Title: Cimmerian City
Author: Rae Lindley
Published in August 2007 by Mundania Press
Genre: Sci-fi/Futuristic
ISBN: 978-1-59426-388-0, ebook
ISBN: 978-1-59426-389-2, paperback
Other Books by Rae: The Eye of Alloria
Attacked by Dracin thugs, Raven Blackheart watches them murder her boyfriend before turning on her. Left for dead, she’s taken to Tech Corporation where scientists analyze and monitor her blood and other physical changes caused by the Dracin bite. Ten years later, Raven awakens from the coma as Tech Corporation’s most prized human weapon, their final achievement in bringing down all those who oppose them, mostly the Dracins. At the same time, she ensures the safety and continuance of the company’s fanatical focal point, their offworld mission.
Raven Blackheart sets high expectations for herself, achieving good grades throughout school, even mastering self-defense skills. Awakening in a sterile white room, her last recollection is of her dying. Feeling for a heartbeat, she discovers a surgical scar, proof that she died but was revived. Seeking revenge for the death of her boyfriend, Raven becomes an assassin for Tech Corporation, under Tyler Deamond’s command. Once Raven sets free into the city, the truth about Tech Corporation’s deceit becomes evident.
The Tech Corporation President, Jason Brandis and his Vice President, Tyler Deamond have gathered the most esteemed scientists and engineers in the field of space and genetic advancement, ranking them as irreverent supreme business leaders on Earth. Their goal is to reengineer a human whose skin resists bullets, extreme climatic conditions and radiation contamination. They succeeded but their genetic rework turned into unnatural beings - bloodsuckers. With their “error” roaming freely in the world, the Dracins mount an army where the humans suffer great losses. Eventually both races strive to live in harmony for many years. However, a renegade Dracin group emerges again. Brandis’ solution is to relocate to Jupiter II, a terraformed planet, taking with him fifty thousand Dracin and humans, each. Still, this plan has underlying motives that not only benefits the company but also one man’s private agenda.
Cimmerian City is engrossing filled with plenty of skirmishes and treacherous exploits to captivate readers. In the year 2010, corporations displace governments. Like most ruling bodies greed and power overshadow the focus of unifying their diverse people under one leadership. Tyler Deamond’s plot to remove his competitor, Jason Brandis is only one ploy in his pursuit of solitary control. Meanwhile, as found in covetous corporations, self-seeking rolls downhill, straight into Tech Corp’s oppressed employees who are taking back control of their lives, through devious manipulations. Jeremy Workman is one such man, once an up and coming medical scientist, his kidnapping and subject to scientific experiments results in a formidable foe that Tyler Deamond must keep under his command. Yet, Tyler’s loosing control of his treasured assassin, Raven who is running amok in the city.
Ms. Lindley creates an imaginative cast of characters, while spinning a unique vampiric tale that has many depths. After performing her first assassination, Raven pursues her next target, Alex Crofton. When they meet, he warns her about Deamond’s need for complete power, and once her usefulness expires she, too, is targeted for termination. She’s conflicted by the knowledge Crofton shares, though confirmed when meeting another former Tech Corp employee. Returning to her apartment, Raven runs into Russell Li, possessing the same strength, speed, and skill as she. He claims she is the link that will bring down Tech Corp while saving an engineered race, the Dracins. Discerning Raven’s set more upon revenge, he encourages her to visit Enos Relim, the man who can help Raven find her way back…to what? The intrigue and mystery just gets deeper and deeper.
Ms. Lindley builds an intriguing world and then births a cast that breathes life into a suspenseful plot. This story’s heroine is stout and hardy as Raven battles Dracin and human alike, while searching for the elusive truth about Tech Corporation and her role in its success. Tyler Deamond is a scoundrel personified as he discards his earliest engineered people as failures, because they will not blindly comply with his plans. Russell Li remains quite a mystery throughout this story though clearly Raven’s romantic distraction as they both persevere in hindering Tech Corp’s supremacy. Published by Mundania Press, Cimmerian City is definitely not a light read, but one that will keep a reader entertained for several hours. Fans of science fiction with a paranormal twist should keep an eye out for this upcoming novel as Cimmerian City is scheduled for release in August 2007.
A Dedicated Reader,
Pamela Jenewein
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