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Scavenger's War (2000)

by Jack Sheppard(Favorite Author)

3.44 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

series

The Marlowe Transmissions

review 1: I downloaded this little gem of a novella during a free offering on Amazon at Wool author Hugh Howey’s recommendation I pay attention when an indie author of Mr. Howey’s caliber takes the time to say, “Read this!”. Smart girl, I.The first in a series, The Marlowe Transmissions: Scavenger’s War is set far into post-apocalyptic America. A young, idealistic chemical engineering student dubbed Pandora, real name long forgotten, made a miraculous discovery long, long ago — she found a way to unlock the other 70% of the human brain. Awesome, right? Well. . . . . .turns out not so much. Seems only being able to use approximately 20% of our brain’s capacity was more or less for our own protection. When you consider human nature, it makes perfect sense. Give ... moreus ultimate unlimited power and what do you think is going to happen? Chaos and madness. Depressing? Yes. Likely? Most certainly.After testing the theory on herself, the powers of telekinesis, telepathy and endless smarts were opened to humanity. Oh, and immortality. Skipping ahead to the 2600′s, the book doesn’t really cover the immediate aftermath, but it appears things went downhill fast and the human race self-destructed.This book follows the main character, Dez Marlowe, who spends his time fighting ”scavengers”, humans who have technology grafted onto various parts of their bodies. Dez has his own special powers; special even among a humankind who are now all a screwed up kind of special. He has made it his personal mission to destroy as many scavengers as he can in his own private war. He has opted not to join other non-scavengers in their mostly dictatorial societies — holed up in big cities hiding from the scavenger enemy, slowly but surely losing the fight.I was delighted to discover that Mr. Sheppard is both a wonderful storyteller and an excellent writer — two things that unfortunately don’t always go together. His prose is solid and intelligent, the dialogue believable and fluid. I was whisked away by the plot and overall premise of the story, which includes a love story, a dystopian tale, and eventually Dez’s inner struggle to come to terms with himself and what the scavengers actually are after a mishap with them.The author successfully creates a new world that the reader can easily visualize. There are lots of fight scenes and violence for those who enjoy that — an epic battle at the end, in fact — but there’s plenty of actual story intertwined with the violence to make it more than just gratuitous. It’s a scary, violent world they live in, after all. Lazing in the garden and smelling the flowers isn’t generally on the agenda for Dez, or anyone else for that matter. They’re too busy trying to survive, running from rogue Glow Pirates, telekinetics, and monsterous sub-human cyborgs.Jack Sheppard has left me wondering. If Pandora discovered immortality, where is she? Is she going to make an appearance in this series? I’d love to meet her, get her take on how this all turned out. In the prologue it’s mentioned that she had a child. Where is he/she? What became of them? What becomes of Dez, who is left in quite a pickle at the end of Scavenger’s War? What becomes of his love, Layla, who seems to have found her place at the end of the story — away from her overlord father in Detroit.I gotta say, I was absolutely delighted by this book. It’s a hard place, this new future America, but as I said before, the storytelling and writing are refreshingly good. It will draw you in and have you wanting more. Thankfully, The Marlowe Transmissions: Phoenix is due out any day now. I will definitely be picking it up. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
review 2: Wow! Absolutely loved it. This is the first work I’ve read by Sheppard and I can’t wait for more. Right away, the reader feels a sense of depth to this story. The gritty post-apocalyptic world comes to life before your eyes through vivid and complex descriptions of the settings and character types.The detail is great. I won’t lie; at first I wondered whether The Marlowe Transmissions would hold my attention (I’m ADHDish in nature). I didn’t wonder for long. Each piece of the description added more to the story and made me feel more for Dez (the main character).On to Dez. A badass for sure, but not unrealistic. Sheppard allows us to see into the MC’s inner workings. He has needs, wants, doubts, everything a plausible and in-depth character needs. Romance? Maybe. Can you imagine what that would be like in the horrific aftermath of a world war? You’ll have to read to find out!Ooh! Almost forgot to mention the unique sci-fi/paranormal/magical aspect to the story, especially the Scavengers. We learn some about it in the prologue and the rest is brought to us through the storyline itself. I wish I could go into more here, but I don’t want to ruin one of the best parts. I guess Sheppard did his job. I waited eagerly for each scrap of information thrown out about the technology.Nobody is safe, nothing is as it seems. This post-apocalyptic world has plenty to offer in the way of danger and deceit. Check out The Marlowe Transmissions: Scavenger’s War, particularly if you’re into the post-apoc genre. You won’t be disappointed. less

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