| Title | : | Zero Sum Game (Cas Russell, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1250180252 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781250180254 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2014 |
Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good. The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight, and she'll take any job for the right price.
As far as Cas knows, she’s the only person around with a superpower...until she discovers someone with a power even more dangerous than her own. Someone who can reach directly into people’s minds and twist their brains into Moebius strips. Someone intent on becoming the world’s puppet master.
Cas should run, like she usually does, but for once she's involved. There’s only one problem...
She doesn’t know which of her thoughts are her own anymore.
Zero Sum Game (Cas Russell, #1) Reviews
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3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum
https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/11/13/...
Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang was a fast-paced and entertaining page-turner that put me in mind of a sci-fi blockbuster thriller. The story’s protagonist, a self-described retrieval specialist named Cas Russell, is a quick-witted and legitimate badass who is scarily good at what she does. People may hire her to do rough jobs like smash-and-grabs or hostage recovery, but her logical mind ensures she always has a plan. Her tremendous math skills and ability to calculate complex equations on the fly have helped her navigate through the worst dangers of her profession and made her a survivor.
Which is why Cas is thrown for a loop on her latest assignment when what should have been an easy rescue operation goes completely awry. Receiving a tip from her colleague Rio, our protagonist accepts a mission that takes her deep into the heart of drug cartel territory to find and retrieve a young woman named Courtney Polk. The problem, however, is that Courtney’s sister, the one who is paying Cas for the job, isn’t in fact who she claims to be at all. Before long, Cas finds herself entangled in web of conspiracy and lies involving a shadowy organization and its deranged telepathic leader who has designs on world domination.
My thoughts on the plot: fun, if not entirely cogent or deep. Both protagonist and antagonist are kind of hokey, though a blast to follow. I also like how the book does not take itself too seriously, which allows the reader to laugh at the corny jokes or overlook some of the story’s more absurd and farcical moments. There are a lot of cool ideas in in here, which made this one a quick and enjoyable read, even if there were parts that made me scratch my head or grit my teeth in frustration.
First, let’s start with the things I felt could have been improved. Like a lot of debuts, Zero Sum Game suffered from quite a few pacing issues. If I recall correctly, the book began as a self-published project before it was picked up by Tor for this second iteration, and throughout that process, I assume it went through a lot more polishing and editing. I was therefore a bit surprised at the clunkiness of some of the prose, as well as the awkward delivery of some of Cas’ more cringe-worthy lines. A lot of the times her internal dialogue felt like a messy stream of consciousness, spelling out every thought process and emotion, which really made it hard to concentrate on everything else happening in the plot.
Story-wise, this novel also falls squarely in the technothriller category. But with regards to the “techno” part of thet equation, I feel as though the author left things neither here nor there. She goes into a great deal of detail about certain mathematical or technological concepts, but overall worldbuilding feels pretty vague and undefined. On top of the sci-fi elements, there are also paranormal factors at play, but again, the why’s and how’s of it are not very well explained.
But here’s what I did like: the characters, despite their flaws, are compelling and memorable—especially Cas. Without giving away too much of the story, what our protagonist struggles with here is a conflict that rattles her to her core, because it threatens one of the only things she can count on: her mind. When someone who prides herself on her logic and intelligence is faced with the possibility that she can’t trust her own thoughts, the results are as interesting to read about as you would expect. Even the villain is impressive, their whole bent-on-taking-over-the-world angle notwithstanding. I liked how none of the characters were black and white, with the line between good and evil not only being blurred and uncertain, but redrawn again and again throughout the course of this tale.
All told, Zero Sum Game was a lot of fun to read, the story made even more intriguing by its bold and unforgettable characters as well as themes exploring topics like psychology, mind control, and futuristic tech. That said, I thought the novel’s full scope and potential was likely held back by minor issues like plot pacing and structural flaws. Nevertheless, it’s a solid debut and I think most sci-fi and thriller fans will enjoy it and appreciate it for what it is. -
Reseña en español en
el blog
First of all, thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange of my honest opinion.
I’ve had my eye on this book, first self-published in 2014, for a while, so when I heard Tor was going to reprint it this year, I knew I had to read it. After all, a thriller in which the main character’s superpower is no less than math made me too curious to let it pass.
Even though Zero Sum Game turned out to be very different from what I expected, it pleasantly surprised me. To begin with, it has a quick pace from the beginning that doesn’t slow down at any point, and lots of plot twists that I didn’t expect at all. Also, as far as I know, the author worked as a stuntwoman in Hollywood, and that’s reflected in her frenetic action scenes that’d sure be perfect for a movie adaptation.
However, the best part of the novel for me was, without a doubt, its characters. Cas is stubborn, impulsive, hot-headed, selfish and immoral, but also extremely intelligent. Her powerful personality, along with Huang’s passion for math that she shares with our heroine, make her one of the most interesting narrators I’ve read in a long time. And, despite having superpowers in a world where it’s not common to have them, she isn’t invincible, which makes her even more human.
The rest of the characters don’t fall far behind: Rio is the only person Cas trusts and a psychopath with firm religious convictions who only attacks those who deserves God’s punishment. Arthur is a private detective with a good heart, but ready to break any rules to achieve his goal. And Checker is a brilliant, sassy hacker with a great sense of humour. The group dynamics is most curious and, although Cas makes it clear none of them is her friend, it’s impossible not to grow fond of them.
As a negative thing, I’ll say the ending was a bit disappointing because it was too open and left lots of questions unresolved, but there are more books in the series and I hope to enjoy them as much as this one.
All in all, if you’re looking for a fresh, original story, full of action (and math references) and that’ll surprise you, Zero Sum Game is a safe bet.
Trigger warnings:
Violence, ableism (called out), death, hallucinations, imprisonment, manipulation. -
1) Classic case of WHY THE HELL DIDN'T I READ THIS SOONER (seriously, I had copies of the self-published books before Tor picked this up. WTH @ me)
2) NEW FAVORITE ALERT. Cas is a fucking badass. Who knew math could make such a kickass babe.
3) I love Rio. Nuff said. (Someone needs to spill their guts, pronto, though!!) -
Re-read 1/8/2023. I listened to the audio version this time. The narrator added a lot of color to a great story. 5 stars for the audio version.
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Thanks to a NetGalley ARC I've had this gorgeous piece of speculative fiction sitting in my tbr for long weeks. At the publisher's request, reviews shouldn't be posted more than two weeks before publishing date. My excitement and expectation levels were through the roof before I could finally dive into this amazing story.
This is a crime thriller with PNR elements.
🌟 Non-stop action
🌟 Utterly unique characters
🌟 Mind bending mystery
🌟 Great flow & pacing
I was so hungry for it that I literally inhaled this story. 5 stars for the cover and 5 stars for the title which are always the strongest selling points for me to pick up a book.
If there is any little thing I found lacking, it would be just a smattering of humor to lighten up the heavy plot. Other than that, it is perfect.
PS. for my romance loving reader friends --- there is no romance in this book. Sorry #notsorry ;-) -
An action-filled first novel, featuring Cas Russell, a female super(anti)hero who can calculate trajectories (etc.) on the fly, in her head. She’s well-armed, quick to shoot a (perceived) enemy, and her mentor and protector is a psychopathic killer. The setting is contemporary LA, and the action is largely gun battles and car chases. The supervillain, a poised beauty who has a library of first editions, specializes in telepathy and mind control, and her org, the mysterious Pithica, claims to be working for Whirled Peas -- but leaves a pretty awesome body-count of collateral damage behind their “philanthropy.” Note that there is a truly gruesome mass-murder crime scene, and a disturbing number of killings by the antihero.
But, wait, there are actually some hints of subtlety and character development between action scenes. Nice hooks for sequels, but no resolution whatever here — this is book 1 of at least 4. The author previously self-published four volumes of her “Russell’s Attic” series, Tor picked them up, and edited a revised vol. 1.
Mixed feelings on this one. The pages fly by, and the action is nonstop. The level of graphic violence is disturbing, and cost the book a star. But it’s pretty much superhero-cartoon level stuff, at the better end of that spectrum. So, strong 3 stars here, and I’ll likely read the next.
Love her tagline: “SL Huang – SpecFic author. Mathematician. Gunslinger.” She says that she started the series in frustration that her math skills weren’t making her a better softball player. She’s the first professional female armorer in the (film) Industry:
https://www.slhuang.com/
Here's the best review I saw here, by Charlotte:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... -
Total, popcorn fun. A protagonist whose normal reaction to situations is to shoot first (and probably second, too) and whose superpower is applied physics and geometry, or math, as she calls it.
Cas Russell does retrievals, and her latest case gets her into serious trouble, on the run with various shady types after her and the detective on the same case. There are lots of examples of Cas' amazing ability to figure out where something will be, based on computations, and a growing sense that there's something deeper and darker going on, with her ability and how she came about it. We're only given hints, and I'm on board for possibly more details, and more crazy Cas action, in book 2. -
3.5 stars
Zero Sum Game is a sci-fi thriller and the first book in the Russell's Attic series. It follows Cas Russell, a mercenary whose superpower is based on mathematics.
I think this is the kind of story that would work perfectly as a movie. It's fast-paced and full of action, fight scenes and unpredictable twists - just the kind of thing I'd like to watch on a screen. Someone please adapt this, I need it.
As a book, it's not exactly my kind of thing, but I liked it anyway.
I'm not sure sci-fi thrillers are a genre that appeals to me, but I can't deny that I was really invested in the characters even when I wasn't finding the plot interesting. If you like this genre and you're interested in a story with magical mathematics and a diverse cast, I really recommend this. I decided to read this story because I want to read most books in which the main characters are women who are in some way scientists - and I ended up really liking Cas and the descriptions of her mathematical abilities, but the main reason this book worked for me were the character dynamics.
I loved Cas Russell's narration. Hotheaded, antisocial, not as rational as she think she is, flawed, one-woman army Cas Russel. I love her. And she's not too powerful for the story (reading about a character who solves things only with their superpowers would be boring), since the villain's power ends up being literal mind control.
I also really liked the side characters:
★ Rio was my favorite of the side characters. I never would have thought I would like a character who is basically a really religious psychopath, but he was a really entertaining one.
★ Arthur Tresting is a black PI, probably the most normal person in the group and would ordinarily be the sanest person in the room. Since sane people are easier to manipulate for the villain, that isn't always true.
★ Checker is the hacker. He collaborates with Arthur, is very good as disappearing, and has a sense of humor that often includes annoying others. I loved the humor in this book (another aspect that, again, would translate really well on a screen). Checker uses a wheelchair.
I loved them individually, but I loved them even more as a group. Powerful people working together against someone who's worse and reluctant friendships are some of my favorite things to read about.
Another thing I really liked were the questions this book raised about ethics and free will. I would have liked to see more of that.
While I did really like the characters and their interactions, I wasn't always invested in the plot. I think mind control makes the plot less interesting - when the villain can make everyone act like they want, there's an excuse for really unwise decisions that isn't only "because we needed a plot", but it doesn't make those decisions any wiser. It doesn't leave that much space for interesting character growth. Mind control also seems to make for a somewhat unsatisfying ending, but I can't explain without spoilers. -
I'll thank you to talk to me like the heavily armed person I am.
Galley provided by publisher
Rep: Latino side character
If, like me, you enjoy plenty of action (and I mean plenty) in your books, then Zero Sum Game is the book for you. From page one, it's busy and intense, and there were definitely no points where I thought there was too much of a lull. So, all in all, perfect for me and my short attention span.
You might think, therefore, that I'd rate this book a lot higher than I have. Mainly, I didn't because, for all that the plot never let up, I had a little trouble always feeling sympathetic towards some of the characters, in particular Cas and Rio. I liked Cas, but every time she blithely insisted on asserting how much she trusted Rio and couldn't work with anyone who wouldn't work with him too, I had to roll my eyes. Because Rio is described as being a mass-murdering sadist. He is a psychopath (although apparently calling him this is crossing a line for Cas. And mass murder isn't? Okay). But Cas trusting him is supposed to be enough for other people to trust him too. So yeah. I could definitely see more where Arthur and Checker were coming from with this. Additionally, the plot somewhat revolved around Rio and I just couldn't side with him and Cas enough to actually care.
Then there was the little problem of how Cas just seemed to kill everyone who got in her way. I wouldn't mind so much if they were all genuinely bad guys but they just seemed to be anyone she categorised as impeding her. There was a part in the middle, when Arthur calls her out on this, where I thought here we go, here's going to be some soul-searching and character development, but it seemed to get dropped fairly quickly.
But lack of sympathy for characters aside, I enjoyed this book. It was an action-packed ride and definitely one I'd recommend if you're looking for a quick thriller to read. -
Ridiculously fun sci-fi thriller, exactly what I needed to take my mind off the news this week. Ostensibly a book about a mathematically superpowered gunslinger for hire chasing a shadowy conspiracy, actually a character-driven thrill-ride centering not one but two delightful platonic male/female friendships. (Rating for language.)
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Just one question now: WHERE ARE MY DAMN MATH SUPERPOWERS?
On to book two!
4.5 stars! -
Actual rating: 4.5/5
There is something beautiful about the high-speed math of a gunfight. I’ve heard other people opine that gunfights are confusing and disorienting, but to me, they always happen with perfect clarity: every bullet impact leads back to its source, every barrel sweeping through with its own exact trajectory.
Thanks to good teachers I fell in love with mathematics and geometry early in my life. There are art and thrill in reasoning, imagination and finding the truth.
Zero Sum Game’s protagonist - Cas Russell is a weaponized mathematics genius and a kick-ass heroine with mild psychopathic tendencies. She literally equates her way out of impossible situations and devastates her opponents with preternatural ease and speed. It seems I have a new crush.
Cas is a loner and an outcast leaving off the grid as a retrieval expert. Human life doesn’t mean much to her, and she rarely hesitates to pull the trigger. She trusts only one person, Rio, an absolute and ruthless psychopath whose ability to be effective borders on the unrealistic.
Her latest job goes wrong. It turns a seemingly naïve drug mule Cas rescued from Colombians is part of a secret and well-connected organisation, called Pithica. Despite the evident danger, Cas can’t help digging deeper into the case. Supported by Rio, irritatingly moral PI investigator and a brilliant computer-whiz she faces opponents with augmented psychic skills (telepathy).
I have a soft spot for unlikable heroes with psychopathic tendencies. Add genius mind to the mix and I’m sold. Cas and Rio are a lethal, terrifying duo. Cas’s mind-bending math skills allow her to dodge bullets, eavesdrop through closed doors thanks to in-depth understanding of sound waves properties, or jump from building to building through armed window. People don’t understand her and she doesn’t function well in society.
Rio is an unstoppable killing machine. He’s unable to experience normal human emotions. For unknown reasons the two trust each other on a visceral level. I hope SL Huang will explore their non-romantic, intriguing relationship in the sequels.
Secondary characters felt entertaining and well rounded. That said, remember we’re talking about explosive, fast and over-the-top pulp read. Don’t expect these characters to be realistic. Unless you live in a much more interesting world than I.
I loved this book. It has it all. Kick-ass heroine with mild psychopathic tendencies and genius mind. Mathematics. Preternatural skills. Conspiracies. Breakneck speed. Guns, mines and grenades.
I choose to turn a blind eye to its flaws - small inconsistencies, open ending, a ton of unanswered questions, cheesy moments directly out of an action B-movie. If such things irritate you Cas’s story will tire and disappoint you. If, however, you love explosive, hard-hitting and straightforward crime fiction with a supernatural twist try it.
Interesting fact Originally, the Cas Russell series (formerly the Russell’s Attic series) was self-published by the author and consisted of four books and two short stories. Because of upcoming Tor re-release of the series only book 1 is available for purchase at the moment. Some happy people still have older ebooks, for example books 1-3 bundle published in 2016. The question remains if the quality of the re-release improves the story enough to justify long wait for next instalments. -
Loved the lead, Cas, the action/adventure, the math, and I would watch the hell out of a movie about her. And the short feature on weapons training with the author and the lead. The plot moved along at a brisk pace. Just the thing between naps on a sick day.
Library copy -
3.5*
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Das Debüt der Hollywood-Stuntfrau, Schusswaffen-Expertin („Battlestar Galactica“ und „Raising Hope“) und MIT Absolventin in Mathematik, S.L. Huang (Shi Lian Huang) ist ein ebenso rasantes wie abwechslungsreiches Thriller-Garn, das mit einem Schuss paranormalen Effekten hantiert. Die (Roman-)Heldin Cas Russell ist eine professionelle Wiederbeschafferin. Diesmal hat sie den telefonischen Auftrag einer gewissen Dawna Polk aus L.A. angenommen, ihre kleine Schwester Courtney aus den Fängen eines Drogenkartells zu befreien. Der Grund, warum Cas den Auftrag überhaupt angenommen hat, ist der, dass sich Dawna auf Cas‘ einzigen Freund, den mysteriösen Auftragskiller Rio, berufen hat. Cas gelingt es, Courtney mit Hilfe ihrer eigenen Superkräfte (sie ist ein Mathematikgenie und kann ihre Umgebung als eine Sammlung aus Gleichungen und Vektoren wahrzunehmen, damit verwandelt sie Alltagsgegenstände in tödliche Waffen) aus den Fängen der Drogenmafia zu befreien und zu einem sicheren Ort zu bringen. Gleichzeitig mischt ein Privatermittler sich in die Sache ein und findet die beiden in einem Motelzimmer, Cas fragt sich, wie er sie orten konnte und geht direkt zum Angriff über. Er hat sie nach „Pithica“ gefragt, aber der Name sagt Cas nichts. Kaum hat sie ihn entwaffnet, düst sie mit einem geklauten Wagen ab…
Im Laufe des Romans trifft Cas, unsere Superheldin, auf Dawna Polk, die nichts anderes als eine Superschurkin ist. Cas hat bereits am eigenen Leib erfahren, wozu sie fähig ist: Sie kann Gedanken lesen. Als wäre das nicht schon schlimm genug: Dawna kann einem auch einreden, was man denken und fühlen soll. Sie dreht Menschen um und macht sie zu ihren Sklaven. Selbst eine mentale Mauer aus mathematischen Aufgaben, die Cas gegen diesen Einfluss errichtet, kann sie nicht vollständig schützen.
Dawna Polk rekrutiert Menschen für ihre Organisation „Pithica“. Dieses Netzwerk hat bereits Regierungsbehörden unterwandert und errichtet allmählich eine auf Gedankenkontrolle basierende Herrschaft. Cas findet irgendwann heraus, dass „Pithica“ nicht davor zurückschreckt, jedes notwendige Opfer zu bringen, das nötig ist, um die eigene Existenz verborgen zu halten. Dazu gehört auch das Eliminieren von lästigen Mitwissern. Müßig ist es noch zu erwähnen, dass der Knoten zum Schluß zu Cas Wohlgefallen aufgelöst wird, nicht ohne daß sie sich fragt, ob ein Mensch wie Cas Freunde haben kann…
Ich muss gestehen, dass ich den Roman in erster Linie deshalb gelesen habe, weil ich die Autorin mit der chinesisch-amerikanischen Autorin R.F. Kuang verwechselt habe. Das hat aber dem Lesegenuss keinen Abbruch getan, ich habe nur etwas anderes bekommen als erwartet. Wie gesagt, der Roman ist spannend und ein Pageturner, er demonstriert nicht nur eine doppelbödige Handlung, bei der sich die Protagonisten sich selbst nicht trauen können. Für die leicht autistische Cas bedeutet es, dass sie (am Ende) beginnt Vertrauen zu schenken und auch Vertrauen annimmt. So machen das Freunde eben und aber es fällt ihr schwer…
Es wäre für mich ein sympathisches Buch geworden, wenn die Autorin (und Cas) nicht so eine Waffenfetischistin gewesen wäre, bei fast jeder sich bietenden Möglichkeiten erwähnt sie, die Vorzüge und Nachteile der jeweiligen Tötungsmaschinen und als ausgemachte Soziopathin benützt sie sie auch. Sie wird als ein Nerd geschildert, die keine Freunde hat und diese auch nicht braucht. Tatsächlich aber reagiert sie ständig hochemotional. Wobei sie im Wesentlichen die Grundemotionen Wut und Ärger bedient. Und da sie auch noch eine extrem geringe Frustrationstoleranz hat, zu der sich eine extrem hohe Gewaltbereitschaft gesellt, ist es kein Wunder, dass es an jeder Ecke knallt. Ich kann mit dem amerikanischen Waffenfetischismus, den diese Autorin voll im Sinne der NRA praktiziert, weder etwas anfangen noch ertragen, deshalb einen Punkt Abzug bei einem insgesamt guten Debüt... -
Review to come!
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4/5
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...
Il y a des moments où on a très envie de lire un genre précis et où il est vraiment très satisfaisant d’avoir trouvé LE livre qui tombe tellement bien. Ici je venais de visionner la première saison de série TV Reacher et j’avais fortement envie de rester dans une ambiance de thriller d’action. Zero Sum Game était le livre parfait pour cela, j’ai donc passé un excellent moment.
On est sur un thriller qui commence comme un thriller action contemporain classique, mais auquel s’ajoute un twist SF qui arrive plus tard.
Ce livre c’est un peu comme le principe de tout les séries policières américaines qui inondent notre TV depuis des années : on a un protagoniste qui a « un truc » en plus et qui utilise ce truc pour chasser les méchants ou faire son travail (genre Mentalist, Elementary, Numb3rs …)
Bon ici on n’est pas dans un contexte policier du tout, mais on a le protagoniste qui a un truc que les autres n’ont pas ce qui l’aide à faire son boulot.
Et ce truc pour Cas Russell c’est une obsession pour les calculs, par exemple les calculs de vecteurs de trajectoire, l’optimisation de chaque geste … A tel point que son cerveau est en permanence en train de calculer tout ce qui se passe autours d’elle. Plus même qu’un obsession, c’est une obligation pour elle. Elle ne peux pas s’en empêcher sinon elle a l’impression de devenir folle, son cerveau tournant en boucle.
Cette particularité l’a toujours maintenu éloignée des autres, surtout parce que pour elle la logique est toujours plus importante que l’émotionnel. Elle est trop bizarre pour l’humain moyen. Mais elle n’a pas de problème avec ça, elle considère même sa particularité un peu comme un super pouvoir et elle en joue du mieux qu’elle peut.
Son seul « ami » d’ailleurs est un sociopathe (je précise : pas un tueur en série), le genre de personne dont la vie est une mission mais qui plait à Cas parce qu’elle peut le « calculer ». Il lui est compréhensible car comme elle il n’est pas entièrement régit par ses émotions et elle n’a pas de surprise avec lui, contrairement aux autres humains.
Cas a trouvé un équilibre en devenant mercenaire. Elle utilise ses calculs pour se sortir de situations très dangereuses et cet exercice forcé apaise ses pulsions. En plus le fait de devoir calculer tout en permanence l’aide pour ses missions car du coup elle reste calme et concentrée quoi qu’il arrive. La peur, elle ne connait pas ou peu, du moins pendant l’action car elle n’a pas le temps d’y penser en tout cas.
Bien sur elle s’assure toujours d’être du bon coté de la morale quand elle prend une mission, elle n’a pas envie de se retrouver recherchée par toutes les polices. Elle compte bien reste inconnue et mise sa réputation sur sa discrétion.
L’intrigue de ce tome commence alors que Cas a été payé pour sauver une jeune femme qui a été capturé par un gang. C’est la sœur de la jeune femme qui l’a contacté via une connaissance commune.
Mais c’est la que les choses semblent devenir de plus en plus bizarre. Un ancien policier, devenu détective privé, est aussi sur l’affaire et recherche la même jeune femme. Apparemment celle ci n’est pas aussi propre sur elle que tout semblait l’indiquer dans les recherches que Cas a fait avant d’accepter l’affaire. Elle est même la principale suspecte dans une série de meurtres de journalistes dans un autre état, ainsi que livreuse de drogue pour le gang …
Cas va vite comprendre qu’on l’a totalement dupé depuis le début et que rien dans toute cette affaire n’est ce qu’il semble être au premier abord … Evidemment elle n’a pas l’intention de laisser ceux qui l’ont forcée à se mettre en danger et se dévoiler s’en sortir indemne. Elle compte bien les retrouver et se venger … Mais ça ne va pas être simple …
Pour ceux qui ont un peu peur du coté mathématique je vous rassure. Il n’y a aucune équation ni chiffres dans le livres, tout est raconté de façon simple et compréhensible. Pour Cas tout est instinctif, elle ne se mets pas devant un papier pour calculer son prochain saut xD
Du coup c’est bien moins « geek » (si on veut) que Numb3rs par exemple, on n’a pas de passages d’explications des théories et autre … C’est vraiment un livre qui peut être lu par tout le monde.
Après je c’est vrai que c’est le genre de principe qui peut avoir du mal à passer au début. C’est un peu gros quand même. J’étais un peu dans ce cas sur le début, pas super convaincue.
Mais je dois dire que si on aime le genre du thriller d’action avec moult retournements de situation, et si on arrive à ne pas trop se questionner sur le réalisme de l’ensemble, c’était une lecture vraiment très sympa et immersive.
Un bon page-turner en fait.
J’ai bien aimé le fait que Cas se remette en cause petit à petit. Cette situation étrange dans laquelle elle se trouve la pousse au delà de ses habitudes et lui fait rencontrer d’autres personnes. D’autres personnes qui éclairent des pans de ce qu’elle est devenu avec le temps sous une nouvelle lumière. Et elle n’aime pas trop qu’on lui ouvre les yeux sur ses priorités et les choix qu’elle a progressivement pris et qui l’ont enfermé dans une espèce de bulle sans personne pour la conseiller ou remettre en cause ses choix de vie extrêmes.
Du coup en plus d’être très porté sur l’action, l’enquête pour découvrir qui est derrière tout ça et les retournements de situation, on peut dire qu’on est aussi sur un roman très centré sur les personnages et leur évolution. Ce qui rajoute un gros plus.
Dans l’ensemble j’ai passé un bon moment, je l’ai lu quasiment d’une traite et c’était exactement ce que je recherchais dans un livre à ce moment la !
Je lirai la suite avec plaisir. -
Кас Ръсъл е много добра в откриването на изгубени вещи или хора, благодарение на това, че е аналитична и страхотен математик. Когато обаче я наемат да спаси младо момиче от лапите на мафията, осъзнава, че ситуацията в която се е забъркала е много по-опасна отколкото е подозирала.
Амииии, тази книга определено не е мой тип. Не ми допадна, четох я на инат, заради книжно предизвикателство и определено, не мисля да чета друго от този сорт. Да кажа, че не ми беше приятно да съм "в главата" на главната героиня, ще е прекалено меко казано. И преди са ме дразнили героини или герои, но тук положението беше плачевно. Ръсъл ми беше антипатична. Държанието и мислите й не можеха да задържат вниманието ми. Непрестанните пресмятаници на ум ме изкарваха извън нерви... просто не ми се четеше това отново и отново, макар че се подразбираше от името, корицата и резюмето, че ще бъдем заровени в математика... Героинята имаше проблясъци тип Макгайвър, които също ме дразнеха... никога не съм харесвала Макгайвър. Като добавим и факта, че героите в книгата си говориха ту на фамилия, ту на малко име.... СУПЕР ДРАЗНЕЩО... да му се не знае автора не може ли да избере или малко име или фамилия... непрестанно ту едното ту другото, в началото на книгата чак се обърквах ту Кортни, ту Полк... все едно са две различни личности. В добавка към всичко това, не можех да си изградя ясна представа как изглеждат героите. И това ме ПОБЪРКВАШЕ. Свикнала съм при първата ни среща с героите автора да ни даде описание.
Единствено харесах Рио. Допадаше ми това как всички се гипсираха щом разберяха кой е. Беше здраво, яко копеле. Сцените с него донесоха на тази книга от мен 2 звезди. Иначе щеше да е 1. -
'Note to self: To avoid being vulnerable to telepathy, become a psychopath.
No, bad plan, Cas.'
CAS RUSSELL CAN STEP ON ME ANY DAY
I mean the sass, the asshole demeanor, the character development, the Kate Daniels style kinda sorta found family arc? I'M WEAK. She's definitely remorseless about killing in a way that Kate isn't at all, but that's also something that improves as the story progresses so no complaints, really.
Cas has dark skin and looks Middle Eastern so points for a non-white heroine, Rio AKA closest-thing-to-a-friend is Asian and she gets involved with a Black PI who's tech guy is disabled and uses a wheel chair so not your usual run-of-the-mill sci-fi thriller with an all-white cast. What's more, the main antagonist is Asian and female so points for that, too. Oh and there's no romance.
Having said all that, I'll admit that I'm conflicted about my rating because while I think that the plot is a solid 3 stars, I loved the main character too much (and okay, the rest of the characters, too) to not give the book 4 stars so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Favorite quotes: 'In fact, I'll be so unamused I'll put a bullet in you.'
'I was never quite clear on where the gray ended and the black and white began.'
'So I'll thank you to talk to me like the heavily armed person I am.'
'You look up ‘problem’ in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of me putting a gun to your head, which is what I’m considering doing in about three seconds.' -
I received this book through the publisher via Netgalley.
I've read a lot of urban fantasies--somewhere over 130--and it's hard for me to get into a new series at this point. I feel like I've seen it all. While Zero Sum Game does utilize some familiar tropes, Huang twists them around in inventive, fun ways. Straight up, Cas Russell comes across as many urban fantasy heroines do: almost friendless, ruthless, profane, and good at killing, and in the course of the book, she does make some genuine friends and allies. However, Cas's power is pretty darn unique: MATH. She algorithms her way into being the ultimate killing machine. Her battles are especially fun because you never know how she's going to scrape through.
And oh yeah, there are a lot of battles because Cas has caught the attention of some pretty bad folks. When people with kinda-sorta-superpowers clash, the action is fast and intense. Huang explores the greater Los Angeles area and creates some serious collateral damage in the process. I tend to be good at predicting endings, but I was genuinely surprised at where this book went.
This is a very promising start to a new series, and I'm thankful I had the chance to read an early galley! -
Reminds me a little of Fringe (tv show) + a tiny bit of Middlegame + rip-roaring action movies = AKA an incredible combination because there's scifi (ish) and action and grand conspiracies and moral dilemmas and Y.E.S. Ugh it was so good. Cas is amazing and brutal and wonderful and I like seeing her evolve over this book with regards to her relationships to other people. Checker was probably my fav - who doesn't love the funny computer whiz?? I need more of him. I like that there are more mysteries to be unraveled in the future books but I also don't like that because I want to know now!!!! haha. There were two characters in the beginning that I wish we had gotten more of though, that's really my only complaint.
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This is tricky. I've read one Jack Reacher book. I don't watch action movies. I'm no expert.
But this is a comic book in text.
It's the sort of book that makes you think the author has a math degree. does stunts, and loves guns. Which in fact is the case.
The heroine isn't credible, the plot is iffy, the sidekicks are creepy, and for all that it's unputdownable.
So ... Cas is good at math, the way Spider-man is good at physics. But somehow that also gives her advanced parkour skills, Bruce Lee's reflexes, Olympic shooting accuracy, and enough money to have safe houses all over North America. She kills anyone who looks at her crosswise, yet somehow the authorities never notice. She's OK because Rio is worse. And because she's offset by Dudley Do-right, oops I mean Arthur.
Rio wears a duster. Sigh. Really?
And Rio-Arthur are the men from every Stephanie Plum novel.
Cas's math skills are that thing Cumberbatch's Sherlock does when he visualizes boards full of equations. But I admit Huang's math degree at least allows us to read about math concepts that actually exist.
The villain requires us to suspend disbelief in a different area, but that's OK in a superhero story.
And, lest things get too silly, there are in fact some interesting moral dilemmas. Some are credible. Others are more, "Should I have killed all those people (thinks a minute) Yeah. I'm good."
And, of course, Cas can also hotwire a car in seconds. Probably one-handed. This Only Happens In Movies. Stop It, You Authors! And of course she is an expert motorcycle rider.
Read this book fast, enjoy it, and don't ask too many questions.
Doubt I'll read #2. These are not engaging characters, the kind you can build a series on. -
This is the book equivalent of a bad but reasonably entertaining action movie - there are some fun moments, but also a lot of eye-rolling moments, and don't think about anything too hard or it all falls apart, but it's decent mindless entertainment. Cas Russell is a freelance expert at retrieving things (like kidnapped people) and a math genius. Her math ability lets her do some really improbable things like calculate bullet trajectories in real time, and can also be really annoying because it just doesn't require advanced calculus to figure out that smashing your thumb will hurt, and the author beats you over the head with her math abilities on every page. She gets involved in a case that gets really complicated and ends up involving a secret organization that's trying to take over the world and she has a religious fanatic vigilante friend and..... yeah, just don't think about any of it too hard (like, how does she have enough money to have apartments full of weapons and cash all over LA, and if she does have that much money, why is she doing this crummy/dangerous work?).
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Zero Sum Game is a faced-paced, action-packed, nior techno-thiller with some clever twists. Reads like a mashup of Black Widow, The Matrix, and Mission Impossible. The story: An interesting morality play told by unreliable narrator Cas Russel, an angry young woman with a secret past (ala Natasha Romanoff) who excels at math and killing people. Pithica is the Matrix, a shadowy organization that affects global crime, politics and business for good, ill, or maybe both. The question is who to believe? The Mission: Take down Pithica, with her “friends,” the even more murderous Rio, the moralist Arthur and computer wiz Checker. Very fun. Huang's narrative keeps you guessing til the end and maybe after! I’ll definitely read the sequel.
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Zero Sum Game is a fast paced, sci-fi/thriller that features plenty of bombastic action sequences, a diverse cast of morally gray characters, and a heroine who's basically a superhero powered by math.
And yes, it's just as fun as that sounds. I will certainly be picking up book two in the future. -
Incredibly fun, action packed science fiction. I just love that the main character kicks ass... with math. Lots of murder if violence gets to you, but probably something that would be a good slump antidote.
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Zero Sum Game – kind of speculative fiction as developed by S.L. Huang revolutionized, for me at least – how and why action works. We think we know how action movies have this mass appeal, yet action remains quite restrictive - just objects bumping into each other at speed. In spite of our disarray when confronted with various planetary flows (especially financial onea) we love and thrive on CGI slow mo destruction in movies. Sometimes I get the feel that the final scene in Zabriskie Point got extended nowadays when much better CGI conditions abound and we are constantly watching go kaboom microsecond by microsecond moving parts in a sort of timeless time that arrests all these flying fragments. Zero Sum Game made me question - the default popularity of movement or the way it involves, or kidnaps the reader/viewer.
How does video game exploratory action make us run and jump while lying comfortably in our favorite reading couch spot? When does something become ‘actionable’ and how does action with more and more frames/minute still entice evsn if not perceived? When does something cool & abstract trigger epileptic fits or how do abstract flows feel like something tremendous is happening? Do we enjoy non-dynamic decomposed movement or get stuck inside chuncks of spatialized flux, moving around. When are we embracing a schematic or diagramatic too blurry (too fast) to describe action? Can Cantorian set theory move us or the world around us? We know that the action of the aristotelian metaphysics - the necessity of God as a prime mover was due to his faulty physics, or otherwise his universe would have been 'at rest'.
On an evolutionary perspective on movement such as the one here
Restless Creatures: The Story of Life in Ten Movements places multicellular action at a certain threshold. Vendian-Ediacaran intermediate lifeforms (or paralel alternate evo-devo?) are mostly described as stationary and sessile (altough this does not say anything about their larval stages that might have been free floating) with forwards movement linked to a certain body plan - with bilaterians have this propensity to chase one another in those ancient seas more than 600 millions years ago. Of course there's a lot of microorganism movement (unicellular action) way before that involving cilia, amoboid movement - still to be seen in our own bodies that are never at rest - a true invisible action movie of cells morphing, dividing, travelling & exploding. A microscopic anatomic theatre completly at odds with how slow & slo mo we make look on the surface.
Zero Sum Game did this and more for me! Action is sometimes driving entire science-fictional domains (just think what would non-action space operas be like – looong in transit journeys, hyperspace lockdowns?). At the other end the interior dream world is full of continuous streams of consciousness activities (just think about the incredible thrill & trepidation of Sweet Dreams SF by Tricia Sullivan). Action drives us to read back to back, cover to cover, jumping over filler moments almost too close to our non action lockdown.
As we became more sedentary – action – was increasingly (and underhandedly) adopted by authors and appreciated more and more by a growing and more diverse reading public, from the 19 c onward. A readership that was learning to read avidly in the midst of both industrial squalor & bourgeois comfort and where peaceful breaks were important but also when time had a different pace and higher speeds of machinic modernity were yet but a dream. Action was initially not so well-received inside the literary fiction forum. Action was conceptually performative in a bizarre way. It could exist only if acted out. A chase was a chase, a struggle was a struggle, a fight was a fight. Various voluntaristic modern philosophies responded by praising, highlighting action and exhorting the transformative power of action over the stale structures, the burdensome overly-theoretical. Action was opposed to melancholic meditative states (choose btw ‘vita contemplativa vs vita activa’) or pitted against intellectually rewarding (analysis) but action-dampening approaches. Action became not just a way to write but also a philosophical style as well. Passivity and fatigue became suddenly uncool, almost a giveaway of civilizational burnout. But action had to be justified and meritorious and was given right of passage only if linked with higher ideals, morals, as purveyor of other stylistic and refined aesthetic qualities. Action per se was just a vehicle, was tied to plot, deemed too low brow or too general to have its own category. We could definitely say that most blockbuster movies nowadays are big budget FX action extravaganzas and somehow slow cinema stands for art cinema as such (think Bela Tar, Tarkovsky etc). Action was always maligned and usually gets aligned to what Linda Williams (in 1991) has been describing as “body genres” in cinema: melodrama (especially – ‘the weepie’), pornography and horror. Something that’ll move, arouse, emote and push you off the chair.
19 century imaginative action was genderized, and action was kept the preserve of ‘men of action’ (although there are many important exceptions to the rule) while (High Imperialism) was also propping up a certain notion of muscular Christianity with boy literature supposedly inspiring in its young readers values of pluck & grit. In the early XX c ERB’s Tarzan was an example of pulp that could cut across audiences, even bring the promise of rejuvenated civilization by promoting a bizarre neo-colonial rewilded white manhood reborn out of (hugely exploitative and exoticized) jungle life and strenuous physical training. This was done with disregard to the possibilities of making – Action – available to others. Suffragette’s Action was deemed obnoxious by the patriarchal establishment, and women who were not predestined to what was at the time characterized as proper feminine occupations, domesticity or the non-adventurous - were ostracized, deemed dangerous and scandalous (even gaslighted - committing over excited women to restful quiet places). Later on, in high art and XX c the bloody spectacles of Viennese actionism seemed again also seemed to place men at the center of the action. While at the same time – such key counterculture & iconic performance art figures as Throbbing Gristle’s Cosey Fanni Tutti or Marina Abramovic pushed further than many in the 1970s. Action always is at the forefront of what drives and sweeps us till the end of a movie or the end of a novel or of a comic. It offers us enough impetus to try changing the world and enough fuel to pull through, enough time to keep us munching through huge portions of adventure, SF, pulp, science fantasy, horror, heroic fantasy cultural products.
S.L. Huang introduced me to a new type of action – a sort of mathematized mercenary action able to abstract from the events themselves it feels to me. An enhanced math nerd mercenary that is able from the first page on to calculate (what can be most non-action than strings of math formulas or physics equations?!) every move into a procedural, every jump & dodge is pre- calculated. Huang does this on almost 300 pages. Zero Sum Game does not print the impossible to follow geometries of action (for me at least, one of the most un-mathematical minds of Goodreads i am sure) but spends time with mentioning trajectories, alluding to hidden graphs – the abstruse calculations that have probably driven Norbert Wiener to develop cybernetics in order to model fast moving real-world targets?!
In this eminently readable you change places with a character that is able to infer & combat enemies at the same time, save the day, dodge bullets, not because everything is a matrix, not because everything is data or we are living inside a computer that we can hack, but because of some inherent computational capacity out there – a general compute-ability that permits some to see everything in terms of calculable distances, speeds & optimize decisions & act at the same time(!!) which leaves every other math dodo baseline human (including me) a standing duck.
“Forces. Movements. Response times”- maybe it is the pure joy and fact of participating in this six sense of mathematical interplay that gives the near-future SF Zero Sum Game its impact. It is a sense in every way as revealing or more than the other 5 – and only speaks volumes about how other non-mind (non conscious, non cognitive) parts of us seem to calculate weight, trajectory and permit us to coordinate and not tumble at each step. At the same time what if we could multiply our quantify at will? S L Huang makes clear that such capacities come with a cost attached. Maybe it is exactly this – the surprising fact that we could equate sensory overload with invisible computational trauma. What is this computational trauma like? S.L. Huang takes you through the action via the possibility that there might be somebody out there that is able to suffer & take advantage (hopefully somebody from the good side of the force) of peeking into probabilities live, deciding on life & death choices during split-second windows. It is almost the real world physics of why algorithms manage to game the flash trading stock exchange system with a certain latency. Even including the limits set by the speed of light – these split decision of buying and trading are completly imperceptible to us, or beyond any human action potentials of human traders on the trading floor. Science fiction makes liveable this inhuman math on the edge of life and death. One can live through the most harrowing calculus and still survive to tell the tale. I hope you’re convinced by now that all these weaponized math magnitutes, all these quantifications are never boring (never repetitive or pedantic).
They are almost like the wishful thinking or unconscious desire of full automation or self quantification. Math is not restricted to a special region, far in Plato’s world of transcendent perfect geometrical shapes (well it might be there as well) but immanent, evenly spread and unleashed all around. Everything is first person and everything allows access to this most impossible and dangerous of jobs (future jobs?). Cas Russell’s job is dangerous and involves various deadly agents and some pretty dangerous and delightfully (and scary) conspirative stuff (hint: world domination by Pithica). The main character is a walking talking biped calculator but also a very involved, good and dependable person. She is not on top of the world but suffers under the effects of her enhanced capacities. What I like is that this post-human mind trip can be a showcase of mathematics unbound. Mathematics gets untethered from its cold beauty (of Bertrand Russells quip) and in the writing of S L Huang becomes quite searing, quite brutal, hellish number-crunching that hurts physically, leaving deadly bloody marks and scars everywhere. Math is paradoxically erupting almost like a telluric force, leaving algorythmic shrapnel embedded everywhere.
Mathematics in Zero Sum Game is lived phytagoreic seizure and embodied equations have a heaviness of their own. Completely underlying all reality there is this world of angles and swerves, that somehow escapes attention and gets ignored (otherwise it would drive us mad)at our own peril, like data streams mostly churned outside of our bodies. Blissfully here is one such data analyst on our side, although this might be changing (importantly Cas Russell prefers retrieving inanimate objects more than people). If the most minute phenomena somehow do have their data imprint, if they are conscious and do not just enter our consciousness, they posses their mentat masters. Calculation happen everywhere already, not just in minds. Minds seem to just tap into outcomes, not even able to follow blandly newtonian givens. After Zero Sum Game base reality ceases to somehow be base reality although most of the things and people around you still inhabit this placid world. These physics or these kinetic details do not clutter the novel and keep peppering it at the right moments that offer you a glimpse of what it is to feel the effects and act according to such a mathematically infected worldview.
Again I hope there’s not too many spoilers since the discovery of the actual material is most important. These are just a few thoughts about my honest puzzlement after reading such an incredible SF book. -
Zero Sum Game is a sci-fi action thriller from an MIT graduate and stunt woman. The protagonist Cas Russell is a young woman with super math powers. I thought it would be a cool diversion between heavier horror and science fiction stories. I was right.
Zero Sum Game is an action thriller, and it comes with both the strengths and weaknesses of the genre. It is action first, mystery second, and logical characters and settings third. That's not to say you exactly have to shut off your brain. You just have to accept many implausibilities that are necessary to sustain the story.
Thankfully, Huang delivers satisfying action scenes. Lots of them. The action scenes are remarkably varied considering the reliance on the math superpower gimmick. The stakes are generally known. The steps and interplay are fairly easy to follow. There is a sense of escalation over the course of the story. I cannot think of an action scene I skipped or even skimmed out of boredom.
The mystery is unfortunately not quite as satisfying. Cas and friends discover a wide ranging and dangerous shadowy organization. The investigation drives the plot and creates the action. The mystery is mostly good, but I had a few problems with it. First, I predicted one of the major reveals about 100 pages early. Second, the specific goals of the organization are never actually detailed. We learn they want to make the world better, but in what way and by what means was never clear. This vagueness undermined an important dilemma later in the story. Finally, the conflict does not end so much as stop. Not even Cas knows why the conflict ended. I think Huang was setting up for a sequel, but I found the approach dissatisfying.
I like the characters in Zero Sum Game too. They are mostly archetypal - the PI, the hacker, the bad guy with a heart of gold - but they are also round and consistent people. The only exception is Rio, the psychopathic Gary Stu. I would be more upset about Rio, but his nature does not become obvious until the climax. At least he has interesting interactions with the other characters.
Cas Russell has a lot of potential as a protagonist. She has amazing skills, but not a lot of experience. PI Arthur Tresting hits the nail on the head when he says she is far too quick to use violence. She is definitely smart enough to use other approaches. I am interested in seeing her develop into a more mature and well-rounded person with a broader tool set. I am not as interested in exploring her dark and mysterious past, but I can at least hope it will help her develop her personality and ethics.
I believe a thriller has to do three things: entertain you with the action, interest you in the mystery/conflict, and engage you with the characters. Huang manages all three well-enough to make Zero Sum Game into a fun ride. I fully intend to read the sequel, Null Set.
CHARACTER LIST (abridged) -
I have GOT to start catching up on my reviews! Here's a small beginning on that --
For some reason there seem to be a bunch of recent sff novels that are getting republished this year and treated as "new" books, and this is one of them. I don't know why, but I can't say I'm sad about it.
I wasn't all that thrilled with the narrative voice in this novel, and for a good while the plot seemed like a fairly typical thriller-with-a-few-speculative-fillips. But it kind of snuck up on me, and by the end I was almost reluctantly thinking "You know, that's a pretty cool setup for a series, I want to see what happens next".
The protagonists in this book are NOT good people -- they are hardly even human in some ways, and they sometimes do really awful things -- but I rooted for them anyway. And it was a really odd coincidence to be reading these Bad Guys at the very same time that I've been having a discussion with somebody about "benevolent" puppet masters and the relevant merits of physical comfort vs. personal agency. It's not a spoiler to say that the Bad Guys claim to want to save the world, but they want to do it through mind control. And the way they do it, and its consequences, get really creepy by the end, especially given the moral failings of the people they are doing it to. So who is really the bad guy here?
Reading the blurbs for further books in the series, it looks like Huang is going to be making a habit of asking interesting moral questions. I'm in.
As for the narrator -- this was narrated by Lauren Fortgang. She did a good job -- her delivery kept me engaged, and her voices were sufficiently distinguishable that I didn't get confused. Her accents were not convincing, but fortunately the accented dialogue was both brief and rare. No major complaints here. -
This was pretty good. I don't remember it very well, so unfortunately, my review is not going to be very expansive. It was different from what I expected. Maybe I just had the wrong idea and thought this was urban fantasy. But this is actually more of a sci-fi book, which is fine. The protagonist has a really cool ability to calculate vectors of movement in her head and predict how things will move before it happens. That's my dumbo explanation. It reads cooler than I make it sound. She's a bit of a gray character, honestly (practically everyone in this book is iffy), and the story has something of a noirish/crime thriller kind of vibe.
The story seems straightforward but it has lots of layers. My favorite part of the book was Cas's relationship with her friend Rio. Rio, well, he's a scary dude. He reminded me of Huck from Scandal. If you watch the show, you can figure out what I mean. The bad guys are pretty scary too, giving off the vibe of the bad guys on The X-Files tv show.
The action scenes are really good, and they make great use of Cas's ability. I did like that even with her formidable skills, she's not invincible and she faces antagonists who have some scary abilities of their own.
I think I wanted to like it more than I did (just misinterpreted the subject matter), but it was pretty good. It's wroth a read, and knowing what you're signing up for will definitely help with the enjoyment factor. Me being who I am, I was very intrigued with Rio, so I'd like to see more of the relationship between Cas and Him. I would probably read more in this series.
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars. -
3.5 stars
