Android: Golem

Identity #1

by Mel Odom

When a talented New Angeles Detective wakes up in bed with a woman whose name he can't recall, this seemingly harmless mystery indicates a much larger problem. After all, as one of the few bioroids in the New Angeles Police Department, Drake 3GI2RC isn't accustomed to forgetting... or even sleeping. But his personal issues are forced to wait when he and his human partner Shelley Nolan are assigned a high-profile murder investigation - one that will change his world! The wealthy CEO of IdentiKit, a successful android manufacturer, has been found dead in his hotel room. Now, what begins as just another murder in downtown New Angeles quickly escalates into a tangled web of intrigue, love, and betrayal, as Drake and his partner work to solve this brutal crime before the killer strikes again. Drake's investigation will lead him through the darkest corners of a conspiracy that reaches up the Beanstalk and out to the bustling industry of Mars... then right back to the woman of his dreams. Set in the dystopian future of the Android universe, Golem tells a story of murder, manipulation, and mystery in a world where humanity and technology collide.

Genres: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

aka Jordan Gray

Mel Odom is a bestselling writer for hire for Wizards of the Coast's Forgotten Realms, Gold Eagle's Mack Bolan, and Pocket's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel book lines. His debut SF novel Lethal Interface made the Locus recommended list . The Rover was an Alyx Award winner. He has also written a scientific adventure of the high seas set in the 19th century entitled Hunters of the Dark Sea. He lives in Oklahoma.

Reviews

[Efride · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, the best of this novel is its first person narration. I loved the characterisation of Drake and Shelly above all, and the fact that there are a number of women holding power in this book.
The setting is also interesting - even though I can't picture the vehicles (hoppers) not being somewhat ridiculous...
However, the plot is a bit weak. I think there are too many secondary characters and the relationships between them are revealed in a quite rushed way in the last pages of the book. I felt that in the end all these complicated conspiracies mattered little to me, compared to Drake's character evolution.

[Taddow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book- it reminded me a little like Blade Runner with the setting and mix of human vs. robot theme. The author does a great job of mixing several plots and seeing how they relate to each other. I am excited to read the next installment.

[Dylan McNamee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting twist on crime noir: the protagonist, Drake, is a bioroid, which is essentially a mostly-robotic cyborg but with aspects of a human's brain. The author decided to portray the perspective of a bioroid not too differently from the autistic protagonist in "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime". It was a quick read, and the book is well-written. There's nothing deep here, just an enjoyable immersive yarn.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this novel as apart of getting to know Fantasy Flight Games' Android (cyberpunk - Shadowrun'esque) setting that we will use for an RPG game. I picked up this trilogy because the setup reminded me somewhat of the inverse of Asimov's robot trilogy.

I really enjoyed the book, although it is written in first-person which I normally do not like, but I really liked it here. The author does a great job of keeping you inside the character and experiencing the world through his perspective. The mystery unfolds well and it also keeps you wondering. The book gives you some exposure to the setting from a very specific context - NAPD Detective. There is a lot here about Bioroids (artificially intelligent androids that follow the 3 laws), so if you are looking for a novel to learn about and experience them, this is a great place to start.

[Charles Lupo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fast paced introduction to the world of Android. A noir story, with a robot cop for a protagonist and a couple layers of mystery. It was mostly told from the hero's perspective so I'm sure there is far more going on in this universe than we are privy to in book 1. I liked it well enough to start up book 2 straight away.

[Ryan Somma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the books is the amazing story from the perspective of an android solving crimes, but the story kind of falls apart at the end when it tries to tie everything together. This might work out over the course of the trilogy.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book. Nothing really new or ground breaking but a fun dive into the Android universe. Will read the next book and possibly the third.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable detective story.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would love to be able to tell everyone reading this that Android: Golem is a magnificent and incisive work of genius that is required reading in the cyberpunk – nay, in the SF! – canon. If I did tell you that, I’d be a huge liar: what I can truthfully tell you is that this is an enjoyable (and fairly undemanding) novel set in Fantasy Flight Games’ Android universe. If you enjoyed the board game, Android (or its cousins, Android: Inflitration and Android: Netrunner) and want to explore its world in more depth, you will probably enjoy this book. If you haven’t played any of the games I just mentioned, it probably won’t set your world on fire.

If you did enjoy Android, it’s worth noting that there is a form at the back of this novel which one can fill in and return for a card that brings aspects of the plot of the book to the board game. This promotional offer is only available to those who purchase the paperback.

Onto the plot, then. It’s a crime procedural with cyberpunk elements: Detective Drake is the bioroid protagonist and Detective Shelly is the only human in the NAPD willing to partner with him. Together they investigate a crime, but bad things happen and Shelly is killed – Drake pursues the investigation and attempts to find out who her murderers are and what they are involved in. It’s not a particularly deep or taxing novel, but it ticked along at a fair pace and I found myself wanting to read more to the point where I read it fairly quickly. Being the first in a trilogy, this novel ends on a cliffhanger which is presumably addressed in the second novel, released a year later (and not containing a promotional card offer).

All in all, if you liked the board game and feel like reading something simple, this is not a bad choice. Just don’t expect to be blown away.

[Colin Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second novel I read set in the Android universe. The first was a disappointment, even for 'branded' fiction, so I was skeptical going into this one. Golem, though, definitely stood on its own as a solid SF mystery.

What made this such a good read was Odom's mastery of the internal logic of a robot protagonist. Drake is a great detective and an interesting character despite being free from human emotion. To enable character development when the main character has no emotions is a tough task, but Odom really pulled it off. Drake can't like or love anybody, but can he get attached just from familiarity? Is that so different to liking someone emotionally? Interesting stuff to consider.

As the mystery deepens the hijinks get more and more manic and action-packed, to the point where I thought the finale (for the novel - not the story) was a slight disappointment in being overblown. Overall, though, the action was written brilliantly. Scenes of cops-chasing-robbers were genuinely exciting. Odom has a knack for writing good action.

I'll move on to the second book without delay.

[Tobin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hesitated on this one. I read Freefall first as it was the highest rated of the Android novels. I had a problem though - I love the universe. I play all three games and love the richness of the theme and crossover characters. So, eventually, I picked this up.

While it wasn't high literature and plot-driven with some pretty thin characters the lead, Drake, was compelling. I like police procedurals, I love them. A lot. So Drake, as a cop, investigating various cases in a universe I already liked had an easy time getting me to like him. He's also a bit of a smart ass, although doesn't realize it due to his programming - which makes it even funnier.

This was one of three and so has an larger story which is good enough to keep reading. Although my favorite parts were when he took on the smaller cases.

Recommended for sci-fi and Android Universe fans.

I gave it 7.5/10 on my personal scale.

-tpl

[Krzysztof · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been a good read, though I think I preferred Free Fall - despite it being a much simpler story. Golem has an interesting premise, but it suffers from being part one of a trilogy (which may or may not ever see completion) - parts of it are drawn out instead of being dealt with quickly. The idea behind the book's action is fine, and it is well executed. The final combat scene seemed a bit too over-the-top, given the rest of the book. Also, Golem doesn't have the same "this is based on a board game" feel as Free Fall, which doesn't have to be a bad thing, but I just thought I'd mention it - this could easily be an independent cyberpunk book if not for the setting, making it an Android tie-in. Still, I can recommend this to any cyberpunk fans, and I hope we get to see part 2.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. It's most effective when it's a police procedural, especially in its cyberpunk setting, which is why I turned to it (I have no previous experience of Android Netrunner). It's also very good at conveying the thoughts of an artificial intelligence - the story is told in the first person by a bioroid (or android). At times it was like Data had become a homicide detective, which was actually quite good! Unfortunately, the book slipped a little bit in its action sequences, which I generally found unconvincing and slightly dull. The description of computer worms and viruses fighting in spiralling lines of code were also a bit irritating! But all said, I will probably check out the others in the series.

[Gary Bingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess I wanted to love this book. I am a big fan of the card game and downloaded the snook to my kindle full of expectation.

The first chapter was awkward and full of references to the background that made me wince. I was disappointed but keep with and boy was I glad. I warmed for the android protagonist who earned my sympathy and in the end was as believable a character as a robot could be.

Not perfect by any means I did download the second book in the series immediately on completion.

[Cameron Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focusing on the bio-roid part of the Android universe, this series takes one of the five aspects of the Android board game and delves into the concept of a "droid" with a soul. Unlike the character Floyd in the game, there are no issues of faith, which I would have liked to see explored a little bit more than the game allows, but it still is intriguing to have a noir styled story that has both a main plot and a McGuffin element of searching for self-identity.

[Owen]

This book is working on setting up a trilogy, with a grand conspiracy and deep questions about the nature of identity, but it's better when it's looking at those things out of the corner of its eye. I learn more about Drake's identity, and enjoy watching him work more, when he's doing his job and dealing with people. When the book does get into conspiracy mode, or have Drake talk to us directly about identity, it's much less deft in its work.

[E J · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's ok. Don't really feel compelled to read more of the trilogy though. Odom's style is very dry and, for want of a better word, efficient. But that may be because the story is told from the viewpoint of an android, and who lacks emotion. He speaks like he's an autist. So what? Autists are boring. Also, the book kind of just ends and so it feels more like a teaser rather than the end of book 1 of a trilogy.

Good world building, but I prefer Shadowrun.

[Jason Panella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully pulpy, and thankfully doesn't stray too far into "too pulpy" territory. Goes to some pretty dark places for game-related fiction. Odom has a nice touch with fleshing out minor characters, and also keeps an appropriate amount of humor under the surface.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely told syfy adventure that has all the elements of a stylish noir mystery within syfy trappings. I enjoyed this book but seeing that this is only book one is disappointing to me. Will there be or is there a book two? I hope so because I rather want to know how this tale works out.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the dead tree version. Although the "crime novel told by an android" thing was interesting at first, by the end I was wishing for a narrator with a little more emotion and humor. Still, it was a fun read and I really like the classic cyberpunk feel of the Android universe.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! It's not great writing by any means but a thoroughly engaging read all the same.

Coming from the "Android" universe, and having just read "Neuromancer", I was expecting more Noir. It's more sci-fi than Noir / crime, but I enjoyed the boiroid pov.

[Jordan Steinhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good take on the Android universe.

A step beyond standard license fic with an engaging character as the author explores the Bioroid side of the Android universe.

Has a bit of a Noire feeling to it and is a good detective story.

Looking forward to the second book.

[Zap Riecken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hits all the sci-fi geeky needs I have. Additionally, it is based on a board game set in the same world. I don't know if it can get any more geeky for me. Good book and I have the second in the series on my night stand.

[Rob Olsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the tie in to the boardgame Android. Good characters and an interesting setting. Much more enjoyable to me than the previous Android novel, Free Fall.

[Staticblaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprising good for a tie-in novel.

[Kristýna Obrdlíková · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knížka psaná z pohledu bioroida a navíc v mém oblíbeném univerzu. Jedna z prvních anglických beletrií, co jsem kdy přečetla a moc se mi líbila. Naštěstí už doma přistál druhý svazek trilogie...

[Alan Castree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars because it's in the "Android" universe which is something I'm kinda into at the moment. Otherwise, the huge chunks of exposition shoveled on to the last few chapters mad me groan a bit.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great bit of cyber punk made better as I play the LCG so its fun to see concepts from the book in the card game and vise versa

[Quinn Barbuta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read up until the last chapter. The first-person perspective of an adroid was very interesting and refreshing. The plot twist was... not. I won't be reading the rest of this trilogy.

[Ryan Pittell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many cliches