ALPHA [Hardcover]

Alpha is a well written romance between a dangerous 'female' android and the man trying to pry secrets from her. It is set in a future close enough to now to be recognizable, but distant enough that some artificial intelligences have developed to the point where they are at or above human intelligence level, while still remaining non-human. This is a recent enough development that governments and societies are still groping for ways to cope with it.

The story is well-plotted, with characters I cared about, plenty of action, a believable relationship at its core, and quite a few loose ends that probably imply that there will be more books in this universe.

Alpha is a sequel, and the author certain leaves room for additional stories, but it stands well on its own.

Plot Summary: This follow up to the sci-fi romantic thriller "Sunrise Alley" focuses on sexy enemy android Alpha and Lt. General Thomas Wharington, director of a government spook squad. Alpha is convinced that her boss, Charon, is still alive, and to that end, she's still trying to capture Thomas per her last order. Thomas finds himself protecting Alpha from his higher-ups who want to strip her down like an old car for the information they can scavenge from her neural mesh. When Alpha kidnaps Thomas he must break her programming, but how can he reason with an android who has no concept of free will?

Sunrise Alley is a terrific man-hunt thriller loaded with tons of sci-fi, so I was eager to read the follow up novel, Alpha. Although Alpha is okay, it's not in the same class as its predecessor, so I'm left feeling a bit bummed right now. The story didn't flow with edge-of-my-seat action. Instead, it felt kind of bumpy and uneven, especially regarding the romantic relationship between Alpha and Thomas. It didn't help that physically they kept alternating between being together and being apart, so they started over from scratch a couple of times. It was kind of weird.

Speaking of strange, I think this is the first May-December romance I've encountered that features such a huge age gap. Thomas is 72 and Alpha looks like a 20 year-old super model. I don't know her android age, but I kept trying to picture my grandfather running around like a stud and it just wasn't happening. I know, I know, Thomas was supposed to look twenty years younger than his age due to medical science, but he was still a geezer in my mind.

That kind of disconnect with the romance alone was enough to keep me from raving here, but then the plot let me down too. It was clunky and predictable, with very little interaction with the Sunrise Alley rogues. That was disappointing, since I kept expecting Thomas and Alpha to make a visit to the android's secret lair. Then I kept hoping that Thomas would have a fatal heart attack and they'd have to copy his brain into an android body resembling Fabio. No such luck.

Charon was a ruthless criminal who created and traded in illegal robots and androids so his death benefits the world - unfortunately his android Alpha survives to bring his legacy to the world. Alpha is indistinguishable from a human woman but has superpowers - and General Thomas finds her as intriguing as she is dangerous. For she is carrying out her last orders from her maker - and Thomas finds her too human to kill. An intriguing story of robots, androids, and a touch of love evolves.