2018; 360 pages. Book 2 (out of 5) in the series “The Clockwork Chimera”. New Author? : No. Genre : Space Opera; Alien Invasion Sci-Fi. Overall Rating : 8*/10.
Daisy is the chosen one. It’s her destiny to save Earth. That’s what everyone says.
To be fair, though, “everyone”
in this case means the dozen or so beings hiding out at the Dark Side Base on
the far side of the Moon. And it doesn’t
include the most important one of those: Daisy herself.
She’s already been to Earth
once., and almost died there. The planet’s a
forsaken place that’s home to almost no humans anymore. Instead, there are lots of cyborgs, mutants, and
deadly insectoid Chithiids. That last
group came from who-knows-where and is especially committed to, and skilled at, killing humans.
Daisy is fully human, but she
wasn’t born on Earth and feels no kinship with it. She denies that she’s anybody's “chosen one”, has
no intention of ever returning to Earth, and lets everybody else at the Dark
Side base know that.
Whattaya think the odds are
that she’ll end up back there anyway?
What’s To Like...
Pushing Daisy
is the second book in Scott Baron’s 5-volume Space Opera “The Clockwork Chimera”. I’m reading them in order; the first book, Daisy’s Run, is reviewed here.
It’s not a spoiler to reveal
that Daisy does indeed make a return trip to our ruined planet, although that
doesn’t happen until about halfway through the story. This time, however, her Terran settings are
not limited to Los Angeles; she travels to several more US cities, including my
current stomping grounds, Phoenix, which she finds completely overrun with mutants.
Several new beings are
introduced, including Craaxit, a Chithiid soldier. I have a feeling he’ll be developed into a
recurring character in the series. There
are a couple of new AIs to meet and be wary of: Alma, who heads the Los Angeles
underground, and Freya, a juvenile AI.
We’re also introduced to a new race of baddies called the Ra’az
Hok. If you cross paths with any of
them, run away. Fast.
There are a half dozen or so of plot
threads to keep the reader’s interest.
Some are ongoing, such as the Daisy/Vince affair. Others are new, such as the secret door on
the moon that Daisy happens across, and of course her various adventures down on
Earth.
The ending is a mixed
affair. It’s not a cliffhanger, but it’s
not exactly a climax to the story either.
It’s sort of a stopping off point on the way to what presumably
transpires in Book 3, Daisy’s Gambit. If I were reading Pushing Daisy as a
discrete book, I’d be miffed about how it ends, but fortunately, I’m utilizing Scott Baron’s 5-book bundle of the series, which means the story continues on
the very next page of my Kindle.
Ratings…
Amazon:
4.5/5
based on 637 ratings and 47 reviews.
Goodreads: 4.25/5 based on 483
ratings and 51 reviews.
Kewlest New Word ...
Miyagi-ed (v.) : (a cleverly made-up word,
referencing The Karate Kid).
Excerpts...
“Okay,” she began, “here’s what we’re going
to do. It’s kind of like a game, and if
you are really good, I’ll put a movie on and we’ll watch it together.”
“Wouldn’t it be faster if you uploaded it
to me?”
“Well, you see, that’s the point here. To help you learn to slow down and appreciate
things. If you watch it with me, you see
it at the same speed I do. Learn to
savor the meal instead of inhaling it.”
“But I don’t eat, Daisy.”
“It’s a metaphor.” She sighed.
(loc. 6725)
“And look at these wonderful people you’ve
brought with! Oh, but those
outfits. No, no, that simply will not
do. Oh, this is exciting! I can’t wait to get your measurements. I have some wonderful ideas I’ve been meaning
to try out.”
“Habby, we don’t want any trouble,” Daisy
said. “We’re just passing through.”
“Trouble?
Oh my, but you caused quite a lot of that when you went tearing off
through the city last time. You know, we
lost several of our friends because of your foolishness.”
“You were holding me captive.”
“Potato, tomato, it’s all a matter of
perspective, my dear.” (loc.
8894)
Kindle Details…
Pushing
Daisy sells for $2.99 at Amazon. The other four books in the series are all in
the $0.99-$3.99 range. The
complete set can also be bought in the aforementioned bundle, which presently costs $7.99, and which occasionally is graciously discounted by the author. Scott Baron has lots of other Sci-Fi
series to offer; most of the individual books in those are in the $0.99-$4.99
range.
“You should always
think outside the box. "But I am a box.” (loc. 6882)
There are a couple of
quibbles. I counted 31 instances of
cussing in the first 20% of Pushing Daisy (actually the first 8 of its 40 chapters, since pages
aren’t numbered in e-book bundles), although that’s about half the
rate that I found in Daisy’s Run. That's about it for R-rated stuff, though.
Not all of the plotlines get
tied up. I don’t mind Daisy’s
relationship with Vince still dangling; I expect that to play out over the full
course of the series. But the Freya plot
thread, which was well-developed and fascinating at its inception here, just fizzles out. Also, at the book’s end, a major character's state of health still hangs in the balance.
For me, the book started out
slowly, with Daisy going to too many sparring sessions with Tamara, and too
many meditation sessions with Fatima. I
recognize both are necessary to make Daisy a formidable protagonist, but for
me, it made for slow spots in the tale-spinning.
But no matter. Once Daisy has her meds (that’s “meditations”, not “medications”) and
can summon the fighting mentality of a seasoned warrior, she’s ready to make a
trip to Earth and everything thereafter was a fast-paced, page-turning action-adventure. The overarching plotline also
expands nicely. Before, Daisy’s aim was to save the few surviving humans in Los
Angeles, now her horizons have grown considerably.
8 Stars. FWIW, I’m 40% of the way through this series, which is called The Clockwork Chimera, and I still have no clue as to why it’s called that. Ah, but that's just one more reason to continue reading Daisy’s tale.
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