Creativity Hacker

Tam, Kern, and Merrik are all failing at life: a homeless thief, a disgraced baker’s apprentice, and an incompetent smith. But witnessing a strange ritual in the middle of the night sets them on a collision course with destiny—and with each other. Accused of crimes they did not commit, the boys must band together to clear their names. And in the process, they just might have to do something useful, like battle monsters and save the city. But frankly, that sounds a lot like work.

We've all seen the story of the hero whose consciousness is backed up on a computer drive and later re-animated into an unfamiliar world of the future. But what if he's reanimated the Tuesday after his death and charged with the murder of his wife? And then, what if later that same day he's reanimated again, only this time under his secret porn identify, and given the chance for revenge? I'll tell you what happens: awesome happens. Two versions of the same man, both investigating the same murder from different ends. And only one of them can live.
– Jefferson

If you enjoyed Altered Carbon, you'll love this.

In a decaying world where even your pet ferret has a live-to-net video feed, some problems require a guy who couldn’t leave a bit-trace if he tried. In that case, you go to Lomax. Ex-military, tough as nails… And strictly analog.

A compelling world that I couldn't help but slip into. It's a believable future with touches of grunge and decay that give this noir detective story a real bite of authenticity. Lots of fun.
—Jefferson

Check out the IOD Report here.

A scientist’s life is thrown into chaos when a grad student’s suicide turns out to be more than it seemed, and ends up triggering a singularity breakthrough in AI computing. What follows is a tour-de-force adventure in politics, technology, and human achievement, with some epic smack-down battles to top it all off.

A welcome reversal of the usual AI story that gets bigger, badder, and bolder as it unfolds. Funny, engaging, and surprisingly well grounded in computer theory.
— Jefferson

Check out the IOD Report here.

An old warrior rescues a young girl from the clutches of an evil wizard and then flees with her into exile. It’s a desperate bid to find something—anything—that can put the world right again, and hopefully, undo whatever darkness has been done to the girl. His daughter.

With a strong blend of eastern and medieval images, this quest feels different from most other fantasies. A dark tale born from the traditions of Aladdin and Alibaba and the 1001 Nights, imagine a world that might have arisen from the Crusades and the Inquisition and then fuel it with dark magic.
— Jefferson

Check out the IOD Report here.

When a simple salvage op becomes a rescue mission, Carl and his crew of space-yahoos get dragged somewhere they really don’t want to be—into the glare of official scrutiny—so it’s up to their resident FTL jockey and bona fide eldritch wizard to put down his beer and get them out of another jam.

For even better value, check out the 4-bks-in-1 Mission Pack.

Grif Vindh, Captain of the Fool's Errand, just pulled off the job of a lifetime: against all odds, he and his crew smuggled a rare anti-aging drug out of Ur Voys, one of the most secretive and secure facilities in the Empire of the Radiant Throne. It was every smuggler's dream, the "Big Score," and they find themselves filthy rich as a result.

And now they have to do it again.

If you miss Firefly, this is the kind of book that’s gonna ease your goram aches and lamentations, for a spell.
— Jefferson

Check out the IOD Report here.

When the crew of the TNS Aurora makes unexpected first contact with a hostile race, midshipman Sato is spared from the slaughter in order to serve as the alien race’s Messenger, harbinger of humanity’s impending doom. They are going to invade. On the planet Keran. In two years. What kind of aliens are these? They kill everyone aboard and then give us enough warning to prepare for the coming fight? But is mankind ready to take the warning seriously? Or will politics and power jockeying leave us with our pants down when the fighting starts?

Get ready for a wild ride with one of the strongest indie books I’ve read in a while. This is an ensemble piece, with a number of POV characters carrying the camera through a frenetic interweaving of politics, military operations, and human drama. But despite the scope, it still manages to stay up close and focused on just a very few of those humans. The pace is excellent, the aliens are sufficiently alien, and the people are varied and distinct. Ultimately, this is the story of one young man, and the choices he makes that will effect us all. I can only hope that when the time comes, we have somebody like Ichiro Sato on that first contact ship.
— Jefferson

Check out my full review here.

In a world where government-manufactured super-heroes have replaced war and terrorism as the world’s greatest threats – and it’s only source of salvation – there’s only one thing that sucks worse than having no powers at all. And that’s being the powerless son of the greatest hero of them all, and a prisoner inside the family fortress of solitude. For his own protection, you understand. Well, Spencer Harrington, son of the Crimson Mask, has had enough. He’s tired of playing by dad’s rules, and this time, he’s going to do things his way.

On one level, a straight-up adventure story, on the other, a fascinating tale about fathers and sons divided by their incompatible expectations of each other. Came for the action, stayed for the angst.
— Jefferson

Check out the IOD Report here.

Michael Fletcher thought he was on course for a low-key kind of excitement in his life, working for his father aboard the Sophie’s Grace. But when his father dies unexpectedly, all his protections are stripped away and Michael is flung into a world of smugglers, cheats and family secrets. As he races to uncover the truth about who his father really was, Michael's search drags him into the converging worlds of desperadoes, big business, and Navy Intelligence, all of whom seem anxious to get their hands on Michael himself.

At its core, this is the story of one young man coming to terms with the sudden arrival of adulthood, and having to learn to stand on his own, despite the plans that everyone else seems to be making for his life. Ships is a well constructed tale set in a well-conceived universe, told simply, and with sensitivity for the protagonist and his situation. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
— Jefferson