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Chasing Filthy Lucre
Weber Rexall knows that in New Eden cash is king. That's why, whether it's fighting in an underground bare-knuckles boxing league or doing security work for a friend, he'll take whatever job he can. When one of those security jobs goes violently wrong, Rexall is forced to get more involved than he ever wanted.
This 21,000 word novella is the first in a series.
This 21,000 word novella is the first in a series.
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First published March 11, 2011
2 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Jarrett Rush
9 books11 followersAre your mid-30s too late to try and live a dream? I certainly hope not, because that's what I'm doing. For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a writer.
It wasn't until I met my wife that I got serious about publication. She gave me the push I needed to try and make my dream a reality.
I'm a genre writer. My stories typically involve normal people dropped into a bad situation. That may be a monster story or a crime story or a sci-fi story. But the one thing that will be in nearly all of them is the normal guy. Someone who's a little down on his luck, just trying to get through today. He'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow. I suppose that means you could classify me as a noir writer. Not a traditional one, I don't suppose. And I'm definitely not a writer of what's become modern noir. That stuff is crazy. Quadruple amputee heroines running drugs for a Mexican cartel and stuff like that. I don't go there. My stories are tame by comparison. But they are noir. They're dark. The main character is down on his luck. His back is against the wall and he's forced into action, and not always action he's happy about taking.
It wasn't until I met my wife that I got serious about publication. She gave me the push I needed to try and make my dream a reality.
I'm a genre writer. My stories typically involve normal people dropped into a bad situation. That may be a monster story or a crime story or a sci-fi story. But the one thing that will be in nearly all of them is the normal guy. Someone who's a little down on his luck, just trying to get through today. He'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow. I suppose that means you could classify me as a noir writer. Not a traditional one, I don't suppose. And I'm definitely not a writer of what's become modern noir. That stuff is crazy. Quadruple amputee heroines running drugs for a Mexican cartel and stuff like that. I don't go there. My stories are tame by comparison. But they are noir. They're dark. The main character is down on his luck. His back is against the wall and he's forced into action, and not always action he's happy about taking.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 22, 2012
Book Title: Chasing Filthy Lucre
Author: Jarrett Rush
Publisher: Sixtwentyone Press
ASIN: B004SHFK2O
Reviewed by Michele Tater for The Couch Tater Review
There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else. ~Oscar Wilde
Somehow the youth movement was elected to run things and the old government fell apart. RomaCorp then becomes the supplier of everything, but in order to get these goods you must have cash. Weber Rexell is always after the all mighty dollar, no matter what the job entails. Hence when the stuff hits the fan as he is working one such job, he takes on another opportunity as a data runner for the “greater good”. He is not alone in this task and if it is successful it will change the lives of everyone. That is just a small look into the world that Jarrett has made. Want to see more, then get the book...
I found this action packed book a fantastic futuristic story. It is just a tease into the future Jarrett has created. The story is short, but the story line with in it is huge. The reader will be so engrossed with the events, that before they know it, they have reached the ending. Oh what an ending. It leads one to try and wait patiently for the next in the series to come out. (Hint, hint Mr. Rush). Written in a no nonsense voice with no long wind descriptions and explanations. Just a note: the concept of being “plugged in” takes on a whole new meaning and not what we know it to mean.
Author: Jarrett Rush
Publisher: Sixtwentyone Press
ASIN: B004SHFK2O
Reviewed by Michele Tater for The Couch Tater Review
There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else. ~Oscar Wilde
Somehow the youth movement was elected to run things and the old government fell apart. RomaCorp then becomes the supplier of everything, but in order to get these goods you must have cash. Weber Rexell is always after the all mighty dollar, no matter what the job entails. Hence when the stuff hits the fan as he is working one such job, he takes on another opportunity as a data runner for the “greater good”. He is not alone in this task and if it is successful it will change the lives of everyone. That is just a small look into the world that Jarrett has made. Want to see more, then get the book...
I found this action packed book a fantastic futuristic story. It is just a tease into the future Jarrett has created. The story is short, but the story line with in it is huge. The reader will be so engrossed with the events, that before they know it, they have reached the ending. Oh what an ending. It leads one to try and wait patiently for the next in the series to come out. (Hint, hint Mr. Rush). Written in a no nonsense voice with no long wind descriptions and explanations. Just a note: the concept of being “plugged in” takes on a whole new meaning and not what we know it to mean.
June 29, 2011
My biggest complaint about Chasing Filthy Lucre is its length. At 46 pages it comes in like a novelette or novella, but is still good. The story of a distopian future was well thought out. The characters were enjoyable and relatable. With a little fleshing and some back story, this could have been an equally engaging novel.
I hope to see more from the author and these characters in the future. Who doesn't like fighting against an omnipressive megacorp?
I hope to see more from the author and these characters in the future. Who doesn't like fighting against an omnipressive megacorp?
October 31, 2011
I really enjoyed this and look forward to the next one. Combines some of my favorite elements of Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, and Richard Stark.
March 23, 2012
ok, 2 stars isn't really fair. It was a very promising start.... (and I'm not much into short stories). I wish there was more to it.
March 12, 2012
Nice and tight new millenium novella, filled with gritty characters and action.
September 17, 2019
As the introduction into a vastly different world, the author entertains us with the new world rulers. The poor are constantly looking for opportunities to scrape by in life. Rexell scrounged with the crowd, but he lucked out in working for the new rulers. When that income doesn’t cover his needs, another type of job comes up. Data becomes the key commode. Are you ready to plunge into the depths of humanity?
September 15, 2021
Really great read! Love the story.
September 13, 2019
In a grim future America, one company, RomaCorp, provides all goods and services to the city of New Eden. The city had become what it was after a bunch of young idealists had taken over the in-situ government with theories that sounded good on paper but, in practice, failed after a mere eighteen months. The leaders of New Eden had come on television one day and said everyone was just “on their own.” Now the population of the city was scraping by in a dirty existence to fund their next hookup to “the wire.”
Weber Rexall had been a soldier and then a cop when the collapse happened. Now he eked out a living doing exhibition fights where sometimes he played the part of the winner, sometimes the loser. Tonight he’s paired against Johnny “The Kid” Berger, and is scheduled to be the victor.
Between his appearances in Raul’s basement fight ring, Rexall sidelines as a bodyguard for a data runner named Carroll. Carroll’s shop downloads critical or sensitive data into human data runners, and Rexall escorts them to the recipient of the data where it is uploaded and removed from the human carrier, a financially beneficial exchange for both the runner and the escort.Rexall, impressed with Berger’s skills, includes him in this lucrative endeavor, but their very first job doesn’t go well, leaving the data runner dead, Carroll near death, and his shop destroyed by RomaCorp. With the help of a Serve-O named Simmer Jones, Rexall and Berger set out to make things right. Or at least as right as they can.
Clocking in at a little over 100 pages, Jarrett Rush packs a lot of awesomeness into Chasing Filthy Lucre, this first story in the New Eden series. I loved the noir styling, the dark, itchy setting, and the characters that combine to tell a really good story. This is recommended for readers that like dystopian, urban storylines with all the grit and dirt and unsettling edginess.
April 13, 2011
When a greedy corporate power threatens the status quo in Weber Rexall’s town and he’s tasked to do something about it, nothing will stand in his way.
Tough guy Rexall, his underground fighting ring cohort Berger, and a synthetic Serve-O named Simmer are just three of the incredibly interesting characters Rush writes into Chasing Filthy Lucre, the first part in a novella series, one that entertains right from the first page.
Rush seamlessly blends cyberpunk technology and post-apocalyptic settings with deep characters the reader can truly feel for. The tech itself is fascinating; without giving anything away, when Rush describes the hothouse and its patrons, the remarkable imagery he puts together could easily have been pulled from a scene in today’s world. The scene descriptions, such as the underground fighting and the ‘package delivery’ scene (again without giving too much away) are rich, and really paint a detailed picture in the reader’s head.
The story is fast-paced and progresses logically, with a couple of twists, and an exciting climax, then easily feeds into the next novella in the series. Definitely a page-turner, and very well edited for a self-published work. Absolutely worth the download, I’m looking forward to the next in the series!
Tough guy Rexall, his underground fighting ring cohort Berger, and a synthetic Serve-O named Simmer are just three of the incredibly interesting characters Rush writes into Chasing Filthy Lucre, the first part in a novella series, one that entertains right from the first page.
Rush seamlessly blends cyberpunk technology and post-apocalyptic settings with deep characters the reader can truly feel for. The tech itself is fascinating; without giving anything away, when Rush describes the hothouse and its patrons, the remarkable imagery he puts together could easily have been pulled from a scene in today’s world. The scene descriptions, such as the underground fighting and the ‘package delivery’ scene (again without giving too much away) are rich, and really paint a detailed picture in the reader’s head.
The story is fast-paced and progresses logically, with a couple of twists, and an exciting climax, then easily feeds into the next novella in the series. Definitely a page-turner, and very well edited for a self-published work. Absolutely worth the download, I’m looking forward to the next in the series!
February 2, 2012
As a fan of both sci-fi and mystery, I was both excited and suspect of how this would work. To my surprise, this mix of William Gibson and Raymond Chandler worked quite well.
As a novella, it did offer some depth, as well as a punchy thread of a story. I found the characters both believable and entertaining without the overbearing nature of a Dickens persona. The story was quite interesting, and this particular setting could yield a lifetime of short stories, or several full-length novels. I would love to see this universe developed more.
In fact, that was my only real complaint, is that it was over before I wanted it to be.
Great story, cool characters, and a nice, if unintentional thumb of the nose to the overbearing Ayn Rand crowd made this a real e-page turner.
I'll be looking for the next volume, hopefully sooner, rather than later.
Keep up the good work!
Support independent authors!
As a novella, it did offer some depth, as well as a punchy thread of a story. I found the characters both believable and entertaining without the overbearing nature of a Dickens persona. The story was quite interesting, and this particular setting could yield a lifetime of short stories, or several full-length novels. I would love to see this universe developed more.
In fact, that was my only real complaint, is that it was over before I wanted it to be.
Great story, cool characters, and a nice, if unintentional thumb of the nose to the overbearing Ayn Rand crowd made this a real e-page turner.
I'll be looking for the next volume, hopefully sooner, rather than later.
Keep up the good work!
Support independent authors!
September 23, 2012
Definitely an enjoyable read if you enjoy cyberpunk/noire stories.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews