon Review: Throughly enjoyed this book, especially Scat's character development. I was very happy to see that the author is apparently filing in some of the Scat storyline with other books. An excellent choice on the authors part as this story moved along at a good pace, which more detail would have hindered. D. Owens, Amazon Review: Fantastic . Characters good story, it was far from predictable .. Had to finish once started. Can't wait for the sequel. SGL, Amazon Review: In the six month period after his first entry, Scat stepped out onto 54 new worlds. That's right 54 new worlds in six months. Scat, at one time or another a lowly grunt, unwilling corporate spy , rebel leader, convicted economic criminal for crimes against humanity ( in absentia ) had been railroaded again! This is a very complex, well written SciFi tale at it's traditional best. There is quite a few very good new science fiction out, but not alot as robust or on as grand a scale as this. It is an enjoyable read and has a little something for everyone. Carol, Smashwords Review: Fast paced science fiction adventure. Pam D, Florida: In the 23rd century, Earth has 21 billion people that must be fed. Resources are limited and declining quickly. The only solution is to mine Outer-Rim planets. Ex-Marine Sebastian Scatkiewicz, Scat, is hired to mine those planets by the largest corporation of them all in the biggest land-grab ever. Once there, he faces a dilemma. He must decide whether to be condemned as a murderer or rebel against the powers that be. The plot twists are exciting and catch you off guard. They make it impossible to stop reading once started. Be warned, you will NOT be able to put it down until the mind blowing conclusion! Best thing of all, a sequel to Scat, Army of Souls, will be released in February or March 2013. Jim also has written another rebellion novel, Birdie Down. 100 - A+ Highly Recommended Republibot.com: Regular readers of Republibot may recall that a few months ago I reviewed a book called “Birdie Down” by Jim Graham. I called it the best independently published science fiction E-book I’d read. As that book was a sequel, I decided to give the first book in the series a shot, and I’m happy to say it, too, is a really good book. Mr. Graham has some genuine talent. Sebastian Scatkiewicz - known by the semi-unfortunate nickname “Scat” - is a former US Marine. We first meet him at the tail end of the “Resource Wars” on earth a few generations into the future. The major power blocs and nations are fighting each other for earth’s declining goodies. The conflict is inherently corrupt, with nations and megacorporations screwing each other left and right even as they fight the enemy in order to gain advantage. The marines - and presumably the population as a whole - are caught in the middle. “Scat” is a somewhat legendary leader in the field, with a history of taking matters into his own hands, even if it’s not particularly politically wise for him to do so. Jump forward several years: Scat took matters into his own hands one time too many, and he’s now a civilian attempting to make a new life for himself in the off world colonies. The colonies are mostly corporate, and there’s an “Owe my soul to the company store” nature to them, though it’s not nearly so oppressive as that. Still, there’s a feeling of nominal indenture hanging in the air. There’s also a kind of cultural sterility: the companies are pretty strict about whom they allow to emigrate. There are no religious folk, there are no Chinese on any of the worlds we see, because the Chinese have their own space empire and are a political threat, as are the religious. This isn’t one big happy Star Trekian future. The colonized planets are mostly only marginally habitable (Which is a rarely-used plot device that I love), and existence is relatively hardscrabble. Much of the first half of the book revolves around a mining asteroid, and “Go Down City” on one of the colony worlds. It’s built in a cavern that’s been roofed over, and it’s a really fun location. It feels completely developed and thought out, and feels lived in, like a real place. As a guy who’s written a few books myself, I’m here to tell you that coming up with a location that actually *feels* like a location is no mean feat, but we get such a sense of Go Down that you can almost map some of it in your head. I actually feel like I learned a few literary tricks from that, which I hope to steal in the future. The plot involves Scat meeting new people like Andrew “Birdie” Goosen and others, and getting embroiled in a revolutionary movement intent on throwing off the shackles of corporate dictatorship. The author is English, and I know that’s going to sound horribly socialist to many readers of this site, but it’s not. It’s more like an “American Revolution in Space” much like The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (Minus the creepy line marriages) or The Island Worlds or any number of other books. It’s a trope. It’s not a bad trope, however, and the wheels within wheels machinations that lead to the somewhat-spastic not-entirely-successful revolution are pretty interesting, particularly as Scat ends up embroiled in several of them at the same time, and not all on the same side, either. This reaches a peak, we jump forward five years, and then what basically amounts to a second novel begins. Something that always fascinates me is how technology changes life in ways we don’t anticipate. Let’s take, for instance, medicine as a random example: let’s say there’s a pill that will double the average human life span, from about 80 years to about 160 years. What effect will that have? Well, for starters every life insurance company in the world goes out of business overnight. Why? Because their profits are based on mortuary charts based on very specific statistics about average longevity. If human life is doubled, then that goes out the window. That means an entire industry is gone, and several hundred thousand people are out of work in the US alone. Meanwhile, the population of the world expands startlingly because people don’t have 2 or 3 or 4 kids and die off. Rather they have kids for twice as long, and don’t die for a very long time themselves. Forget ‘population explosion’, this is more like a ‘population supernova.’ Which means resources would be used at a much greater rate….well you get the idea, right? That’s *not* what happens here, it’s just an example of something I’ve always been fascinated by: Technology changes life. Sometimes it changes it so much and so rapidly that all our values and struggles get put on the shelf as completely irrelevant. The second half of the book surprisingly explores that: a new technology emerges that makes the revolution more-or-less meaningless. Scat and his buddies are effortlessly captured, and put to work by their previous enemies (and not-entirely-friendly bosses) in the hazardous testing and exploration of this new technology. It’s such a game changer that it threatens to completely re-define the interstellar economy, and the balance of power for all humanity. Beyond that, I can’t tell you more without ruining it. In the coda, the new technology proves to have a horrifying price that I honestly didn’t see coming, that I’ve never seen used before in a lifetime of reading SF, and which - hopefully - will be the setup for a sequel. OBSERVATIONS The sequel, “Birdie Down” takes place in the five-year gap between the two halves of this novel. What do we call that? A “Sidequel?” An “Interquel?” Something like that. On a lot of levels, I actually liked this book a lot more than I did “Birdie Down.” That’s not at all to contradict what I said in my review of that book, which I still believe is the best self-published SF E-book I’ve read. It’s just that this one is so much more ambitious. There’s a ton of world-building here, a lot of characters working at crossed purposes, several major plot twists. “Birdie Down” is more episodic. “Scat” is more epic. There are many balls in the air, then someone shoots the juggler and grabs the balls before they fall, and then it happens again. It’s just kind of neat. The first half of the book is engaging, but as I said above, it’s a trope and nothing we haven’t seen before, even if it’s more fun than we generally see. The second half of the book takes a completely-unforeseen (but logical) hairpin turn into far-less-explored territory, and the coda is…well, I was drop jawed. I don’t get drop jawed often, though I must caution Christian readers that the finale will undoubtedly be pretty disturbing. Conservative Christians may want to give this one a pass, at least until we find out exactly what all this means in the (Eventual) third book in the series. That said: “Birdie Down” is a better *written* book than “Scat.” This isn’t to say it’s unreadable, simply that this is Mr. Graham’s first book, and he’s a bit less polished here than he is in the next one. It’s an experience thing, but it’s also only incremental, not distracting. He’s got talent, and he’s simply more comfortable with his artistry in the second book than he is here. That minor caveat out of the way, this is a fun book, and a good read. I particularly liked that this vision of the future doesn’t involve a utopian world state in which everyone gets along. Instead, the earth is much like Europe in the age of empires, with each nation desperately trying to grab on to, and exploit, more territory beyond the continent. It seems to me, logically, that given human nature, that’s likely the way things will play out. I recommend the book, and eagerly look forward to seeing what Mr. Graham will do next. WILL CONSERVATIVES LIKE THIS BOOK? Yes, unless you’re an extremely conservative Christian, in which case the conclusion will disturb you. Elvi F, Amazon Review: Have never written a review before but felt this story is worth the time. This is a well written, gripping tale with twists and surprises, especially at the end. The one point I found slightly confusing was when Scat and team are preparing to strike against G-eo then the next page suddenly jumps to some time later but it does not detract from the overall story (think it may be covered in the Birdie Down book). My only real complaint is I now have to wait for Scat part 2 (Army of souls) to find out what happens next. Thomas C, Goodreads Review: Scat is Jim Graham’s first novel. Best described as a hard science-fiction thriller, the dialogue-driven plot revolves around ruthless resource-based political machinations worthy of Frank Herbert’s Dune. Like Dune, there is also a struggle for planetary independence. While lacking the mystical allure of Herbert’s Muad’ Dib, the book’s main character - hard-nosed laconic ex-soldier, Scat - makes a far more believable rebel leader. We follow his travels and exploits throughout the novel. However, Graham has chosen to use multiple points of view so we sometimes briefly see things through the eyes of other characters. Events unfold in a number of distinct locales, each one very distant from the others. Notable among these are the Sinai desert on Earth, a mining camp on the small airless planet Prebos, the wonderfully depicted Go Down City on the planet Trevon, and a secret base on planet Runnymede run by the villain of the piece, the giant oppressive corporation Lynthax (an entity so powerful that it has its own warships). Scat comes to life fairly well, although his low-key, stay out of trouble style means it takes a while to get the sense of him. We more quickly get a good feel for his more expressive friend, “Birdie” Goosen. The novel’s most easily grasped character is Lynthax’s vicious head of planetary security, Petroff. Baddies are seldom subtle. Other characters tend to be just names. The novel has some notable lines. Graham is himself ex-military and only a soldier would understand the level of risk well enough to write, “The occasional round ripped through the air a little ways off, and the rocks crunched underfoot, but other than that it was remarkably peaceful.” The rest of us would be making like sheets of paper on the ground! Later, Scat gets into an up elevator on Trevon, a near-Earth-gravity world, after spending six weeks in the low-gravity mining camp on Prebos. Graham neatly captures his character’s weakened state with, “It was a brutally fast ride.” There are also occasional evocative pieces of descriptive writing. I would like to have seen a few more of these. My favourite is the moody silent “bus” ride from the Trevon spaceport to Go Down City. Graham crisply depicts the bleak barren landscape, the snow blowing across the road, and lays on an absorbing description of the city lodged within an immense 450-metre-deep gash in the frozen planet’s surface. The underground mining camp on Prebos is reminiscent of the titanium operation in “Outland,” the sci-fi thriller where Sean Connery plays the beleaguered outpost sheriff. As in the movie, we get a realistic look at rough tough working men in a dangerous and stressful workplace where off-hours entertainment is limited. While the overall tone of the novel is sober, Graham works in flashes of humour: the running gag about Scat’s escalating number of salaries is a treat. To add even more spice, we have a mysterious derelict alien vessel replete with bizarre technology. This provides a terrific late plot twist that moves the novel onto a completely new plane and, presumably, sets up for the sequel. The plot twists a number of times as the story progresses. Just when you think you see where things are going, they suddenly start going somewhere else. I enjoyed this immensely. My interest level got a nice boost at every turn. At the cost of extending an already lengthy review, I want to say something about an important question raised by Graham’s novel (I love speculative fiction that does this): who will take humankind into space? It is already clear that it will not be government. Politicians are useless here because electors will not vote for massive expenditures on what can only be a speculative adventure – at least in the early going. Like it or not, the job must be done by huge corporations. They are the only entities with both the financial resources and the freedom of decision-making necessary to shoulder the risk. Graham is making the valid point that once such powerful well-funded organizations get beyond the reach of Earth-bound governments there will be no one there to make sure they behave themselves. Democratic nations must ensure that wherever corporations go, proper responsible government goes with them. Scat is a big, intelligent, interesting novel. If you enjoy hard gritty sf with plenty of well-handled dialogue, you will not go far wrong with this one. Indiereader.com: Scat is a sprawling novel, spanning years, full of ideas and conflicts that resonate in today’s world, as good sci-fi is supposed to. The narrative begins in July, 2203 in the Sinai Peninsula. Earth is divided into Western and Eastern Blocs, there are 21 billion people to feed and resources are dwindling. The people’s only hope for survival, besides seeking what’s left of Earth’s minerals, is to mine the Outer-Rim planets. The New World, hundreds of light years away, is under-populated and demilitarized. The competing parties are familiar—a huge corporation, Lynthax and its technocrats and capitalists, the workers who operate these Outer Rim mines, and competing governments with their armies back on Earth. Sebastian Scatkiewicz, aka Scat, is a Marine killing machine, a veteran of previous Earth conflicts and a man who simply wants to finish his tour, find a home and live peacefully; in short, someone with no political ambitions or preferences. But when the populace at a mining center on the airless planet Prebos starts to grow restless under Lynthax’s rule, Scat gets sucked into the rebellion as leader because his morals force him to act. A subplot concerns a mysterious alien craft discovered floating in space. No one knows where it came from, but it is central to the last third, when wormholes become a way to travel light years instantaneously, and the book takes on a strange spiritual tone. Graham bombards the reader with ideas and the Scat’s ambition and scope are a marvel. But for the casual reader, all the plot lines, the detailed descriptions of technology and the swarm of characters might prove to be a bit overwhelming. Graham does set-up the book’s sequel competently, and if one sticks with it, Scat is ultimately an intriguing read. Sarah B, Texas, USA: Scat by Jim Graham is a great, futuristic tale involving everything you could expect to come from a Sci-fi story; be it rebels wanting to break their chains to Earth or frightening, very god-like aliens. The word Scat is actually a person, a high ranking Earth soldier with the last name Scatkiewicz. Soon after the story begins, he is hired to act as a spy and help keep an eye on the ever-growing society of those who live away from the planet, people who find that their lives and work only produce what is endlessly gobbled up by the very overpopulated Earth. Because the people of Earth’s great demand for resources that they now find dwindling at home can be supplied by matter upon exoplanets, the idea of colonization becomes quite profitable. In fact, the money to be made makes it where most space exploration is funded by corporations who want control of the new possible commodities instead of relying upon countries that are looking to expand. This means that people who live off of Earth often resent the ‘home’ planet; its demand of materials that supply funds the corporations, who in turn are able to make nearly any demand of citizens on the planets they own so they can produce more and drive up the demand. The corporations are forever looking for new, valuable property to claim. Because of this, when an item of unknown origin is encountered, the company who finds it tries to seal the priceless artifact away for their own inspection rather than letting their findings be known. Now, this is much more selfish than a simple case of hoarding. When considering the new technologies and possible monetary value the seeming space-junk may hold, i’s finders feel they have the right to ignore rules and procedures for alien contact that were put forth to look after humanity’s safety, and do so with barely a moment’s thought. Living as a spy to try getting close to people can start to make that spy see things from the ‘enemy’s’ point of view. Before long Scat almost considers himself to to be one of the colony-rebels. His experience as a soldier before-hand makes him to be a quite worthy adversary. The problem that his enemies face is deciding if it would do them better to rid the universe of is anger for them or to try using his strength as their own asset. This story had me riveted. I enjoyed the interactions between the people, and the descriptions of futuristic technology. The idea of the controller aliens and their technology caught me as sickeningly fun. Bragmedallion.com: Although I had never heard of Space Opera until this book was recommended to our reading list, I sure have now! Our reading team that selected this book loved it. Sean C, Hong Kong: The book can be viewed as being of two distinct halves. In the first half the author seeks to establish the characters and premise for the story that follows. The long dialogues with only intermittent action might, on initial impression at least, seem somewhat pedestrian. However, a reader who perseveres with the book is richly rewarded, for just as one starts to think this novel is a typical example of the ’good wins against the evil empire’ sci fi genre, the author throws in a twist which shatters any such illusion. Occurring roughly midway through the book, it is a pivotal point, because from thereon the pace picks up rapidly, and the turn of events that follow succeed in pulling the reader ever deeper into the increasingly ambitious story line. The final chapters serve up perhaps the most intriguing and certainly the most explosive development, propelling the book into a first class page turner and leaving the reader impatient for more at its conclusion. In summary, the book’s first half is a bit of a slow burner, but serves as a touch fuse to light up a phenomenal second half, leaving readers impatient for the second volume which surely must follow from this promising author! Peter A, Malaysia: This book is compelling read with a skillfully crafted narrative that makes it hard to put down. The story itself is clever, topical and thought provoking and the characters, especiallys the lead character, Scat, are skillfully drawn. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone, not just fans of the Sci-Fi genre, as the author, Jim Graham, has crafted a very enjoyable, intelligently written novel that keeps you wanting more. Tom M, USA: Exciting book. Really enjoyed [it]. Alan S, Amazon Review: I can't seem to get into the head of the hero (Scat). It's all a bit remote. I don't seem to be able to work out his motivation. But the storyline is good. Jack C, Hong Kong: This book definitely started my reading habits again, it introduced me to the space opera and what defines it. The short chapters meant that it is very easy for me to read on the go and each chapter has an excitement to it that makes me want to continue reading and looking for more. If you are looking for good sci fi, this is a good book to start. Disclaimer: I know the author. Paul E, Twitter direct message: I have just read Scat and must say BLOODY BRAVO!! What an enthralling read! What an amazing concept! I cannot wait for book 2! ... A great novel in my view!! Alan G, England: I need to be upfront with the fact Jim Graham is my brother but don’t think me bias. It can be the hardest thing to comment about a sibling’s work, especially if the work is something that doesn’t normally interest you. Firstly I don’t read a great deal; secondly I went off sci-fi after watching a triple bill of Star Wars, with Jim, back in the early 1980’s... I had tried reading an early draft of ‘Scat’ on my PC but couldn’t get into it; he classed me as a lost cause. Having bought my own tablet over Christmas I thought I’d try again. With Jim failing to get my hint of sending me a free finished copy I had to buy one, I think that’s worth one missing star to start with! Using a new toy helped me get out of my head it was my big brother who had written the book. By the time the novelty had started to wear off I had been hooked into the story, characters and style of writing. I’m not sure if you understand how painful this is to write! I always knew he was good at telling tales, I had been clipped around the ears enough as a result of his childhood stories. My wife had also pestered him in the past to write but she didn’t expect this sort of thing (she slept through 2/3rds of the Star Wars trilogy) he’s still to explain himself to her... Other sci-fi fans have laid out the storyline and their thoughts but as an infrequent reader I must say the book was hard to put down. Once I had finished it I downloaded (paying again!) and read ‘Birdie Down’ in quick time. I’m now twiddling my thumbs waiting for Jim to finish ‘Scat’ part two and add to the Rebellion saga. I guess if I stop pestering him he might get them done quicker. I believe this book would suit anyone with an interest in the 'what if' of tomorrow. It works on human strengths and weaknesses whilst giving us a glimpse into a corporate dominated world where the shareholder has more power than a government. Wars have always been about resources, Scat's world doesn't try to hide it behind religion or false democratic mandates. Allan D, USA: The Story Scat, by Jim Graham is an imaginative and intriguing story set in the far future that follows Sebastian Scatkiewicz, a.k.a. Scat - an American in the US Marine Corps and decorated war hero. After ‘retiring’ from the Marines he finds himself on a distant planet working in a mine. He gets caught up in a riot there, and is shipped to another planet where he is unwillingly swept up in a planetary rebellion. The major players in the war that ensues are not governments so much as mega-corporations, a regulatory commission and the people of the planet he’s on. All he wanted was to do his tour of duty in the mine, get paid and buy a patch of dirt to settle on. Now he’s embroiled in a war and he has to choose a side. Mr. Graham employs some unique science and offers a very dark view of corporate domination that may appear all too realistic given the way things are going. The story undergoes several convolutions that turn the plot on its head and leaves you guessing where it will end up, and I love the twist at the end that serves up retribution for the villainous. All of the villainous. Technical The story is engaging and well told. At times the pace slows, but overall it does hold the reader’s attention. The major complaint in this category is the number of editorial flubs: sentences that were rewritten and left artifacts behind and a high number of words that got past the spell checker but are the wrong word for the sentence: ‘thus’ instead of ‘this’, etc. The manuscript really needed one more editorial pass, and best if it was a different set of eyes. Authors tend to be too familiar with the work and don’t see these mistakes. One thing that really bothered me as I read the book was the use of single quote marks rather than double quotes on all dialogue. I assumed this was a glitch in the eBook conversion script. In discussing this with Mr. Graham after writing this review, he pointed out that in British English, quotation marks are called inverted commas, and the single ones are used more frequently than the double for direct speech. I mention this here not as an objection but for the enlightenment of anyone else who is as clueless about this as I was. Characters Through the course of the story we are introduced to a great many characters and they are of all manner of race and ethnicity. I found it odd that so many of them spoke with British colloquialisms and slang. The dialogue was natural and easy. Humor slipped in at appropriate times, yet most of the characters did not stand out as real or likable. Somehow they just didn’t click with me. But, this is the first book in a series, and I have found that authors sometimes withhold the information that builds a character until subsequent books. Summary An intriguing and imaginative story filled with all manner of wonderful Sci-fi gadgets and situations, that could have been an excellent read were it not for the lack of editing and the somewhat flat characters. Scott R, Australia: Scat is Sebastian Scatkiewicz. At the start of the book he is a Marine, on Earth fighting for resources. This sets up his character as a basically honest, no-nonsense, take no shit type of guy. It’s exactly these characteristics that threaten to get him into trouble so he quits, gains some new qualifications and moves out into space to find his fortune. And of course, he just finds more trouble even though he does all he can to stay clear. The universe of Scat is very well thought out with the idea that corporations are the ones who led the way to the stars. And once they got there the governments on Earth couldn’t do a whole heap to control them. So the corporations got bigger, supplying the resources that had all but disappeared from Earth. And of course, all that money and control of the resources gave them more power on Earth. The story is essentially about a revolution with a wide range of characters coming t it from different angles– military and political. The characters and settings are well developed. History, politics, money and resources have all been taken into account though none of it comes across as forced. The bad things? I did enter a bit of a lull at one point in the book, but I’m not sure if that was actually the story or my life at the time. Sorry, I can’t really clear that up. I also felt that the part of the plot revolving around an alien artefact seemed an unnecessary addition. The story moves away from the rebellion in the last quarter or so to concentrate on developments in that area but I felt as if that was really part of the sequel. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and will be reading the others in the series. Birdie Down is already available (I think it covers part of the revolution that is skimmed over in Scat– which supports my case that artefact part of the first story really belongs in another book and Birdie Down should have been in there instead, but anyway.) The links above lead to Smashwords where both books can be downloaded for free. Well worth the price. |