Official Review: Loose Threads by J. O. Quantaman

karolinka · Post by **karolinka** » 26 May 2017, 10:30

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Loose Threads" by J. O. Quantaman.]

3 out of 4 stars

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J. O. Quantaman’s Loose Threads: Cool Assassins: Book 1 is set in the year 2075. The gist of the story revolves around Nyssa Persson, a beautiful, half Japanese, half Swedish woman, and a former sex trade worker who is trying to flee from her former pimp and his goons. While recovering in a hospital, she is given a chance to join Dog Breakfast Co-op, a democratic, closed society located in Tsawwassen, a futuristic megadome built on the Fraser River flood planes. Its citizens are called metics. Dog Breakfast is comprised of a team of incredibly fit spies, who train in martial arts (called quat) for long hours and practice carefree sexual relations with each other to cement their relationships on and off the field.

The members of the co-op are called rundogs, and they act as spies to expose large, corrupt transnational corporations and firms (transnats) and their scams that threaten the cooperative economy of the region. Nyssa wants to start a new life away from the sex trade and is ready to prove herself. She is subjected to rigorous martial arts training, strict fitness, and nutrition. Eventually, she is sent on her first mission in Osaka along with her partner Shepp. They must infiltrate a supplier facility to expose the Mishima company, which is bootlegging cheap merchandise.

It’s obvious that the author was inspired by Japanese and other cultures, as its elements are scattered throughout the book. The members of the co-op are multi-national and of many different races. The plot and the narrative are replete with futuristic and regular jargon, which the author explains in a handy glossary at the end of the book. Some of the terms are easily deduced from the text, such as hafta for “have to,” or solar plexus! for an expression of a surprise, but some are less easily recognizable, such as stallion, for a young, sexy female. The narrative switches back and forth between past and present, between Osaka and Tsawwassen, and the main characters’ thoughts are highlighted with page indentations, reading as if they were Japanese haikus. I really liked the way the author presents well thought-out details when it comes to ways of how this futuristic society works, namely technological, medical, agricultural, and sociological structures of Tsawwassen.

There is plenty of action in the story, for example, when Nyssa boards the airship in Tsawwassen and helps to subdue a terrorist (shark), or when she helps dispatch the vidhounds (an especially vicious breed of dog) in the Mishima tunnel. But on the downside, the author spends an inordinate amount of time on descriptions. While fascinating, these slow down the book, and there’s the danger of readers putting the book down because of it. For example, the quat lessons and how they work are described in such detail that I had trouble reading that section to the end. Thankfully, the author’s prose is terse and to the point, going well with the futuristic theme of the plot. However, the story would be better served if the narrative went in a chronological order, rather than jumping back and forth between years.

I give this book 3 out of 4 stars, for the above-mentioned items that I thought would discourage readers. Also, the book is very long and requires a decent time investment. The title itself, while intriguing, is somewhat misleading as well. While Nyssa is a good spy, she doesn’t really assassinate anyone, as the title might hint. Nyssa’s pursuits besides martial arts and fitness are devoted to having sexual relationships with various male characters in the book. All in all, this is a well-thought out yarn with a strong heroine, not to be amiss in any science-fiction lover’s bookshelf.

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Loose Threads
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 14 Jun 2017, 08:15

I started this one, but I just couldn't get into it. I'm glad you pretty much enjoyed it. It's always interesting to me to see different points of view on books. Thanks!