Isolated Futures Omnibus

by Koen Martens

If you’re a fan of thought-provoking sci-fi cyberpunk
technothrillers like The Passengers and Black Mirror, then
Koen Martens’ sci-fi anthology is your perfect next read!

Story 1 -
Forced to be Free: Sam, a young hacker with anger management issues, has
joined a defense initiative against the advancing Russian army set to occupy Europe. When he discovers his boss is working undercover for the enemy, he must thwart his
boss and prevent the destruction of the EU’s drone defense network before it’s too
late.

Story 2 - Murder, Plain and Simple: Dr. Jennifer Mendoza is
a ship physician on the interstellar luxury cruiser Christopher. When a prominent and
wealthy passenger is murdered, she is called to investigate the crime. Can she identify
the killer before more people lose their lives?

Story 3 - Cima Peak:
Juan, a naive adolescent growing up in a post-apocalyptic world, embarks on a
dangerous excursion that strands him and his friend far from his home. Can they make
it back to their base before it’s too late to save the city from incoming
slavers?

Story 4 - Negative Reinforcement: Limei is an independent
app developer on an isolated space station. She is utterly dependent on and enamored
with her personal AI assistant. When she learns The Algorithm is planning to destroy
human life on her ship, she must find a way to take it down before her crew perishes.

Story 5 - Eddy: Digital forensics expert Lagan has
been wrongly convicted of murder, but no one is willing to believe that he witnessed his
own doppelgänger commit the crime. When he learns that the doppelgänger was one of
many beings created to replace humans with AI-run clones, he must prove his
innocence and take down the scheme before more people’s lives are
ruined.

Story 6 - DingDong by Zhumee: When Martin’s new Zhumee
smart doorbell accidentally causes his neighbor’s wrongful arrest, he must set out on a
quest to prove her innocence. Little does he know, Zhumee has far more control over
the justice system than anyone imagined. Can he race against the clock to take down
this corrupt system?

Genres: Anthologies

ebook

Published March 18, 2022

About the author

Koen Martens is a science fiction author and retired hacker with a degree in artificial intelligence. A software architect by day, Koen has worked with quantum computers, lithography machines, cloud servers and many other high-tech gadgets. Koen’s experience lends a great degree of realism to his writing and provides him with a healthy dose of scepticism towards humanity’s unhealthy relationship with technology.

While born in the Netherlands, Koen, together with his husband, now lives in Sweden. In his spare time, he can often be found roaming the woods of Örebro lan (getting lost despite the assistance of gps navigation) or online to stay in touch with his friends from hackerspace Hack42. Koen regularly enjoys live jazz at concerts and festivals, and plays and restores pinball games.

Reviews

[Jeannie Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Isolated Futures (Omnibus)
Author: Koen Martens
Genre: Science Fiction - Dystopian Futures
Publisher: Self-published - Copyright 2022
Publication Date: March 18, 2022
Read: September 20-26, 2022
Disclaimer: Author requested a review and sent a free paperback copy. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: If you’re a fan of thought-provoking sci-fi cyberpunk technothrillers like The Passengers and Black Mirror, then Koen Martens’ sci-fi anthology is your perfect next read!

Story 1 - Forced to be Free: Sam, a young hacker with anger management issues, has joined a defense initiative against the advancing Russian army set to occupy Europe. When he discovers his boss is working undercover for the enemy, he must thwart his boss and prevent the destruction of the EU’s drone defense network before it’s too late.

Story 2 - Murder, Plain and Simple: Dr. Jennifer Mendoza is a ship physician on the interstellar luxury cruiser Christopher. When a prominent and wealthy passenger is murdered, she is called to investigate the crime. Can she identify the killer before more people lose their lives?

Story 3 - Cima Peak: Juan, a naive adolescent growing up in a post-apocalyptic world, embarks on a dangerous excursion that strands him and his friend far from his home. Can they make it back to their base before it’s too late to save the city from incoming slavers?

Story 4 - Negative Reinforcement: Limei is an independent app developer on an isolated space station. She is utterly dependent on and enamored with her personal AI assistant. When she learns The Algorithm is planning to destroy human life on her ship, she must find a way to take it down before her crew perishes.

Story 5 - Eddy: Digital forensics expert Lagan has been wrongly convicted of murder, but no one is willing to believe that he witnessed his own doppelgänger commit the crime. When he learns that the doppelgänger was one of many beings created to replace humans with AI-run clones, he must prove his innocence and take down the scheme before more people’s lives are ruined.

Story 6 - DingDong by Zhumee: When Martin’s new Zhumee smart doorbell accidentally causes his neighbor’s wrongful arrest, he must set out on a quest to prove her innocence. Little does he know, Zhumee has far more control over the justice system than anyone imagined. Can he race against the clock to take down this corrupt system?

Review: Six novellas. A total of 476 pages. Six days to read. Challenge accepted.

Wow. Where do I start? Koen Martens' omnibus of science fiction dystopian futures offers six different and yet relatable and oddly relevant stories, each one more terrifyingly plausible than the last. I've spent the last three days since finishing Isolated Futures trying to figure out how I would describe the utter fascination, chills, and love I felt reading these novellas and the best I can do is simply.... Wow.

Each story deals with its own future--everything from the near future of Forced to Be Free to the distant future where Earth is merely an afterthought for most humans in Negative Reinforcement--and each delivers a gut punch when the reader realizes just how plausible each future is.

Forced to Be Free has great pacing and a spy-thriller vibe with questionable characters, murky motives, and an all-too-believable invasion scenario that brings the headlines of today into very sharp focus.

Murder, Plain and Simple is anything but plain and simple. I loved the distant future world building showcased in this story while the mystery reminded me of Agatha Christie. There's a delicate balance between the clues left for the reader and the final reveal that kept me guessing until the end. (And, for the record, I can usually figure out the Who in Whodunnits fairly quickly.)

Cima Peak has a dystopian survivor scenario, and I'll be honest, it wasn't my favorite story. I thought the tension between the two main characters could be a little tighter and more focused, especially given the high stakes set by the author. Also, I thought the "full circle" events wrapped up a bit too neatly given the story's after-the-fall-of-civilization setting, but overall, it was still a fun read.

Negative Reinforcement is a cautionary tale for the over-dependence on technology our world is already facing. Again, this wasn't my favorite story, mainly because it reminded me of The Matrix in many ways. But, I did like the arc for the main character. It was plausible, and I enjoyed the thought-provoking nature of the plot.

Eddy is a fast-paced collision between James Bond and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, and I liked it! A lot. Science goes awry and the stakes are high for the protagonist...or is he the antagonist....could he be both? The story has a film-like quality I can easily see translating to the big--or small--screen. This is definitely my second favorite novella in the omnibus.

DingDong by Zhumee is, hands-down, my favorite and not just because its the only story in the bunch to feature a cat! (But, the cat is a delightful bonus.) Another cautionary tale that begs the reader to think about society's reliance on technology, and the vast network of devices we willingly tap into on a daily basis in the name of "security."

Overall, Isolated Futures is an omnibus well worth reading if you're a lover of dystopian fiction, science fiction, techno thrillers, or just reading in general. Koen Martens states in the preface that he reconnected with his love of writing during the pandemic. I certainly hope he continues to love writing for many years to come because I'm a fan now, and I expect to see a lot more from Martens in the, hopefully, not-so-distant future.

[Cheryl_cajun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC read, I voluntarily give this book an honest review. As a whole these are cool and interesting reads. As a fan of the noir each has some of those vibes. Mixed with scifi theme to the stories, they even have that touch of darker side of humanity that can range from sabotage, murder, betrayals. They all revolves around six totally different but unquic characters, some just coming into themselves or only to find the courage that lost over time.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really nice collection of six short stories. As I worked my way through each of these unique stories I found myself more and more interested -- it's sci-fi mixed with mystery and thriller. Keep them coming, Koen -- you have a nice touch.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Sara M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I would like to say thank Goodreads for this book as I won a copy. I enjoyed reading this book because there are multiple stories that stand alone. I read this during hurricane Ian and it was great because I only had to focus on one small story and was done for a bit. I believe it is difficult to write a story with enough content to truly tell a story within 50 pages. Each story had a Sci-fi feel and were written well. I did not enjoy the first story as much as the remaining stories. Also, I typically feel like a story needs depth with character development. But overall I did enjoy this book!