Girl From Above: Betrayal is the first book in Pippa DaCosta's The 1000 Revolution series and the first of the author's work for me. Wow, am I glad I found this series! I love android/synthetic human stories and this one is an excellent example.
I'm normally not a fan of 1st person narrative, but the author has used it well to convey the feelings and actions of the main characters, adding a sense of immediacy and connection.
I really, really like that the main male protagonist, Caleb, is flawed, running the full gamut of dodgy personality traits and downright bad behaviour, but occasionaly revealing there's more to him than that. His I-don't-give-a-damn exterior is hiding something deeper underneath, and the author deftly weaves the what-happened-in-the-past details into the story without excessive exposition. The grim and dangerous world Caleb inhabits is nevertheless vividly described and secondary characters are well fleshed-out, providing interesting possibilities further along in the series.
The pacing is relentless and far from predictable, with a good few surprises thrown into the mix as the story progresses. Having said it's not predictable, though, I'm glad the author chose to make the so-far revealed pieces fit together nicely, but not without some exciting and engaging curveballs. This book isn't sub-titled Betrayal for nothing and it doesn't disappoint in this respect either.
Some readers may object to the fairly frequent use of the f-word, but I thought it suited Caleb's character and it sounded natural when he was speaking. The resulting, sometimes witty, dialogue that this produces endeared me to the character and made me want to cheer him on to achieve a better life.
My current go-to genre is Science Fiction Romance. This book is definitely great science fiction, but not so much of a romance as a hint of as yet unfulfilled genuine love, after wading through all of Caleb's casual sexual dalliances and somewhat confused loyalties, not least his relationship with his enigmatic second-in-command, Fran.
The only small gripe I have is that the ending has no conclusion, but instead of finding this frustrating as usual, I'm actually feeling so connected to Caleb that I don't mind waiting for more of his story to be revealed.
I have also read Book 2 in the series, Girl From Above: Trapped and now can't wait for Book 3, to be published in February 2016. I sure hope that won't be the last in the series!
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Top reviews from other countries
Andrew Bauld
This is a ver iteresting premise, indeed.
Reviewed in Australia on October 10, 2019Sc
Great action story, but the writing lets it down
Reviewed in Canada on April 17, 2019
Laura
1001 is a really unknown element
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2018