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Artificial Heart
In a future where the United States is slowly rebuilding itself, Omega Travis Danten is a big city cop sent to a seemingly desolate city on the edge of the Waste. This desert is full of undesirables, and it’s only a matter of time before they wreak havoc. But, Omegas are always assigned Alphas, and his new partner’s job is to protect him. But SdAI Alpha Virgil is not at all amused with the partner who chose him. Travis is willful and naive to the dangers a homicide detective faces here, and it makes Virgil’s job that much harder. And Travis, of course, is human and develops feelings, feelings that go beyond the rules about Omega/Alpha partnerships. Travis and Virgil have to find common ground, find a killer, and find space for each other in their own hearts, even if one is artificial.
- GenresScience FictionDystopia
93 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 9, 2016
11 people want to read
About the author
T.A. Creech
24 books5 followersI am a house-parent to a rambunctious small child and happily mated to an equally rambunctious military spouse. My adventures in writing began with fanfiction, and once I was hooked I never looked back.
What I enjoy most about creating original work is the ability to delve into my stranger ideas without worrying about how I might apply them to someone else's world and characters. With my own creations, I take pride in twisting familiar tropes into something new and unexpected.
When I write, it is with the intention that my stories will leave a lasting impression. I hope you enjoy the characters and the worlds I create, and that they help you to find a place to exist, for a while, outside of your own.
--T.A. Creech
What I enjoy most about creating original work is the ability to delve into my stranger ideas without worrying about how I might apply them to someone else's world and characters. With my own creations, I take pride in twisting familiar tropes into something new and unexpected.
When I write, it is with the intention that my stories will leave a lasting impression. I hope you enjoy the characters and the worlds I create, and that they help you to find a place to exist, for a while, outside of your own.
--T.A. Creech
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 30, 2018
I am always on the look out for a great Science Fiction Romance and this one almost made it there.
The world building in this post virus America that turned people a bit into lycans traits (but not commonly shifters) and omega, alpha, beta is well built.
The two heroes are great and the serial killer mystery is okay.
However, just when we get into the relationship the book ends so while I get the lust and the liking I don't get the love and full connection. An AI hero was a treat though.
The world building in this post virus America that turned people a bit into lycans traits (but not commonly shifters) and omega, alpha, beta is well built.
The two heroes are great and the serial killer mystery is okay.
However, just when we get into the relationship the book ends so while I get the lust and the liking I don't get the love and full connection. An AI hero was a treat though.
January 24, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.5 stars
This was one story where the blurb didn’t do the book justice, even though it captured my attention. There is so much more going on in this short novella than the description implies. The author takes the standard A/B/O world and throws it into the future, but grounds it solidly in reality. Everything here could absolutely happen one day. So it at once felt familiar and foreign, and really held my attention all the way through.
World wars, viruses, and mass destruction have ended the world as we know it, but it has been built back up into a new order. Technology is far advanced, including humanoid synthetic AIs. I loved being dropped into this world, and the author does a fantastic job of creating a sense of place, as well as filling the reader in on everything we need to know. It’s done with a talented hand, never even getting close to the info dump line while still being fully fleshed out. I was engrossed in the story from word one.
Add to that two really engaging characters. Travis is an Omega, but he’s not a doormat or overly submissive. I liked the way he was portrayed. He was the perfect balance of self-assured and confident, while also exhibiting traits that made it clear he was an Omega. Virgil is an AI, albeit one who can think and basically feel on his own. Here Creech did a truly fantastic job, balancing Virgil’s experience and “humanness” with his artificial intelligence. He’s a robot, essentially, and at times he acts like one. But in every instance, his AI tendencies are tempered by his human ones, and vice versa. We have two really great MCs to tell the tale.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
4.5 stars
This was one story where the blurb didn’t do the book justice, even though it captured my attention. There is so much more going on in this short novella than the description implies. The author takes the standard A/B/O world and throws it into the future, but grounds it solidly in reality. Everything here could absolutely happen one day. So it at once felt familiar and foreign, and really held my attention all the way through.
World wars, viruses, and mass destruction have ended the world as we know it, but it has been built back up into a new order. Technology is far advanced, including humanoid synthetic AIs. I loved being dropped into this world, and the author does a fantastic job of creating a sense of place, as well as filling the reader in on everything we need to know. It’s done with a talented hand, never even getting close to the info dump line while still being fully fleshed out. I was engrossed in the story from word one.
Add to that two really engaging characters. Travis is an Omega, but he’s not a doormat or overly submissive. I liked the way he was portrayed. He was the perfect balance of self-assured and confident, while also exhibiting traits that made it clear he was an Omega. Virgil is an AI, albeit one who can think and basically feel on his own. Here Creech did a truly fantastic job, balancing Virgil’s experience and “humanness” with his artificial intelligence. He’s a robot, essentially, and at times he acts like one. But in every instance, his AI tendencies are tempered by his human ones, and vice versa. We have two really great MCs to tell the tale.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
February 9, 2017
What an interesting concept! The last world war was fought with chemicals, which changed everyone into lycans, without the shifting. So, citizens are classified by smell, Alpha, Omega, Beta. A few generations into this new world, the police started introducing AI Alphas. Apparently Omegas are better at deducting and police work, but needed an Alpha to ground them and provide back up. Here we are introduced to SdAI Alpha Virgil and Omega Travis, a recent transfer to Phoenix and his first time being around an AI. The world building is incredible. Loved AI Travis, what a fascinating character. Let's just say he's not your average AI and Travis is smart and earned his transfer by merit.
I'm not going to go into the story and ruin it for anyone. Let's just say I would gladly buy any additions to this world and learn more about these two going forward. Loved the book!!!
I'm not going to go into the story and ruin it for anyone. Let's just say I would gladly buy any additions to this world and learn more about these two going forward. Loved the book!!!
February 10, 2017
I love speculative fiction; it’s so fun. Now, it can go really wrong, but it can also be spectacularly right: thought-provoking, challenging, and emotional. T.A Creech’s Artificial Heart lands somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, primarily because it’s not ambitious enough in scope.
I was really excited about the blurb. The premise is intriguing, and I did love the world building we got. It’s a little sparse on the ground, but what’s there is tantalizing and compelling. Virgil is an awesome character and the science behind him feels fictionally believable. I was interested in him, the choices he’s allowed to make, even as an AI, and the implications those choices have for the society T.A. Creech is building.
The murder investigation element starts off pretty well. The crimes are heartbreaking and violent without being overly graphic, and the clues seem to be baffling, though the plot really is more about the characters and their reactions than the point-by-point of the investigation. It is an excellent start to a potentially engrossing story.
Unfortunately, the ending doesn’t deliver on that potential. There are a lot of threads to wind up in 93 pages, and the early book is paced as though it expects a lot more room to play out. T.A. Creech does avoid cramming resolutions out machine gun style at the end, which is good. The downside is when I hit page 93, nothing felt resolved. I absolutely felt like I was only half way, or even a third of the way through a much larger book.
There’s no real closure to the romance or the murder plots. Virgil and Travis’s relationship hasn’t even reached the point where it would be tested by outside forces. And while the setup is there for some riveting exploration into themes of human rights, bigotry, and the natures of sentience and humanity and love, none of those themes ever really pan out in the book. I hopefully checked the author’s website thinking this might be the start of a series, but it’s listed on the single books page. So for now, this short is all there is.
Ultimately, this is a cute—but narrowly focused—spec fic romance. If you want something sci-fi and easy, you’ll enjoy the book. It recounts the very infant stages of a relationship that should eventually challenge the way an entire society views its citizenry and its relationship with technology. The most compelling part of that story is going to be the challenging society bit, and, because that’s not part of this book, I walked away feeling disappointed. My hope is that, like other authors I know of, T.A. Creech finds time to revisit and expand this book at a later point. I would absolutely come back to Virgil and Travis’ story if and when it picks back up on page 94 and delivers on the promising start it made in its first half.
Reviewed by Cassie for The Novel Approach Reviews
I was really excited about the blurb. The premise is intriguing, and I did love the world building we got. It’s a little sparse on the ground, but what’s there is tantalizing and compelling. Virgil is an awesome character and the science behind him feels fictionally believable. I was interested in him, the choices he’s allowed to make, even as an AI, and the implications those choices have for the society T.A. Creech is building.
The murder investigation element starts off pretty well. The crimes are heartbreaking and violent without being overly graphic, and the clues seem to be baffling, though the plot really is more about the characters and their reactions than the point-by-point of the investigation. It is an excellent start to a potentially engrossing story.
Unfortunately, the ending doesn’t deliver on that potential. There are a lot of threads to wind up in 93 pages, and the early book is paced as though it expects a lot more room to play out. T.A. Creech does avoid cramming resolutions out machine gun style at the end, which is good. The downside is when I hit page 93, nothing felt resolved. I absolutely felt like I was only half way, or even a third of the way through a much larger book.
There’s no real closure to the romance or the murder plots. Virgil and Travis’s relationship hasn’t even reached the point where it would be tested by outside forces. And while the setup is there for some riveting exploration into themes of human rights, bigotry, and the natures of sentience and humanity and love, none of those themes ever really pan out in the book. I hopefully checked the author’s website thinking this might be the start of a series, but it’s listed on the single books page. So for now, this short is all there is.
Ultimately, this is a cute—but narrowly focused—spec fic romance. If you want something sci-fi and easy, you’ll enjoy the book. It recounts the very infant stages of a relationship that should eventually challenge the way an entire society views its citizenry and its relationship with technology. The most compelling part of that story is going to be the challenging society bit, and, because that’s not part of this book, I walked away feeling disappointed. My hope is that, like other authors I know of, T.A. Creech finds time to revisit and expand this book at a later point. I would absolutely come back to Virgil and Travis’ story if and when it picks back up on page 94 and delivers on the promising start it made in its first half.
Reviewed by Cassie for The Novel Approach Reviews
September 27, 2017
3.5 Stars. I enjoyed the book but the ending was rather abrupt with a lot of open threads. I would love to read more about Virgil and Travis. Several things bothered me so...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews