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Summary

An assassin incapable of feeling goes on the run when he cannot take out one of his targets in Numb.

In The Hive, an impregnated cyborg, separated from her collective, teams with a hacker to find her way home. 

Stats

Genre: Adult science fiction

Series length: Two books loosely connect; they can be read as standalones or together

Violence: Moderate violence

Magic/Supernatural: None

Romance: Clean romance subplot each book; in The Hive the cyborg is impregnated prior to the story's start through science, not sex.

Christian/spiritual element: Overt elements

Recommendation: Science fiction geeks looking for an action-packed story

You might like this book if you liked... 
​Star Trek

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Opening Lines:

Crusader perched like a gargoyle on a second floor ledge across from the safe house's entrance. He ignored the rain pouring down his face even though it blurred his vision. The weather didn't matter. neither did his posture. God created his to execute the Ministrix's justice. Soon he would fulfill his ordained purpose. 

Numb (Book 1)
by John W. Otte

Save the girl...or his soul?

Crusader is numb. He feels neither emotion nor pain, a divine gift that allows him to be the Ministrix's best assassin.

Whether it's heretics from within or heathens from without, Crusader is the sword in the True Church's hand. And if he remains obedient to his superiors, he will be able to let go of his guilt.

But then he's ordered to kill Isolda Westin. It shouldn't be a problem. A target is a target. When Crusader sees Isolda's image, though, something strange happens. He experiences a moment of panic, a wave of emotions--the first he's felt in as long as he can remember.

In that moment, he realizes he can't fulfill his mission. He can't kill Isolda Westin, even if it means he'll be condemned as an enemy of the Ministrix.

Soon Crusader and Isolda are on the run. Will they be able to learn why the Ministrix wants Isolda dead? Or will they both soon face the harsh justice of the "True Church"?

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Opening Lines:

The Hive bled. 

A tremor rumbled through her and she winced. Normally her mind was alive with images spun from the others: star fields; tumbling engineering data, accompanied by random sounds and thoughts; a constant ebb and flow that rushed through her, buoying her thoughts and wrapping her in a warm cocoon. But now, the images faded in and out. The world cracked at the seams. The Hive's song--the chorus of soothing voices blended with her thoughts-turned discordant and harsh. 

What was happening? 

The Hive (Book 2)
by John W. Otte

ON THE RUN TO SAVE HER BABY

A pregnant cyborg and a teenage boy fight against intergalactic governments to protect the unborn in this novel from a Christy Award-nominated author.

Why is Zain pregnant? She belongs to the Hive, a collective of cyborgs who choose to live apart from the rest of human society. At times, the Hive rent out some of their females to produce tailor-made children for paying couples. But Zain is an engineer, not a breeder. When she finds herself separated from the Hive, she decides to find the person who she thinks ordered the baby. Surely they’ll help her find her way home.

Matthew “Scorn” Nelson has spent the better part of his teenage years cracking computer systems, causing mischief and havoc wherever he can. But the night of his greatest triumph turned into a painful memory, one he wants to erase. But that night was also his first step on a road to faith. When Zain arrives on his doorstep, Scorn is horrified. What’s he supposed to do with a pregnant teenage cyborg?

Unfortunately, he’ll have to answer that question on the run. Zain’s people want to reclaim her and terminate her pregnancy. And both the Ministrix and the Praesidium, two intergalactic governments in a constant state of cold war, want Zain’s baby for their own reasons. Will their enemies run them down? Or will Zain find a new Hive for both her and her child?

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