Short Story in the Upgrade Series Universe by Wesley Cross
Published on: November 5, 2019

Description:

Helen is on the run from a deadly enemy. But as she heads deep into the slums of New Kowloon looking for refuge, things are only getting worse. Now local thugs and the triads are trying to hunt her down too. The problem is–she’s got the world to save.

If you liked Altered Carbon, Blade Runner, and The Matrix, and enjoy page-turner thrillers you’ll love this short story set in the universe of the best-selling Upgrade series.

Thoughts:

Up until recently, life in New Kowloon had been peaceful-ish. The three major triads had had an understanding of sorts with no real gang wars for several years. But recently something had caused the dynamics between the triads to shift and now Helen finds herself fighting for her life. However, it isn’t just Helen that is caught in the cross-hairs so she devises a plan to engage with someone else that seems to be getting the brunt of this new gang war in the hopes that perhaps together they can help each other out.

Although, I found this short story in the science fiction section, for the most part if feels more like an action thriller as Helen is constantly running or fighting off triad members. However, somewhere in the middle there is a small piece of conversation that reminds you that the world they live in isn’t quite like ours, but other than that it feels pretty normal. But even in that small moment where the sci fi piece is mentioned you do get the sense that this story and the Universe Series it is part of revolves more around technology than other types of science fiction sub-genres.

Overall, I found Helen’s plan that she comes up with a little too easy, but it’s a short story so you really can’t get overly complex. Even so, in the 39 pages you can tell there is a fully-fleshed out world these characters live in that sounded pretty intriguing. Rogue is part of the Upgrade Series Universe and at the end there is a sneak peak of the first novel in the series – BluePrint. According to Amazon, book 3 – The Loop is due out later this year.

Rating: 4 stars

Trigger Warning: Attempted rape