Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
Which brings me back to Tyse.
Boy, do I ever love a super soldier. I really, really like them. So Tyse already has a very special place in my heart and I can’t wait to see where he goes in future books. He has all the makings of an anti-hero. They’re all there. But he’s not the anti-hero in this book. He’s the one who wants to save Clara. He’s the one who DOES save Clara.
Finn is the anti-hero. Finn is the indecisive one in the beginning. You fuck with Tyse and his woman, and he’s gonna hunt you down and kill your ass. It’s that simple. Finn has no idea what to do. He’s ill-prepared for his sudden role as Master of His Own Destiny.
But Finn is learning. Tyse had more opportunities to cultivate his intrinsic hero. Finn was coddled and spoiled in a closed-off fantasy world. He wasn’t challenged in the same ways. So he’s learning. He’s making mistakes and course-correcting in real time. And I can respect that.
Just in case you weren’t paying attention to the Godslayer story being told in the “Parts” - Tyse IS the Godslayer and Clara IS his courtesan.
And how fun is that? That these two very likable people turn into the most hated figures in human history?
I can’t wait to get that story. lol
How did sweet Clara end up being one half of that? Well, I have a pretty good idea that her path started in that restaurant, after her health center visit, and Tyse laid out his “conditions of partnership” in VERY Clear terms.
“What you see is what you get. I’m an open fuckin’ book. And if you and I are gonna be partners—in any way—then you will afford me the same courtesy. You will be straight with me and you will not lie to me. Because if I have your back, then you must have mine.”
And if these two actually do end being the most hated figures in human history, then I guess we know how serious Clara Birch and Tyse Saarinen take their their pledges of loyalty.
Lastly, Anneeta. Our little god. She is a secret-keeper, a plot twist, and a bit of irony all wrapped up into one tiny package.
There’s this scene when Tyse comes home from work and Clara has all her new second-hand clothes from the lost and found, and she’s showing off her tattered jeans to Tyse and she’s quoting Anneeta’s fashion advice to convince herself that it’s OK to wear ripped jeans. And it’s just so funny to me.
Clara, the Spark Maiden who has been living in couture luxury for a decade, is taking fashion advice from a seven-year-old orphan. It’s just fun.
We barely scratched the surface of Anneeta in this book. But it was planned that way because obviously, she’s a little plot twist. That’s why she didn’t have a point of view. We only see her through the limited eyes of others.
The next time we see Anneeta she will have her own point of view. So if she’s your favorite, it’s coming. I really love writing AI characters and Anneeta will be super fun to watch grow up.
If you’re new to me, this is not my first book about AI ‘gods’.
My career started with a science fiction thriller series that had a sentient house called HOUSE. (I am Just Junco, 2012)
Then I wrote about SHEILA and the upgraded Alphas in the Anarchy Series (2015).
And of course, ALCOR, under my KC Cross pen name in the Harem Station Series. Not to mention his doppelgangers and modified humans. (2019)
Plus, that sneaky little GREGORY in The Ro Bro. He was an unexpected bit of fun. (2023)
So I’ve been writing AI characters for over a decade now and I feel like AI has finally become so ubiquitous that you can pop one into a story without it even being science fiction.
But for sure, Sparktopia IS science fiction.
It’s also fantasy, and thriller, and mystery, and of course, romance.
In other words, it’s typical JA Huss.
And I hope you love it as much as I do.