Atom Bomb Baby: A Dystopian Retro-Future Adventure

by Brandon Gillespie

Overview

Ashe is determined to be a lone survivor in the perilous wastelands of her homeworld. But after reluctantly rescuing a mysterious child, Jade, from captivity, she is thrust into a dangerous journey that reveals the significance of his extraordinary abilities and the forces that seek to exploit him.

This fallout-inspired story chronicles the survivors of a galactic-wide calamity as they find new friends, fight against unjust oppression, and ultimately uncover the secrets behind the arrival of the extra-dimensional Kraal and the fall of civilization.

With the help of her newfound allies, can Ashe confront the haunting darkness of her past and protect Jade? Can she uncover the truth that could reshape their shattered world? This epic tale of survival and discovery will captivate Post-apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fallout, Space Opera, and Urban Fantasy fans.

Go to https: //RidersOfTheStars.com/ for a free preview and additional content.

It's been twenty-five years since the Kraal appeared from another dimension out of time and space, sweeping across all the galactic worlds and causing the death of 98% of the population in a matter of months. The military Corps of the Union of Stars responded with a "cleansing" strategy, raining nuclear devastation on the already ravaged worlds.

What was once a vibrant and bright civilization became a treacherous intergalactic wasteland, with new, perilous creatures emerging from the void storms caused by the cleansing. While a few fortunate individuals found refuge in underground shelters, most survivors struggle amidst the ruins of their past, looking to the stars and yearning for what used to be, as a few dominant groups battle for control, such as the Star Rangers and the Wardens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780998749938
Publisher:	Revenant Creative Studio
Publication date:	06/22/2023
Pages:	326
Sales rank:	688,587
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.68(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Brandon is a VP of Engineering at a technology startup, and in the past his team has received the Innovator of the Year award from Redhat, and as an executive consultant he's even advised the CIO of a three letter federal agency. He's a video game and open-source pioneer, technology architect, serial entrepreneur, game designer, writer, artist, technology executive, and has built many different startups and companies. He met his wife at college, where he was going to school in English and Graphic Arts, but somehow ended up in Computer Science instead. He lives with his family in the Rocky Mountains, and enjoys the outdoors. Foremost, however, he loves sci-fi and fantasy and has developed many stories, games, and settings. Check out https://revenant.studio/ for more.

Editorial Reviews

2023-05-16
In Gillespie’s YA SF series opener, a young female survivor of a radiation-ravaged planet becomes the protector of a psychic child.

The first installment in the author’s Riders of the Stars series takes place in a space-faring future in which human-colonized worlds throughout the cosmos are devastated by an alien species called the Kraal, who come from a mysterious void to feast on human beings. The only way to deter the scourge is to detonate nuclear warheads. The world of Arcadia, 25 years after the invasion, is now one of numerous hell-planets where people attempt to survive in the “badlands” despite radiation, zombies, other void-spawned monsters, brigands, and a heavy-handed military. Ashe is a young woman raised in safety in a subterranean Arcadian enclave until her family perishes when the ruling “Commissioner” suddenly evicts them. The vengeful Ashe scrounges among the surface ruins and falls in with a couple of misfits on a self-described treasure hunt. Joining their raid on a bandit lair, Ashe becomes the guardian of a captive held there: Jade, a 6-year-old boy who soon displays unusual psychic powers. Jade, the product of a laboratory project, is also known as JDE-82 and is urgently sought by sinister authorities. The protagonists face assorted perils, typically in the form of video game–like “boss” battles; the author is also a game developer with a taste for cinematic action (“An explosion rattled the walls from the path behind them, shaking bits of gravel loose—the raiders were coming. With renewed energy, they continued running, slowing only when approaching cross tunnels”). The plot ultimately transcends video game conventions, growing more twisty and compelling by the final act. The author works in a microgenre defined as astropunk, characterized by post-apocalyptic settings and violence blended with a space-opera sensibility (in a nice touch, the chapter titles are vintage pop-song titles). Many elements here strongly evoke Japanese anime, but the material is devoid of raunch or profanity—the body count among the supporting ensemble gets pretty high, though.

This action-packed apocalyptic SF yarn will please attendees of comic book conventions and gamer expos.

Kirkus Reviews