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* Note: This is the review component of a line-by-line critique shared with the author via Google Docs.

Book Title: Resurrection

Book Genre: Scifi/Cyberpunk

Date of Review: March 10, 2016

Chapter(s) Reviewed: An Earth Unified?, 0, & I

Approximate Chapter Length: 400, 2000, & 2000

Content Flags: None

Summary (copied from book description)

Can we really run away from ourselves?

They think they can.

Damon Fox (the freedom fighter), formerly the second in command of the Shadow Runners and leader of one of its cells 'Valkyrie Squad", has been running for the last five years, leaving no physical and cyber trace in wherever he goes. He one day gets apprehended by townsfolk due to a petty dispute with a shopkeeper, and is thrown in a secluded prison in the middle of nowhere. Unbeknownst to his captives who do not know his true identity, the Shadow Runners send Kassiel to get Damon back in the fold.

Ethan King (the golden kid) is the youngest senior detective in Baker Street history, solving his first murder at the age of fifteen. He has quickly climbed the ranks of the law with a cocky flamboyant attitude to match. Belonging to a poor family that appreciated the simple things in life until the day Ethan's father joined the Space Father forces in the fight against the rebellion. His mother would soon receive a letter that would confirm the death of Ethan's father. Soon after, the Plague hit the streets of London and despite the best efforts of the UTF, it was not combatted enough to prevent the death of Ethan's mother. He joined the Police Academy the day his mother passed and despite his age, proved to be an intellectual match to anybody in the academy.

Bree (the forgotten one), getting her name from a necklace with the same letters, travels with a companion named Ken, a color blind former subject of the Sidius Initiative who seems to always be a step ahead of every obstacle they have encountered. Bree has suffered long term amnesia from causes unknown. She is able to do a multitude of things by relying on only her instincts that she believes had been developed extensively before she lost her memory.

Review

Resurrection is an epic science fiction tale that takes place in a possible future for Earth in which the wealthy go off to colonize new worlds, leaving the rest of the planet to war over opportunities and resources. The first two chapters are from the perspectives of Shadow Runners who rebel against the system of oppression.

Damon has been on the run for five years after betraying the brotherhood of the Shadow Runners, and Kassiel has been tracking him for three. Unlike most of his brothers in arms, Kassiel is convinced that Damon is still a beacon of Shadow Runner ideals. He's finally tracked Damon down; now he just has to break Damon out of prison, and then he can ask all of the questions he's been carrying around all these years. The first two chapters detail getting into the prison to get to Damon.

From what I've read so far, this is a vivid and detailed world with an intriguing plot at play. Why did Damon turn on the brotherhood? What will happen now that Kassiel has found him? These are the starter questions, and there are still the larger conflicts at work in the world.

There's some work to be done to tighten up this story. Some of the writing is a little muddy and unclear, and the level of sensory detail could be improved. The author has a tendency to over-explain worldbuilding details here and there. However, overall this is a very promising start.

Reading this, you have kinetic gloves for rock climbing, goggles with data overlays ideal for planning prison breaks, and cybernetic implants specially keyed for data uploads to look forward to. Once the writing is tightened up to avoid exposition dumps and to clarify some instances of awkward sentences, once the sensory detail is polished up to truly connect us to the characters, this will be a gem of a story.