Nanoman – Book Review

Nanoman by Dean C. Moore is so I’m informed, part of the sub-genre of Science-Fiction, known as Cyberpunk or Steampunk; until recently I had never even heard of such a genre but after having read this book I’m pleased to say I know a little more about it.

Dean C. Moore is an indie author averaging about three titles a year through his own label, Mark Freeman Enterprises.  Although he writes across a wide variety of genres, a particular tone of comedy drama unites them all, similar to the one used in franchises such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Transformers, Lethal Weapon, Red, Star Trek Into Darkness, Iron Man, and The Expendables. Analogies among TV series would include Bones, Castle, and Supernatural. He is also a prolific blooger and book reviewer himself.

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Further links to Dean C. Moore’s writing can be found at the following:

www.deancmoore.com

Dean C. Moore’s Amazon author page:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDeanCMoore

Dean C. Moore’s Goodreads profile:

https://twitter.com/DeanCMoore

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Nanoman

By Dean C. Moore

(Available in both eBook and paperback from Amazon)

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I really can’t praise this book highly enough; as a lifelong fan of science fiction, and having read some of the all-time greats – Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke to name but two – I’m not easily pleased when it comes to this genre but here we have a rollercoaster blend of hard sci-fi, almost non-stop action, plots and conspiracy, all interwoven with absolutely loads of fun and humour. It would be impossible to describe entirely the mix of characters, but suffice to say it includes power and wealth hungry businessmen all hell bent on world domination, cyber/human hybrids, regular robots (if there is such a thing), shape-shifting nano- technology super-humans, and a host of others, including a lovely female robot with a deadly inferiority complex; anyone expecting an Asimov style of robots will be pleasantly taken by surprise, as the ones here most certainly do not obey the three laws of robotics!

The book starts off quite conventionally, with one of the robots chatting away with various humans, demonstrating its abilities. The reader quickly gathers that there are hidden agendas lurking, but it does take quite a while for the wider picture to emerge. This is quite a substantial read, and it does require the reader’s full attention to keep up with what’s going on. If I had but one criticism I would have liked the action between Mike and Jane, and their pursuers toned tone just a tad, as I did think that even for a Science fiction novel, that I had to suspend my disbelief just a bit too much, though this opinion might well be due to my being more used to more conventional or traditional science fiction.

In a nutshell, what we have are a number of evil corporations, all hoping their particular robot/hybrids will become the dominant product in their bids to dominate the world as humans upgrade to cyber enhanced robot bodies. Alongside this there’s also a rival corporation with an entirely different agenda that would rather have everyone uploaded to something akin to a blissful Matrix type world. Thankfully there are two heroes in the shape of Mike and Jane, the former an ex super soldier, now even more enhanced thanks to some very strange nanonite implants, and alongside him, Jane, a brilliant scientist, also enhanced with said nanonites. You can’t helped but be gripped as you follow their journey as they’re hunted by an assorted collection of robots and regular soldiers, all seeking to destroy them; how they deal with this, and the romantic interaction between Mike and Jane will have the reader in stitches at times. I think it prudent to mention at this point that there is some highly comical sex scenes and mildly sexual content, but all within the humorous context of the book. Another example of the book’s humour is clearly illustrated when a military killer robot is trying to destroy another whilst at the same time force feeding donuts into a woman’s mouth, when he notices a another woman writing up a book review on goodreads, and quite casually recommends a book by none other than the author, Dean C. Moore, and later on, yet another robot saying how he must stock up on Dean C. Moore’s eBook steampunk for a coming journey – priceless!

All in all, an exciting action filled book, lots of speculative technology and some more familiar sci-fi themes, all combined with some subtle, and often, not so subtle humour – a great read.

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Some further books by Dean C. Moore… click on thumbnails for details…