The Yakzua etc.Īnother thing that is different is the way Alice’s power works, especially how they develop. One thing that is a bit different in this book, compared to my usual reads, is the fact that a lot of the universe is about Japanese crime clans. The book uses nanites quite a lot as well.

The universe she (and we) enters is filled with androids, cyborgs, humans altered on a genetic level, war bots and all kinds of different inhabitants.

She is packed to the gills with all kind of interesting hardware that, if applied properly, makes things go boom. I wrote freighter but the ship in question is just as much as warship as a freighter. A rather intimidating character that also turns out to be quite likable in the end. Her escape is aided by a beautiful and quite likable android who also happens to be part of the crew of the above mentioned freighter. Oh, escape on a private freighter with a jolly crew not always adhering to the letter of the law, also called smugglers, of course. What can a girl do when in such a horrible situation. Especially since she has implants that go against the anti-technology dimwits on the planet and she craves meat (oh horror) as well. Naturally our heroin do not really fit in very well. In short the wet dream of the green and gender fanatics. Naturally everyone is supposed to eat only vegetarian food etc. Those who do not comply will be brainwashed. The book starts one some backwater planet, run by fanatical women, where technology is scoffed on and everyone are supposed to live “in harmony” with nature. However, her powers and how they develop is rather unique and so is the setting. The story is not that uncommon: A lone child with special powers adventures into space. This book is rather different from a lot of books that I have read. Good thing I’m not as helpless as I look. Kidnappers, slavers, pirates and yakuza – no matter where I go, trouble always seems to find me. Hoping to survive all the awful things that can happen to a girl on her own in space. Now I’m on the run, hoping against hope that the Matrons won’t try too hard to find me. What would they do, if they realized the Adjustments that were supposed to make me a meek little herd animal didn’t do anything? Even as a kid I knew not to trust the Matrons. I learned fast to downplay my abilities, keep my mouth shut and try to blend in. There were other kids with mods at the orphanage, but nothing like that. It all seemed perfectly natural at the time. Forty meters off the ground, watching ships thirty thousand kilometers overhead, with senses that could pick out radar pings and comm chatter as easily as the ships themselves. When I was little I used to climb up to the highest branches of the housetree at night, and watch the starships docking at the orbital stations high above. My name is Alice Long, and I’ve always known I was different.

Perilous Waif by E. William Brown