Obsidian Detective

<strong>3.5 rounded to 4 stars</strong><br /><br />I have been reading Michael Anderle since right after he started that “little” series about Bethany Ann. Look up his name and you will find his name associated with about 200 books that he author or co authored in the last few years. Then there is the publishing company that blossomed. <br /><br />When he states this will be a large series with books coming out approximately every 2 months he tries to make that happen. He no longer is the “engine that could” by himself and he is probably working on 8 other series now in addition to Opus X but check out his social media and you will see he gets S@IT done<br /><br />Enough about The Author (find Tabitha to explain that) I have given this 3.5 because one thing I have noted over his series is that the first book sometimes drags in setting the plot and characters. Ultimately this is a buddy cop series set in a futuristic Earth. Though Jia seems to trusting at first she shows growth and knowing Anderle she will be kicking butt in the next book or two. Then there is Erik, the ex soldier on a mission who needs help in bringing down whoever killed his team. His arc is a little less developed but has potential. Throw in a quirky AI, Andrle’s specialty and who knows the next book could be a 5 star.<br /><br />Be brave... try Opus X and even consider reading his other series.<br /><br />Ironically I have to note this is the only book I have won on a GoodReads giveaway and thanks to the great deals of Anderle’s indie publishing company I had already bought it!

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The book starts by concentrating on Erik and why he joins the police force, I found him an interesting character, in many ways typically <i>"Anderle"</i>. I didn’t find the sections with <i>Jia</i> as interesting. Although she was a good foil for Erik, she could also be quite irritating, especially when she didn’t seem to learn from being nearly killed time after time.<br />My biggest problem with this book is the author over writes things, some of the repetitive discussions and moralising went on far too long, the book would certainly have benefitted from being a hundred pages shorter.<br />Overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one, if possible I would have given 3.5 stars.<br />

Interesting combination of science fiction &amp; detective story set several hundred years in the future. After a few chapters on a planet many light years from space, the rest of the book takes place in the "Neo Southern California Metroplex" on Earth. Erik, a military captain comes to Earth to investigate deaths in his unit and becomes detective by making use of an obscure law. He teams up with Jia, the daughter of a powerful corporate owner.<br /><br />Deserves 3. 5 stars. Too much moralizing gets in the way of the story.

<strong>An uneven start. </strong><br /><br />I found this to be a very uneven story. At points at I was actually bored, which is very unusual when I am reading any of Michael's books. The action was good, but there was too much soul searching in between for my taste. He has handled existential angst much better in other writings. <br />

This was an interesting little crime story in a science fiction setting. Michael Anderle is not really a bad writer, when he actually does the writing, but I have become a bit weary of books with his name on it since he seems to slap his name on just about anything. This however is written by himself, and the book blurb sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a go.<br /><br />I found the book rather entertaining actually. The actual story is okay. It is not exactly some crime mystery masterpiece but it is okay. It sets up the background for why a former marine Major is on earth, doing cop work in his search for revenge, well enough. At times the story is somewhat unplausible and downright far fetched but it is good enough.<br /><br />What makes this book enjoyable is really the two main protagonists. Both are determined to catch the criminals no matter what but while he is gung ho, shot first, then shot some more and if anyone is still alive then maybe ask some questions, she is living in an illusion where everything is done by the books, you do not need anything bigger than a stun gun and Earth is really a paradise with no REAL criminals.<br /><br />Obviously you do not get any prices for guessing which one of them will find out that their perception of reality needs some adjustment.<br /><br />Both of them are quite likable characters and together they start tor turn over stones that the partly corrupt, partly naïve and partly lazy police force has left unturned for much too long. What crawls out is an assortment of crooks, mobsters and, of course, corrupt politicians. Luckily the good major brought some suitably loud military hardware with him.<br /><br />There are a few twists along the way but nothing really that surprising. It was a quite enjoyable light read with plenty of action and a lot of surprises, which I liked, for the Major’s new partner as well as for the various people in the police department. Oh, and for the bad guys as well of course.<br /><br />The thing that I didn’t like too much is that their supervisor is so annoying and downright incompetent. Actually, he is competent when he decides to be competent but his attitude of pushing everything on to the next instance, where he knows the case will be buried, because he believes it is better to not upset “the balance” was downright pissing me off.<br /><br />This first books is obviously doing a lot of setup of the universe and for the continuation of the series. Characters are introduced, not all of them human, and I guess it remains to see if this series continues to keep the enjoyment factor up for me. I would say it is a solid three star book. Maybe a tad more certainly not a four star one. I am going to read the next one in the series of course so we will see how it goes.

<strong>Another hit for Michael Anderle!</strong><br /><br />Major Erik Blackwell, a 30 year veteran of the UTC Special Forces. Lady Luck has always been with him and his unit, until she wasn’t. Well, maybe she was still with him as he was the only survivor of a raid on the moon near which he and his men were stationed. The raid was carried out by well trained men using advanced technology and he and his men didn’t stand a chance. All he was left with was a thirst for vengeance and a clue leading back to Earth. So, he invokes an old statute which allowed veterans to enter the Neo So-Cal police department directly as a detective without working their way up through the ranks.<br />Jia Lin, the naive second daughter of a very wealthy business family, had excellent grades from university and entered the police force of Neo So-Cal as a detective on a new initiative which was not very popular with other detectives. She is keen to fight crime, regardless of how small, but she comes up against an immovable force in her Captain, who believes in keeping things ‘smooth’. He, and the detectives under him, can’t take her insistence in wanting to take on cases deemed to be ‘minor’. In fact she has had two partners, both of whom resigned because she wouldn’t ‘stay in her lane’! <br />Captain Monahan is frustrated with Jia and makes her work on traffic violations to keep her out of his hair. Now he is confronted with a veteran who has also entered the department without working his way up through the ranks. He then has a lightbulb moment when advised that Jia is involved in an incident and decides to put these two misfits together as partners. <br />It turns out to be a match made in heaven! The naive Jia is appalled by her rough around the edges partner. Erik can’t believe her naïveté. But, as things progress, we find that these two each have things to teach the other.<br />During an eye opening situation in the Shadow Zone, we are introduced to the third figure in this triumvirate, Helen. ‘She’ is an experimental AI that has been stolen from the military arm of the UTC. However, ‘she’ has incurred memory loss and refuses to leave Erik’s car, so she is left with Erik for the time being. <br />It isn’t long before Erik and Jia’s digging starts to expose the corruption in Earth’s shining example of Neo So-Cal! <br />There’s plenty of action and a prophetic look into our future. The question arises: does humanity ever really change. Anyone who’s ever read Shakespeare would probably say “No!”.<br />

Obsidian Detective - a review by Rosemary Kenny<br /><br />The protagonists in this excellent series opener, Major Erik Blackwell and Jia Lin are poles apart in their backgrounds, in Michael Anderle's wonderful Obsidian Detective. <br /><br />He's a hard-as-nails (on the outside), ex-Army veteran, of over 3 decades' experience and a fiercely loyal, Dirty Harry-like, outpost ' patrol- ranger/leader'' (on a distant UTC Colony planet Mu Arae) - while Jia's a Chinese-heritage, quasi-'corporate Princess' police Detective on Earth, (in the US Zone 122 area of Neo SoCal) who's ostensibly rebelling against her wealthy family's plans, for her to become a dynastic puppet, permitted to work in the family's powerhouse business, until her parents find her a rich husband, as they've already done for her elder sister.<br /><br />How do the duo become cops and partners?<br />What common trait do they share?<br />Why does Jia lose two former partners?<br />When did Erik decide to leave the Army - and why?<br />Where do they uncover an uncomfortable truth and alienate Captain Monahan again?<br /><br />I honestly couldn't put down this all-action, thrilling page-turner by Michael Anderle and read it straight through - it was that riveting!<br /><br />Grab your copy of Obsidian Detective today, to see exactly why I recommend this 5-star multi-genre winner, that you're sure to love!

This book has some serious problems. After getting most of the way (3/4ths) through the first book, I just had to throw in the towel.<br /><br />Dialogue. Biggest problem of this book hands down.<br /><br />Issues with it include: <br /><br />The soldier doesn't talk like one. No jargon - even to civilians, no strange terms, no swearing. <br />The cops don't really talk like cops. (Yes, I've hung out with lots of cops, was a soldier).<br /><br />People don't talk like they do in the book - at least no sane people do. It doesn't sound like an actual conversation.<br /><br />The biggest sin: At least half of the dialogue should have been cut. I've never heard people repeating themselves more in my life. It is truly tedious and painful to watch them keep saying the exact same thing - sometimes three or four times. Or playing the 'pronoun game'. People don't talk like that without getting a good kicking.

Pretty good scifi/detective story. Erik returned to earth from Mu Arae, a planet light years away from earth. He caught the trail of the killers being in Neo Southern California Metroplex after his 49 team members were slaughtered, and he was out for revenge. He became a police detective by-way-of an obscure ruling of Obsidian Detective Law. His partner, Jia Lin, was a little naïve and it was up to Erik to open her eyes. <br /><br />There was no F-bombs used and that was ridiculous! Started off with Special Forces then went to cops and organized criminals lead by Naric Tessan. How could there have been NO F-bombs? <br />Silly, silly, silly!<br /><br />As for the narration: Greg Tremblay did a great job. Not only with the different voices, male and female, but with the emotions when he read.