“Was there a pang of remorse for his actions in his mind? Possibly, but what choice did he have? If he wanted to survive, he had no room for weakness. Max Nowaz’s science fiction novel, The Arbitrator, follows the story of 153 year-old Jim Brown, a former highly successful administrator who is now rotting in jail, for tax fraud. However, in reality, he is there for taking revenge and killing … killing several people on the planet Levita, after meeting the beautiful Narissa…
In prison, he has acquired a drug habit, which is killing him slowly and his only chance of survival is a very expensive renewal process, which will make him young again and cure his drug habit. After ten years in jail, he is suddenly given a reprieve and offered a chance to redeem himself. He is sent as the ‘Arbitrator’ to ‘Pirrus’ in another solar system, to try and stop a rebellion and bring matters under control. Will he complete the mission successfully to earn enough funds for his regeneration? Only time will tell.
Just when he thinks he has accomplished his task, he meets Gina, the daughter of a rebel, and finds out that there is a plot by foreign powers to invade the planet… The plot thickens when Brown also discovers that there is a mole in his organisation who is undermining his efforts to succeed. How will Brown react to the devastating news?
This book will appeal to fans of innovative science fiction and people who enjoyed the stories in The Avatar and The Blade Runner.
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When I started reading this book, it was without benefit of reading the summery and so I didn’t know what to expect. The first portion of the book was very good and then he met Gina and it got even better there is a lot happening in this book and all of it is good and gets better. I absolutely enjoyed this book and after I read the summary I was like what it was about so much more than that. So good!
The Arbitrator is an exciting sci-fi novel that follows Jim Brown as he rots in prison for getting revenge. But Jim gets a new chance when he is called upon to go to a different system to try and stop a rebellion. I really enjoyed this book. It is fun, thrilling, and full of twists. There is a complexity to both the characters and the world that author Max Nowaz has created. I was able to easily immerse myself in the story. Jim Brown in particular is an intriguing character and I loved slowly getting the pieces of his past to better understand him. The story continues to throw twists at you just when you think that the characters will put all the pieces together. I really liked this book and would highly recommend it.
This is an exciting sci-fi book as it doesn’t seem to build on the back of exposition for the sake of explaining the whole world/universe in the first few chapters. We’re thrown almost instantly into Jim’s chaotic life (our main character here). What amuses me is he’s jailed for something rather dull and ends up on this epic, twisting adventure that jail has given him. Jim is not a lovable character, not in the “I make the right choices” way, but he’s a character we all want to root for.
What pulled me in is his motivations for pursuing the path he chose. His actions are typically frowned upon but justifiable in an effort to save himself. With his fast-paced style, we feel the same sense of urgency as Nowaz rushes us from action to action. Even when explaining some backstory, Nowaz raises the stakes on Jim’s situation as if the past is coming back to haunt him. This book is a unique marvel. You should give it a shot if you’re into dystopian sci-fi tales.
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Jim Brown at first. He’s an interesting main character, and at first it’s very hard to like him. He’s a bit sleazy, but as the story progresses and he grows as a person, my opinion of him changed. The story moved along at a decent pace, and there were enough twists to keep me interested. An interesting sci-fi read that explores not only deep space but ethics and morals, and the question of what’s right what’s wrong.
I found The Arbitrator to be a great action adventure novel. I wasn’t previously aware of author Nowaz but for a first novel from a lesser known author I think this is pretty great. Jim Brown is your typical tough-guy protagonist, but there are layers in place to make him feel more genuine than the protagonists in far more well-known novels I’ve read. The sci-fi setting made this more enjoyable for me, and because of the interesting plot and great dialogue I could well see this making a good transfer to the big screen. I’ll be looking out for more novels from Nowaz in the future.
This book kept surprising me. It took me some time to get used to the flow but then the events kept unfolding one after the after. I love science fiction and I think this would be perfect for younger readers who are getting into the genre. It’s not too complicated and full of adventure.
Jim Brown is quite an interesting character and has lived a long time but he is still very much human. I liked the high tech and facilities the humans have in the book. I kept picturing multiple sci-fi movies in my head. I can absolutely picture this being made into a movie!
Author Max Nowaz first released “The Arbitrator” in 2006 and republished it in 2019, with added new chapters.
Jim Brown is currently serving a ten year prison sentence for tax evasion, however he is given a reprieve on the condition that he helps to dissolve a rebellion that is taking place on another earth colony, however all is not what it seems and Brown soon finds himself mixed up in a web of deceit with a lot at stake including his own life.
The story is well structured and relevant as you will figure out for yourself as the layers unfold. It is a fast-paced read and has lots going on from very early on in the book. Personally I found it very intriguing right from the start. There is a great action-packed plot-line from the first page. This one is a must for fans of action laded chapters and gripping twists.
The Arbitrator by Max Nowaz introduces Jim Brown, a drug-addicted representative of the EPA (Earth Policy Administration). His job is to settle a dispute, instead of being a mediator; he is more like an enforcer. Brown’s attempt to settle a rebellion on Pirrus is to execute some of those caught. When Gina comes to plead for the life of her father and fiancé, the bargain made leads down a road they can never turn back on.
I found The Arbitrator fascinating as Jim Brown negotiates through the politics, leadership, his addiction, and his actions. Max Nowaz holds your attention as Brown is wrapped in a web of deceit and flounders for control. The plot intrigues the reader as layers unfold to what Brown is facing. I think readers who enjoy fantasy thrillers will devour this well-written novel as Brown steps up and becomes a leader when odds are against him.
British author Max Nowaz has stepped away from the corporate world to devote his time to writing – novels, poetry, children’s books, and screen and stage plays. His books to date include GET RICH OR GET LUCKY. TIMBI’S DREAM, and now the revised version of his debut novel, THE ARBITRATOR.
Writing novels that step into the dystopian genre yet still mange to include real life’ characters is an art that Max Nowaz performs successfully, exploring the solar system for locations amenable to storytelling. His wry humor greatly assists the development of his characters as the opening chapter indicates – ‘The prisoner lay in his cell dreaming of good times. He had been rotting there for a long time, and the good times came when he was like this, drugged and semi-conscious. Somebody kicked him, he thought, but it didn’t hurt much. “Get up you lazy b*****d. The governor wants a word with you, “ said the guard. He opened his eyes and smiled. There was another guard standing near the cell door in anticipation of any trouble. The prisoner smiled at him, too. ‘Now what can the governor want from me?’ He wondered…It’s nice of him to remember me’… And so we meet Jim Brown, the Arbitrator, and the primary character.
The story is complex, in an appropriate manner, and is distilled as follows: ‘Jim Brown, formerly a highly successful, but ruthless, troubleshooting Administrator for the EPA, The Earth Policy Administration, was rotting in prison, dying of an incurable drug habit that he had acquired whilst in there. His only hope was a very expensive regeneration process, if he was to survive. This habit should already have killed a lesser man, but somehow he was clinging on. After surviving 10 years of his sentence, ostensibly for tax evasion, he is suddenly given a reprieve and offered a chance to redeem himself. He is sent as ‘The Arbitrator’ to ‘Pirrus’, an Earth colony world in another solar system, to try and stop a rebellion and bring matters under control. Though his title conveys that he is there to negotiate, but in reality he is there to enforce a settlement. If successful he will be a rich man again and can go back to Earth for his regeneration treatment, but he is running out of time as the deadline for the treatment to be effective, looms. Jim Brown is a man in a hurry but manages to end the rebellion within three weeks and capture the rebel leaders. He thinks he has accomplished his task and is getting ready to execute the rebel leaders, when he meets Gina, the daughter of one of the rebels. She has come to plead for her father’s life. Under the influence of the drugs, which he is still addicted to, Brown ruthlessly exploits the situation to his advantage and seduces Gina in exchange for letting all the prisoners go. He then finds out from her that there is a plot by other foreign off-world powers to invade Pirrus. Brown is at a loss to understand why anybody would be interested in such a backwater of a planet, but he has no time to take his hard earned cash and get away to Earth. The drugs have made him a man without much of a conscience, preoccupied only with his own survival. He decides to force Gina to cooperate so he can get to the bottom of the situation. The plot thickens as his old life suddenly begins to catch up with him and he also discovers that there is a mole in his organisation, who is undermining his efforts to succeed.’
Sparkling writing inviting the reader to explore other realms that manage to enter our imagination and entertain us completely, this is a remarkably fine novel – just the sort of escape we all need right now!