When hapless Henry, one of the spettri imprisoned at Anubis Crater, is nearly murdered by the other inmates, he turns Quisling and provides Samantha with enough information to re-evaluate her enemy. Based upon Henry¿s insider knowledge, the Deputy Director goes from plotting to planning her revenge.During this period she discovers that Claire Warmers (Hal Warmers¿ partner) has special abilities. … abilities. (She can metamorphose.) She then discovers that Detective Corporal Mick Tarmy has special mental abilities. Realising she could weld them into a team to fight The Great Ones, Samantha makes things happen.
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Dynamic and creative. Serves as a momentary escape from your own world. Place yourself in the shapeshifter’s life or maybe you’d rather be a villian.
Andrew exposes every element of fury and world building tactics that remarkably decide what novels are sure to come.
A shape-shifting mind-bending thriller that kept me hooked from the first chapter. Williams is now one of my favorite up-and-coming fantasy / science fiction authors and I’ll avidly await his future releases. The characters were fully developed which is something you don’t always find with smaller press publishing house authors. So much so that I’m sure I have missed out on some side-plot complexities on my first read, so I’ll be going back to reread in a while from now. I would definitely recommend giving this a read for any fans of the sci-fi / fantasy genres.
I found Arcadia’s Children: Samantha’s Revenge a full-package science fiction. The fantasy and unusual conspiracies within the story makes this a suspense adventure that will keep the reader spellbound. Andrew R. Williams takes you to worlds unknown with technology that is only a dream in the author’s mind. Claire Hyndman is would be my favorite character as she morphs into any character she wants. She adds a unique personality to the book.
Andrew R. Williams knows how to spin a story that will make you lose sight of your own world. For some reason I read Arcadia’s Children: The Fyfield Plantation before Arcadia’s Children: Samantha’s Revenge. Each book can be read alone, but they are best read in order. The characters are rich, with bountiful personalities. I found Samantha’s Revenge entreating from the beginning as a team escapes the clutches of Minton Mining Company. Science fiction fanatics will love this novel, and series. Be sure to set aside a block of time to finish this book since it is hard to put down.
If you enjoy the Sci-Fi novels of Iain M. Banks then ‘Arcadia’s Children: Samantha’s Revenge’ by Andrew R. Williams is a book that you’re sure to enjoy. The levels of imagination of the author are off the chart, but he has such a great attention to detail, that you can visualise the weird and wonderful worlds and entities he describes to you.
A shape-shifter and a psychic ex-cop are brought together by Samantha – and AI humanoid intent on revenge. Her quest for revenge may bring an end to the universe, troubled ex-cop Tarmy and the resurrected Claire Hyndman can thwart her plans.
It is fantastical, engrossing, gripping, exciting, and creepy. It has everything a good Sci-Fi novel needs and then some. It’s unpredictable and fantastical, with plot twists I never saw coming. I would love to see this brought the the big or small screen, but until that happens, I will move on to the next in the series.
This sci-fi fantasy story has many twists and turns throughout and grabbed my attention right from the beginning. Williams has poured so much imagination into it with phenomenal attention to detail. If you are looking to binge read for a few hours then this is definitely the novel for you, and from my perspective the only time I could put it down was when I finished it. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and have recommended it to all the bookworms I know. Great job.
Arcadia’s Children: Samantha’s Revenge is an excellent sci-fi novel by the established author, Andrew R Williams. The book has elements of several genres in it, with the most prevalent being science-fiction and fantasy.
Williams is an excellent world-builder and the world he builds in this book is one that the reader can’t help but get lost in. His detailed characters and world-building really help you feel as though you are a part of the novel and once you open those first few pages, you won’t be able to put the book down anytime soon.
The book’s central narrative is also brilliant, expertly working in elements from several different genres. The writing is also incredibly compact and the book flies along at an excellent pace.
Arcadia’s Children: Samantha’s Revenge is the ideal book for those who like their books to be slightly more fantastical and experimental and who want to explore a whole new world.
I really enjoyed this book while I was reading it this last week of November. I was drawn in by the plot and mainly because it featured a diva humanoid who held the power to control her realm and those who she selects from differing locations to do her dirty work. Her name is Samantha and she is the leader of a company called Minton Mining Company who owns Arden, the main moon of Arcadia the planet in which this book is entirely about. Add to her intriguing factor are two characters who come with their own wits and strengths, them being: Mick Tarmy, a former police officer and Claire Hyndman who Samantha resurrected from her own devious plans just for the occasion of fighting what are known to be the Great Ones of Arden.
This book amazed me with the vast scientific knowledge that its author uses to form his plot and his robotic, humanoid characters. The fact that he knows the terms and details to tell this Sci-fi tale of his proves he knows a lot about the subject he writes about and that is to me an A+. My favorite character is Claire Hyndman because of her special abilities to morph into any kind of persona. She also has a lot of strength and flexibility in her to fight her enemies. I also like the fact that she has a little robot for a friend who is also her bodyguard who looks after her when she is in the middle of battle. This is the kind of book that has a “sorry” front cover but its contents are amazing and entertaining. I judged this book by its cover and I feel ashamed of myself for that. I disliked the cover but when I read into the middle of the book I was definitely enticed into its world of advanced technology and uniformity. While I was reading it I felt like I was watching a movie like Star Wars or the early 80s “V: The Final Battle.” There was absolutely no sexuality in this book and that is a great thing because it was a Sci-fi book. It would feel strange to watch characters in space having some of that because I always felt that astronauts and the sort don’t need sex due to their attire and the lack of gravity in outerspace…haha! My final comments about this book is that I hope it gets the credit its due for being such a well-thought out story by this yet diamond in the rough author. Good job Mr. Williams!
I recommend this beauty to those who love a very well-written sci-fi story. It is also a great book to introduce this genre to those who may find it to be kind of hard to grasp, like me. I think for those of you who are into movies like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Starship Troopers, to don’t overlook this one because you will definitely miss out! Like I mentioned above, I had thought this book would be boring and dry and therefore approached it with walls around me but by the middle of it, I was up cheering and rooting for the good guys to bring home the bacon! I am going to say this and I’m saying it with a bang: I enjoyed this book so much you need to take my word for it and get it! Yes! Don’t be late to the game!
British author Andrew R. Williams has written an impressive array of books, from fantasy fiction, such as this ongoing series ARCADIA’S CHILDREN, to architectural information books – DOMESTIC BUILDING SURVEYS, PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS, and A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SINGLE STOREY HOUSE EXTENSIONS. He is a chartered surveyor.
The intricacies of Andrew’s attention to detail make this novel as accessible, and even credible, as the initial book in this series – ARCADIA’S CHILDREN: SAMANTHA’S REVENGE. Andrew knows the realm of imagination and uses his mastery of the science fiction genre in a manner that few authors can match. Wildly inventive concepts and description of events and forms become clearly relatable in his hands. A hint of why Andrew’s bizarre world works so well is evident in his offering ‘facts’ about Arcadian archaeology before the story’s onset. For instance, Arcadia is the third planet in the Salus System. As it is in a Goldilocks Zone, the planet is an Earth type, and The Wreck – Although badly damaged, The Wreck is still being subjected to close scrutiny. It has also become a major tourist attraction. Since teleportation systems were installed, over two million tourists per annum visit The Wreck. When entering a strange realm such preparation makes the journey more credible.
As an overview of where this series will take us, Andrew opens this book with the following – ‘After changing shape several times, the ball eventually turned into a huge face. It floated alongside the air-car. This time, time instead of sending him mental message, the face spoke out aloud and the whole air-car vibrated with its intensity. “If you are foolish enough to renege on your contract, you will be severely punished. For your sake, I hope you wouldn’t do such a thing.” When Tarmy made no attempt to respond, the face turned and pressed itself against the millipede-free window. A moment later, Tarmy felt the fat slug entering his mind, the sign that the face was attempting to use its powers to obtain his response by other means. But as the slug dug deeper, Samantha’s cover stories began springing out of the corners of his mind. Instead of obtaining Tarmy’s agreement, all that the face saw was a burning army transporter surrounded by bodies. Undeterred, the face continued its assault. Samantha had anticipated that Tarmy might come up against an adept, so the mental images of death and destruction flowed unchecked. After failing to break Tarmy’s defenses, the face removed the slug and tried reason. “You can’t win, Mr. Tarleton, so why don’t you do yourself a favour and cooperate? It will be better for you in the long run. Now, where is the miniature pulse drive engine?” Tarmy realized why the millipedes hadn’t been allowed to attack. It was obvious that the Great Ones were hoping to retrieve the engine. When Tarmy didn’t respond, the face said, “I am prepared to overlook your desertion if you agree to tell us where the engine is and also honour your contract by showing us how to convert the engine into a bomb.’ Simply superb writing!
Keen characterizations create near visible images and the plot of the story is full of imaginative excursions and strange events. Exciting and beautifully realized, this is one of the better Sci-Fi fantasy novels of the day.
Arcardia’s Children Book 1 Samantha’s Revenge by Andrew R. Williams is a complicated and fascinating science fiction book that pulls you in right from the start. The action is spot on, and the story is propulsive, you won’t want to stop reading. There are bombs, millipedes, and armies, and if that doesn’t grab your attention, the classical aspects of the story will. Tarmy is an ex soldier that gets embroiled in controversy, yet he must save the galaxy. The writing is fast paced, fun, and all engrossing as you get wrapped up in this magical and sometimes scary story. A great plot, with other books in the series, make this a writer to watch. Highly recommend for a great science fiction read. Looking forward to more from this author.
I was in the mood for some sci-fi as it was a while since I’d read any. Instead of going for one of the more mainstream titles I wanted to give something different a try, and was intrigued by this book from Andrew R. Williams. It was the cover that initially caused me to pause and read more as it has a certain surreal quality to it, but the blurb was enough to win me over and give it a read. Williams has created an extraordinary world with some very vivid imagery and a compelling, but not unnecessarily complicated sci-fi story. I hate when authors get bogged down in minutiae in science fiction. But that isn’t the case here.
All in all a very enjoyable read and I’ll progress with book two at a later date.