Heather’s Bookshelf: Daugment
Author: August Niehaus
Released: 01/31/17
Genre: Adult SciFi
“Man and dog gazed at each other, carrying between them an ancient fire. Maybe not in these bodies, maybe not on this planet, but they’d fought for each other before. They’d barked and yelled at the shadows together. They’d stood side by side. They were Pack.”
“Daugment” introduces Pitney ‘Pit’ Scolan, a decorated general who saved the human race from an alien race. He bought a planet a the age of 9 and he’s finally made it to retirement. But at his retirement ceremony, things go exceptionally wrong and he’s arrested on trumped up charges.
Assuming his rival, General Tristan, is behind his predicament, Pit tries to find a way out but is unsuccessful until Jace, his first lieutenant and his friends launch a last ditch effort. Unfortunately, the plan includes turning Pit into a daugment (a cybernetically enhanced dog) who happened to be General Tristan’s.
While escaping, Pit finds himself a stowaway with Fionn and Ravenna, another daugment. While initially standoffish, Pit eventually befriends Ravenna and just in time to help Fionn seek revenge for a very familiar foe.
Trigger Warning: violence, off-page/insinuated animal death, adult language, torture
Overall, I enjoyed this unique tale. I found the whole concept of this story to be a little different and interesting. The possibility of getting your mind transplanted into another creature or robot or android or…really anything, is kind of terrifying to me and I thought the author did well in showing this side as well as other perspectives about the possibility. I also enjoyed seeing how Pit found different things his daugment body could and couldn’t do slowly as the story enfolded. I found Pit as a protagonist to be intriguing, but a little self-deprecating and enjoyed following Ravenna a little more. The author did well in giving the ancillary characters distinctive voices- especially for Fionn and Isaias. The villain in this story is absolutely terrible (in a good way for a villain). He’s self-consumed, egotistical, and doesn’t care about anything but himself. I typically enjoy a more complex villain, but in this case it really worked. The ending felt complete and was a little unexpected, but absolutely worked for the rest of the tale. I really enjoyed the uniqueness of this story and hope to see more from this author in the future.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A unique scifi adventure highlighted by well-developed and intriguing ancillary characters and a truly terrible villain
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with August Niehaus
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Find it for purchase here
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