GoodbooksToday.com Reviews

"Cripple Mode: Hot Electric" is a futuristic and compelling sci-fi novel of space travel and cloning which will leave readers in awe of the writer's imagination combined with technical knowledge.." - GoodbooksToday.com Reviews

Cripple Mode: Hot Electric is a lengthy sci-fi novel which also combines all the elements of action, thriller, the occult, astrology, religion and cloning all in one neat, but very long package. If the length of this book does not intimidate you, you are in for a treat as this account is very well written and easy to follow despite the technical wording and explanations of space travel and station living.

In the beginning, the main character, Travis, a twenty-three year old male, suddenly finds himself in the body of an approximately sixteen-year old girl. But becoming female is the least of her problems as Travis fights forces of evil throughout the story. Her status is dubious at the beginning, especially with staff knowledge of family history and believed cloning. As she earns her place on the space station, her relationships with others improves dramatically and in the end, she wins the respect and admiration of almost all on board.

Jumpspace technology and its effect on civilization as well as the notion of cloning is a resounding theme throughout the book as ship officers and other inhabitants attempt to determine exactly how Travis ended up on board this solitary space station and who exactly she is. While the technical aspects which are explained throughout this book may be well above the understanding of ordinary readers, it does provide them with some comfort that the author is well versed in mechanical and aerospace terms. It is obvious that Jerry J.L.Dobias is an engineer in real life as well as a master writer who does his best to explain and clarify technical facts and figures for readers.

Friendships are forged throughout all of the ordeals which Travis must face, the least of which is getting used to being in a female form. All types of individuals including a nurse, teachers, fellow students and ship officers pull together to assist Travis with self-discovery, personal transformation and a bright future.

While the sheer length of this 630-plus page novel may not lead most readers to pick it up and read it again anytime soon, it does leave them looking forward to the next voluminous work as the ending of Cripple Mode definitely lends itself to an equally enthralling - and probably equally lengthy - sequel.

- GoodbooksToday.com Reviews

Soul Vomit Review


My thanks go to Jennifer-Crystal Johnson for the great review.

4/5 stars
Author: J. L. Dobias
ISBN: 9781469169804

I have to admit that the beginning of this story completely threw me. Is it a man stuck in a little girl's body? Did they switch consciousness? Is the girl really just crazy and is herself but doesn't know it? What's going on?

Once I began reading further, things began to make a lot more sense.

Because this is the first book in a series, it's no surprise that the descriptive elements in the book are pretty long. I have an extremely short attention span, so unfortunately this doesn't settle well with me. The good news? It's science fiction! Imagine the possibilities.

The good thing is that I only noticed a single weird spelling of a word: midtwenties. Isn't that supposed to be mid-twenties? I always thought so.... So that threw me off for a bit. I edit for a living, so these kinds of things affect me quite a bit... I know some people don't care, but it throws a kink in the flow of things for me.

The book itself, the story, is an epic one. Action-packed sci-fi with incredible characters and scenarios, imaginative futuristic technology, all gathered in a well-written package means that this is the kind of book you can read for a while but will always come back to in order to find out more. What happens nex?

Let's find out in the next book. =)

Soul Vomit

Julie said:

What a crummy ending, just left you hanging
J.L. Dobias Replied:

Thanks for reading it all the way to the end. BTW it's book one of a trilogy.