Daughter of the Cyber Dragons by C.T. Phipps, Michael Suttkus Narrator: Catherine Ho
Series: Cyber Dragons #1
Published by Podium Audio on April 5, 2022
Genres: Cyberpunk
Pages: 346
Length: 10 hours and 48 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Author
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm
Keiko "Kei" Springs is a Rider, a specialized form of delivery girl and mercenary all in one. They are among the most highly prized criminals in the dystopian neon city of New Los Angeles. Kei has been running from her past for years and has literally erased it from her mind using a popular street drug called lethe. Unfortunately, you can't outrun your past forever, even on her specialized Nina cybercycle.
Strapped for cash, Kei accepts a job she probably shouldn't after barely surviving a live fire test by a married pair of oligarchs. Teamed up with a group of other mercenaries and cyborgs, Kei is to seek out a stolen computer program that has the power to drive otherwise ordinary individuals to shocking acts of violence. Her team includes her ex, a handsome bioroid assassin, a teenage hacker, and a ruthless corporate exec that all have their own agendas. It'd be the worst time of her life if not for all the ones she can't remember.
The Cyber Dragons Trilogy is set in the same world as the Agent G series and is an exciting action adventure cyberpunk thriller with plenty of humor.
This is a new cyberpunk series set in a dystopian LA. The Yellowstone volcano erupted and changed the world. Now, life is somewhat back to what would be called a new normal. Kei, our main character, is struggling to get by. She lives in a crappy apartment, where she doesn’t have her own bathroom, in a junkyard.
Kei is a rider, which is an armed courier. She delivers things that people don’t want anyone else to know about. She delivers everything from a message too sensitive for email, illegal and black market items, to sex toys (you don’t want your shopping data to get out on the internet, right?) and prostitutes. She gets an extremely high paying job to deliver a package, but there is an extremely tight time limit on the delivery. Deliver on-time, or get nothing. Oh, and only if it was that easy, which it is not. This job leads to another job where she and a rag-tag group of humans, cyber-modified humans and full blown androids get even more of a headache job that they must endure.
I’ve not read a huge amount of cyberpunk (the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is the Agent G series, which is set in the same world as this series). I think there are some cyberpunk references that I didn’t get. But that didn’t detract from the story for me. This was exactly something I would expect from Phipps and Suttkus. Daughter of the Cyber Dragons is filled with humor, twists and turns, action and snark, I can’t forget about the snark. I never knew where the story was going to take me. The betrayals of friends in a world where everything is cutthroat.
Fans of the Agent G series will love this story, Case is a great secondary character in this story. You don’t have to have read any of this author’s other books to start this series (Phipps and Suttkus is really good at keeping each series as a standalone series, while providing crossover content that makes readers of the other series get something a little extra special).
If you’ve never tried cyberpunk, but love action, humor and stories with lots of twists, I highly recommend you dip your toe in the genre and give this series a try. I will say that this does make me want to look for more cyberpunk stories.
Narration:
This is my first time listening to Catherine Ho. When the story first started, I wasn’t sure if I liked her or not. She has a distinct voice and way of telling a story. But the more I listened, I really grew to love her. She became Kei for me. She also did a great job with the other characters, some of which I had interacted with who had different narrators. Her voices did not conflict with the voices I already had in my head for these crossover characters. I would love to listen to more stuff with her narration.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About C.T. Phipps
C.T. Phipps is a lifelong student of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. An avid tabletop gamer, he discovered this passion led him to write and turned him into a lifelong geek. He is a regular reviewer at The United Federation of Charles and the author of Agent G, Cthulhu Armageddon, The Red Room series, Lucifer’s Star, Straight Outta Fangton, and The Supervillainy Saga.
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I started listening to audiobooks when a new book in a series was coming out and I wanted to get a refresher, but didn’t have time to read all the books (I think it was Anita Blake). I fell in love. I stayed with strictly re-reading books that I’d already read for a long time. I eventually tried an audiobook for something that I hadn’t read first and was hooked there too. Now, I listen to audio for both re-reads and first time. I have some series that I’ve given up reading and only listen. I try to get any many books/audiobooks from the library to help save on my budget. Books on CD and the newer digital downloads from the library really allow me to listen more. I then purchase my favorites (because who can wait in line for your favorite book??) and less mainstream books from Audible or some other online retailer.
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- 🎧 So Long Lollipops & And After by Sarah Lyons Fleming @SLyonsFleming @justjuliawhelan #LoveAudiobooks @AudiobookMel - April 12, 2024
- 🎧 End of the Cyber Dragons by C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus @CT_Phipps#MichaelSuttkus @TheCathBird @PodiumAudio#LoveAudiobooks @AudiobookMel - March 22, 2024
- 🎧Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming @SLyonsFleming @justjuliawhelan #LoveAudiobooks @AudiobookMel - March 8, 2024
Oh I didn’t know he had a new series! I enjoy his books
I have TWO new series thanks to a deal with Podium actually. The other is a Star Trek-esque adventure series called SPACE ACADEMY DROPOUTS.
Thanks Mel for a fantastic review!
I wanted to do a sequel to the Agent G books after the original trilogy finished but I felt like I was kind of limited by the protagonist who, as much as I love him, is a bit of a corporate suit in the dark and seedy world of cyberpunk. So I made Kei to explore a more bottom-up perspective. Plus, of course, they make a really cute couple.
Sounds fun and I love great dialogue.f
Cyberpunk is new to me, too, but I love the sound of this book. I think I have to give it a try. 😀
What a promising start to a new series. Terrific review!
I’ve never read cyberpunk either but this sounds like a lot of fun.
Cyber Dragons! Fun!