Crossover by Joel Shepherd
(Cassandra Kresnov, Book 1)
Released: August 1, 2006 | Genre: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Military Fiction
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Crossover is the first novel in a series which follows the adventures of Cassandra Kresnov, an artificial person, or android, created by the League, one side of an interstellar war against the more powerful, conservative Federation. Cassandra is an experimental design — more intelligent, more creative, and far more dangerous than any that have preceded her. But with her intellect come questions, and a moral awakening. She deserts the League and heads incognito into the space of her former enemy, the Federation, in search of a new life.
Her chosen world is Callay, and its enormous, decadent capital metropolis of Tanusha, where the concerns of the war are literally and figuratively so many light years away. But the war between the League and the Federation was ideological as much as political, with much of that ideological dispute regarding the very existence of artificial sentience and the rules that govern its creation. Cassandra discovers that even in Tanusha, the powerful entities of this bloody conflict have wound their tentacles. Many in the League and the Federation have cause to want her dead, and Cassandra’s history, inevitably, catches up with her.
Cassandra finds herself at the mercy of a society whose values preclude her own right even to exist. But her presence in Tanusha reveals other fault lines, and when Federal agents attempt to assassinate the Callayan president, she finds herself thrust into the service of her former enemies, using her lethal skills to attempt to protect her former enemies from forces beyond their ability to control. As she struggles for her place and survival in a new world, Cassandra must forge new friendships with old enemies, while attempting to confront the most disturbing and deadly realities of her own existence
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Joel Shepherd had the idea for Cassandra Kresnov long before writing Crossover: a super-warrior powerful enough to decide who lives and dies, but who desperately wants to stop being a weapon. The city of Tanusha was later inspired by Shepherd’s experiences with the rapidly growing megacities of Asia.
REVIEW
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆ ☆
There’s a lot of focus on sex... like, a lot.
Science fiction can be one of the most unpredictable genres, you never quite know what you’re getting, no matter the synopsis.
Crossover isn’t a bad book, but I was expecting it to be a lot more badass than it turned out. The action sequences are strong, but they’re few and far between. In between, the narrative spends a surprising, and sometimes frustrating, amount of time on sex, often for no real reason. It got a bit exhausting.
The first half, however, is excellent. We meet Cassandra right in the middle of some deeply traumatic events. The interrogation scene is strangely compelling, and her quick progression to fending off an attack and earning the grudging respect of potential enemies (yes, a bit cliché) makes her a fascinating character.
Unfortunately, much of that intrigue fades in the second half. Cassandra becomes more two-dimensional, largely because of the excessive focus on her sexual escapades. By the end, I found myself caring less about her journey.
That said, I’m still planning to continue the series. There’s real potential here, and the book excels at the elements it gets right. I’m hoping the sequels put more emphasis on action and character depth rather than unnecessary filler.
