After reading the first book in the Gravtech series, Apocalypse Du Jour,
there was no way I would miss the sequel, Deus Ex Effing
Machina! I was mesmerized by the first book, and again, I became absorbed in
this volume. It is an edge of your seat ride through the aftermath of the
events in the first story. Deus Ex is another fast-paced, entertaining, and thought-provoking,
tongue-in-cheek look at life after the accidental discovery of antigravity
technology that brought about the eventual collapse of the global economy to
make life better for everyone.
Deus Ex is a humorous work of speculative fiction that will also give the
reader much to think about. There are some serious considerations that will
crop up in this tale, but are presented in such a way that makes
considering some of the grimmest situations fun to contemplate.
The characters in this story are all believable, so even the absurd will
seem plausible.
Following the invention of antigravity, the four scientists who accidentally
created the technology have all become billionaires and continue to work for
the new company that is still developing and learning the consequences of their
invention. In the meantime, there are those who would exploit this new tech for
their own advancement and nefarious reasons. The global economy has become one
where there is plenty for everyone, and that is difficult for some to accept,
while others take to it without problems. A group of oligarchs see
opportunities to use the tech to further their agenda. But the company is
trying to investigate the problem of a hacker who has an agenda that is
difficult to understand. Further, this hacker has a skewed sense of humor that
is baffling everyone. No one can seem to get what this person wants, if it is
even a person. Then, there are several nuclear devices traveling to major
cities in the U.S. set to create mayhem and destruction on a massive scale, and
they seem impossible to stop. And it is not clear who is behind that little
plot, and there are numerous possibilities for the responsible party.
So, numerous problems and no easy solutions makes for a ride faster than a
speeding bullet, and just as dangerous!
The characters in Deus Ex are all extraordinary individuals but are written
in such a way they could be very real people. In this story, all the people
introduced in Apocalypse are back, but some are expanded.
My favorite in this one is Ted "Boingy" Binghamton. He is the CEO
of GravWorks. A former game programmer, he possesses a monster-sized sense of
humor. Boingy will find the humor in all situations, no matter how grim. He’s
the kind of boss I would want to work for. He seems very laid back, but he
demands top performance from his people, but he does it without being overly
demanding. He likes donuts and dunking them in his coffee (my kind of
guy).
Another favorite character was an octopus living in a Boston aquarium. I'll
just leave that right there.
My favorite point of plot in Deus Ex is the mixture of various subjects to
make the story thought provoking and informative. There is a mixture of science
(both real and made-up) along with history, philosophy, politics, human
relations, war and peace, and economics. While all the elements are fictitious,
they all are relatable to situations we can read about every day in the news.
While the reader will want to get on to the next element of the story, it
wasn't uncommon for me to stop reading and contemplate what I had just read.
Another favorite part of Deus Ex was a chapter that had a subheading
offering the reader to skip a chapter. I urge you not to do this! It's one of
the best parts of the book!
My takeaway from Deus Ex is to remember something I will quote. I see it as
more of a warning for vigilance than anything...
"Humans evolved from chimps into chumps. And everyone with something to sell knows it." (Page 273)
Deus Ex Effing Machina is 762 pages of sheer fun and an opportunity to think
and learn. I am eager to see where the author takes the story from here. Rick
has a great sense of humor and knows how to use it. The writing in this book
reminds me a little of Douglas Adams because it combines dire situations with a
natural sort of hilarity that one might find in reality. A friend once told me
when the chips were down, "never lose your sense of humor."
The length of the novel might seem intimidating, but the book reads quickly
and is absolutely worth the time.
I gave my highest recommendations for Deus Ex Effing Machina along with the
previous book in the series, Apocalypse Du Jour. The author warns the reader
that before reading Deus Ex, it would be wise to read Apocalypse, and I
completely agree!
Oh, and while I'm at it, I'll warn you to beware of the interrupting bovine
creature (you're going to have to read the book to get that).
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In the ‘80’s, Rick let, or was a member of, 13 NASA Space Shuttle mission
control Flight Activities teams. Unlike cruise ships, Shuttle flight activities
did not include shuffleboard or bingo. The Flight Activities teams planned
missions starting years prior to launch, and re-planned missions during flights
when things went wrong. And things always went wrong. Rick also led the
Operations Analysis teams for General Dynamics’ Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO)
and McDonnell Douglas’ National AeroSpace Plane (NASP). He spent 15 years in
the aerospace industry doing tactical analysis and war games, including top
level WWIII combined arms games, and he helped invent hypersonic war games.
In 2002, Rick was a consultant to Coleman Aerospace on DARPA’s RASCAL study,
which designed modifications for a rocket-powered F-14 fighter. For that
contract, Rick headed up designing the Operations, Support, Avionics,
Electrical, Instrumentation, Cockpit, Payload Interfaces, and Integrated
Vehicle Health Management Systems. All the fun stuff.
In the late ‘90’s, Rick was founder of Vela Technology Development, Inc.
Vela and its partners started much of what is becoming the space tourism
industry. Vela’s briefings to Burt Rutan and Richard Branson started them on
the path to space tourism. Vela worked with the FAA to write regulations for
space tourism. And Vela helped design a space-tourism themed resort for Las
Vegas. While Vela has since folded, Rick owns its process patent on key
low-acceleration trajectories for space tourism. And if Rutan doesn’t get his
butt in gear, the patent will be worthless because it expires soon.
Rick was a Captain in the Army Combat Engineers, National Guard and Reserves
(no significant active duty).
Rick is 65 years old, currently retired, though working intermittently as a
board member, inventor, and writer. He has two kids: Jake, age 30, and Ariel,
Age 26. And he’s obnoxiously proud of both of them.
Rick is widely acknowledged to have been Mary’s trophy husband. Though no
one has ever thought of him as just another pretty face. At least, no one who’s
seen his face. And, come to think of it, no one has ever considered that he was
a first-place trophy either. Rick was just in the right place at the right time
to trip up a gorgeous, massively intelligent woman with an aging biological
clock and desperately low standards. Someday, someone will make a fortune
building a dating site for such women.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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