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How To 3D Print A God
A Print Job Never Goes Smooth
When the score of a lifetime falls in their lap, Deimos and his team accepts to sneak in a factory and 3D print the client's secret design. But will they succeed when a pack of well trained Amazons tries to stop them, when things don't quite go as planned and when the secret design turns out to be something very different?
Do you want to know what’s next for the foul-mouthed big baby Deimos? Do you wanna meet the Amazons? Find out on the thrilling sci-fi short story “How to 3D Print a God.”
What is the god complex universe?
The gods are back in town. Skyscrapers pop out of nowhere all over Athens. Corporations rename themselves as Greek gods. It all started with the Greek crisis of 2009 and will forever change the world as we know it.
Some say that CEO’s have gone mad. Others, that they know damn well what they are doing. That there is something solid amongst the myth. In the day of inter-connectivity and social media admiration, can the myths come back to life?
From ScifiSelect: "Inspired by Dan Simmons’ Ilium, this fast-paced world blossomed into dozens of intertwined stories spanning all subgenres, from mystery to action to young adult and is certain to keep you at the edge of your seat.
What happens when a corporation gets a god complex? Find out in our series of books on Kindle. Described as light cyberpunk, definitely sci-fi and with a fresh twist on Greek mythology.
Visit http://www.mythographystudios.com/the...
When the score of a lifetime falls in their lap, Deimos and his team accepts to sneak in a factory and 3D print the client's secret design. But will they succeed when a pack of well trained Amazons tries to stop them, when things don't quite go as planned and when the secret design turns out to be something very different?
Do you want to know what’s next for the foul-mouthed big baby Deimos? Do you wanna meet the Amazons? Find out on the thrilling sci-fi short story “How to 3D Print a God.”
What is the god complex universe?
The gods are back in town. Skyscrapers pop out of nowhere all over Athens. Corporations rename themselves as Greek gods. It all started with the Greek crisis of 2009 and will forever change the world as we know it.
Some say that CEO’s have gone mad. Others, that they know damn well what they are doing. That there is something solid amongst the myth. In the day of inter-connectivity and social media admiration, can the myths come back to life?
From ScifiSelect: "Inspired by Dan Simmons’ Ilium, this fast-paced world blossomed into dozens of intertwined stories spanning all subgenres, from mystery to action to young adult and is certain to keep you at the edge of your seat.
What happens when a corporation gets a god complex? Find out in our series of books on Kindle. Described as light cyberpunk, definitely sci-fi and with a fresh twist on Greek mythology.
Visit http://www.mythographystudios.com/the...
40 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
George Saoulidis
319 books596 followersGeorge Saoulidis writes sci-fi with a mythic twist—ancient Greek gods, cyberpunk futures, and the occasional romantic comedy. Based in Athens, he’s the creator of God Complex, Cyberpink, and dozens of quirky, unsettling stories. If it’s weird, witty, or a little icky, it’s probably his.
Join the Mythographers, download the free starting library and begin reading right now:
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Join the Mythographers, download the free starting library and begin reading right now:
https://www.mythographystudios.com/join
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 30, 2019
I'm guessing this tale is set in North America due to words like meter and closet. But many of the terms are Greek. A small team of modern mercenaries which includes the obligatory hacker kid, are about to break into an industrial plant, in search of a new 3-D printer, which prints in circuits to the metal it moulds. They have guns and expect to print something unknown and bring it out for a client. The security team have drones and Amazons. You don't really need to know anything else, except that I found this short adventure very well written, dramatic, fast-moving, cheeky and just YA enough for 16 years up. Some strong language.
Apparently this is just the start, so hang on to your hats if you decide to read more of the story. I downloaded an ARC from Instafreebie. This is an unbiased review.
Apparently this is just the start, so hang on to your hats if you decide to read more of the story. I downloaded an ARC from Instafreebie. This is an unbiased review.
Read
June 13, 2018This is the first story of Deimos. Deimos is a badass, but also a jerk. This is an action-heavy story that teases a lot of things to come, and that may disappoint some readers but it should be fine in the end. I came up with this as I thought of a war scene, where people needed to defend a machine as it finished some important process with a snail's pace. So yes, a printer. What's more annoying than that? But not any kind of printer...
July 15, 2017
Began as an interesting short story, but it seemed as though the author gave up and decided to end it quickly. Also 'alright' is one L, not two.
November 29, 2014
From jbgarner58.wordpress.com:
Literary treats come in all sizes and flavors. Sometimes, the most delightful sweetness can be in the smallest, bite-sized package. Even if such a small morsel isn’t very much to stave off the Starving Reviewer’s mighty apatite, he can at least appreciate the taste, the flavors, and the artistry involved in making such a small package so sweet. Of course, just as often, a small bite can lead me to regret my life choice to eat and critique literature for all time. That duality of outcome is what now must be decided for How to 3D Print a God, a short little twenty-page short story.
Before we start to dissect this little morsel, let us remind ourselves of the Starving Review creed:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre.
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
Producing a self-contained short story that also integrates into a larger series must be something of a challenge. For me, short stories are difficult to write in and of themselves. Forcing a self-contained topic, establish characters, and do necessary world-building is a stretch in a ten to thirty page story. So first off, I must give Mr. Saoulidis points for audacity, what he’s attempting isn’t a simple task. The problem ensues that audacity will only get you so far in the literary kitchen.
To be sure, there are some interesting concepts explored in How to. The world, what little we can see of it, seems interesting, mixing classic cyberpunk elements with Greek mythology. The baseline plot, at a macro level, is quite sound and does form a self-contained story with elements to connect into the next story in the series.
That’s unfortunately where the good tastes end. The biggest thing that makes this treat go sour is the poor writing style. Dialogue especially is mangled as most rules of how to write it are mangled and thrown in the trash. I can’t emphasize enough just how important having clear and proper dialogue is. Dialogue is a huge key to characterization, especially in a first person book. To even have any idea of what is going on with characters outside of the PoV character, we need to be able to see and understand their dialogue. I won’t (except I just did) mention the several sentences in ALL CAPS to represent yelling. If you use ‘I yelled’ as a dialogue tag, I don’t need my eyes blown by ALL CAPS.
It’s not just dialogue, but that is the worst offender. While the world is potentially intriguing, the limitations of those twenty pages slams down most attempts at world building. There’s no background, no idea why the world is in the state it is, no concept of the date, and only the inference that the characters are probably in Greece, though I can’t say that for certain. Between the horrid dialogue formatting and the lack of space, the characters are mostly cardboard cutouts. The only one given any bit of a twist isn’t even the main PoV character.
What this leads to is a total lack of investiture. I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters or their plight. It was just a short series of events and, boom, done. Don’t tell me that it’s impossible to add a dollop of relatability into such a small treat either. I’ve seen it done and I have taste that sweetness.
There’s one other area, one that I almost never cover. In fact, in fifteen of these reviews, I’ve never touched on it before but I feel as though I need to do so now. Price.
Most indie e-books run in the $2.99 to $3.99 range for a decent novel. Many of us starving authors wish we could charge a bit more for our babies, but that really isn’t to be for multiple business-like reasons I don’t wish to go into. I was a bit surprised then to find How to selling for $2.99. Twenty some odd pages compared to the hundreds of pages many other authors can provide for you.
Would I buy a little morsel like this for $2.99? Only if it was amazingly good, succulent, and fulfilling. This is not.
How to Print a 3D God is cyberpunk mixed with mythology with a fair amount of potential, but is hamstrung by a poor writing style, confusing dialogue grammar, weak characterization, and no relatable elements to hold on to. You’ll pop this bite into your mouth, chew it up, and likely forget about it entirely save for a tinge of a bitter aftertaste.
FINAL VERDICT: ** (A potentially interesting treat but it just winds up as dull and flavorless by the time you finish
Literary treats come in all sizes and flavors. Sometimes, the most delightful sweetness can be in the smallest, bite-sized package. Even if such a small morsel isn’t very much to stave off the Starving Reviewer’s mighty apatite, he can at least appreciate the taste, the flavors, and the artistry involved in making such a small package so sweet. Of course, just as often, a small bite can lead me to regret my life choice to eat and critique literature for all time. That duality of outcome is what now must be decided for How to 3D Print a God, a short little twenty-page short story.
Before we start to dissect this little morsel, let us remind ourselves of the Starving Review creed:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre.
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
Producing a self-contained short story that also integrates into a larger series must be something of a challenge. For me, short stories are difficult to write in and of themselves. Forcing a self-contained topic, establish characters, and do necessary world-building is a stretch in a ten to thirty page story. So first off, I must give Mr. Saoulidis points for audacity, what he’s attempting isn’t a simple task. The problem ensues that audacity will only get you so far in the literary kitchen.
To be sure, there are some interesting concepts explored in How to. The world, what little we can see of it, seems interesting, mixing classic cyberpunk elements with Greek mythology. The baseline plot, at a macro level, is quite sound and does form a self-contained story with elements to connect into the next story in the series.
That’s unfortunately where the good tastes end. The biggest thing that makes this treat go sour is the poor writing style. Dialogue especially is mangled as most rules of how to write it are mangled and thrown in the trash. I can’t emphasize enough just how important having clear and proper dialogue is. Dialogue is a huge key to characterization, especially in a first person book. To even have any idea of what is going on with characters outside of the PoV character, we need to be able to see and understand their dialogue. I won’t (except I just did) mention the several sentences in ALL CAPS to represent yelling. If you use ‘I yelled’ as a dialogue tag, I don’t need my eyes blown by ALL CAPS.
It’s not just dialogue, but that is the worst offender. While the world is potentially intriguing, the limitations of those twenty pages slams down most attempts at world building. There’s no background, no idea why the world is in the state it is, no concept of the date, and only the inference that the characters are probably in Greece, though I can’t say that for certain. Between the horrid dialogue formatting and the lack of space, the characters are mostly cardboard cutouts. The only one given any bit of a twist isn’t even the main PoV character.
What this leads to is a total lack of investiture. I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters or their plight. It was just a short series of events and, boom, done. Don’t tell me that it’s impossible to add a dollop of relatability into such a small treat either. I’ve seen it done and I have taste that sweetness.
There’s one other area, one that I almost never cover. In fact, in fifteen of these reviews, I’ve never touched on it before but I feel as though I need to do so now. Price.
Most indie e-books run in the $2.99 to $3.99 range for a decent novel. Many of us starving authors wish we could charge a bit more for our babies, but that really isn’t to be for multiple business-like reasons I don’t wish to go into. I was a bit surprised then to find How to selling for $2.99. Twenty some odd pages compared to the hundreds of pages many other authors can provide for you.
Would I buy a little morsel like this for $2.99? Only if it was amazingly good, succulent, and fulfilling. This is not.
How to Print a 3D God is cyberpunk mixed with mythology with a fair amount of potential, but is hamstrung by a poor writing style, confusing dialogue grammar, weak characterization, and no relatable elements to hold on to. You’ll pop this bite into your mouth, chew it up, and likely forget about it entirely save for a tinge of a bitter aftertaste.
FINAL VERDICT: ** (A potentially interesting treat but it just winds up as dull and flavorless by the time you finish
November 13, 2014
* The FULL, Uncensored Review can be read here: http://therevboard.com/2014/11/13/the... *
George Saoulidis’ “How to 3D Print a God” is a very short, first-person viewed 20 page read about a special operations and tactics team infiltrating a factory to, well, 3D print a God. Said God is for a high paying client in Mr. Thomas who recruits a motley crew led by the determined and impatient Deimos (the aforementioned first-person viewed narrator of the short story) who must fight off drones as well as sacrifice-happy Amazons in order to complete their objective.
As the book was short, so will my review.
I’ll start with the Pros:
-I give Creativity Points to Mr. Saoulidis for thinking up this concept. It is not every day that you can put guns into the hands of Amazons who are fierce warriors when it comes to spears and other sharp objects.
-The book has a “Call of Duty” and “Final Fantasy VII” feel to it. If you are familiar with those titles, then you know that those are great video game franchises.
And now, the Cons.
20 pages for a short story is knockoutable (yes, I made up that word) in under 30-45 minutes.
For me, however, it took about a week. The reason it took me a week was not only did I have to restart the book due to multiple distractions around me, the read was VERY HARD to get into from the start.
The story is basically a HORRIBLY WRITTEN fractured otherworld version of Greeks v. Amazons using high-tech weaponry, armor, retractable spears, and other nonsense that can be crammed into 20 pages and priced at $2.99.
The punctuation mark placement in MANY sentences are either misplaced or lacking, separation of paragraphs indicating dialogue for differing characters WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE, and italics when Deimos was thinking would have been GREAT.
Let’s cut to the chase.
Despite my best efforts to like the book, “How to 3D Print a God” is NOT a good book for me. The inconsistencies littered within the book felt like a rush job JUST TO SAY that George Saoulidis published something.
My advice: Leave It Alone.
At the same time, You All possess Free Will: do with it as you like, wish, crave, and desire. My opinion is my own: all I ask is that you take my words into advisement.
George Saoulidis’ “How to 3D Print a God” is a very short, first-person viewed 20 page read about a special operations and tactics team infiltrating a factory to, well, 3D print a God. Said God is for a high paying client in Mr. Thomas who recruits a motley crew led by the determined and impatient Deimos (the aforementioned first-person viewed narrator of the short story) who must fight off drones as well as sacrifice-happy Amazons in order to complete their objective.
As the book was short, so will my review.
I’ll start with the Pros:
-I give Creativity Points to Mr. Saoulidis for thinking up this concept. It is not every day that you can put guns into the hands of Amazons who are fierce warriors when it comes to spears and other sharp objects.
-The book has a “Call of Duty” and “Final Fantasy VII” feel to it. If you are familiar with those titles, then you know that those are great video game franchises.
And now, the Cons.
20 pages for a short story is knockoutable (yes, I made up that word) in under 30-45 minutes.
For me, however, it took about a week. The reason it took me a week was not only did I have to restart the book due to multiple distractions around me, the read was VERY HARD to get into from the start.
The story is basically a HORRIBLY WRITTEN fractured otherworld version of Greeks v. Amazons using high-tech weaponry, armor, retractable spears, and other nonsense that can be crammed into 20 pages and priced at $2.99.
The punctuation mark placement in MANY sentences are either misplaced or lacking, separation of paragraphs indicating dialogue for differing characters WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE, and italics when Deimos was thinking would have been GREAT.
Let’s cut to the chase.
Despite my best efforts to like the book, “How to 3D Print a God” is NOT a good book for me. The inconsistencies littered within the book felt like a rush job JUST TO SAY that George Saoulidis published something.
My advice: Leave It Alone.
At the same time, You All possess Free Will: do with it as you like, wish, crave, and desire. My opinion is my own: all I ask is that you take my words into advisement.
September 9, 2015
Deimos has a problem. He and his team have to get to the computer printer. But there are all these killers chasing their van, shooting it up and making it look like a cheese grater. Oh, and then there are the Amazons who are after them.
It's complicated.
In this short story by George Saoulidis, the good guys are really having a time of it. Their computer hacker has to run code and break through steel doors for them while the others try to complete the mission.
Which is to replicate a three-dimensional copy of a battle robot.
The fighting is fast and furious. Deimos and his fellow warriors gamely slug their way through the non-stop carnage, trying to complete the task set for them by their nameless client. Body parts litter the scene of the firefight, which ensues unabated while the printer builds their bot from the feet up.
I can't relate any more of the story without giving away the final scenes, which leave the reader hanging a bit. Perhaps this is a series, or a serial.
In any event, the writing is freeform, and the overall effect is that we are playing a bloody video game in which the objective is to build this 3-D being from scratch. It's a race against time and the bad guys (and girls, if you count the Amazons) are in a deadly race to complete it.
Not much in the way of character development here. It's all action. And while the idea of a three-dimensional computer printer being able to replicate a heavily armored battle droid is fairly unique, the story is a bit jerky and filled with typos and bad punctuation. In places, it reads like something you'd receive in a phone text.
In short, the story does not live up to the title. I give it three generous stars, and encourage the writer to try again, perhaps giving us time to get to know and care about the characters with some backstory and anticipation leading up to the actual battle scenes, which do have some merit.
It's complicated.
In this short story by George Saoulidis, the good guys are really having a time of it. Their computer hacker has to run code and break through steel doors for them while the others try to complete the mission.
Which is to replicate a three-dimensional copy of a battle robot.
The fighting is fast and furious. Deimos and his fellow warriors gamely slug their way through the non-stop carnage, trying to complete the task set for them by their nameless client. Body parts litter the scene of the firefight, which ensues unabated while the printer builds their bot from the feet up.
I can't relate any more of the story without giving away the final scenes, which leave the reader hanging a bit. Perhaps this is a series, or a serial.
In any event, the writing is freeform, and the overall effect is that we are playing a bloody video game in which the objective is to build this 3-D being from scratch. It's a race against time and the bad guys (and girls, if you count the Amazons) are in a deadly race to complete it.
Not much in the way of character development here. It's all action. And while the idea of a three-dimensional computer printer being able to replicate a heavily armored battle droid is fairly unique, the story is a bit jerky and filled with typos and bad punctuation. In places, it reads like something you'd receive in a phone text.
In short, the story does not live up to the title. I give it three generous stars, and encourage the writer to try again, perhaps giving us time to get to know and care about the characters with some backstory and anticipation leading up to the actual battle scenes, which do have some merit.
December 21, 2014
How to 3D a God is a bad effort of an otherwise creative plot. Plot and characterization needs further development. Overall, it was a bad read because the author failed at professionalism, i.e., punctuation, formatting. I rate this book a two-star read.
September 6, 2016
Fun! I want to read more of the God Complex Universe. What did the 3D printer really print? But even more important- can it print real baklava?
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews