A couple years ago on my blog (now on hiatus), I asked if anyone knew of a romance featuring a cyborg hero. I had it in my head that I had read about such a book, and could not find the title. Bev(BB) suggested Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair, a revised and re-written version of a previously published ebook. I was immediately intrigued by the book, and four months later, I was there at Borders on the release date. Games of Command went on to become my favorite read of 2007, and the hero, Branden Kel-Paten, has got to be one of my top three heroes of all time.
After reading the book, I did review it on Is That a Stake in Your Pocket. And since I’m definitely feeling a bit of the old holiday burnout/exhaustion, I’m going to do something I usually would never do: re-post large sections of an old post. There is something rather cheesy about quoting oneself and commenting on one’s own thoughts, but why re-invent the wheel? {The full review can be seen here.}
Me on Sci-Fi Romance:
I usually don’t read much Science fiction…I get sick of the silly fake curse words and words for fizznucking and boy and girl parts, and the stuff about the spaceships makes me dot out. But there’s one theme in Science Fiction that always intrigues me, the one of man vs. machine, and where do you draw the line between the two. Think A.I., think Blade Runner, think Battlestar Galactica, hell, even Electric Dreams. The idea of artificial intelligence taking on a life of its own, having emotions, or even a soul, is endlessly fascinating.
The futuristic setting is well-realized and easy to follow. I never found myself distracted by the jargon or a confusing concept. And the characters are great…
Me on the Cast:
First we have Captain Tasha Sebastian, pilot extraordinaire. Sebastian’s kind of a rebel, a maverick, if you will, and she’s got a secret past that could get her into lot of trouble with her current boss, Admiral Branden Kel-Paten.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I would like Tasha. She seemed like the sassy type that I don’t really like. [And unfortunately, her real name is Sass, which...long story, but I have bad associations with that word and name.] But she grew on me, and really endeared herself to me with the vulnerability she showed as the book went on…
Sass is a kick ass heroine done right. Competent, strong, never shrill or bitchy.
Her best friend is Dr. Eden Fynn, an empath who is the Chief Medical Officer on the Vaxxar.
…Jace Serafino, a freakin’ space pirate and telepath. He and Kel-Paten hate each other a lot.
Add to the mix a couple of telepathic feline creatures (Furzels) named Tank and Reilly…I didn’t even mind the furzels. I’m not a fan of animal characters (remember I’m a children’s librarian, I get inundated with animal heroes), but they were integrated well and used just enough. I didn’t even mind their cutesy speak because they were not just there to be cute, they were important to the action.
Me on the bestest hero evah!:
Kel-Paten, also known as the ‘Tin Soldier’, is a “biocybe”, that is, he has been enhanced with all manner of metals, synthetic materials and implants to make him into a virtual war machine. He can plug into any system, instantly downloading and synthesizing information and actually becomes part of the ship’s systems. He is brilliant, but also rigid, linear, and emotionless, which causes him to butt heads with the more unorthodox Tasha on occasion. He practically shadows Tasha, because he doesn’t trust her, she suspects.
You see, Branden Kel-Paten doesn’t stick to Tasha like glue because he doesn’t trust her, but because he’s been madly in love with her for years, since they first met. He orchestrated her transfer to the Vaxxar so he could be near her. He’s not actually supposed to feel emotions, and the fact that he does could be cause for dismantling him. He is constantly trying to get her to see him as a man rather than a biocybe, but he finds it extremely difficult to banter or flirt and it doesn’t help the situation that he has to spike into the ship in front of her. It’s like he gets so close to making a connection with Tasha, then can’t quite follow through. His struggle to connect with Tasha, and his despair that she would not want to be near him were very memorable. So lovely, though I’m sad he had a space mullet on the cover. [The reprint cover lacks the mullet, FYI.]
There is nothing more squee-worthy than unrequited longing done right. The contrast between Kel-Paten’s tough exterior, and his internal struggle to understand and express what he feels for Tasha/Sass is fascinating and achingly romantic. He’s a bit of a stalker actually, but it’s because he doesn’t know how to court Tasha. Instead he just wants to be near her at all times and learn all about her, because collecting and analyzing data is what he does know. Tasha begins to see the man behind the machine, and she starts to fall, and to exhibit some vulnerability of her own. It’s a great romance between two unusual characters.
To Sum Up:
There is a lot going on here and Sinclair juggles the large cast and twisty plot very well. At first I was pretty nervous, with all the barked orders, and discussion of Graslan scales and McAbian readings and whatnot, but then I got sucked into Sinclair’s universe…
I was not as interested in the romance between Eden Fynn and Jace Serafino. It was more of the instant soulmate type thing. I was anxious to get back to Branden during their bits. But again, they were integral to the overall picture.
There was a lot of interesting stuff about who could trust who, and who could trust themselves, for that matter…were memories and emotions reliable or manufactured?
If you like sci-fi/futuristics, unusual heroes or just anything off the beaten path, give it a go. It has a fast moving plot, a well-realized world, great characters, and compelling romance. It’s supposed to be a stand-alone, but I, for one, hope Ms. Sinclair revisits this world.
And I still hope she revisits this world. This is speculative romance at its best: an fully realized alternate universe, characters and love story that holds your interest and you can really sink your teeth into.
This entry was posted by Devon on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 6:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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JMC
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December 18th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I enjoy a great Sci-fi read every so often… A cyborg romance that has my interest… definitely something to look forward to…
December 18th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
One of your top three heroes of all time??? That alone makes this a must-read for me!
December 18th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I haven’t read a sci-fi romance. I’ll have to check out “Games of Command.”
December 18th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I’ve heard a good bit about Linnea’s books, but I haven’t read any yet. It sounds like I definitely should.
Deidre
December 18th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I enjoyed Sinclair’s Shades of Dark, which stood alone fine but there was clearly a book before it that I’d missed. Is Games of Command completely stand-alone?
December 18th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
This sounds really good, Devon. I’ve avoided Sinclair in the past because sci-fi isn’t my thing (though I watch Star Trek and Battlestar G…) but you’ve totally sold me on this.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
This is a stand alone. Originally, it was two ebooks, I think, which were substantially re-written and put together.
Meriam–Me too! I’m a sci-fi watcher who almost never reads it. This is the one to try.
After I wrote this post, I stayed up until 1am re-reading. Man I love that Branden. The ol’ lovesick cyborg thing just does not get old.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
My first love of books as a teen came from reading sci-fi written by women authors. It looks like I need to take another look at sci-fi and a first look at Sinclair.
December 19th, 2008 at 1:05 am
GAMES OF COMMAND is one of my favorite Science Fiction Romances, and KelPaten is a luscious hero. Everything that Linnea writes is wonderfully entertaining. Her worldbuilding just flows, never jars. Her characters are real, and her sense of humor is great. Thanks for giving her the credit she deserves.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:16 am
Great book, I recommend it, too. Discovered Linnea through ebooks way back.
December 19th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Dev, Games of Command was one of my top 5 reads of 2007, too. I adored it. This book totally kicks ass and I can’t recommend it enough.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I actually just finished reading that yesterday
I agree wholeheartedly that it is a wonderfully written book and I too hope she returns to that universe. Have you read anything else by her? Her books ‘An Accidental Godess’ and ‘The Down Home Zombie Blues’ are both excellent reads even though there are no Cyborgs in them 
December 19th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Oddly enough, completely out of the blue I reread Games of Command this weekend myself. Am currently rereading/skimming Gabriel’s Ghost and am eyeing Finders Keepers for next. Was there a sublimal Sinclair memo sent out to all fans or something?
The original story of this one was an ebook called Command Performance and Linnea had intended to publish an ebook sequel to it entitled Command Decision, I believe. Then she got a print contract for, oh, Gabriel’s Ghost – I believe that was her first book reworked for a major publisher – and by the time they got around to reworking Tasha and Branden’s story it had become Games of Command, which is considerably more than Command Performance but not just the original story either. I know this because I have all the original ebook stories on file.
This was actually one author that I was sort of fretting about moving to a print publisher for fear it might ruin her writing – she’s that good. Shouldn’t have worried. Although I still say I do miss something from the original Gabriel . . . but that’s another story entirely. ;p
Probably only another fan fiction writer is going to know what I’m talking about here, but the mention of watching sci-fi reminded me that when I first started reading Linnea in ebooks I couldn’t get over how much of a Star Trek “echo” there was in her books. I’ve never said anything to her about it because I’m never sure how an author would take it but as a reader I don’t see it as a bad thing.
It’s like when one reads a lot of historicals. After a while, certain terms have to be used over and over and they become familiar and comfortable to readers. That’s not wallpaer. That’s language. Well, if one watches a lot of a certain type of sci-fi, the same holds true. Why reinvent the wheel with meaningless nonsense? And she doesn’t. She actually uses them the proper way. Or so it seems.
It’s refreshingly straightforward and action oriented, too, while still maintaining the romance.
December 19th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I haven’t yet read anything from Linnea Sinclair, though based on everything I’ve heard, she’s right up my proverbial alley. I love your description of the hero, and so I’m definitely putting this one on my list of books to hunt down.
December 20th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Devon – I am so with you. I watch (some) sci-fi but shy away from reading it. Too often it seems like the world takes over the story. I tend more towards futuristic/alternative world than Sci/fi. I’ve heard good things about Sinclair before and have Finders Keepers. I’ll give this one a shot based on your recommendation!
Another pair of cyborg books I enjoyed was Kaitlyn O’Connor’s Cyborg and Abiogenesis (New Concepts Pub).
December 21st, 2008 at 2:56 am
I’ve read a few Sci-fi Romances but not one with a Cyborg. I’ve heard of Linnea but haven’t read any of her books yet.
December 21st, 2008 at 11:15 am
Great comments guys!
Finders Keepers was good too.
I’m going to check out the Kaitlyn O’Connor romances too.
December 21st, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I also like the O’Connor books but people should be aware that they feature multiple partners and I’m not talking about simple menages. We’re talking about one female paired with two to four males in this universe. Oddly enough, she makes it work though. I particularly loved the one about the pediatrician. Those four cyborgs were so bumbling and clueless on the one hand yet absolute and total killing machines on the other while completely dedicated to proving they could function as a family that you can’t help ending up rooting for them. And she plays the befuddled and bemused heroine who’s not quite sure just what’s she’s gotten herself into just right, too.
Anyone ever seen the movie “Soldier”? Think of that unit at the end with the desire to procreate. Jointly. Oye.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Thanks for the warning, Bev. I’m not usually a big menage fan. The reason they “have” to be in a menage is always so stupid.
I looked at the excerpts though, and I liked the one about pediatrician. I’ll have to give them a try.