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Zero Sum Game
(Cas Russell #1)
by
A blockbuster, near-future science fiction thriller, S.L. Huang's Zero Sum Game introduces a math-genius mercenary who finds herself being manipulated by someone possessing unimaginable power.....
Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good. The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight, and she ...more
Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good. The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight, and she ...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
October 2nd 2018
by Tor Books
(first published January 1st 2014)
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3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/11/13/...
Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang was a fast-paced and entertaining page-turner that put me in mind of a sci-fi blockbuster thriller. The story’s protagonist, a self-described retrieval specialist named Cas Russell, is a quick-witted and legitimate badass who is scarily good at what she does. People may hire her to do rough jobs like smash-and-grabs or hostage recovery, but her logical mind ensures she always has a plan. Her t ...more
Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang was a fast-paced and entertaining page-turner that put me in mind of a sci-fi blockbuster thriller. The story’s protagonist, a self-described retrieval specialist named Cas Russell, is a quick-witted and legitimate badass who is scarily good at what she does. People may hire her to do rough jobs like smash-and-grabs or hostage recovery, but her logical mind ensures she always has a plan. Her t ...more
Reseña en español en el blog
First of all, thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange of my honest opinion.
I’ve had my eye on this book, first self-published in 2014, for a while, so when I heard Tor was going to reprint it this year, I knew I had to read it. After all, a thriller in which the main character’s superpower is no less than math made me too curious to let it pass.
Even though Zero Sum Game turned out to be very different from what I exp ...more
First of all, thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange of my honest opinion.
I’ve had my eye on this book, first self-published in 2014, for a while, so when I heard Tor was going to reprint it this year, I knew I had to read it. After all, a thriller in which the main character’s superpower is no less than math made me too curious to let it pass.
Even though Zero Sum Game turned out to be very different from what I exp ...more
1) Classic case of WHY THE HELL DIDN'T I READ THIS SOONER (seriously, I had copies of the self-published books before Tor picked this up. WTH @ me)
2) NEW FAVORITE ALERT. Cas is a fucking badass. Who knew math could make such a kickass babe.
3) I love Rio. Nuff said. (Someone needs to spill their guts, pronto, though!!) ...more
2) NEW FAVORITE ALERT. Cas is a fucking badass. Who knew math could make such a kickass babe.
3) I love Rio. Nuff said. (Someone needs to spill their guts, pronto, though!!) ...more
Thanks to a NetGalley ARC I've had this gorgeous piece of speculative fiction sitting in my tbr for long weeks. At the publisher's request, reviews shouldn't be posted more than two weeks before publishing date. My excitement and expectation levels were through the roof before I could finally dive into this amazing story.
This is a crime thriller with PNR elements.
🌟 Non-stop action
🌟 Utterly unique characters
🌟 Mind bending mystery
🌟 Great flow & pacing
I was so hungry for it that I literally inhale ...more
This is a crime thriller with PNR elements.
🌟 Non-stop action
🌟 Utterly unique characters
🌟 Mind bending mystery
🌟 Great flow & pacing
I was so hungry for it that I literally inhale ...more
Total, popcorn fun. A protagonist whose normal reaction to situations is to shoot first (and probably second, too) and whose superpower is applied physics and geometry, or math, as she calls it.
Cas Russell does retrievals, and her latest case gets her into serious trouble, on the run with various shady types after her and the detective on the same case. There are lots of examples of Cas' amazing ability to figure out where something will be, based on computations, and a growing sense that there' ...more
Cas Russell does retrievals, and her latest case gets her into serious trouble, on the run with various shady types after her and the detective on the same case. There are lots of examples of Cas' amazing ability to figure out where something will be, based on computations, and a growing sense that there' ...more
3.5 stars
Zero Sum Game is a sci-fi thriller and the first book in the Russell's Attic series. It follows Cas Russell, a mercenary whose superpower is based on mathematics.
I think this is the kind of story that would work perfectly as a movie. It's fast-paced and full of action, fight scenes and unpredictable twists - just the kind of thing I'd like to watch on a screen. Someone please adapt this, I need it.
As a book, it's not exactly my kind of thing, but I liked it anyway.
I'm not sure sci-fi th ...more
Zero Sum Game is a sci-fi thriller and the first book in the Russell's Attic series. It follows Cas Russell, a mercenary whose superpower is based on mathematics.
I think this is the kind of story that would work perfectly as a movie. It's fast-paced and full of action, fight scenes and unpredictable twists - just the kind of thing I'd like to watch on a screen. Someone please adapt this, I need it.
As a book, it's not exactly my kind of thing, but I liked it anyway.
I'm not sure sci-fi th ...more
An action-filled first novel, featuring Cas Russell, a female super(anti)hero who can calculate trajectories (etc.) on the fly, in her head. She’s well-armed, quick to shoot a (perceived) enemy, and her mentor and protector is a psychopathic killer. The setting is contemporary LA, and the action is largely gun battles and car chases. The supervillain, a poised beauty who has a library of first editions, specializes in telepathy and mind control, and her org, the mysterious Pithica, claims to be
...more
Just one question now: WHERE ARE MY DAMN MATH SUPERPOWERS?
On to book two!
4.5 stars!
On to book two!
4.5 stars!
Ridiculously fun sci-fi thriller, exactly what I needed to take my mind off the news this week. Ostensibly a book about a mathematically superpowered gunslinger for hire chasing a shadowy conspiracy, actually a character-driven thrill-ride centering not one but two delightful platonic male/female friendships. (Rating for language.)
I'll thank you to talk to me like the heavily armed person I am.
Galley provided by publisher
Rep: Latino side character
If, like me, you enjoy plenty of action (and I mean plenty) in your books, then Zero Sum Game is the book for you. From page one, it's busy and intense, and there were definitely no points where I thought there was too much of a lull. So, all in all, perfect for me and my short attention span.
You might think, therefore, that I'd rate this book a lot higher than I have. Mainly ...more
Actual rating: 4.5/5
Thanks to good teachers I fell in love with mathematics and geometry early in my life. There are art and thrill in reasoning, imagination and finding the truth.
Zero Sum G ...more
There is something beautiful about the high-speed math of a gunfight. I’ve heard other people opine that gunfights are confusing and disorienting, but to me, they always happen with perfect clarity: every bullet impact leads back to its source, every barrel sweeping through with its own exact trajectory.
Thanks to good teachers I fell in love with mathematics and geometry early in my life. There are art and thrill in reasoning, imagination and finding the truth.
Zero Sum G ...more
Loved the lead, Cas, the action/adventure, the math, and I would watch the hell out of a movie about her. And the short feature on weapons training with the author and the lead. The plot moved along at a brisk pace. Just the thing between naps on a sick day.
Library copy
Library copy
Apr 02, 2021
Holly (The GrimDragon)
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
fantasy-sci-fi,
the-infinite-library
Review to come!
'Note to self: To avoid being vulnerable to telepathy, become a psychopath.
No, bad plan, Cas.'
CAS RUSSELL CAN STEP ON ME ANY DAY
I mean the sass, the asshole demeanor, the character development, the Kate Daniels style kinda sorta found family arc? I'M WEAK. She's definitely remorseless about killing in a way that Kate isn't at all, but that's also something that improves as the story progresses so no complaints, really.
Cas has dark skin and looks Middle Eastern so points for a non-white heroine, ...more
No, bad plan, Cas.'
CAS RUSSELL CAN STEP ON ME ANY DAY
I mean the sass, the asshole demeanor, the character development, the Kate Daniels style kinda sorta found family arc? I'M WEAK. She's definitely remorseless about killing in a way that Kate isn't at all, but that's also something that improves as the story progresses so no complaints, really.
Cas has dark skin and looks Middle Eastern so points for a non-white heroine, ...more
I received this book through the publisher via Netgalley.
I've read a lot of urban fantasies--somewhere over 130--and it's hard for me to get into a new series at this point. I feel like I've seen it all. While Zero Sum Game does utilize some familiar tropes, Huang twists them around in inventive, fun ways. Straight up, Cas Russell comes across as many urban fantasy heroines do: almost friendless, ruthless, profane, and good at killing, and in the course of the book, she does make some genuine fr ...more
I've read a lot of urban fantasies--somewhere over 130--and it's hard for me to get into a new series at this point. I feel like I've seen it all. While Zero Sum Game does utilize some familiar tropes, Huang twists them around in inventive, fun ways. Straight up, Cas Russell comes across as many urban fantasy heroines do: almost friendless, ruthless, profane, and good at killing, and in the course of the book, she does make some genuine fr ...more
Reminds me a little of Fringe (tv show) + a tiny bit of Middlegame + rip-roaring action movies = AKA an incredible combination because there's scifi (ish) and action and grand conspiracies and moral dilemmas and Y.E.S. Ugh it was so good. Cas is amazing and brutal and wonderful and I like seeing her evolve over this book with regards to her relationships to other people. Checker was probably my fav - who doesn't love the funny computer whiz?? I need more of him. I like that there are more myster
...more
This is tricky. I've read one Jack Reacher book. I don't watch action movies. I'm no expert.
But this is a comic book in text.
It's the sort of book that makes you think the author has a math degree. does stunts, and loves guns. Which in fact is the case.
The heroine isn't credible, the plot is iffy, the sidekicks are creepy, and for all that it's unputdownable.
So ... Cas is good at math, the way Spider-man is good at physics. But somehow that also gives her advanced parkour skills, Bruce Lee' ...more
But this is a comic book in text.
It's the sort of book that makes you think the author has a math degree. does stunts, and loves guns. Which in fact is the case.
The heroine isn't credible, the plot is iffy, the sidekicks are creepy, and for all that it's unputdownable.
So ... Cas is good at math, the way Spider-man is good at physics. But somehow that also gives her advanced parkour skills, Bruce Lee' ...more
Zero Sum Game is a faced-paced, action-packed, nior techno-thiller with some clever twists. Reads like a mashup of Black Widow, The Matrix, and Mission Impossible. The story: An interesting morality play told by unreliable narrator Cas Russel, an angry young woman with a secret past (ala Natasha Romanoff) who excels at math and killing people. Pithica is the Matrix, a shadowy organization that affects global crime, politics and business for good, ill, or maybe both. The question is who to believ
...more
Oct 15, 2014
Nancy O'Toole
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ebook,
science-fiction
Zero Sum Game is a fast paced, sci-fi/thriller that features plenty of bombastic action sequences, a diverse cast of morally gray characters, and a heroine who's basically a superhero powered by math.
And yes, it's just as fun as that sounds. I will certainly be picking up book two in the future. ...more
And yes, it's just as fun as that sounds. I will certainly be picking up book two in the future. ...more
Incredibly fun, action packed science fiction. I just love that the main character kicks ass... with math. Lots of murder if violence gets to you, but probably something that would be a good slump antidote.
Zero Sum Game – kind of speculative fiction as developed by S.L. Huang revolutionized, for me at least – how and why action works. We think we know how action movies have this mass appeal, yet action remains quite restrictive - just objects bumping into each other at speed. In spite of our disarray when confronted with various planetary flows (especially financial onea) we love and thrive on CGI slow mo destruction in movies. Sometimes I get the feel that the final scene in Zabriskie Point got e
...more
Zero Sum Game is a sci-fi action thriller from an MIT graduate and stunt woman. The protagonist Cas Russell is a young woman with super math powers. I thought it would be a cool diversion between heavier horror and science fiction stories. I was right.
Zero Sum Game is an action thriller, and it comes with both the strengths and weaknesses of the genre. It is action first, mystery second, and logical characters and settings third. That's not to say you exactly have to shut off your brain. You jus ...more
Zero Sum Game is an action thriller, and it comes with both the strengths and weaknesses of the genre. It is action first, mystery second, and logical characters and settings third. That's not to say you exactly have to shut off your brain. You jus ...more
I have GOT to start catching up on my reviews! Here's a small beginning on that --
For some reason there seem to be a bunch of recent sff novels that are getting republished this year and treated as "new" books, and this is one of them. I don't know why, but I can't say I'm sad about it.
I wasn't all that thrilled with the narrative voice in this novel, and for a good while the plot seemed like a fairly typical thriller-with-a-few-speculative-fillips. But it kind of snuck up on me, and by the end ...more
For some reason there seem to be a bunch of recent sff novels that are getting republished this year and treated as "new" books, and this is one of them. I don't know why, but I can't say I'm sad about it.
I wasn't all that thrilled with the narrative voice in this novel, and for a good while the plot seemed like a fairly typical thriller-with-a-few-speculative-fillips. But it kind of snuck up on me, and by the end ...more
3.5 stars
Ambivalent about this one - I liked it well enough, but the rest of the series isn't available because it's being rereleased. By the time they're all rereleased, I will have forgotten everything about this book.
...more
Apr 14, 2020
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
marked it as dnf
This is a case of it's not you, it's me, but I'm gonna have to DNF this. I started it weeks ago and thought maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it or that thrillers were a new genre for me and I needed time to adjust. I made it 60 oages in and was just not that interested. I have a hard time imagining action sequences in my head and this book is non-stop action. (Obviously this is a plus for other people). The author is queer but there don't appear to be any queer characters. (This is totally ok
...more
This is the book equivalent of a bad but reasonably entertaining action movie - there are some fun moments, but also a lot of eye-rolling moments, and don't think about anything too hard or it all falls apart, but it's decent mindless entertainment. Cas Russell is a freelance expert at retrieving things (like kidnapped people) and a math genius. Her math ability lets her do some really improbable things like calculate bullet trajectories in real time, and can also be really annoying because it j
...more
Most action novels come with a deal, if you’re willing to suspend disbelief then you’ll be paid off with some kick ass action. Zero Sum Game puts those disbelief suspending muscles to the test but in the end it’s worth it. A complex conspiracy laden plot and weird quasi-reality super powers pepper what is basically a cool heroine kicking ass with math. It may give you a birds eye view of the top of over the top but it’s a heck of a lot of fun.
Lauren Fortgang have a decent reading. Her pacing of ...more
Lauren Fortgang have a decent reading. Her pacing of ...more
Zero Sum Game kicks off with our hero, Cas Russell, in extreme jeopardy. In many ways, jeopardy seems like a place that Russell returns to again and again and again. Russell is a retrieval specialist, not a detective, but when she was sent to retrieve a young woman from some nasty people, she steps into a huge conspiracy with worldwide implications, an organization called Pithica. There’s also an anti-Pithica which may or may not be a rogue government agency.
Russell is not your usual hero. She’s ...more
Russell is not your usual hero. She’s ...more
Well this was an absolute blast. Mathematics as a "superpower", or at least a story about a mathematician, has been something I've wanted to read for at least the last decade.
Conceptually this book is perfect for me, unfortunately I think the application of mathematics in this story is a little underwhelming but I haven't sat down to think of a better way to write such a story and even though it seemed like a simple nerdy facade it was still a whole lot of fun for an amateur enthusiast.
If you' ...more
Conceptually this book is perfect for me, unfortunately I think the application of mathematics in this story is a little underwhelming but I haven't sat down to think of a better way to write such a story and even though it seemed like a simple nerdy facade it was still a whole lot of fun for an amateur enthusiast.
If you' ...more
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