Credit: Pippa Jay

Author: Pippa Jay
Title: Reboot
Genre: Sci-Fi
ASIN: B00JD0M8DA
Length: ’26 pages’

‘”Welcome to immortality in utopia!”
From the moment Damien signed up for a perfect life with ReGen Inc., he didn’t ask any questions. He didn’t want or need to know. But after he’s rebooted this time, there are gaps in his memory he can’t ignore, and people he no longer recognizes are accusing him of betrayal. When someone dies, he’s determined to go looking for answers…but sometimes it really is better to forget.

A cyberpunk short story.

It’s been ages since I wrote a book review. I thought I’d ease myself back in with some shorts. And boy did I pick a good’un!

Cover:

Awesome. Beautifully composed and very telling of what to expect (but only after having read the book – which I think is a great feature). It’s got a great ‘sci-fi’ feel without being in your face and even though I lean away from faces/people on book covers this one didn’t distract my reading of the piece.

Story:

Tricky to do this without giving too much away but Damien signed up for a new, immortal life with ReGen Inc and gets ‘rebooted’ if he irreparably damages his body. It’s a process he’s gone through many times before, except this time he can’t remember the events leading up to his current reboot.

I love this idea and as I was reading I could see it on screen. This story belongs in a cinema, played out with a racing score, brilliant effects and talented actors.

Characters:

Like any good story the cast is minimal and integral to the fast paced plot. There wasn’t a single wasted character here and I appreciate that. Damien’s character is beautifully written with just the right blend of confusion and irritation laced through to pull us nicely through the plot. At no point did I find his musings over done or expositional, they just were.

Overall experience:

I read this story while The Sprogs were in the bath and I managed it because I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Yes, it’s a short story, but it was such a pacey and exciting short story that I didn’t need to put the Kindle down as I have in the past with other shorts.
It made for a great pit-stop reading experience, which I’ve found to be something Pippa is particularly good at.

Final score:

Average across all scores 4.5 which is a clean 4.5 stars.
This is the third short I’ve read by Pippa and though I’m reviewing them out of sequence, I just want to say that I’m THOROUGHLY enjoying going through her work. This short is an excellent example of pulling a reader along for the ride, letting them learn as the characters do in a way that doesn’t feel at all like you’ve been cheated. The ending of this piece is particularly jaw-dropping and rounded off a great sci-fi-mystery in a totally satisfying manner.