Zeus, Inc. by Robin Burks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Robin Burks's Zeus, Inc. is primarily an urban fantasy tale with some science fiction and mystery elements. Set in the near future, private investigator Alex Grosjean is hired by her friend Aliesha to find her missing father, the CEO of the titular Zeus, Inc. This turns out unlike any missing persons case Alex has ever worked before when she finds out there are some literal elements to the company's name and its missing leader.
Based on the author page, it appears the first draft of this novel was written during a National Novel Writing Month, meaning Burks pounded a near-200-page novel in thirty days or less. Unless some major rewrites occurred on subsequent drafts, Burks did an excellent job of setting up the plot. While it's not full of twists and turns, there are enough ebbs and climaxes to make for an enjoyable, light read.
A reader not expecting it may get taken aback when the story shifts from a sci-fi mystery to a fantasy drama, but this kept Burks from having to go too deep into all the scientific advances over the years. What I would have like a bit more of is why Alex preferred older technology to the latest and greatest gadgets. Part of me wonders if Burks did this simply to keep from having to speculate on future technology and keep the focus on the story.
As I said before, this was an enjoyable, light read. The language, adult situations, and violence are kept to a bare minimum, so this could be suitable for teen audiences, as it contains nothing you wouldn't see on prime-time television.
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Thanks for writing a review of Zeus, Inc. And as you suggested, I did a lot of re-writing after National Novel Writing Month - it took about four months to put it together in a way that satisfied me.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I appreciate it!