Michelle Knight (3)

Finally finished this...
11:16 am 25 October 2015
Check Mate - Michelle Knight
First of all, I was gifted this book by the author, but not even in exchange for a review. She didn't ask anything of me, and I never promised anything, much less a positive review. But, yes, full disclosure: I know her and am friendly with her on BL.

This took me a while to read for, well, one reason: I had known what would happen at the end, and was dreading finishing for being spoiled. I was right, it was pretty heartbreaking for me, but it was because I had come to care for one particular character. Which is impressive: it was a robot that didn't talk, and didn't have a strong personality, but I still really liked it as the story went along.

There was a lot to like about this book. The humans did have strong personalities, the humor was quirky, the action barreled along quickly, and the way the robot was built seemed pretty well grounded in reality.

That being said, there were a couple minor issue I noticed popped up multiple times, although I also know that one might be cultural differences here. There were times when the punctuation seemed odd, but it was also consistent. (It drives me crazy when it's not consistent, and I've come to assume consistent may mean differences depending on where one lives.) If this is a deal breaker for people, though, I figure I'd warn them.

There were a couple occasions where the grammar was funky enough - missing apostrophes, for example - that I believed it simply needed one more quick going through . This is one of the rare cases where it was obviously edited, and so it didn't bug me enough to really knock down stars, but I did knock down one half a star. The thing that clinched it for me was on pages 106 and 107: Hawkeye shoots and then there's a mention of Duds.

"The robot knew the precise location of Duds the moment he fired, so it simply turned to face the church, opened its rocket rack and fired at Hawkeye."

This was the only moment something this large was overlooked, however. It's rare that I get into a story or care enough about characters to not let this irk me more, but I've also been told I'm overzealous in my grammar fixes and noticing such inconsistencies by some people. One more quick go-through would have elevated this up to four and a half-stars.

That one last half star? That, my friends, is a losing battle. It had to happen this way, it had to end this way, but there were so, so many tears. Sometimes it just has to happen that way, but it really bummed me out.… (plus d'informations)

Synopsis:

Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.

A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game...

My Summary:

The company AMARS (American Materials and Robotic Systems) has just introduced it's latest in military robotic warfare, the H.Y.D.R.A. This robot has been built to be the perfect war robot. It is not affected by EMPs, the battery life has a time life of too many years, it's packed with short and long distance missiles, armour piercing rounds, a capture net, gas canisters, tracking beacons, and more. What would happen if this robot some how had a chess program installed in it and the program is controlling it's every move?

A game of chess is a battle between two opposing armies. As in a real battle, each side must have a plan and that plan must include the ultimate goal of checkmate. Along the path to that goal there will be many short term plans to reach intermediate goals.

My Review:

Michelle Knight tells a brilliant story set in the near future. She has created well developed characters, there are quite a lot of them but it is not overwhelming. Lingo used by military personnel is correctly termed, this is hard to find. The robot actions are spot on for the situation and written perfectly. This is a complex story written in a way that makes this easy to follow and understand. The story is packed full of action and maintains a steady pace throughout the entire book. There are humorous parts that made me laugh, shocking parts that made my jaw drop, and some parts even had an emotional impact. I had no idea what so ever how this was going to play out in the end until I got to that point in the book and read it.

This is the author's first book in the genre of science fiction. I hope she continues to write more as I would, love to read more. Just thinking about how much research obviously had to be done during the writing of this novel makes me tired. No part of this book could have been written without being extremely thought out. The author really nailed it with this novel, it is an amazing story that keeps you turning the page well past your bedtime.

Recommendation:

I would easily recommend this to everyone. If you like science fiction, the military, robotics, war, this would be a great pick.

Chess Quote:

“In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else, for whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame”

(Jose Raul Capablanca)… (plus d'informations)

The scene- what members of BDSM community their group

D/s- Dominant/submissive

The Companion tells us the story of Susan, a newbie to the lifestyle, and Mark, a long time participant in the BDSM lifestyle. Their journey to happiness isn't easy. They both have demons in their closet. This is part of a three part series, it can be read as a standalone novel.



Susan is unhappy with her life. She has no self respect and lets people use her. She has let it go on for so long that she no longer knows herself. She knows things must change, but she has no clue where to start. She is introduced to 'the scene' by an encounter at a bar. She is instantly curious and drawn to the lifestyle.



Mark has been a member of the BDSM community for quite a while. Has a built a reputation for being a well respected member of the community. He has recently lost his log term submissive partner. He is reluctant to put himself back into the position where he could have to relive the grief he suffered after the loss he suffered. A friend calls him to let him know that a newbie member to the scene is in need of a Dominant partner. He becomes curious and decides to meet the woman.



When Susan gets her first taste of what life with Mark will be like she is unsure she has made the right decision. She is now, while in Mark's presence, referred by just a single letter, L. She knows that Mark only wants her to do what is best for her, but finds herself not following his rules and hiding things from him. Her old life falls apart and she finds herself in a situation she has never faced. She knows that her way out is to allow Mark to take full control.



There is so much I want to talk about but don't want to spoil parts of the book for future readers. This took me to places I was uncomfortable with, but my vanilla eyes are no longer. So many author's have taken BDSM lifestyle and turned it into a fantasy land of torture and orgasms. It is far more than that. People involved in this lifestyle can range from the curious one timers, or they can make it a complete lifestyle choice. I am curious to see where the author will take this series. The writing itself was top notch. I didn't notice any grammatical mistakes. The story flowed smoothly and at a moderate pace. I like this author's writing. I have learned so much from this book.



Common misconception concerning BDSM:
-It is all about pain. WRONG! After reading this book the words I would use are trust, power, and control.

-The male is always the dominant partner in a heterosexual relationship. WRONG! In this book we meet a couple where the female is dominant.

-Only uneducated women participate in the BDSM scene. WRONG! In general, women who participate in this lifestyle tend to have higher education. I believe the stress that comes with life after a higher education is part of what is enticing about “scene”. To enter a controlled relationship where this isn't constant power struggle, be it taking complete control or letting go of control, leaves so much less to worry about.



Quotes:
"What! You don't want to be becoming no slave, girl, you can trust me on that.!" Kate, L's friend (Kate's reaction when L tells her of her interest in BDSM)

"Our relationship is based on me say, you do. If we get to know each other before we start, then you'll know my buttons. If you know those you can undermine me and that won't help us one bit. The goal here is for you to lose control and trust me to guide you. If you can work me from behind the scenes, then what does that do to my authority." Mark (Mark and Susan's first meeting)

"Master; if it wasn't for you, I don't think I would have a life that was worth living." -L (after three months of giving control to Mark)

If you read this book, don't go into this expecting hardcore kink. This is tame portrayal of a real D/s relationship. I recommend this to readers who are curious about what BDSM is really like. I also recommend this to people who think 50 Shades is a horrible portrayal of the lifestyle.… (plus d'informations)

The Companion by Michelle Knight is the first instance of the Submissive Heart series. The Companion was originally written in 2005 as a screenplay script. Due to lacking attention of producers, Michelle Knight reworked it to a book again. She warned me before reading, because the BDSM scene is not my cup of tea. However, The Companion, is situated in that scene, it still is a love story, actually. The main character, Susan, is desperately seeking freedom and love. A friend introduces her to the BDSM scene, research convinces her to have a submissive heart and receptive for role playing.
Mark, her Master, still wrestling with the loss of his previous servant, 'K', now leads Susan, renamed as 'L' through a rite de passage. The intensified punishment and pleasure, pain and submission have severe consequences. Susan losses her job. She's unwilling to listen to her friend Kate's advice. Michelle Knight lets her readers guess for the next step. The plays can lead to death, intervention by the police, or another unexpected twist.
Though several role plays and scenes are made explicit, it's balanced with more emotional and rational questions on freedom, companionship, giving up control and caring. The fine line between what's expected and what's not of both masters and servants, what's played and what are real emotions are elaborated well.… (plus d'informations)