This was such a fun book to read. I absolutely loved the protagonist, Cas — she’s a salty mercenary with a odd moral code, who is also freakishly good at math. Superhero good at math. It was so much fun to read the scenes where she uses her mad math skills to take down those who were after her. And, even though she is a standoffish, antihero type of character, I still really liked her and wanted to know what she was up to next.
What also makes this a good book are the supporting characters — I cared about them as well and wanted to see how their story lines would work out. They were all so different and brought out various traits in Cas.
Overall, this is an exciting, fast paced read with a strong and smart heroine who is not above making mistakes. It certainly kept me turning the pages. I can’t wait to read the next book and learn more about her backstory.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book on NetGalley for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.
Zero Sum Game is a science fiction thrill-a-minute ride. The action is quick and concise, the writing is terrific, the characters are varied with fighting, subterfuge and secret organisations. Totally loved it, 5 out of 5 stars.

This book is so up my street it's moved into the flat next door and invited me over for a drink. I was initially drawn to Zero Sum Game for the mind manipulation and stuck around for the main character Cas, a complex, morally corrupt anti-heroine with crazy-good math superpowers. She's my kind of MC, a shoot first, don't 'bother asking questions badass with a stellar work ethic and a desire to get to the truth. The pacing is fast, the plot twisty, and the characters dark, with motivations I found myself constantly questioning the deeper Cas's mystery unfurled. Full review coming closer to release date. Bring on the sequel!

One of the more compelling protagonists I've spent time with recently, definitely left me looking forward to what I hope will be further adventures. (That explore her powers / prowess more extensively.)

5% in and not a lick of science fiction. The descriptions of the girl's ability to quickly do complex math to enhance her fighting skills have gotten annoying. It would be more effective to just say "she dodged the kick and knocked him out" at this point. The style is supposed to be hard-boiled but I'm not feeling it. If you want to read non-SF about a female mercenary fighting dirty cops and Mexican drug lords, here you go.

I received a free copy of Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang in exchange for an honest review. Cas Russell helps people find things. In other words, she’s a thief. When she takes a job to steal someone’s sister away from a drug cartel, things go very, very wrong. The only way to get out of trouble, logically, seems to be to find out who is causing trouble for her. However, the closer to the source she comes, the more trouble she gets in. Cas has a unique perspective; she sees things in mathematical equations, and she’s good at math. Moreover, Cas has complete control over her body and can always actualize any action for which she has the math. What if her superpower can be overwhelmed by someone else’s? How do you escape someone who can control your thoughts and emotions?

I liked this book. It went quickly, was full of action, and still had a well-thought-out plot. If you like action and super anti-heroes, you’ll probably like this novel, too. It seems to set things up for sequels, so, YAY, more reading in the future!

#ZeroSumGame #NetGalley

Zero Sum Game is a maelstrom of action and mayhem with a caustic dollop of impertinence.

Cas Russell is defined as a retrieval specialist, but she is really a tough as nails, shoot now and don't bother asking questions later, mathematical genius.

Whilst she is mostly a loner, she is pulled into a plot with such epic worldwide ramifications that even James Bond would be hailing MI6 for re-inforcements.

The character that really shines the brightest, or is it the dimmest, is the impenetrable badass, Rio with an Old Testament type zeal of smiting all and sundry. Let me break it down for you: If you see Cas, run, run away as fast as you can. If you see Rio, it's already too late.

So welcome to a world where certain people are born with preternatural talents that imbue them with unfathomable power. A world where justice can only be achieved through might. A world where we desperately need the likes of Cas and Rio to balance the scales and keep the powers in check.

If you are looking for an epic thriller with adrenaline fuelled action, plot twists and a strong female protoganist leading the charge, then look no further.

I'll be frank, I don't usually like urban fantasy and as such, I could tell this book wasn't really for me. I thought the initial premise was good: super-powered mercenaries fighting a secret organization. However, as I read, there were just too many things that distracted from the otherwise interesting story.


 
Firstly, I found the powers really frustratingly undefined. Our MC Cas has the power of being really really good at math. Basically, she can see numbers in the objects around her and do insane mental calculations that let her know what angle to shoot her gun at, how much force it will take to break something, and so on. While the mechanics were mostly unexplained, I went with the assumption that they were basically the same as the Number Man's from Worm by Wilbow and I was fine.
 
The problem I had was with the mind reader's powers (name not given for spoilers). We are told from people who have only heard rumor's about this person's abilities that she can read minds and influence other people's decisions simply by talking to them. It's implied that this works because of her ability to manipulate human empathy. However, we are a) told this from people working only from rumors yet our protagonists take everything they say as fact, and b) shown some of the effects of her power that cannot possibly be purely empathy manipulation. We don't even know how her powers really trigger, whether it's mental compulsion or if it's more verbally based. Her powers branch out later to even more confusing mind-fuckery to the point where I'm not even sure what her powers are anymore. For a book that prides itself in using structure and mathematical lingo, her powers aren't really described all that well.
 
Second was Cas' overall personality. Her powers are math-based, which tends to be very logical. Several characters throughout the book that even tell her that she thinks in a very logical manner. Yet, over and over again, Cas acted in a frustratingly rash way that screamed the opposite of logical. Several times, Cas will jump to one (mentally induced) conclusion, finds out she's been 'brainwashed', then immediately jump to another conclusion with no steps in between. She immediately goes from suspecting one group of people are the enemy, to the next group of people, and never really stops to consider motives or evidence along the way.
 
Finally, I found the sheer number of Idiot Balls being passed around frustrating. For a group of professional mercenaries and investigators, you'd think they'd be better at spotting obvious traps. There was a span in the middle where certain situations may as well have been labeled with a neon sign shouting TRAP, yet characters would still walk into them unsuspectingly. Arthur was the most common carrier, though Cas definitely had her share of moments as well (see: lack of logical thinking).
 
That is, of course, not to say this book didn't have its high points. The book starts with a great action scene that really hooks you in. Really all the actions scenes were very well written and the scenes were Cas is actively using her math powers were a delight to read. I enjoy creatively utilized superpowers and Cas definitely has her moments. Cas aside, I also really liked Rio and Checker's characters. Rio has an air of mystery around him that stays with him through his limited appearances. Eventually, I would like to know his backstory but this book was a good intro for him. Checker was the tech geek of the team who I definitely could have used more of.
 
Overall, I rate this book a 3.5. There were simply too many sections that I found unsatisfying and many of the characters too annoying. I feel bad giving this book such a low score since I loved the first several chapters and I got to meet the author at BookCon this past weekend. However, I can see other people enjoying it more, especially those who prefer this genre.
 
I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an open and honest review.

Author SL Huang is a master of spin and deception in this book that defies classification. It is part science fiction, part thriller, part suspense, and part murder and mayhem. The characters are well developed, even though some are a mystery into themselves. Every time you think you have figured out what comes next, there's a change in direction. I love her imagination and out-of-the-ordinary ability to concoct a plot as twisted as this.

The heroine, if you can call her that, of the book is Cas Russell, who uses her amazing mathematical ability to outwit, out maneuver, and out think her adversaries. She’s no angel, being able to kill people whenever she feels the need, and she needs to do that often in this battle of superpower abilities. Oh, and she hates Glocks. Then there is the mysterious Rio, the only true and lasting friend Cas has. He has a strong core belief that often guides Cas in the right direction, but he is no saint either.

If you like twisted plots, lots of action, murder, mayhem, and foul words, and don’t mind protagonists that are less than angelic, this book will keep you entertained for hours. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it highly.

I received a free advance copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Extremely well done, but too murdery for my taste.

Often, when I get ARCs from Netgalley, I have to make a concerted effort to ignore the copy editing issues (in the hope that they'll be fixed by publication time) and focus on the actual story. Not in this case. The ARC is practically spotless. Not only that, but it displays excellent writing craft; it's polished, professional, slick.

It's difficult to say precisely what the genre is here. Is the protagonist technically a superhero, given her incredible real-time mathematical ability which enables her to perform staggering physical feats and makes her a crack shot (and given the villain's powers as well)? Is it a contemporary SF thriller? An urban fantasy with mental powers instead of magic? It could be any of the three.

It has the feel of a blockbuster movie, with lots of chases, guns, and explosions... and a high body count - which, for me, was a problem. One of the characters hangs a lampshade on the fact that the protagonist's first cut at a solution to a problem is generally to shoot someone, but even after she starts trying not to do that so much, she still does it. Of the 29 people killed in a citywide disaster at one point, she killed at least four of them.

Another character, the only one she trusts, is a psychopath with no human emotion who kills even more people, but he at least has a moral structure, albeit a rather odd one, to guide him in who he does and doesn't hurt. The main character vaguely feels that maybe not murdering so many people would be preferable, but doesn't act on that feeling too much. She also never even comes close to being arrested for any of her many murders.

In the end, even though the writing itself is close to flawless, this deep flaw in the main character was too much for me, and I dinged the book a star based on my personal preference against antiheroes.

Disclaimers: I am on a writers' forum with S.L. Huang. I received a copy via Netgalley for review.