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Children of Steel #1
Children of Steel
Raj is just your average everyday genetically modeled and artificially created anthropomorphic worker for one of the many corporations of the future. Extensively trained and conditioned from birth he's now indentured for the next fifty years of his life; assuming he doesn't die first, or somehow manage to pay off his creation and training debts.
Created by the corporations to deal with the harsh labor shortages of the twenty second century when humans will no longer take on the dangerous jobs Raj finds himself now in the harsh world of space exploration, trading, corporate maneuverings, and sometimes the even more dangerous fanatics that hate Raj and his fellows. No longer in safe confines of the training academies he must learn how to live and deal with both his fellow workers and the humans he encounters and not get saddled with extra bills or fines because he's screwed up or worse yet, get 'put down' because he's lost his temper one time too many.
After all, it's not like he's human...
(504 pages)
** On sale for 99 cents for the month of June**
Created by the corporations to deal with the harsh labor shortages of the twenty second century when humans will no longer take on the dangerous jobs Raj finds himself now in the harsh world of space exploration, trading, corporate maneuverings, and sometimes the even more dangerous fanatics that hate Raj and his fellows. No longer in safe confines of the training academies he must learn how to live and deal with both his fellow workers and the humans he encounters and not get saddled with extra bills or fines because he's screwed up or worse yet, get 'put down' because he's lost his temper one time too many.
After all, it's not like he's human...
(504 pages)
** On sale for 99 cents for the month of June**
- GenresScience Fiction
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 22, 2011
42 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
John Van Stry
49 books364 followersI've had a very varied life. I grew up in New York, on Long Island.
I went to school to become an Engineer, then joined the Air Force.
After that I worked first in Robotics, then in Aerospace as a Flight Test Engineer. I moved into the medical fields, then into more Technical markets working for a number of high tech companies where I became a Contractor.
I used to own and raise big cats. I love motorcycles and old cars. I'm a pilot and former martial arts instructor. I'm a fan of the Reno Air Races.
Then there's the stuff I'm not supposed to talk about, but that's another story.
I've seen a lot of interesting stuff go by, met a lot of interesting, wonderful, strange, or sometimes just psychotic people. I've had the opportunity to work on some truly game changing technologies. And while I've had some very bad things happen to me in my life, I've never let it stop me.
Keep smiling.
-John
I went to school to become an Engineer, then joined the Air Force.
After that I worked first in Robotics, then in Aerospace as a Flight Test Engineer. I moved into the medical fields, then into more Technical markets working for a number of high tech companies where I became a Contractor.
I used to own and raise big cats. I love motorcycles and old cars. I'm a pilot and former martial arts instructor. I'm a fan of the Reno Air Races.
Then there's the stuff I'm not supposed to talk about, but that's another story.
I've seen a lot of interesting stuff go by, met a lot of interesting, wonderful, strange, or sometimes just psychotic people. I've had the opportunity to work on some truly game changing technologies. And while I've had some very bad things happen to me in my life, I've never let it stop me.
Keep smiling.
-John
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 30, 2012
Raj is a genetically engineered leopard-man created to work for large corporations and do their dirty work, the kind of stuff that humans typically don't want to do. He works on a ship in space, trying to pay of his 'debts' of creation. Yep, you heard me. At the time of their graduation from an extensive training program (typically at 15 years), the engineered "animen" are charged with the cost of their creation, upbringing, education, training, and pretty much anything else that the humans can think of.
This story is told through Raj, who I absolutely loved. The author did such a great job creating his characters. He was able to put so much depth and feeling into each of them that you felt like you really knew them. Raj is the kind of guy you definitely want on your side and definitely do not want to piss off. He was a really good guy, friendly, playful, loyal, and caring, but also had a very bad temper that he was trying to fight throughout the whole book, on top of the fact that he was in the large cat family, who are typically not known for their peaceful nature. I thought the author did an excellent job of bringing these two sides of Raj together and balancing them effectively so that we got to distinctly see each side of his personality.
I loved that this story was told through a male point of view (Raj's), as you don't really see this too often, and the story was told really well. The writing was smooth and easy to read, and the conversations flowed well.
The descriptiveness and world building of the book was amazing. The author did such a great job of describing each of the planets that Raj visited in amazing detail, from their people, to the climate, to the rules governing each planet; it was as if each of these places were real. The technical descriptions of the ship and day to day operations were done equally well.
About halfway through the story, I was really curious as to what Raj looked like, so I got on Google and found a picture that could be similar to him, although I believe Raj is supposed to be black and I couldn't find any pictures of black leopard men. (By the way, I don't suggest you Google 'leopard man;' some of the pictures that come up are a bit…disturbing!)
Long story short, I loved this book and the author's writing style, so thank you to John Van Stry for offering me your book!
On a final note, and I debated on whether or not to bring this up in my review but decided that it was warranted, the book does need some editing for grammatical issues (apostrophes, commas, etc.). While it wasn't enough to really detract from the story, it did recur enough that I felt it should be mentioned.
This story is told through Raj, who I absolutely loved. The author did such a great job creating his characters. He was able to put so much depth and feeling into each of them that you felt like you really knew them. Raj is the kind of guy you definitely want on your side and definitely do not want to piss off. He was a really good guy, friendly, playful, loyal, and caring, but also had a very bad temper that he was trying to fight throughout the whole book, on top of the fact that he was in the large cat family, who are typically not known for their peaceful nature. I thought the author did an excellent job of bringing these two sides of Raj together and balancing them effectively so that we got to distinctly see each side of his personality.
I loved that this story was told through a male point of view (Raj's), as you don't really see this too often, and the story was told really well. The writing was smooth and easy to read, and the conversations flowed well.
The descriptiveness and world building of the book was amazing. The author did such a great job of describing each of the planets that Raj visited in amazing detail, from their people, to the climate, to the rules governing each planet; it was as if each of these places were real. The technical descriptions of the ship and day to day operations were done equally well.
About halfway through the story, I was really curious as to what Raj looked like, so I got on Google and found a picture that could be similar to him, although I believe Raj is supposed to be black and I couldn't find any pictures of black leopard men. (By the way, I don't suggest you Google 'leopard man;' some of the pictures that come up are a bit…disturbing!)
Long story short, I loved this book and the author's writing style, so thank you to John Van Stry for offering me your book!
On a final note, and I debated on whether or not to bring this up in my review but decided that it was warranted, the book does need some editing for grammatical issues (apostrophes, commas, etc.). While it wasn't enough to really detract from the story, it did recur enough that I felt it should be mentioned.
February 25, 2022
This is a nice story, good characters, interesting plot and great pacing. This is more of a slice-of-life type of story telling us the life and experience of Raj an humanoid black leopard created by the corporations to serve as workforce till he can pay back to the company his creation (and all extras) cost. The story only picks up a little at the 60% part where we go from everyday life in an intergalactic vessel to an all out war. Either way the author does a great work with this.
August 11, 2017
I obtained this book through the Kindle Unlimited program.
Raj is an enhanced leopard. His conception, gestation, birth, nurturing, and education have all been paid for by the Tri Star Corporation, and they expect him to pay them back; it's a rather extreme form of indentured service.
As an 'animan,' he has no civil rights on most planets, and on some, he and his fellows are regarded as property and subject to summary execution for the most trivial reasons. Other locations are more progressive, but regardless of locale, Raj owes a near-lifetime of service to the Company. This really isn't a problem for him, since he prefers combat above all things. However, he HAS to keep his temper in check, because they will execute him if he looks like he will be a discipline problem.
Initially, his quest is to find his creche-mate Cassandra, and form a pair bond with her. Later, he settles for killing people.
I identify two Brilliances in the book:
1. I think it's brilliant that van Stry doesn't waste our time with physiological descriptions of the characters who are derived from animal stock! It's brilliant, because it gets our imagination working in a way that wouldn't happen if we were provided with body schematics. Instead, we are told that this clan is leopard; these are tigers, and therefore bigger and a bit slower; weasels are sneaky. Maybe, listen to Paul Simon's 'At the Zoo' a few times.
2. I also think it's brilliant the way van Stry handles the discrimination against animen by certain factions in the human population. He NEVER makes you think that he's trying for a heavy-handed 'Animal Farm' allegory; but if you can't see racism exposed in his work, you aren't paying attention. It's not just the open "I'll kill you, you animal loving SOB" attitude of the fanatics; it's found, for example, in the behavior of the human girls who seek out a sexual relationship with animen in order to piss off their fathers. Even then, it handled softly, softly. Raj questions one of the girls about her choices, but stops just short of being offended. As a reader, though, it might get you offended for him. I dunno; I'm a redneck biker married to a strong black woman, and she would kick my butt if she thought the only reason I was attracted to her was because of the color of her skin.
Evidently animen regard sexual activity as a privilege frequently extended to friends. This may, perhaps, be programmed into them, or it may be a function of the birth control implants the females receive. Those are mentioned in a relevant scene, but we really don't get a lot of info about what goes into the sociology of animen.
The book needs a run-through with someone who is an expert in the use of commas, periods, and apostrophes. I found the errors frequent enough that I kept grimacing when I hit them; that takes me out of the story a bit, and it lost a star for that reason.
Raj is an enhanced leopard. His conception, gestation, birth, nurturing, and education have all been paid for by the Tri Star Corporation, and they expect him to pay them back; it's a rather extreme form of indentured service.
As an 'animan,' he has no civil rights on most planets, and on some, he and his fellows are regarded as property and subject to summary execution for the most trivial reasons. Other locations are more progressive, but regardless of locale, Raj owes a near-lifetime of service to the Company. This really isn't a problem for him, since he prefers combat above all things. However, he HAS to keep his temper in check, because they will execute him if he looks like he will be a discipline problem.
Initially, his quest is to find his creche-mate Cassandra, and form a pair bond with her. Later, he settles for killing people.
I identify two Brilliances in the book:
1. I think it's brilliant that van Stry doesn't waste our time with physiological descriptions of the characters who are derived from animal stock! It's brilliant, because it gets our imagination working in a way that wouldn't happen if we were provided with body schematics. Instead, we are told that this clan is leopard; these are tigers, and therefore bigger and a bit slower; weasels are sneaky. Maybe, listen to Paul Simon's 'At the Zoo' a few times.
2. I also think it's brilliant the way van Stry handles the discrimination against animen by certain factions in the human population. He NEVER makes you think that he's trying for a heavy-handed 'Animal Farm' allegory; but if you can't see racism exposed in his work, you aren't paying attention. It's not just the open "I'll kill you, you animal loving SOB" attitude of the fanatics; it's found, for example, in the behavior of the human girls who seek out a sexual relationship with animen in order to piss off their fathers. Even then, it handled softly, softly. Raj questions one of the girls about her choices, but stops just short of being offended. As a reader, though, it might get you offended for him. I dunno; I'm a redneck biker married to a strong black woman, and she would kick my butt if she thought the only reason I was attracted to her was because of the color of her skin.
Evidently animen regard sexual activity as a privilege frequently extended to friends. This may, perhaps, be programmed into them, or it may be a function of the birth control implants the females receive. Those are mentioned in a relevant scene, but we really don't get a lot of info about what goes into the sociology of animen.
The book needs a run-through with someone who is an expert in the use of commas, periods, and apostrophes. I found the errors frequent enough that I kept grimacing when I hit them; that takes me out of the story a bit, and it lost a star for that reason.
September 15, 2022
Very Good, Could easily give it one more star
Military Sci-fi / Mild dystopian with Fade to Black sex.
This is really two books, the first half and the second half. They are both very good with the same main character, but they are very different in tone. I like them both, and there is a good literary reason for the style change.
This book is like a mash-up of Starship Troopers and Bladerunner. We see the world through the eyes of Raj who is basically a Combat model replicant. In this world they solve the 'pass yourself off as human' problem by mixing all the replicants with Animal genes making people who are like permanently furry werewolves. Also- the corporation claims that over 50% of the genome is animal, so no pesky human rights. These Characters would be covered by animal rights. Oh, and our dude is a cat (because this book was written by John Van Stry) a Leopard to be exact. There are the adventures of bad ass kitty man, 6 years before Star Justice.
The first half is slice of life and it sets out the 'rules' and flavor of this world. We get to know our guy and I do like that slower pacing that lets a story breathe and grow naturally. The second half is Military action adventure and the pace is wildly accelerated. Days and weeks go by per page and the story jumps from one engagement to the next as this story explodes.
With all this action and a fair bit of sex the author still finds the time to do some very quality world building, and gives his people a very rich inviting universe to inhabit. I call this mild dystopia because there are some pretty rough things happening out there, but our guy has it pretty good for a nonhuman in this universe. Still you get glimpses of the bleak reality that others of his kind live with. it's all very well done, and Van Stry uses a light touch.
This book hooked me on page one, that's not a figure of speech here.
Military Sci-fi / Mild dystopian with Fade to Black sex.
This is really two books, the first half and the second half. They are both very good with the same main character, but they are very different in tone. I like them both, and there is a good literary reason for the style change.
This book is like a mash-up of Starship Troopers and Bladerunner. We see the world through the eyes of Raj who is basically a Combat model replicant. In this world they solve the 'pass yourself off as human' problem by mixing all the replicants with Animal genes making people who are like permanently furry werewolves. Also- the corporation claims that over 50% of the genome is animal, so no pesky human rights. These Characters would be covered by animal rights. Oh, and our dude is a cat (because this book was written by John Van Stry) a Leopard to be exact. There are the adventures of bad ass kitty man, 6 years before Star Justice.
The first half is slice of life and it sets out the 'rules' and flavor of this world. We get to know our guy and I do like that slower pacing that lets a story breathe and grow naturally. The second half is Military action adventure and the pace is wildly accelerated. Days and weeks go by per page and the story jumps from one engagement to the next as this story explodes.
With all this action and a fair bit of sex the author still finds the time to do some very quality world building, and gives his people a very rich inviting universe to inhabit. I call this mild dystopia because there are some pretty rough things happening out there, but our guy has it pretty good for a nonhuman in this universe. Still you get glimpses of the bleak reality that others of his kind live with. it's all very well done, and Van Stry uses a light touch.
This book hooked me on page one, that's not a figure of speech here.
November 22, 2018
This is the 3rd series I've read from this author and he continues to create new and interesting universes to delve into. Things that happened in this universe can be directly connected to past and current events concerning how we humans treat each other.
February 12, 2019
Hard to put down once started. A good sciFi/Space Military book with a genetically modified human/animal mixes. Much better than I expected. Strong, interesting characters. Some editing problems but not too bad.
April 8, 2012
Won a copy through Goodreads' First Reads program.
Sci-fi at it’s best. Great action, characters and plot.
Sci-fi at it’s best. Great action, characters and plot.
January 23, 2019
read through this and despite not seeing how the title matched the story I thought it was pretty decent (i'm sure its just me missing something) i'll get on to read the next one in a moment :)
June 16, 2019
For the most part, good. Heavy on the slice of life for the first two thirds. After that, meh. I'll read some more, but not real soon.
October 18, 2024
Delightful story
Great story characters who grow are sadly rare.
Good plot with interesting world building.
Delightful characters who pull at your heart and still feel real. Truly infrequently found, a real treasure!!
Great story characters who grow are sadly rare.
Good plot with interesting world building.
Delightful characters who pull at your heart and still feel real. Truly infrequently found, a real treasure!!
April 2, 2012
PAGE 26 "dosed off" not "dozed off" error. So far, great readimg as unique premise. Cool book for a cat lover.
PAGE 56 has reference to Hobson's planet growing. This is an imaginative book and reading has speeded up.
PAGE 56 has reference to Hobson's planet growing. This is an imaginative book and reading has speeded up.
Read
February 23, 2019Consider a stark background in military, love of anthropomorphism, and combine it with the terribly distinct possibility of uplift and you got Children of Steel.
What makes this especially good is the characters. Rahj is a gene-engeineered leopard, forced to pay back his 'creation'. An infuriating concept in itself as he never asked to be an 'animan'. But take into account the /reasons/ and you receive a level of concern. Will he survive? Will he pay the corporation back with his indentured servitude? Nothing is absolute here when your only a second class citizen.
Like most futuristic worlds, humanity has grown very lazy; refusing to carry out menial jobs and now even the military. So the need for a slave race; that's what we receive with this. But instead of being based solely on that, John has conveyed a world of hope to us. The characters don't brood on the fact what they are, instead they push ahead with life, fighting for that precious gift and maintaining such an upbeat attitude too.
John has done some impressive world-building as well. The fundamental concept that they are created as a slave race, sounds very plausible. He also resolved a few questions I struggled to resolve in my own uplift universe.
Although yes, it's 'furry' that doesn't mean it's funny animal. Or any of the other negative connotations which have been heaped on the fandom in recent decades. One thing I'm seeing more and more is that there is some serious writers, artists and musicians in the fandom. Rivaling or surpassing the masters and I've appreciated the greats; Asimov, Peter Paul Reubens, and Beethoven. It seems likewise that the difference between the fandoms' creative people, and the professionals are like the difference shown in college sports vs professional. College athletes arn't paid, and they play for they naturally want to be the best. Pros on the other hand play like "It doesn't matter how well I play, I'll nevertheless get my $20 million this year."
For all one knows it's accurate. You can't judge a book by it's cover, so would I follow his other works? Very much so. Would I unanimously recommend to others? Definitely!
What makes this especially good is the characters. Rahj is a gene-engeineered leopard, forced to pay back his 'creation'. An infuriating concept in itself as he never asked to be an 'animan'. But take into account the /reasons/ and you receive a level of concern. Will he survive? Will he pay the corporation back with his indentured servitude? Nothing is absolute here when your only a second class citizen.
Like most futuristic worlds, humanity has grown very lazy; refusing to carry out menial jobs and now even the military. So the need for a slave race; that's what we receive with this. But instead of being based solely on that, John has conveyed a world of hope to us. The characters don't brood on the fact what they are, instead they push ahead with life, fighting for that precious gift and maintaining such an upbeat attitude too.
John has done some impressive world-building as well. The fundamental concept that they are created as a slave race, sounds very plausible. He also resolved a few questions I struggled to resolve in my own uplift universe.
Although yes, it's 'furry' that doesn't mean it's funny animal. Or any of the other negative connotations which have been heaped on the fandom in recent decades. One thing I'm seeing more and more is that there is some serious writers, artists and musicians in the fandom. Rivaling or surpassing the masters and I've appreciated the greats; Asimov, Peter Paul Reubens, and Beethoven. It seems likewise that the difference between the fandoms' creative people, and the professionals are like the difference shown in college sports vs professional. College athletes arn't paid, and they play for they naturally want to be the best. Pros on the other hand play like "It doesn't matter how well I play, I'll nevertheless get my $20 million this year."
For all one knows it's accurate. You can't judge a book by it's cover, so would I follow his other works? Very much so. Would I unanimously recommend to others? Definitely!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews