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Nine Tenths
Augment phase technology was rare. The last appearance of anything resembling phase technology was fifteen years ago. I knew the date…
It was the date of the Doctor Dimension repo.
In a world full of “Augments”—humans who use technology to imbue themselves with superpowers of every sort—being an average man would seem a good way to keep out of trouble. Not so for repo man Gayle Harwood. It’s his job to seize enhancements from Augments who fall behind on the payments for their high-tech advantages. And they rarely part with them easily.
Now an infamous job Gayle was a part of long ago has come back to haunt him. An incredibly powerful piece of tech that was supposed to have been turned over to the government is being used again. People are dying, and those in power are convinced Gayle knows something about it.
Unfortunately, they’re right.
And unless Gayle can uncover the sinister secrets of the past and find whoever has hijacked the lost tech and stop them, no superpower in the world is going to be enough to save him…
It was the date of the Doctor Dimension repo.
In a world full of “Augments”—humans who use technology to imbue themselves with superpowers of every sort—being an average man would seem a good way to keep out of trouble. Not so for repo man Gayle Harwood. It’s his job to seize enhancements from Augments who fall behind on the payments for their high-tech advantages. And they rarely part with them easily.
Now an infamous job Gayle was a part of long ago has come back to haunt him. An incredibly powerful piece of tech that was supposed to have been turned over to the government is being used again. People are dying, and those in power are convinced Gayle knows something about it.
Unfortunately, they’re right.
And unless Gayle can uncover the sinister secrets of the past and find whoever has hijacked the lost tech and stop them, no superpower in the world is going to be enough to save him…
- GenresAudiobookScience Fiction
328 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 17, 2022
5 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
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May 17, 2022This is a great indie debut. It's got a noir feel to it, kind of a cross of urban fantasy and cyberpunk/superhero SF, where some of the tech feels a bit like magic. It's got a bit of an unreliable narrator, which is something I love, and is filled with twists and turns that keep you guessing in the best way. Definitely recommended for fans of any of the recommended genres. Reminded me a bit of HENCH, which I also loved.
May 17, 2022
Gayle Hardwood is having a little trouble keeping up with his responsibilities these days but when you're a repo man for enhanced humans called Augments that can toss you over a three-story building what do you expect. Augments are the Nine Tenths universe version of superheroes and villains. Gayle’s juggling his struggling business Netherhouse Liquidations, his daughter Jamie’s illness, and a hostile ex-wife so the last thing he needs is an offer from his old partner Donny thrown onto the burning pile that is his life. The sins of a past job have come back to bite Gayle at the worst possible time. Now he’s tracking down a powerful piece of Augment tech to save his ass before the State Treasury Secretary Andrew Bradley Elbridge has his agents take him and his livelihood down. There may be another interested party for the missing tech that has nefarious means for it. Setting things right may kill him but Gayle is the tough if not slightly broken man for the job. Jeff Macfee has built an incredible world with fast-paced thrilling characters.
June 8, 2022
The debut novel from Jeff Macfee, NINE TENTHS, depicts a vividly realized alternate version of our own world in which a wide array of technology-driven superpowers exist in the hands of Augments - those who possess the fortune (or misfortune, in some cases) to wield such potently powerful advantages. However, not all who come into possession of this formidable technology can ultimately afford the steep cost of entry that it entails.
Enter Gayle Harwood - a repo agent tasked with the recovery of defaulted Augment technology, and the cynical everyman through whose eyes this alternate reality, rife with moral ambiguity and malfeasance, is revealed to us. Reclaiming power from those who wield it is far from easy, especially while also contending with familial dysfunction and offsetting the staggering costs (both financial and psychological) of keeping a struggling repo firm out of the red.
Inevitably, a repo job from Gayle's distant past resurfaces at the least opportune time. A particularly powerful (and thereby illicit) piece of Augment tech long thought lost seems to have mysteriously resurfaced in the hands of an unknown malevolent entity, leaving in its wake a rapidly increasing body count. As Gayle pulls at the threads of this enigma, his own innocence and involvement is scrutinized and called into question by powerful government agencies, scornful Augments with an axe to grind, and at times even the few handful of people in whom Gayle places his trust. It's not long before he finds himself mired within a plight rife with conspiracy and corruption, struggling for his own survival, all while being forced to stare down the demons of his own dubious past.
Author Jeff Macfee depicts a grime-coated version of our reality that is somehow both broadly identifiable, yet also rich with supernormal circumstances that often venture into intriguingly unfathomable depths. The cast of ingeniously depicted characters living within it share a similar dichotomy; at times distinctly relatable by way of their flawed personality traits and seemingly mundane existence, at others utterly mystifying in the scope of their prodigious superpowers and the distinct personas that tend to accompany them.
NINE TENTHS is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of science fiction, superhero fantasy, cyberpunk, noir mystery, or richly imaginative storytelling as viewed through the eyes of a world-wearied 'man in the street' narrator. Macfee's debut novel hits with a flurry of augment-powered super-punches from start to finish, leaving you eager to discover what other captivating new worlds, characters, and experiences have yet to spring forth from his creatively talented imagination.
Enter Gayle Harwood - a repo agent tasked with the recovery of defaulted Augment technology, and the cynical everyman through whose eyes this alternate reality, rife with moral ambiguity and malfeasance, is revealed to us. Reclaiming power from those who wield it is far from easy, especially while also contending with familial dysfunction and offsetting the staggering costs (both financial and psychological) of keeping a struggling repo firm out of the red.
Inevitably, a repo job from Gayle's distant past resurfaces at the least opportune time. A particularly powerful (and thereby illicit) piece of Augment tech long thought lost seems to have mysteriously resurfaced in the hands of an unknown malevolent entity, leaving in its wake a rapidly increasing body count. As Gayle pulls at the threads of this enigma, his own innocence and involvement is scrutinized and called into question by powerful government agencies, scornful Augments with an axe to grind, and at times even the few handful of people in whom Gayle places his trust. It's not long before he finds himself mired within a plight rife with conspiracy and corruption, struggling for his own survival, all while being forced to stare down the demons of his own dubious past.
Author Jeff Macfee depicts a grime-coated version of our reality that is somehow both broadly identifiable, yet also rich with supernormal circumstances that often venture into intriguingly unfathomable depths. The cast of ingeniously depicted characters living within it share a similar dichotomy; at times distinctly relatable by way of their flawed personality traits and seemingly mundane existence, at others utterly mystifying in the scope of their prodigious superpowers and the distinct personas that tend to accompany them.
NINE TENTHS is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of science fiction, superhero fantasy, cyberpunk, noir mystery, or richly imaginative storytelling as viewed through the eyes of a world-wearied 'man in the street' narrator. Macfee's debut novel hits with a flurry of augment-powered super-punches from start to finish, leaving you eager to discover what other captivating new worlds, characters, and experiences have yet to spring forth from his creatively talented imagination.
Want to read
May 23, 2022Here's the author at Scalzis, https://whatever.scalzi.com/2022/05/1...
"I love to write about characters on the edges. The people who typically live outside the limelight. Wonder Woman’s mechanic. Indiana Jones’s barber. The barista who makes Ethan Hunt’s coffee before Ethan runs off to save the world. I’ve got more room to explore on the edges, creatively. The barrier to entry is low—I’m a guy on the edges. I work in IT, a career that rarely translates to the spotlight, at least not in any realistic sense. I can empathize with someone who doesn’t have the complete grab-bag of skills for a center-stage adventure. And how would they react if adventure came their way? They might persevere, plenty of every-day heroes do. But folks on the edges are going to make more human choices. Sometimes more selfish, impetuous choices. Every now and again, the wrong choice. And how do those wrong choices haunt them?
The “hero” of Nine Tenths is Gayle Harwood, a repoman just doing his job. Only his job happens to be repossessing the powered trinkets of augments, or super-powered individuals. His life is messy. He’s divorced, he’s got a sick kid, his business just gets by, and he’s made suspect choices. Despite personal and professional failures, he’s trying. I can relate. Failing to see your own weaknesses and shortcomings, until hit in the face with them, speaks to me quite a bit. A bit of the author leaked into this equation, for sure. Hopefully that connection, the empathy I’d have for such a person, strengthened the character and the book. ..."
Maybe?
"I love to write about characters on the edges. The people who typically live outside the limelight. Wonder Woman’s mechanic. Indiana Jones’s barber. The barista who makes Ethan Hunt’s coffee before Ethan runs off to save the world. I’ve got more room to explore on the edges, creatively. The barrier to entry is low—I’m a guy on the edges. I work in IT, a career that rarely translates to the spotlight, at least not in any realistic sense. I can empathize with someone who doesn’t have the complete grab-bag of skills for a center-stage adventure. And how would they react if adventure came their way? They might persevere, plenty of every-day heroes do. But folks on the edges are going to make more human choices. Sometimes more selfish, impetuous choices. Every now and again, the wrong choice. And how do those wrong choices haunt them?
The “hero” of Nine Tenths is Gayle Harwood, a repoman just doing his job. Only his job happens to be repossessing the powered trinkets of augments, or super-powered individuals. His life is messy. He’s divorced, he’s got a sick kid, his business just gets by, and he’s made suspect choices. Despite personal and professional failures, he’s trying. I can relate. Failing to see your own weaknesses and shortcomings, until hit in the face with them, speaks to me quite a bit. A bit of the author leaked into this equation, for sure. Hopefully that connection, the empathy I’d have for such a person, strengthened the character and the book. ..."
Maybe?
January 5, 2024
My friend wrote this book, so I don't think I can objectively review it.
April 29, 2022
Hard-boiled, thoroughly so. In an alternate version of our world in which "augments" (superheroes) exist, the narrator ekes out a precarious living as a repo man, repossessing augmented technology from superheroes, supervillains, and people who just think the stuff is cool, but can't afford to keep up the payments on it. He himself is struggling to pay for his daughter's cancer treatment, which is his motivation throughout the plot. This drives him to conceal key information from his partner, to get himself into multiple dangerous situations (causing him to be beaten up and otherwise maimed), and eventually to .
It's not a happy story, which made it less than completely to my taste and dropped it down to the bronze tier of my Best of the Year list. It is a well-told, well-written story, though, with a strong and believable set of motivations for a flawed yet relatable character to continue to struggle against the odds.
I never did figure out what the title refers to.
It's not a happy story, which made it less than completely to my taste and dropped it down to the bronze tier of my Best of the Year list. It is a well-told, well-written story, though, with a strong and believable set of motivations for a flawed yet relatable character to continue to struggle against the odds.
I never did figure out what the title refers to.
May 25, 2022
Macfee, Jeff. Nine Tenths. Jab, 2022.
In a post on John Scalzi’s Big Idea blog, Jeff Macfee explains that he likes stories about marginal characters in extraordinary situations, such as Wonder Woman’s mechanic. In Nine Tenths, Macfee’s debut novel, Gayle Harwood is a repo man in a world where a meteor strike has somehow caused some people to have superpowers. These people, called augments, also have some augmented technologies, and they don’t always play well with others. The novel opens with Gayle doing a repo job on an augmented jet car owned by the villainous Dr. Dimension. Gayle is an ordinary guy, divorced, with a daughter who needs expensive chemotherapy. He is a very noir character in middleclass clothing. Later, Gayle must pursue Dr. Dimension to retrieve an augmented ring that has powers that should not be used by anyone. The dialogue is crisp, and the protagonist is more nuanced than one expects in a superpowers story. 4 stars.
In a post on John Scalzi’s Big Idea blog, Jeff Macfee explains that he likes stories about marginal characters in extraordinary situations, such as Wonder Woman’s mechanic. In Nine Tenths, Macfee’s debut novel, Gayle Harwood is a repo man in a world where a meteor strike has somehow caused some people to have superpowers. These people, called augments, also have some augmented technologies, and they don’t always play well with others. The novel opens with Gayle doing a repo job on an augmented jet car owned by the villainous Dr. Dimension. Gayle is an ordinary guy, divorced, with a daughter who needs expensive chemotherapy. He is a very noir character in middleclass clothing. Later, Gayle must pursue Dr. Dimension to retrieve an augmented ring that has powers that should not be used by anyone. The dialogue is crisp, and the protagonist is more nuanced than one expects in a superpowers story. 4 stars.
June 14, 2022
In Jeff Macfee’s fun PI tale Nine Tenths (ebook form JAB Books) many superheroes buy the augments that give them power, usually financing them. Gayle Harwood owns a small repo firm for those augments and all his half of the profits are going into supporting his daughter’s cancer treatments. Then his corrupt ex-bos who he had bought the company from, was phased out of existence by someone using Dr. Dimension’s phasing ring. The government freezes his bank account and the only way is to find the missing ring that his rc-npdd might have sold on the side fifteen years ago. The tale twists standard PI tropes nicely for an enjoyable read. The prison visit is something else. I can only hope more adventures in this world are planned. Great!
June 6, 2023
Not terrible, but not great.
Liked how this is set in an alternate world where reality where augments exist, but the earth still has the same history. The story is alright, the characters can be a bit grating but not super annoying. I was okay with the pacing of the book till the end where everything becomes super rushed and jumbled together.
Would rate closer to 2.5 stars. Didn't overly enjoy this though.
Liked how this is set in an alternate world where reality where augments exist, but the earth still has the same history. The story is alright, the characters can be a bit grating but not super annoying. I was okay with the pacing of the book till the end where everything becomes super rushed and jumbled together.
Would rate closer to 2.5 stars. Didn't overly enjoy this though.
May 22, 2023
This is a really fascinating book, it's a gritty process drama about super heroes, but grounded in a way I have rarely seen in the genera. Giving nothing away, the ending is one of the best I've read in any sci-fi in a long time. Highly recommend if you're in the mood for great neo-noir.
dnf
June 7, 2022Hit the 25% mark and just not for me.
October 8, 2022
Great debut!
June 3, 2023
DNF 41%
Not for me. This was a grey world, unrelieved by goodness or hope. Even the protagonist was grey. Wanting to save his daughter was not enough to redeem him.
Not for me. This was a grey world, unrelieved by goodness or hope. Even the protagonist was grey. Wanting to save his daughter was not enough to redeem him.
January 5, 2023
In a world where superheroes exist, repo work takes on a whole new level of dangerous. You need to figure out a way to tow Starlaser’s car before he wakes up and hurls energy bolts at you. But this book isn’t about the repossession game (which I find misleading and docked points for). It’s a hard-boiled, gritty crime drama and reads like one. A noir detective story, like The Maltese Falcon. There just happen to be superheroes in it.
The premise is that an incarcerated supervillain invented a ring that allows you to phase through stuff. This is an uber-powerful device since it means you could be hiding anywhere, are basically invincible, and can kill people by squeezing their heart. It’s gone missing. The last person to have it was our main character’s old boss. And he just went six feet under. (Like, literally, because he was phased into the ground). If the main character doesn’t find some answers, the government’s going to take his money, his business, and what remains of his broken family.
I like the world-building. I like the main characters–they have a found family vibe. I don’t like how there’s too many characters. I’m not sure if that’s part of the detective genre, where you’ve gotta put in a bunch of red herrings. But it confused me, bordering on character soup. There’s a lot of good dialogue. It drags on in the middle. It reminded me of some meta-textual superhero stuff, like Invincible. I recommend reading a sample of it before you get the whole thing though. And read the whole sample–the whole book does not read like the first chapter.
The premise is that an incarcerated supervillain invented a ring that allows you to phase through stuff. This is an uber-powerful device since it means you could be hiding anywhere, are basically invincible, and can kill people by squeezing their heart. It’s gone missing. The last person to have it was our main character’s old boss. And he just went six feet under. (Like, literally, because he was phased into the ground). If the main character doesn’t find some answers, the government’s going to take his money, his business, and what remains of his broken family.
I like the world-building. I like the main characters–they have a found family vibe. I don’t like how there’s too many characters. I’m not sure if that’s part of the detective genre, where you’ve gotta put in a bunch of red herrings. But it confused me, bordering on character soup. There’s a lot of good dialogue. It drags on in the middle. It reminded me of some meta-textual superhero stuff, like Invincible. I recommend reading a sample of it before you get the whole thing though. And read the whole sample–the whole book does not read like the first chapter.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews