Variance: Raise Your Weapon

by Josen Llave

Overview

Paul Benedict is not like his fellow Utopians, immortals who live in absolute peace and love. He possesses the will to fight back, and he knows he must do so in order to protect his wife and daughters.

When alien scouts terrorize Paul's planet, he and his family work together to engineer a nonlethal battle suit designed to stop the attacks. The source of the invasion is a man named Shadow who is intent on eliminating the Utopian race, whom he calls "violators of God's power of life." He is also the game master of Divine Might-a gladiator game that may represent the Utopians' only hope. Using his invented suit, Paul embarks on a journey to gain mercy for his race by conquering the game, in which the champion's wish comes true. Only time will tell if he will survive and manage to do what is right when everything around him is wrong.

If you've felt the anguish of Star Wars Anakin in his journey to become Darth Vader, felt the adrenaline of The Hunger Games Gamemakers's arenas tormenting tributes, felt the love of Blade Runner 2049 AI Joi for her replicant companion K, was amazed by Marvel Cinematic Universe's Iron Man Mark 50 armor (Avengers Infinity War), and found humor in Atlas and Smith's relationship in the recent Netflix sci-fi movie Atlas, put all of those feelings into a blender and you get Raise Your Weapon: Variance.

Science-fiction topics in Raise Your Weapon: Variance: action and adventure, utopian and dystopian societies, artificial intelligence, AI symbiosis, pacifism, peacemaker, family and love, battle suits, mech armor, military technology, futuristic technology, nanotechnology, electromagnetic technology, physics and science, nuclear warfare, space travel, gladiator sport, battle royale, battle arenas, terraforming, new and distant worlds, future of mankind, aliens, epic battles, transformation, survival, survival games, augmented and superimposition realities, higher dimensions, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532012815
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/10/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	278
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Josen Llave is the author of Variance: Raise Your Weapon, an epic science fiction novel about utopian pacifists adapting to worlds that hate their perfect society. It is fast-paced action covering AI, future tech, gladiator arenas, sacrifice, and family. He is also a Senior Product Director at CBRE, holds a master of science degree in engineering management and bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and was an infantry sergeant for the US Army. He and his wife have five children. They live in Tennessee.

Editorial Reviews

10/16/2017
As this extremely earnest but awkward science fiction debut begins, hero Paul Benedict is rushing toward an immense residential structure that is under attack by a merciless enemy. All the other citizens on planet Azure are perfectly calm Utopians who are constitutionally unable to have any feelings other than happiness, but Paul and his family have the unique ability to develop more varied emotions. This will let him fight back against the invading forces from planet Crimson. Therefore, Father Kaiser, creator of the Utopian race, sends him to the moon Xameeshee to compete in the gladiatorial contest of divine might so that he can confront Crimson’s mastermind, Shadow. Fortunately, Paul and his family have been designing a battle suit, Variance, that should be perfect for the task. As he fights, Paul loses most of his inhibitions, along with much of his original body mass; he is aided by a seductive AI and an amusingly foul-mouthed trainer. The escalating succession of combat scenes recalls run-of-the-mill manga, and there’s really nothing else to the story. (BookLife)

Publishers Weekly

2017-07-05
In Llave's debut novel, future humans have divided into two major groups: the purely pacifistic and love-driven Utopians, who live in immortality and abundance, and the hateful and warlike Kazats, whose thrive on inequality and intolerance. Both cultures have advanced technology of many kinds, including space travel and extraordinary engineered materials, but a religious fervor among the Kazats urges them to slaughter and destroy the Utopians for their violation of a divine natural order. Caught in this escalating struggle is a Utopian named Paul Benedict, an unusual man because of his daring, risk-taking, and desire to fight back against the invaders. Eager to safeguard the lives of his people and of his wife and daughters and anxious about attacks on their planet that were directed by the Kazats, Paul works with other Utopians—including the legendary Father Kaiser, "Founder of all Utopians"—to develop a nonlethal combat suit called Variance. With Variance, he may be able to stem the tide of war while still upholding the Utopian ideal of preserving all life, even that of enemies. But things grow complicated when Paul gets the chance to win an even more bloodless victory by engaging the enemy in a deadly battle sport called Divine Might. The stakes are high, but if Paul can use Variance to claim the championship of the game, he can claim the prize—a wish granted by the tournament's game master—that will change the course of history. The book includes a short set of stylish, evocative illustrations that support the text. Fast pacing and lots of action provide momentum while the nuts-and-bolts talk of engineering and science make the worlds feel believable yet alien. Likable characters and breezy dialogue add to the fun. A grand, epic, upbeat sci-fi adventure with an anime influence.

Kirkus Reviews