Format: Kindle, 300 pages
Release Date: September 18, 2017
Publisher: ACI Books
Source: Author
Genre: SyFy, Dystopian, Futuristic
153 years in the future, Earth doesn’t look much like it used to.
Holly Danger’s current assignment, gleaned from a set of foggy instructions and a handful of coin stuffed into a slot, is to pick up a street kid who’s about to terminate himself off a cliff. And, as a rule, she doesn’t turn down currency. Her job as a salvager keeps her fed and clothed above the norm, which isn’t saying much.
The norm in this city is a scrape-by existence in a post-apocalyptic world, where the rain never stops, food is always scarce, and the elite have deserted the ranks in search of something better. Picking up this urchin won’t take much time, even if he’s located outside city limits. Her craft is fast, her weapons deadly, and her tech has been optimized as well as it can be for a climate clogged with iron dust.
But things take a big turn when she decides to become the boy’s guardian instead of hand him over. Outskirts have descended on the city, and their plans don’t include playing nice. When her crew is backed against a graphene wall, it’s a good thing her Gem is primed and ready to go. It’s almost as deadly as she is…
Danger's Halo is the first of three installments in author Amanda Carlson's Holly Danger trilogy. Carlson is also the author of such series as Jessica McClain, Phoebe Meadows, and Sin City Collectors. Carlson takes a wild leap of faith into a new genre for her, Futuristic Science Fiction. Protagonist Holly Danger lives in a city that was devastated by a meteor hit 60 years ago. She is what the author calls a salvager, and she is really good at her job. She also has her own crew which I'll reveal shortly.
As the story begins, Holly is hired to find a kid and bring him back. She encounters the kid (Daze) who is thinking about jumping off a cliff. The kid claims that if he jumps, he can find his way to the Flotilla City that left 30 years ago to a destination unknown. He also claims that he stole something important from a bad man. A bad man who clearly understands that Holly & her crew are a danger to his plans for the future and the city. Then, Carlson starts to peal away the layers. Who encouraged the kid to jump? Why is this person so intent on taking out Holly's crew? And, what exactly did Daze steal that is so important?
The thing you should know about Holly is that she is not Jessica, nor is she is Phoebe. She is a woman who survived the streets as an orphan after she lost her mother. She owns a former military drone called Luce. She is a brilliant pilot, as well as someone who knows all the ins an outs of her city and can escape almost any situation because she is always loaded with survival in mind. She is a character who is MacGyver like in her brilliance of putting things to getting, and salvaging what she needs from all over the city she calls home. She doesn't trust easily, but is prone to making human errors.
She found a group that is eclectic in nature, & watches each others backs even when the chips are stacked against them. This group includes Bender, Darby, Lockland & Claire who we don't meet in this story. We do meet another character called Case, who is considered an outsider because he isn't from this area. Case and Holly's relationship isn't one of romance. It one that comes together for the greater good, and to save Holly's crew from being killed off. This story is filled with futuristic technology that the author goes to extremes to explain. The book does end on sort of a cliffhanger ending which will most likely continue into the next installments Danger's Vice, and Danger's Race.
