I received a copy of Progress Report for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an email from the author who offered me a copy of Progress Report and asked if I would consider reviewing it on my blog and other places I leave reviews. The first thing that got my attention was the cover design, and the synopsis sealed the deal.
Progress Report is a sci-fi adventure technothriller that is full of twists and turns and is written with a sense of humor approaching that of Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhiker's Guide books. While it is not as bizarre as Adams' work, I found myself smiling all the way through it, and occasionally laughing out loud. There are numerous references to today's pop-culture making it a fun book to read.
But don't be fooled by the humor. There are some serious implications included in the text that will make one think, should one desire to do so.
Progress Report is well written and easy to follow. It is entertaining and is a fun rollercoaster ride. The characters are people I found myself caring about. Should one read between the lines, there is a story that should be taken seriously, and some commentary that is worth a second look. I especially appreciated how the author put so much of himself in this tale of intrigue.
Art, an ordinary guy, he just wants to be left alone to do his own thing. He enjoys flying his drones and taking life one day at a time. Unfortunately, for him, one of his older quad-copters encounters an invisible barrier and crashes. The incident gets the attention of some advanced aliens who immediately begin a life-threatening chase. He barely escaped with his life and soon finds himself charged with becoming an unlikely hero on a mission to save humanity. With the use of an alien artifact, he has the adventure of a lifetime with a mission ahead of him, and aliens with nefarious intent behind him.
I like Art. Just a regular, if not somewhat reclusive, character who knows his technology. He is unsure of himself, especially when it comes to female companionship. He also seems to be a bit clumsey, but has solid survival instincts. He is comfortable with artificial intelligence, which is very much to his benefit in Progress Report.
Along the way, he meets Tia. I cannot write too much about this character because it would be a major spoiler. I'll just say she is the embodiment of people are often not what they seem to be. She is, in a word, fascinating. Art also thinks she is.
My favorite point of plot is the angle the story comes from. The first chapter is titled "74%," indicating the amount of battery life in a cell phone that Art is using to chronicle the events that follow. All the chapters are percentages of battery life and I feel it is a race for art to complete his story before the phone goes dead.
I also enjoyed how Art injected humor into the story. It drove the plot forward and was never over the top. He has a unique way of seeing the world and I appreciated it immensely.
My takeaway from Progress Report is how a hero can emerge from a character, especially when they aren't looking to be a hero. Does anyone wake up in the morning and say to themselves, "I'm going to do something heroic today?" That's not the way it works. Super heroes don't exist in the real world. In Art's case, he was just out minding his own business, flying his drone, and he was forced into being a hero by the circumstances. He learned there was a situation and did what was needed to resolve it to everyone's benefit.
I give my highest recommendations to Progress Report as a fast-paced sci-fi adventure story with great characters. If you enjoy tales, including futuristic technology and first contact scenarios, this is the book for you. I look forward to future work from this author. His debut novel is full of swerves and surprises. It is engaging from the very first page with just a few places where the action slows a little to give the reader a chance to catch his/her breath.
This is the first book completed in 2023, and it was a great start to my year of reading.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
When he’s not writing books or music, he can be found sailing, playing keys in a prog rock band, flying his drones, building crazy flight simulation rigs, and LARPing. His life long love and passion for hard Sci-Fi take a special place in his heart. Reading was never enough. The only way to satisfy the obsession was to write his debut novel. He hopes to share his love for true Science Fiction, along with his interest in history, science, philosophy, and technology with his readers.
After living in three countries on three continents, and speaking three languages, Roman has finally settled in Toronto, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. No dogs or cats are involved - his drones are his pets. He is now working on his second novel.
You can get in touch with Roman and subscribe to his mailing list at the Progress Report website: https://progressreport.romandesign.ca
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