Fall Girl [Paperback]

 

 

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I would like to begin by confessing that I also did not purchase this book on Amazon but at the same local bookstore because it was in the Bargain Bin for $5.

[Spoiler Alert]

Fall Girl takes place five years after the events of Human Resource. Villaneuva, the main colony on the moon is still alive and kicking, being run by the Allied Lunar Combine, a coalition of five large corporations, focusing on tourism and promoting life in space. Not far from it lies Armstrong Base, a scientific research facility that's funded by the federal government, which focuses on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and Project Halo.

Most of the characters from Human Resource return for the second installment. Erik Morrison has left EnTek (without his attractive assistant from the first novel, I'm guessing) to head the Ad Astra Project ' the construction of a starship to investigate the origins of 'the artifact'. The artifact in question is the remnants of the Pioneer 10 space probe that was launched from Earth back in 1972 and found on the moon after being sent back from somewhere outside the solar system. (The discovery was made at the end of the first novel). Hector Kowalski also joins Erik as the head of ALC Security. He's not as obnoxious as before but is still sneaky when it comes to moving around Villaneuva and uncovering information on anyone.

Wendy Scheer is still the head of Project Halo but is now mostly restricted from entering Villaneuva because she employed a vast covert network of informants to spy on the ALC for the federal government in the first novel. Scheer was able to create and manage the network via her 'charm' being that anyone who's in her presence gets the urge to want to keep her happy in any non-sexual way (as heavily emphasized by the author).

To combat Wendy's influence, Erik & Hector have been working hard in dismantling the network by getting all the informants dismissed from their jobs. I got the impression that the late Pierce Askegren (author) was a fan of the TV show 'King of the Hill' because one of the dismissed employees was Kahn Souphanousinphone, exiled back to Earth to the country of Laos.

The title alludes to the character named Enola Hasbro. Briefly mentioned in Human Resource, Enola finds herself without a job after being fired from Duckworth Foundries due to poor performance. Unofficially, she was dismissed because she was an informant for Wendy Scheer without even knowing it. Faced with being sent back to Earth, Enola searches for a new job while trying to avoid Crag Fortinbras, a self-centered coworker jerk who thinks he's a ladies man and can't take 'no' for an answer. Thankfully, she finds work as a Mesh reporter and begins to think that things have changed for the better. Unfortunately, they don't and she gets caught up in a grand conspiracy which aims to destroy the Ad Astra Project.

Three new characters are introduced in Fall Girl. Sarah Chrysler, a middle aged Mesh Reporter that's jealous of Enola's younger looks and involved in a romantic relationship with Erik. Keith Arreigh works for Zonix Infotainment as a Mesh Director and is the one who hired Enola. And lastly is Keith's attractive and athletic assistant, Katalin Cassidy. I'm guessing in this sci-fi series, all the assistants are hot.

Compared to the seriousness of Human Resource, I found Fall Girl to be more humourous and entertaining. There was one scene that had me laughing, not because it was absurd, but because I successfully predicted that the author would include it in the final draft. I'm glad that I did not read ahead. I also got the impression that Askegren was a fan of 'The Simpsons' TV Show because in one scene Hector Kowalski identifies someone from Sector 7-G (it's not Homer Simpson).

Overall, 'Fall Girl' is a well written sci-fi drama novel with more action scenes than 'Human Resource'. I could see this novel being made into a movie in the style of Blade Runner. Although, I still recommend reading 'Human Resource' before tackling this one.

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