Gary A. BallardBesprekingen

Looks promising. Some characters are a bit silly (especially the bodyguard), it all seems like a comic book. Feels a bit padded - this is definitely a short story and should've been kept compact.

I think this is where I check out of the series. I can't stand any more street talk. I don't care if it's in line with the characters (criminal bodyguard philosopher being one of the most irritating ones). There's a convention that dialogue comes in English, think nazis with a German accent in films. In real life nobody talks in sequence and using full sentences yet you do that in the book but for some reason you don't stretch all the way to using English. "Reading ain't meant to be no chore, brah/pendejo." It's like scraping fingernails across a blackboard.

Reviewed at The Hungry Monster Book Review

Artemis Bridge is a man with connections. He’s the guy who knows a guy and he sells his connections to those that have a need and the cash. He’s an ex hacker turned legitimate business man (there’s nothing illegal about introducing two people). He operates in the grey market unwilling to get his hands dirty. He thinks fast and talks fast, but when he’s given a damaging video that puts him in the crosshairs of the most powerful men in the city very few of his connections are willing to help him. Bridge must get his hands dirty; doing things he swore never to do again, and in the process he learns who his real friends are, who he really is, and who really runs Los Angeles.

The first thing you’ll notice about Under the Amoral Bridge is the concise and witty language that’s used to develop the character of Artemis Bridge which serves to deliver a clear vision of the characters motivations and world view. The clever writing is not just in narration or internal dialogue, but the banter between characters is some of the more subtly humorous and engaging writing that I’ve read in a while. The novel is fairly short and a quick read, I believe it’s the product of a serialization. If I’m forced to stop praising the succinct writing my only negative comment would be with the ending of the novel which seemed a bit muddled and rushed with the resolution delivered in the last chapter. Which I don’t dislike for any kind of literary principal, it’s just in this case the ‘facts’ were vaguely defined. Even the revelation of the facts were delivered a little too easily making it a little too unbelievable as they were simply told to Bridge by someone that spent the entire novel trying to keep Bridge from finding out too much. But in the end the ending didn’t live up to expectations because the novel succeeded so well in telling an awesome story.

Reviewed at The Hungry Monster Book Review

Artemis Bridge is a man with connections. He’s the guy who knows a guy and he sells his connections to those that have a need and the cash. He’s an ex hacker turned legitimate business man (there’s nothing illegal about introducing two people). He operates in the grey market unwilling to get his hands dirty. He thinks fast and talks fast, but when he’s given a damaging video that puts him in the crosshairs of the most powerful men in the city very few of his connections are willing to help him. Bridge must get his hands dirty; doing things he swore never to do again, and in the process he learns who his real friends are, who he really is, and who really runs Los Angeles.

The first thing you’ll notice about Under the Amoral Bridge is the concise and witty language that’s used to develop the character of Artemis Bridge which serves to deliver a clear vision of the characters motivations and world view. The clever writing is not just in narration or internal dialogue, but the banter between characters is some of the more subtly humorous and engaging writing that I’ve read in a while. The novel is fairly short and a quick read, I believe it’s the product of a serialization. If I’m forced to stop praising the succinct writing my only negative comment would be with the ending of the novel which seemed a bit muddled and rushed with the resolution delivered in the last chapter. Which I don’t dislike for any kind of literary principal, it’s just in this case the ‘facts’ were vaguely defined. Even the revelation of the facts were delivered a little too easily making it a little too unbelievable as they were simply told to Bridge by someone that spent the entire novel trying to keep Bridge from finding out too much. But in the end the ending didn’t live up to expectations because the novel succeeded so well in telling an awesome story.

My original The Know Circuit audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

The Know Circuit is the sequel to Under The Amoral Bridge. It finds our antihero Artemis Bridge going on a road trip to Boulder, Colorado, in search for his bodyguard's grandmother. Following a huge explosion, a black dome has appeared over the city, and Aristotle fears his grandmother is trapped. The explosion also caused people with cyber implants to have a seizure, and Artemis feels strangely pulled towards the dome.

I didn't find this follow-up as gripping as the first book and found my attention drifting because of the amount of geeky science and technology talk and the topic of corporatized government and the philosophy of leadership.

Part of the story also shifted away from Artemis and dealt with a whole different set of characters in order to explain the events in Boulder. I couldn't really warm up to any of them. I would have liked to see more of Aristotle and Artemis' hacker girlfriend as I enjoyed those characters in the first book. At the end, I felt there were several things left unresolved, but I assume these may be picked up again in book 3.

Joe Hempel once again provided a solid narration for this sequel. The voices were distinct and consistent. Great job portraying the dragon! There were no issues with the production.

The story should appeal to cyberpunk enthusiasts and fans of dystopian technology thrillers.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

My original Under the Amoral Bridge audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Under The Amoral Bridge is the first novella in the Bridge Chronicles, a series of four books so far. Set in LA in 2028, it introduces Artemis Bridge, who is the guy who knows a guy. He is a kind of facilitator in the shady underworld who connects people for a small fee without actually touching anything illegal himself. Artemis is the amoral anti-hero of the story, but I essentially found him to be likable and amusing. He employs a bodyguard but quite happily accepts a beating because he doesn't pay the bodyguard enough to fight for him. He has a genius hacker ex-girlfriend for whom he still harbors feelings, though he wouldn't admit it.

I know absolutely nothing about cyberpunk. This was my first book in this subgenre, but to me Under The Amoral Bridge was simply an exciting thriller with a futuristic setting.

It's a very quick listen, only 4 hours, so I don't want to give any of the plot away, but there's a political angle to it, corruption and shady dealings, assassins and fights. Overall, a very entertaining listen. I thought the side characters were particularly strong. I loved philosophical Aristotle, the bodyguard, and the hacker girlfriend was a great basis for explaining all the techno stuff while also showing Artemis' softer side.

Joe Hempel's narration was very good. Excellent pacing and very clear voices. He emotes really well and I thought his smooth tone was very fitting for Artemis. There were no issues with the production.

I would recommend Under The Amoral Bridge to any listener who enjoys fast paced thrillers or action-packed science fiction, and for me as a complete novice, it was certainly an engaging introduction to cyber punk.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

This is the third episode of the Stepping Stone Series. In the first episode we learnt that Dr. Jack Carter was in catatonic state for over a year when he recovers conscience just to find out that he is the primary suspect in his wife disappearance. As there is no body he is not charged with the murder, so he resume his work as a forensic psychologist and continues investigating the disappearance of his wife. In the second episode, a double murder in a small town in Mississippi brings him into contact with a young rock music writer from a band named Metal Black. His lyrics are very dark an in one lyric he describes the death of a woman named Sarah (Jack's wife name). Two young boy's were charged with the murder of two girls named Sarah and their mother sues the band blaming that their lyrics influenced the boys to commit the crimes. When Jack starts to investigate the case, he came across some quite strange situation that changes his view on the power of the stepping stones. The third episode brings to Jack a case of a mother that drowned her five kids, claiming they were no humans. Her descriptions of entities matches what Jack had previously encounter in his past cases. When Jack goes investigating this case, what he finds behind the preachers of a pastor goes quickly wild and the end of the story is very intense and unexpected.
This is a very interesting sequence to the original story, very well written and entertaining, that will keep the reader hooked until the turn of the last page. I really want to read more episodes from this series. Kudos to the author for producing such an entertaining series!
I recommend this book to any reader who loves mystery books. They will not be disappointed. I suggest that they read the books in the order they were released, first the "First Stone", then the "Metal Black" and finally this one, "Drowned".

I received a copy from the author for reviewing and I was not requested to write a positive review. Opinion expressed here is my own.

This is the second episode of the Stepping Stone Series. In the first episode we learnt that Dr. Jack Carter was in catatonic state for over a year when he recovers conscience just to find out that he is the primary suspect in his wife disappearance. As there is no body he is not charged with the murder, so he resume his work as a forensic psychologist and continues investigating the disappearance of his wife. A double murder in a small town in Mississippi brings him into contact with a young rock music writer from a band named Metal Black. His lyrics are very dark an in one lyric he describes the death of a woman named Sarah (Jack's wife name). Two young boy's were charged with the murder of two girls named Sarah and their mother sues the band blaming that their lyrics influenced the boys to commit the crimes. When Jack starts to investigate the case, he came across some quite strange situation that changes his view on the power of the stepping stones.
This is a very interesting sequence to the original story, very well written and entertaining, that will keep the reader hooked until the turn of the last page. I still want to read more episodes from this series.
I recommend this book to any reader who loves mystery books. You will not be disappointed.

I received a copy from the author for reviewing and I was not requested to write a positive review. Opinion expressed here is my own.

This is a very interesting story, very well written and entertaining, that will keep you hooked until you turn the last page and it will leave you with the feeling of wanting more.
I particularly like to read books with full stories (beginning, middle and end) in one volume. If the characters return in a future volume, that is OK. But apparently it is a trend now to write stories that are either trilogies or part of a series with unknown number of parts.
But this particular book has a plot that is captivating, with characters very well developed and the plot develops with just the right pace, exploring all the psychological conflicts of dual or multiple personality minds.
Our main character, Dr. Jack Carter, is suspect of having killed his wife Sarah, but he has no recollection of anything that happened in the previous year of his life. He just woke up on a hospital after being in semi-catatonic state for one year with this gap in his memory. Allowed to return to his work as forensic psychologist, he goes with his best friend Bill West to investigate a serial killer (George) that claims he killed Sarah. What he found when interviewing George is something that disturbed him a lot, because the killer also has no recollection of having killed anyone and he shows some symptoms of multiple-personalities. George left some symbols carved in the house where he killed the women and Dr. Jack is trying to figure out the meaning of the symbols, that are the same that appear in a stone left at the scene. This first novel of this series has an interesting ending and I just hope it will not take long for the second novel to be written. Kudos to Mr. Ballard for a well executed introduction to this Stepping Stone Cycle series.
I recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader who appreciate a well written mystery novel.

I received a copy from the author for reviewing and I was not requested to write a positive review. Opinion expressed here is my own.

Set in 2028, Los Angeles, Artemis Bridge is a wheeler and dealer. He makes his money on trading information and connections. Indeed, he believes in living life with as little work-related exertion as possible. Then an explosion over Boulder, Colorado is reported and Artemis finds himself caught up in a road trip.

Aristotle, who provides protection and some common sense to Artemis, has a grandmother in Boulder. So he is going with or without Artemis. But Artemis also needs some answers. When the event happened, some people (Artemis among them) collapsed into some kind of brief seizure. Only people with certain cyber implants were affected this way. Artemis calls in the assistance of another shady guy and together, the three of them take a trip to Boulder.

They set up with some back to nature survivalists just outside of Boulder. Artemis is awed by what they see – a giant, black, shiny dome has appeared over part of the city, centered over the university. Unfortunately for Aristotle, he fears his granma is trapped within that dome. Artemis’s implant seems to be tugging him towards the dome. Eventually, they head towards it only to meet with resistance from the corporatized Colorado police and then a fire-breathing dragon named Carl.

The cutting edge tech is all throughout this book and what Artemis finds within the dome is both spooky and fascinating. I never feel like the book has slipped back to 2015 because we have all this well integrated tech. In Book 1 (Under the Amoral Bridge), we had more cyberpunkian stuff with the full-body kresh immersion. That’s still mentioned here when Artemis calls on his girlfriend Angela to assist in creating fake credentials, etc. Still, we have the implants and then all the cool stuff going on within the dome.

There’s only a handful of female characters, though they are more than eye candy. Angela is this guru within the kresh and helps Artemis more than once. Anna Angst needs a favor from Artemis to get her news story. There’s a lady (Lydia) within the dome that also is a computer geek. Then there is Aristotle’s granma. Still, none of them are particularly plot integral.

I didn’t find this book as dark as Book 1. Instead, it had more of an adventure quality to it, exploring the cutting edge. I enjoyed both books even though they differed in this manner. I will say that this book spends a fair amount of time telling us how amoral Artemis is, but never actually showing that. His actions are to the contrary. Plus, we never hear of or see him doing truly immoral things like pimping children or enslaving the elderly. So his reputation on this front is mostly hype and after a while I did tire of being told how amoral he was, because that just wasn’t so. He’s self-centered and definitely looking out for himself, but he’s also doing more than just accidental or self-serving good along the way.

Through out the book, there is an ongoing strain of discussion about various ways to govern large bodies of people. Aristotle likes to get into the philosophy behind various historical leaderships. Also, there’s plenty about how state and national governments in 2028 are more and more corporatized, giving large companies control over government agencies and laws. I found all of this pretty interesting and they added something to the story instead of distracting from it.

My favorite part of the tale was what happened within that dome. Now it would be a big spoiler to chat about it in specifics, so I won’t do that. What Artemis finds disturbs him. There’s some cutting edge science that has inadvertently gone awry and there might not be a way to fix it. It was geeky and a little sad too since things and people were lost permanently. Since not everyone makes it out alive for one big hugfest, the story had weight, and I enjoyed that quite a bit. It showed that the story was taking itself seriously and there was, indeed, consequences.

I received a copy at no cost from the narrator (via the Goodreads group Audiobooks ) in exchange for an honest review.

The Narration: Joe Hempel did another fine job with this sequel. His voices were all distinct and easy to recognize. There were a few accents required, which he did fine with. I especially liked his voice for the dragon!

Cyber-punk, near-future sci-fi, urban-sci-fi, any one of those terms could describe Under the Amoral Bridge by Gary A. Ballard. It could also be described as a good yarn featuring an ambiguous, yet relatable, main character.

The plot centers around Artemis Bridge, a slightly shady go-between who can get you what you want, be it illegal or immoral. It is business as usual until one of his deals goes sour and he finds himself with killers on his tail and in possession of information he doesn’t want.

The book is a fairly standard cyber-punk sci-fi novel, but it does have a nice touch of nihilistic cynicism set in a scruffy, corrupt future. The characters are well-rounded, with the focal character neither heroic nor completely indifferent; he is just a guy trying to get himself out of a bad situation in one piece. Also, the author does do a splendid job of painting his future world, a gritty, dark place full of people turned jaded, corrupt or apathetic. The book isn’t perfect, though; the review copy had a few formatting mistakes and typos, if nothing major or overly distracting, but the novel itself was worth ignoring a few errors.

Under the Amoral Bridge started life on the blogs as serial fiction, but it translates well to book form and it is a satisfying, entertaining read.

I was a little worried that I'd get lost in a book filled with technical jargon, but Mr. Ballard did a fantastic job of giving me enough information that I understood the premise without overwhelming me with techie speak. The fast, action packed plot kept me turning pages well into the night.

Review of Story Line:

This is my first book within the genre of cyberpunk. I wasn’t really sure what that was about so I entered into it lightly. Well it’s great. Cyberpunk novels deal with hackers: a programmer who breaks into computer systems in order to steal or change or destroy information as a form of cyber-terrorism. That has the potential of becoming a disaster. However Gary Ballard really manages to give us enough of the tech stuff and enough of every day happenings to keep us intrigued. The story really flows easily and is written in a way that would make anyone want to become a cyberpunk. You can’t help but involve yourself with Bridge and feel happy, sad and pain along with him.

While this story deals with a world in 2028, it parallels what we live through nowadays. Corrupt players, do-gooders, the high and mighty. The difference? The way punishment and information is exchanged. How would like to the instead of passing business cards with your name and occupation on it, pass a business card that has your entire life coded in it?

How would you feel if someone can enter a chamber and hurt you physically while using holograms? It’s no longer a world where people post things about you online, but where they can enter a 3-D world, find out anything and everything about you, and then hurt your physical image with it. It’s insane.

Review of Characters:

I liked Bridge. I know he was the character that did good things but for bad reasons, but he sounded the most true to me. We all have that quality in us and so can quite easily relate to what he does and why he does it.

There were some issues where the bad guys had the expected sidekicks and they behaved the expected way. But really, how much do you want authors to rock the boat? If they rock everything there is no anchor.

Review of Writing:

A worry of mine when picking up this book, was how the tech information was going to be handled. Were we going to be thrown a bunch of tech words and phrases? While I am pretty knowledgeable with computers, most people when they hear about computer hacking get glossed over eyes. So this book had the potential to really cut down on its readership group.

But yet again, Gary has managed to really make the book complex enough to satisfy the techies and neutral enough to satisfy the non-techies. This is difficult, but I feel he managed to do it nicely.

Review of Editing:

I read the paperback version of this book and found about 3-4 misspellings (which is admirable) and one page was left justified instead of full justified. Does it mess up the reading or story at all? Not in the least. They are just minor issues that can be corrected in less than a minute.

Review of Cover:

The cover was nice. A little too much white space for me. But that is completely subjective.

Overall Review:

If I were to be asked if you should read this book, I would say yes. It’s a great story, great characters (whether you like or dislike them personally, you still get involved with them) and has a great reading rhythm. I look forward to the second book in the series.

About the book:

Artemis Bridge is the know-who, go-to guy, the amoral fixer in 2028 Los Angeles with the connection for any illicit desire no matter how depraved. You need it, he can get it without questions or judgment. He prides himself on staying detached from the depravity, untouched by the filth, untouchable by the law. When a young hacker is assassinated before his eyes, he is burdened with a scandalous video of the mayor on the eve of the city’s most important election of the century. With digital assassins and murderous thugs dogging his every step, he has only days before the corrupt mayor is re-elected, handing the Chronosoft Corporation complete control of the city. Unable to sell the video, he is forced further into a complex conspiracy. This taut futuristic thriller is the debut novel by Gary A. Ballard, a rising new talent in the cyberpunk genre. The trade paperback edition includes the previously unpublished short story “Feeding Autonomy.” “…well written and a joy to read, Ballard paints imaginative scenarios and environments” “Ballard does a complete and thorough job of world building.”

About the author:

Gary A. Ballard was born, raised and still resides in the state of Mississippi. Graduating from Belhaven College with a degree in Fine Arts, he has painted, photographed, drawn, and written the world as he sees it. Working as a web designer since the early days of the World Wide Web, Gary is well-versed in social media, graphic design and Internet marketing.