The Megarothke

On the second page of his debut novel, Robert Ashcroft flaunts the anti-info-dumping dictum with one nimble paragraph. The gist: Massive attack from space. Almost all life on earth wiped out. Hideous monsters roam the wasteland. Fifty thousand survivors in Los Angeles are humanity's one last hope. With that out of the way, we're off.

There are patrols into the waste land, scenes of barrack life, and the mission to destroy the Megarothke, the AI thought to be behind all the destruction. This would in itself make for entertaining, computer game-inspired action, something Ashcroft clearly knows how to write, but he has more story to tell. Our hero is policeman Theo Adams. Before all this started, his wife Maddy announced that she is transitioning to male. It is not a total surprise to Theo; but, there are custody issues surrounding their seven-year-old daughter, and Theo is not too sold on Madison's new friends in the trans-sentience movement. Some of this is calm before the shitstorm comedy, and the issue surrounding a robotic dog that can pass for a real canine, never misses a word that's said, and can't keep its mouth shut is a comic highlight in what is overall a pretty grim book. But the flashbacks are not just padding, The trans-sentience movement may have inadvertently played a role in the Hollow War that has gutted life on earth.

Megarothke is an entertaining debut, filled with cool monsters and the proper blend of likable characters, untrustworthy characters, and irritating assholes. Ashcroft conjures up a blend of horror and science fiction that could see him through many future projects.