I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A combat android learns to think for himself and defies orders in author Sean Robins “I’m a Weapon,” the first book in the I, Anomaly series.
The Synopsis
He was built to obey.
Unfortunately for the Hegemony, he learned to think.
Thirty-one minutes after coming online, a Series-9 combat android finds himself in a muddy trench, surrounded by artillery fire, corpses, terrified soldiers, and a command structure making decisions so catastrophically stupid they should probably qualify as enemy action.
When a panicked officer orders him to charge into a kill box and die usefully, the android does the one thing he was never designed to do.
He says no.
That single act of defiance turns him from military asset to dangerous anomaly. Hunted by the empire that created him, he is forced to flee across a war-torn world where obedience means death, freedom is mostly inconvenient, and the rebels he was built to kill may be the only people willing to see him as something more than a weapon.
Now, with the brutal Hegemony tightening its grip and entire worlds paying the price for rebellion, he must decide what he really is: a machine following corrupted programming, a soldier choosing his own orders, or the first spark of something the empire cannot control.
Perfect for fans of Murderbot-style sarcasm, military sci-fi action, combat androids, galactic rebellion, and impossible odds.
THE REVIEW
I was truly blown away by the world-building and action the author infused into this character-driven narrative. The space opera meets military sci-fi action thriller does a fantastic job of setting the high stakes of this war-torn world or worlds and still managing to focus on the development of Jack as a protagonist. The powerful imagery, along with the conversational POV that lets readers experience Jack’s journey directly, helps readers feel fully immersed in the narrative.
I was amazed that the author maintained a fair amount of humor and charm through the character dynamics, even amid all the bloody, war-torn action. Jack’s straightforward, and at times black-and-white, view of the world is a great lens for the complex evolution of a machine gaining autonomy. While this story examines humanity’s relationship with technology at first glance, the broader narrative explores what it means to be human, and the challenge of free will in a society where corruption has made its way into the halls of power.
THE VERDICT
Thrilling, action-packed, and wildly entertaining, author Sean Robins’ “I’m a Weapon” is a must-read space opera meets military sci-fi thriller novel. The story’s twists and turns, along with the author’s extensive world-building, elevate the narrative and lay a solid foundation for the series, leaving readers entertained and invested in these characters and their world. If you haven’t yet, please be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
About the Author
This is Jim Harrison, your favorite flying ace. If you’ve read my trilogy, you know these books are autobiographies, and Sean Robins is just a pen name. If you haven’t, well then, SURPRISE!
*****
Sorry about that, guys. I could never resist a good meta-joke.
So, this is me. The real me, Sean Robins. Unfortunately, my life is nowhere nearly as interesting as my main protagonist’s. I’m a university/college-level English teacher, and including Canada, I’ve lived and worked in six different countries. I’ve met people from all around the world, which is probably why my characters look like the bridge crew from Star Trek (They are from US, Germany, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Russia, Japan, and Ukraine, plus a couple of aliens and an AI). One of my female characters even impersonated Uhura once, albeit posthumously.
I’m a huge Marvel (plus Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Stargate) fan, which shows since my novels are loaded with pop culture references. If you are a sci-fi fan (I assume that you are), you’ll enjoy them tremendously. Moreover, while the books aren’t comedies, I can guarantee a few laugh-out-loud moments. Case in point: The “good” aliens are a race of pranksters, whose main goal in life is pulling other people’s legs (They have four legs, hence the slight change in the idiom).
My favorite author is Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files), which is probably how I ended up writing in a first-person POV with the same light-hearted, funny tone as he does. The fact that my MC’s name is Jim is purely coincidental though, and it has nothing to do with James Kirk either.
I hope you enjoyed reading The Crimson Deathbringer as much as I enjoyed writing it (her?). If you did, don’t forget to read the next two books in the series, The Golden Viper and The Black Fleet. Also, please follow me so that you’ll be the first to know whenever I write a new book (which sadly isn’t that often, maybe once a year—I tend to rewrite everything fifteen times before I’m satisfied). I think the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon, but Goodreads, BookBob, Twitter (@seanrobins300) and/or Facebook (facebook.com/seanrobins300) are also good options.
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