Null Set

Cas Russell #2

by S.L. Huang

The breakout sf thriller for fans of John Scalzi and Greg Rucka

Math-genius mercenary Cas Russell has decided to Fight Crime(tm). After all, with her extraordinary mathematical ability, she can neuter bombs or out-shoot an army. And the recent outbreak of violence in the world’s cities is Cas’s own fault—she’s the one who crushed the organization of telepaths keeping the world’s worst offenders under control.

But Cas’s own power also has a history, one she can’t remember—or control. One that's creeping into her mind and fracturing her sanity...just when she’s gotten herself on the hit list of every crime lord on the West Coast. And her best, only, sociopathic friend. Cas won’t be able to save the world. She might not even be able to save herself.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Audiobook

First published July 9, 2019

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Null Set
By S.L. Huang

This is book #2 in the series. It follows up after Cas has her brain scramble by the powerful psychic. No one is trusting her completely since she might be under the influence of messages left by the psychic.
A new psychic shows up and wants to help Cas but needs to go into her head. Boy, he doesn't know Cas well! Reo trusts this guy and Cas trusts Reo! But Cas is having flashbacks that involves both of them.
This is a very exciting, tense, thriller dealing with mind control. Excellent fun! Can't wait for book #3 from library!

[Metaphorosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews

Summary:
Cas Russell, whose mathematical ability allows her superhuman timing and accuracy, has faced down a network of telepaths. But now trouble has come to her own home time of Los Angeles, just when her past seems determined to destroy her.

Review:
S. L. Huang first self-published the Russell’s Attic series, only to have it taken up, edited, and re-issued (in a different order) as the Cas Russell series. I read the first book in this series, Zero Sum Game, in its original version, and this (now) second book in the reissued version. It’s therefore not to surprising that there are significant discontinuities between the two – and that’s with having read the first book only a few months back. It takes a few chapters to catch up with the new situation, but then it’s fairly smooth sailing. The book overall, however, is less of a success than than the first. While I’ve given each 3.5 stars, the first book leaned high, and the second leans low.

Cas is still her messy, engaging self, but in this book, she veers heavily toward Thomas Covenant territory – with a blindingly obvious path before her that she adamantly refuses to take. That intensely frustrating approach worked for Covenant because that was an essential part of his character. Here, it’s just frustrating – it feels like a clunky, heavy-handed authorial attempt to create tension, and Cas’ introspective defence of her actions just isn’t convincing. That’s compounded by an amnesia plot-line that crops up constantly, but simply isn’t interesting; it feels tired.

Cas’ mathematical abilities continue to be a little too all-powerful and magical, and some of the other plot points aren’t too credible either. What saves the book is the strong characterization. Cas is engaging, sympathetic, and interesting. But even there, the book begins to fall short. She suffers substantially from Good Guy Arrogance – doing what she likes for the greater good, ruining people’s lives left and right, and yet they all forgive her and fall over themselves to put her at the center of their lives. It’s not clear why. She’s got a superpower, and she’s interesting, but I think she’d be hell to spend very much time with.

The book skates through on the strength of its characters and second half, but frankly I’d have preferred to see the major plot line deleted, and this presented as the first half of a different book. Much of this one feels like it’s deliberately prolonging the mystery of Cas’ origins that we’re all really interested in. Maybe I should have gone back to the original version (#4 in that version of the series). Certainly, I think the self-published book 1 was stronger than this professionally published book 2. Worth reading, but not what I hoped for. Here’s hoping the (new) book 3 is more focused. I have to give Huang credit again for a really thoughtful attempt (via her website) to help readers bridge the gaps from one version of the series to another.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Zero Sum Game; however, I struggled with the second installment. This series comes with MAJOR CWs: trauma history, graphic violence, alcoholism, self-destructive behavior/suicidal ideation.

The first book introduced us to Cas as a kick-ass mercenary with supernatural mathematical skills whose only loyalty was to her paycheck and her friend Rio (who also happens to be a psychopath meting out punishment on behalf of god). She was a great anti-hero and it was fun to watch her grapple with a conscience and making friends.

HOWEVER, the second book turned Cas from an antihero into someone who was painfully unlikeable, increasingly callous, and unrealistically obtuse (given she is a mathematical genius who can easily extrapolate patterns). Her singular and quixotic determination to make all the wrong choices despite alarm bells blaring was tiring and frustrating. I kept reading because there is some part of me that wants to root for her, to root for Checker, Arthur, and Pilar. But the moral dilemma felt heavy handed and the amnesia plot line felt like it was dragging out the inevitable This book seemed like a hard left turn from the first.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fast plot full of danger for its protagonist and her colleagues. After destroying Pithaca's hold on the world, Checker notices that the crime rates in LA are moving up rapidly. Cas decides to create a technological solution to bring rates down, but angers all the city's crime bosses and gang lords in the process. And more importantly, Rio is displeased.
Meanwhile, Cas' sanity is fractured, thanks to all that Dawwna Polk did to her (in the previous book), and Cas keeps getting bits and pieces of her earlier life, disrupting her concentration and her focus, which has a large impact on her plans and Rio's reactions to the situation.
S.L. Huang gives us a little more about who Cas was, and what might have been done to her; there are still many questions left about the why and who, but I suspect we'll get a little more clarity in book 3. Meanwhile, I like how Cas is slowly learning to trust and rely on Arthur, Checker, and now Pilar. The group dynamics are fun to watch, with Cas' prickly approach to cooperation and unwillingness to rely on others tested repeatedly. There's humour with lots of violence, and the plot doesn't let up. I'm looking forward to book three.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Null Set by S.L. Huang as it turns out is actually the second book in the Cas Russell series. If only I realized that before I was approved for it. I totally should have read book one, Zero Sum Game, first but either way this still ended up being a pretty great read on its own. I liked getting to Cas herself because her abilities are cool - her genius mathematical skills give her superhuman accuracy and timing - verging on magical. She's flawed but an intriguing figure. The characters themselves were my favorite aspect of the book. Overall, I want to know more about Cas and her world, so I believe I may have to go back to check out the first book in the series.

[Kelsea Yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredible book! I NEEDS BOOK THREE RIGHT NOW.

4.5 stars!

[Allison Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, there's a lot about this I love because I love urban fantasy. But there was a lot that also felt like quantum leaps and I am upset with how much work I had to put in to suspend my disbelief.

CONTENT WARNINGS: coercion of thought metaphor for rape, loss of autonomy, drug use and overdose, serial killer, gore

Things to appreciate:

-No brushing off issues. We confront what mind control and actual memory removal would feel like. Sometimes, I felt, a bit overly so, but I guess that's preferable to the alternative.

-Deepening of relationships. We learn a lot about the different relationships and how they evolve.

-Big questions. What I like most about UF is that it allows us, through magic and monsters, to explore the reality of modern living, of what it means to be human and our collective fears through a fun lens. This does that, though it uses a slightly more science-cloaked version of magic and monsters.

Things that didn't work for me:

-The plot. I didn't follow the motivations for either the initial structure or its reverse

-The "twists." Nope. Sorry, they were opaque to me. I was able to use context clues, but they were not done in a way to let readers "in" on the goings on.

3.5 rounded up because even confused, it was interesting and kept me engaged. I'll likely continue, but also understand why this would be the book that turns folks off.

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come!

[Sam S · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up, but maybe should be rounded down.

I just could not suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy this book. Is it fast paced and action packed? Yes. But..... The hypocrisy was just too prevalent for me to enjoy the plot.

We spend the whole book with Cas aggressively, and emotionally, refusing to have her brain messed with, though she will need the intervention or else she will die. How dare they suggest such a thing!

But we also spend the whole book with Cas messing with an entire city's brains because she's done the math and her math is always right and because logic, not emotion, nothing could go wrong. She's run all the variables! But look! Something went wrong that could have been anticipated if an expert in human brains was consulted, not just a math expert not thinking further than a couple days.

It also irked me that only Cas could fix any of the problems. Even when opportunities for a supporting character to step in, "somehow" it all landed on her shoulders to fix it.

What I was looking forward to in this second book was this lone character now having friends and support to do good work. Instead she made made bad decision after bad decision, justified things as morally right because she isnt emotional, got surprised when things went sideways, angry at the people who told her it was a bad decision, then made worse decisions to fix the bad decisions. And the blatant hypocrisy of what was ok for her to inflict on others, but was so so wrong to be inflicted on her, just rubbed me the wrong way.

I thought the character development was decent in the first book, and was expecting to build on that in this installment. Instead, I read the entire thing feeling like we were slipping backwards.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm.

Yeah.

Well.

RTC

[Jon Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could see this being a TV series.

[Lianne Pheno · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
http://delivreenlivres.home.blog/2022...

Thriller de SF dans un futur très proche, à la limite du présent, avec des « super pouvoirs ». Rappel pour ceux qui n’ont pas suivi ma chronique du tome précédent Zero Sum Game, le personnage principal à une capacité limite surnaturelle pour le calcul. J’avais vraiment bien aimé le premier tome, je partais donc dans celui ci avec l’espoir d’une bonne lecture.

Mais malheureusement cette suite n’a pas suivi le même chemin.
Je n’avais juste pas envie de savoir la suite et d’ouvrir mon livre. Bien sur, j’étais déçue parce que le premier m’avais vraiment bien plu. Ce sentiment marque le début de ma panne de lecture, même si je ne le savais pas encore à l’époque.

Ce n’est jamais facile de faire une chronique d’une déception. Surtout quand on sait qu’une partie de cette déception n’est pas totalement due au livre, mais au début de ma panne de lecture. Ceci dit sur ce livre je pense que même à mon top je ne l’aurai pas vraiment apprécié, parce que j’ai de bonnes raisons de ne pas l’avoir aimé.

Sur ce tome, on est dans le cas où un changement voulu par le scénario casse ce qui avait bien fonctionné pour moi avant.
Le personnage découvre une nouvelle choquante de son passé, et ça la … change. En gros on avait un personnage calme et très focalisé sur ce qu’elle faisait, toujours à calculer ce qui allait se passer. Elle me plaisait bien. Mais depuis cette découverte elle s’est transformée en boule de nerf ambulante.

On passe donc le tome à la voir partir en folie furieuse paniquée, à faire l’inverse de tout ce qui avait défini sa vie avant, causant un chaos monstrueux.
Autre chose qui m’a déplu, le fait qu’elle passe son temps à s’engueuler et à s’expliquer ensuite 50 fois avec son équipe pour tenter de rattraper les choses. Du coup au revoir la cohésion qui m’avait tant fait plaisir avant.

Et pour couronner le tout l’intrigue principale était assez simple, loin de la conspiration gigantesque du tome précédent. J’ai aussi eu l’impression que l’autrice nous sur-vendait l’ensemble en essayant de nous faire croire que c’était un truc énorme alors que non.

En gros toute l’intrigue n’était la que pour faire avancer le problème personnel, et elle était finalement un peu accessoire. Et, en plus, vu que toute l’intrigue personnelle n’était qu’un seul point qui revient plusieurs fois avec les même questionnements, les même conclusions et qui fini toujours en engueulade, j’ai trouvé ça aussi trop répétitif pour moi.

On n’exploite vraiment plus du tout le coté calcul du personnage principal, en expliquant que sa capacité est plus ou moins « cassée » depuis les révélations. Ce qui est dommage à mon avis.

Je vais quand même vous en faire un petit résumé :

Suite aux révélations du tome précédent Cas ne sait plus ou elle en est. Un télépathe lui rend visite en lui disant qu’elle va devoir faire quelque chose parce que la barrière derrière laquelle ses souvenirs sont cachés va bientôt s’écrouler. Hors cette barrière avait été construite pour la sauver, car elle était en train de devenir folle et se perdre totalement dans sa tête lors de ses calculs. En gros cette barrière est la seule chose qui lui permet de rester consciente.
Mais le problème c’est que cette barrière la fait changer du tout au tout. Elle n’est plus la même personne. Pour Cas il est clair que la personne qui lui a mis ses barrières l’a fait sans sa permission, car elle aurait préféré mourir que changer et devenir quelqu’un d’autre…

Pendant tout le tome elle hurler qu’elle préfère mourir que d’être changé et qu’on touche à son cerveau, tout en étant en train d’à nouveau se perdre et devenir folle … En gros elle a une peur énorme qu’on touche à son cerveau, surtout suite aux événements du tome précédent qui l’ont choqué et horrifié. Du coup savoir que sa survie passe par la lui fait péter les plombs pendant tout le tome.

Pour ce qui est de l’intrigue principale du tome en dehors de ça :
Cas et son équipe sont à la poursuite d’un des malfrats qui c’est précipité dans le trou du manque de pouvoir quand les événements du tome précédent se sont terminés.
Et sa principale source de revenu sont les enfants dont il fait le trafic.

Evidemment nos « héros » ne peuvent pas laisser passer ça. Mais celui ci est introuvable, un fantôme malgré tout les efforts que font l’équipe pour en savoir plus sur lui … Ni les infiltrations, ni le hacker du groupe ne sont capable de trouver des informations concrètes sur lui. Et allant d’échec en échec, ils deviennent de plus en plus désespérés.

Finalement l’un des membres du groupe fini par mentionne en passant un projet gouvernemental dans lequel il a été impliqué il y a des années mais qui n’avait jamais marché. Celui ci consistait en un programme d’ondes qui aurait permis de changer le comportement des gens.
Pas dans le sens de changer leur caractère mais en empêchant l’effet « de groupe » qui rend les gens violents dés qu’ils suivent les autres et d’auto relancent ensemble.

Cas est tout de suite intéressée. Le calcul ça la connait, et elle sait que même si elle ne peux plus calculer comme avant, si elle se plonge dedans elle trouvera la solution à ce qui n’a pas fonctionné à l’époque.
Evidemment leur projet va vite transformer la ville en chaos …

Bref, le fait que ça soit trop chaotique, plus l’impression de ne plus lire la même série car tout ce qui la distinguait à changé. Je pense que l’autrice a voulu justement ne pas écrire deux fois le même tome, mais la c’était trop différent pour moi.
Après je ne suis pas contre tenter le tome suivant, vu que justement les circonstances qui rendaient ce tome différent ont à nouveau changé, du coup ça pourrait peut être me plaire plus.
On verra !

[Chip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middle book syndrome; hopefully next / final (?) picks back up.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read and enjoyed ZERO SUM GAME by S.L. Huang when I read it last year after having the pleasure of meeting the author at an author event. I had passed my copy along to my best friend who also really enjoyed it, so when I pulled a prompt to read a book that I think my best friend would like, the sequel NULL SET seemed an easy choice! It also worked out perfectly that Kylee and I were able to take the book picture in my friend’s back yard!

NULL SET is the second book in a series following Cas Russell, a woman who uses math as her super power in her work as a mercenary. Her quick thinking mind can calculate the right approach to most any problem, but she can’t remember how she came to be this way. As bits of the past come back to her it begins to negatively impact her mind and she fears she’s going to be lost to insanity. As if this isn’t enough, she’s managed to get herself in trouble with just about every bad guy in the region.

I really enjoyed where this book took the story and the protagonist Cas. This book was slightly less action packed than the first book and more cerebral in the focus on Cas’ mental health and the minds of those around her. This incorporates scifi and thriller elements and it really keeps you hooked on the story. I picked up the audio for this one and I thought that was incredibly well done as well!

This is a fun series with a unique protagonist and I am really looking forward to seeing what’s next for Cas in the third installment, CRITICAL POINT!

Reading Challenges:
#PopsugarReadingChallenge – a book you think your best friend would like

[Tasula · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sequel was disappointing; most of the book revolves around the main character's angst about her mysterious past and fears about any further manipulation of her mind. When she meets a man who claims he knew her long ago, instead of asking him pointed questions that might provide clues to her past, she runs from him, slugs him, and accepts his idiotic comments as the most she will get from him. So the mystery of her past is almost as murky at the end as it was in the beginning, and a lot of words were wasted on the way. I like some of the secondary characters much better than I like her.

[Paula Lyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting to me that people who want to change the world for the better are so happy to kill a lot of people. The science in this doesn't really make sense, nor does the instant and terrible effects that occur. However, if you like a book with a lot action this could definitely work. Killing lots of criminals as a method to reduce the crime rate in LA, might be an idea that lots of people could get behind. Obviously this is a setup for the next book, it will be interesting to see where it goes.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t quite hit the highs of the first book in the series but still an enjoyable read- hoping the third one finishes strong.

Some of the beats get a bit repetitive and way too much italicized memory hallucination text for my taste, but still a quick fun read.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Null Set was great! Loved it just as much as Zero Sum Game! Cas was so righteous! She just wanted to help, people...stop crime...the math way!

[Audrey Saxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book in this series, and it ended with such a cliffhanger that I had to read the sequel. But this book was less compelling than the first one. In this sequel, the plot was much less believable. I also felt like Cas was just too angry the whole time and not her same sarcastic self that I came to love in the first book. Characters are allowed to change, I just didn't love the angry, vengeful Cas of book two. And, this one also ended on a huge cliffhanger, but I might just let the questions of this series go unanswered for now.

[Keith Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. I think the main character perhaps screws up too much ? I’m not sure, it just felt like it.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since they took down a secret group that was using mind control to manipulate the world, Cas Russell and her friends have been trying to deal with the collateral damage - Pithica might have been evil, but they did keep the crime rate down, and with them gone, it's worse than ever. Until Cas gets a plan to fight crime more effectively, using math of course... math and a technology that might not be that different from Pithica. But there's a bigger problem, that her memories--her real memories, long suppressed--are starting to come back, and her only ties to her past believe that might be fatal.

I was somewhat mixed on the first book in the series (but generally positive), and this one's kind of on the same level. I decided to just go with the assumption that this is just a world with super powers, no matter how much they attempt to justify them as just being really really good at something, and that did help a lot, and the character's a bit more interesting... and I'm really getting into the relationship with Rico, a man with no moral compulsions but the ones he's decided on. So on those levels, I probably liked the second one more.

It's still a bit in the 'not my thing' category, with action and shooting being a big chunk of it. And I'm not sure I buy into Cas' 'solution' to the crime issue as being plausible -- and, although the eventual cost to it does make sense, I'm not sure I buy into nobody else spotting it earlier. I certainly did, the moment it was proposed (then again, at least it's a very small group of people who needed to have blinders on).

The real secret sauce for me is how the author plays with a character who's mind has been manipulated, or is actively still manipulated in various ways, and she often knows it has, but that doesn't really help, she still can't do certain things she's been programmed not to, still thinks in certain ways and then only later realizes what caused her actions. It's like an unreliable narrator turned up to 11, but the author handles it in a way that really works for me and I find compelling, as is her tough decisions to make involving accepting help.

I'm still kind of in the same position I was at the end of the first book. I don't think the series is really for me, generally speaking, but there's enough here that I do like that I'm somehow just on the edge of giving it one more book to sell me. Maybe it's the kind of series where every book I'll be on that edge. Or maybe I will, in the end, stop here. But even if it winds up being 'not my thing' in general I liked it enough that I think 3 stars works.

[Deborah Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved S. L. Huang’s Zero Sum Game, and Cas Russell, whose superpower is her ability to make lightning-fast mathematical calculations. She works at such irregular and occasionally dubiously legal jobs as tracking down missing persons, and enjoys an uneasy but devoted friendship with psychopath, Rio. At the end of the first book, a world-wide mind-control conspiracy had been defeated after many struggles and reversals. Null Set picks up where Zero Sum Game left off, with Cas and her gang facing rising gang violence, the result of eliminating the aforementioned mind control, and she herself beset by newly resurfacing memories of a previous personality, and a telepath bent on trying to help her before whatever was done to her to give her those memories kills her. Confused? So was I, for much of the story.

Alas, Null Set feels like either a sequel that author hadn’t planned on or the flabby middle book of a series. Cas spends way too much time agonizing over this or that, tormented by fragmentary memories, unwilling to ask her devoted friends for help, and in general not accomplishing much. When she hits upon a solution to the looming gang war, she only ends up having to undo it because if people are now unable to feed off each other’s anger, they are equally immune to sharing hope. Suicide and addiction rates skyrocket. I found myself wondering what the point of it was, since we would end up right back where we started.

It felt as if the ideas and plot of a novella or maybe an even shorter novelette got stretched out into novel length. I’d loved feisty, independent Cas in the first book, but now found her indecision, unwillingness to trust anyone, and general crankiness annoying. Even her very cool mathematical genius couldn’t compensate for the loss of sympathy as a character. There’s supposed to be a third book, but I think I’ll skip it and consider Zero Sum Game as a nice, tidy stand-alone.

[Hobart · Rating 4 out of 5]

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
In the aftermath of Zero Sum Game, Cas and her associates are seeing the fallout from taking down those telepaths who've been reigning in expressions of human corruption, and it's not pretty. So, she takes it upon herself (with a little help from her friends) to fight crime in LA -- à la that rich guy in Gotham, that lawyer in Hell's Kitchen, or the sole survivor of the Cavendish ambush of the Texas Rangers. She's making a difference, but not as much as she wants, until she decides to take a more proactive approach.

I'll skip the details, but what she comes up with (and talks her team into helping with) is a combination of technology, psychology and her genius. It's so successful that every major criminal figure in LA would happily kill her several times over if they only knew what she was doing and who was doing it. Of course, many of these people are former/potential future customers. This little dance she does, while trying to get the goods on one player in particular, is a whole lot of fun to watch.

It's also fascinating watching Cas' develop a conscience, and then let it take her in ways that bring her into conflict with her team. They go along with her, but with reservations. In many ways, she's grown from the woman we met in the opening of Zero Sum Game -- but in so many ways she hasn't. The heavy drinking she indulges in/retreats to testifies to that.

One thing that happened at the end of the previous novel was that a telepath triggered something in her -- how much of an effect this had, or whether it was time, or something else (probably a combination of the three) has loosened something in her subconscious. Memories -- partial, confusing, scattered -- are coming back to her -- from a time that Cas had given up on ever remembering. The memories come back, unbidden, at the worst possible times and make her vulnerable when she needs to be focusing. They also point to mysteries, questions and so many unknown things that Cas decides she's not going to acknowledge that this is problematic for her, her work and those who depend on her.

My problem is that I think Huang overestimated how interested people were in Cas' background and trying to learn about it/deal with it. Maybe it just feels that way to me because I can't muster up the level of enthusiasm that the novel seems to want me to have, and everyone else will be hanging on every word. What Cas is going through has roots in the conclusion to Zero Sum Game and in her murky past. Instead of dealing with the memories and issues they raise, she spends most of the novel running from the problems, not in denial, just in a refusal to work through them -- until she can't any more (and even then . . . ). If I knew her better, if I was given more of a reason to be curious about her past, I think this could be a very interesting plot line But we don't, and we're not -- and I had a hard time getting above the level of mild interest in this part of the novel. Which isn't good -- because this is what the novel really wants to talk about, not Cas' innovative solutions to fighting crime.

For people who haven't read Taylor Stevens' Michael Munroe novels, this paragraph won't do much for you. You should read those, by the way, if you like Cas Russell. In the second book in this series, The Innocents, Stevens takes Munroe -- her complicated, almost impossible to believe, hyperviolent protagonist with a self-destructive bent (hmmm, who does that sound like?) -- and has her deal with some of her problems, taking a deep dive into her psyche at the risk of the job she's taken on -- and the innocents she's supposed to be rescuing/saving. I'd liked Munroe in her first book, and continued to, but I struggled getting through that book -- but once Munroe had dealt with (in some way) what was getting to her, she was a stronger and more interesting character. I cannot tell you how often while reading Null Set that I thought back to The Innocents. True, very different books, different problems plaguing the protagonists -- but their reactions to the issues and how they intend to deal with the problems raised, remind me greatly of each other. I'm hoping what comes next for this series is as strong as it was for Stevens'.

Everything else about this novel was just as absorbing and captivating as Zero Sum Game. The supporting characters were, if anything, more interesting than they were last time -- and the two new characters in Cas' circle were welcome additions. The ethical dilemma posed by Cas' actions was pretty interesting, and a good twist on the similar conundrum posed in (and, arguably, less clear -- although, I'm with Checker in not seeing it that way). The characters' reactions to her plans (and carrying them out) seemed authentic and not just something to create drama. If Huang had wanted to and just dialed back the A-Story and dialed up the B-Story, I'd have been more enthusiastic about this -- probably as much as I was about Zero Sum Game, maybe moreso.

And you just cannot beat Huang's combination of math and fight scenes -- others dabble in it, but most don't go as far (they're probably not that good at math) or do it as well. I don't know why these scenes work so well for me, but I just love them. Think of River Tam wielding a gun in "War Stories" -- but if she was able to tell you what she was doing and why without sounding a little . . . well, River-like. I'm not doing a great job of describing it, but it's hard. But if Huang decided she just wanted to publish a novella or two that really just consisted of fight scenes without a whole lot of plot? I'd be all over them. Nothing against plot or characters, but sometimes they just get in the way.

I did like Null Set -- just not as much as I expected to, or wanted to. But I'm still in for more of this series. What Huang's set up for the next novel (or more) -- really has my interest. The possibilities for book three have really got my curiosity churning. Having (somewhat/largely) dealt with these issues around Cas, the door is wide open for what comes next -- I literally can't wait. This isn't what I wanted from the second Cas Russell novel, but it's good -- and will likely be a strong foundation to build on. Recommended.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Macmillan-Tor/Forge via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

[YH · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the last Cas Russell book, we were teased with the mysteries in Cas's past; in this book, any charm and mystique she possessed disappeared.

Null set deals with the aftermath of Cas Russell dissolving Pithica - an organization that uses mind control/telepathic powers to maintain order and do good in society. It argues for people to have free will and control of their own mind - so for Cas to go against that principle and attempt to create her own "Pithica" effect felt absurd, almost as though she herself had forgotten why she dismantled Pithica in the first place. Sure, we could argue that the book aims to highlight the grey areas of morality, but honestly? It felt like a betrayal to who Cas Russell was in book 1.

On the sidelines, we also see Cas struggle with her memories of the past - a journey that was frustrating to say the least. A new character is introduced, pushing along the narrative of her remembering her past, but the whole melodramatic-ness of Cas dying if she remembers her past self was unnecessary and not well executed at all. I would say that the effort to plough through the angsty flashbacks and internal monologues vs the amount of her past that I actually gleamed from the entire book was severely unbalanced - and I have completely lost interest in her as a character in that process.

With an uncharacteristically dissonant plotline, an increasingly convoluted main character, and just lackluster world building all around, this book disappointed heavily. The premise of the story still is very interesting, but in the end, the execution of this book killed any motivation I have to continue reading it.

[Ernest]

I'm enjoying this, but having just read The Girl Who could Move Sh*t Wither Her Mind, I have to ask,

"Didn't we just leave this party?"

Set in LA (check), a cranky female protagonist with a special gift (check), works with a small team of investigators (check)., outside the law (check).

There are plenty of differences, but I'm beginning to wonder how many cranky female protagonists there are in LA and what the City of Angels did to piss them off.

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review to come.

Brief review. Loved it! Being back with Cas (and Arthur and Checker but especially Rio) was awesome. Especially as Cas decides to Fight Crime™️ taking on all the criminal elements in LA.

[danbii · Rating 5 out of 5]

SPOILERS GALORE - PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

I love how we only get little peeks and hints of Cas's past in each book. Also, I love Cas and Rio's mutual trust, it's something really private and I don't know. I rarely see relationships like this written in books and not revealed instantly. Like, it was literally the first line of the first book, and we still dunno what is going on, and I love it because I know there's gonna be substance behind it. A good reason. So thank you, Ms. Huang.

But many questions. A good 80% of them have to do with Rio and his background, which will hopefully be given in tiny morsels because that's how I like it, to be honest. Building up suspense instead of instant gratification. But also, something a little trivial (?): what is Rio's first name? I'm pretty certain Cas doesn't even know. It's not like his name is Rio Sonrio, right? Btw, Sonrio is a very ironic choice name. I appreciate it. And Cas's other name means something really, really intriguing. I can go on about their names for a while, especially especially Cas Russell's. Anyway, lots of suspicions around Rio and I'm still entertaining all of these theories with nothing to go on, like a lovesick fool for this series.

I also have a feeling Null Set is supposed to make us feel like we can more or less guess at Cas's history and be more or less right, but I'm pretty certain Huang has way more in store for us than just that. This series doesn't have a set number of books determined yet, after all.

I also love how the idea of mind control was explored in this book, and how Rio respects the choices Cas makes and lets her make her errors, if we should call them that. It's so refreshing and kind of encouraging that she was so resistant to telepathy even if that was a possible cure for her. And also, thank you so much for addressing romance clichés and giving a huge fuck you to that. It's really hard to write about someone who loses her own past and decides she doesn't want anything to do with it and the past chases her anyway, as if almost forcing her to give up her present self. So I loved Cas's reluctance and stubbornness and her unwavering belief in at least this. She has an attachment to herself in the present, and that's something I admire. And yes, I liked her hypocrisy. I read for hypocritical characters, because it's just the way life goes.

I'm so psyched for Critical Point. More Cas and more Rio, please. Because wow, the last chapter finally brought up the question all the readers have but nope, we only get a teeny tiny answer for it. So many theories in my head right now, and I'm not sure if I hope all of them are wrong or a few of them are right, because quite a few of them are clumsy and... underwhelming. And I know Arthur's background will come up, too (the question was brought up by Checker's slip-up) but... I'm a lot less attached to him. I think because he likes to fix people. I'm all in for more Checker. God, I love it so much when he and Cas bicker. And Sonya is seriously cool and underrated and I'm sort of hoping she might come back? Heh. I feel like I'm writing a wishlist here.

[Maurynne Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm unaware of any other authors who are doing what S. L. Huang has done with her Cas Russell series, but I'd love to read them if they're out there, because she leaves you wanting more. Null Set is definitely a middle book, bridging between Zero Sum Game and the next book, with a cliffhanger ending that for once I do not mind. I also don't mind that I can't think of other books to compare this to—only movies. If you like superhero movies, Chinese martial arts movies, and movies like The Matrix and The Fifth Element, you'll definitely be into this dark, gritty futuristic thriller and its gifted and violent anti-heroine. If you can imagine superheroes on steroids, if you dig movies like John Wick and Fast and Furious, that's when you enter S. L. Huang territory.
Read Zero Sum Game first; it takes a while to remember how the first book made you sympathize with Cas; she's an antihero because she's not very likeable, but you root for her anyway, like her friends do. You get little character studies in the action between the action, but you are dropped full tilt into the current situation. Cas can calculate angles so quickly that she can shoot, sprint, jump and punch her way out of most dangerous situations. She and her pals are on the track of and on the run from the evil future corporation that messes around with people's heads, commits the occasional assassination trying to make the world a better place—their way. Hunters and hunted at the same time, perfect action movie plot.
It's really a gift to be able to put a movie on the page like this, to have just enough depth amidst heart-pounding suspense, enough detail but not drown the reader, enough rush for picky readers to not notice any discrepancies. Huang has taken her film and stunt experience and made it work in novel form. Most attempts at writing for adrenaline junkies fail; these books succeed. I am half "give me the next book now" and half "cliffhanger? Never said this before, but ok, maybe in 6 months to a year my heart can take it."
Highly recommended for action fans and adrenaline junkies.
(I received an advanced electronic copy for review, thanks to Netgalley and Tor.)

[Alethea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read both Zero Null Game and Null Set in three days. The books follow Cas Russell, a young mercenary who fights against the injustice of forced will. She is a retriever for hire with very strong views of persons who abuse children.
Oh, and she has a superpower. She is a mathematical genius.
As someone who is not interested in mathematics or figures - aside from keeping a close tab on the balances in my savings account and credit card - I found these books to be off the chain with the mathematical undercurrent. Mathematicians would be excited to see how the heroine uses algorithms and mathematical formulae as a superpower.
Zero Null Game tells the story of how our heroine, Cas Russell finds out that there are forces working to manipulate mankind in their bid to eradicate crime and violence. In trying to fight the “evil do-gooders” our mercenary must question whether her thoughts and actions are her own or is she being manipulated.
In Null Set, our mathematical genius mercenary has embarked on her brand of manipulation with devastating effects. Our heroine is, however, grappling with who she is and a repressed past that is fighting its way to the surface.
The science fiction of the books is palpable. We are not talking about aliens or grotesquely disfigured monsters or a sci-fi world. There are no floating buildings, no hyper-speed transportation. The world in the books is recognizable. It is our world with humans with extraordinary powers. Our super-powered heroine and manipulators alike, are normal-looking people who you may pass in the street or sit next to on a bus. The normalcy of these “others” is astounding and gives food for thought..
Cas Russell’s band of courageous helpers are believable, but it is obvious there is more to each of the main characters and, as such, feels like there is more being withheld from the audience. No doubt these gaps will be closed in the next instalment in the series.
What would the world be like if our lives were governed by a secret organization? A world where there was only civil obedience. I was lost in this ideal world, but the theme of free will throughout the books kept tugging at my psyche. History has shown us through wars different examples of coercion, all in the name of power, disguised as wanting a better society. The author sees through this guise. “Cas, the Lord could force us all to peace and righteousness if He wished to. Our world would have no war, no pain. Instead, He gave us free will.” The ethical dilemma of the means justifying the end also rears its head. It would be wrong then for someone to impose their free will at the expense of others for the reason of having a better world. It would certainly mean a power trip for those exerting this kind of control to achieve civil obedience. Cas Russell’s role is to ensure that no one’s free will gets trampled on.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

The real meat of this is the question of gray areas and what’s morally right or wrong. How is what Cas wants to do different from what Pithica wanted to do? Sure, she’s “just” freeing people from negative influences, but she’s still messing with their minds. And of course there’s the inevitable fact that something is bound to go wrong when you start messing with human minds. One of the things I love about these books is that there are no easy answers. From a certain point of view, the main characters are the bad guys. And yet, it isn’t that simple.

There’s another problem going on: Cas’s mind is coming apart at the seams. Dawna messed with her memories previously, and now her mysterious past is coming back, bit by bit. It’s causing Cas to black out at bad times. It’s also tearing her apart. This could very well kill her, and Cas can’t trust the mysterious man who has shown up and who says he can help her.

Rio is also back–the psychopathic quasi-friend of Cas’s–and he and Cas’s friends aren’t going to get along. Rio’s a danger to everyone, and he’s about to make LA even more dangerous for our heroes. I love Huang’s character-building. (Although even though Rio’s Asian, I keep mentally hearing his voice as a perfect Chris-Judge-as-Teal’c from Stargate.)
I still love Cas’s mathematical abilities and how she uses them. It’s so creative and delightful. It particularly makes for interesting action scenes.

I wish this volume hadn’t ended where it did. It feels like an emotional cliffhanger, and I just don’t enjoy cliffhangers. I do, however, plan to pick up the sequel when it comes out!


Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/07/r...