Joshua Nkosi, cop, joker, vlogger and a modded octopus's best friend...but Earth's saviour?Winner of Literary Titan's Black Gold Award"Absolutely thrilling. But it's the utter gut punch of a twist that truly got me." ★★★★★ Caroline Noe, author of The Ezekiel Factor and the Carnellian Eye seriesOn an Earth devastated by The Scorching climate event, the Drathken land their giant plantships with the promise of healing the planet. Joshua Nkosi vlogs and jokes his way through an easy life guarding a deep-sea mining operation while watching old vids. That is until he, and his modded octopus partner, Marc, get caught up in a plot to steal radiation rich materials from the seabed, fuelling the terrorists' plan to destroy a Drathken plantship, and ultimately put an end to the alien/human alliance.Nkosi and his sarcastic tentacled buddy are forced to enter the Burnout Zone, only to come face to face with humanity's stark future when the hunt for the terrorists' lab takes a devastating twist. As conspiracies deepen and the jokes fly, Nkosi and Marc enter a dark journey of discovery-one they decide humanity desperately needs to listen to."Staggeringly original and timely release from a masterful voice in modern sci-fi" ★★★★★ SPR Review"White-knuckle, thought-provoking and mind-boggling," ★★★★★
It probably goes without saying that my experience reading this dystopian near-future "buddy cop" sci-fi novel featuring a technologically-enhanced octopus was a bit... different. Thus, if something unusual and unorthodox is what you're after, you'll likely have a good time with "The Scorching: Just Press Play."
Personally, I enjoyed the rich world-building, the sense of immersion, and the level of detail present in descriptions of the people, places, and events that comprised the story. I also found some of the plot twists, and the way that certain aspects of the relationship between the two main characters were revealed, very interesting and compelling.
There were some elements that either weren't a great fit for my personal taste, or that I felt were a bit lacking in their execution, such as a few instances of scientific inaccuracies, or stylistic choices that I found jarring, heavy-handed, or otherwise off-putting. Fortunately, these were brief and infrequent enough that I was able to easily look past them and focus on the positives when considering the work as a whole.
It's also worth noting that for me, this was a bit of a slow burn, finding myself somewhat tentative and unsure throughout the first few chapters for various reasons. That said, once things got going, I was increasingly intrigued and compelled until the last fifth or so, when some of the aforementioned issues I had slowed me down and somewhat dulled my enthusiasm.
Overall, I'd say that "The Scorching: Just Press Play" was an entertaining and thought-provoking read. Moreover, I think most speculative-fiction fans, particularly those who crave darker themes and significant sums of horror and social commentary in their sci-fi, will find it worthy and feel compelled to give it a "like."