Defiance

Junctionworld, Book 1

By: Bear Ross

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Bring out the mechs and fire up the chainsword. Ready. Fight!

Mech Pilot Jessica Kramer fights to survive in the armored arenas of Junctionworld, like her father and brother before her. She’s good, but not as good. If she ever hopes to be better, she’ll need to stop getting in her own way.

When she discovers the circumstances behind her famous brother's death were more than just a result of the games, her path turns to vengeance. The deeper she digs, the harder the truth becomes, and the more sinister the plot to eliminate her as well.

Renegade cyborgs, inter-dimensional menaces, and the mysterious forces that destroyed her brother are closing in from every direction. Jessica needs to stay one step ahead or she'll have one foot in the grave. And if she ever hopes to uncover the conspiracy against her family, she’ll have to overcome her personal demons first.

If you’re a fan of Stargate or Battletech, with shades of Gladiator mixed in, you won’t want to miss this thrilling science fiction adventure from debut author Bear Ross.

©2019 Aethon Books (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Amazing battle scenes!

Defiance is a darn good start to a series. The Junction World setting that Bear Ross introduces here is an interesting one, and I'd like to visit it some more. This story focuses more on battle scenes (both in the arena and out) than I expected, but the action is well written and should appeal to those who enjoy a good fight. The characters here are all pretty interesting, and I am especially pleased to see a kickass chick who isn't written as a sex object, and who doesn't end up mired in gooey romance.

I'm a big fan of Emily Woo Zeller, but for me the story narration is a bit stilted. That said, the range of fantastic character voices she does here for the dialogue more than make up for that.

Definitely recommend this one, especially for fans of detailed battle scenes.

Thanks to Aethon Books for providing me with a review copy of this book!

Very glad I gave it a shot.

I follow a few authors of facebook, so I get targeted advertising fairly often for books. Saw the ad for this and thought, "That sounds fun. I'll save it for when I'm in the mood for scifi."

A few days ago i got the scifi itch and decided to roll the dice and go for a book with less than 10 reviews. A very risky gamble, but one Im glad I went for.

This book won't be winning a Hugo, but holy heck is it fun. The book felt like a mix of Gundam, Gladiator, and the cantina scene in Starwars.

Highly recommend for aomeone looking for a bit of fun scifi. I'll be getting any sequels for sure.

Oh, and the narrator killed it.

good but looking forward for a sequel

the story is very enjoyable. Towards the end though it starts to get a little hard to follow. Also the readers impersonation of a male voice takes a little to get used to but overall she did a great job reading this book. Would recommend

WOO! (Zeller)

Something new for anybeing and everybeing!

There were so many reasons to grab this book.

1) Emily Woo Zeller is one of the best narrators in the business. She brings life to this piece.

2) Bear... what a crazy awesome, killer name. Bear Ross gives Emily amazing source material to work with.

3) Mechs! As a fan of Mechs (Rick Partlow's Wholesale Slaughter series being the latest in awesomeness), I knew from the cover I had to get this and it didn't disappoint.

4) Strong female protagonist. Jessica Kramer is badass and lets you know it.

Great freaking book!

EXCELLENT

Can't wait for book #2!! I'm hooked on this series!
Don't hesitate to purchase the book #1, and get reading.

BADA-BANG!

💥💥💥💥💥 Five bangs.

Why? WHY NOT!

There's really not a whole lot not to like about this story. It was inventive, different, and featured a strong female lead that kicked ass and didn't even bother with names.

It was really refreshing.

Good characters and world

The main character can at times try your patience, but the story and world are great. Fun read.

Mech Yay I loved it!!!!!

Excellent start to the Junctionworld series.

A basic synopsis is that aliens referred to as Gate Lords have conquered a pocket dimension and traveled to different times and alien worlds capturing people to fight in their Mech Gladiator Tournaments.

The story mostly follows the lives of the Kramer family and in particular Jessica.

I really enjoyed this book and am anxious for the second one to come out.

Intriguing concept, quality performance

Definitely a good story to check out for any fans of the mech genre, and the audio performance was impressive.


Ross kicks off a fun story with a cool setting and themes, and some incredible mech combat. Jessica is a flawed underdog of a main character, cocky and abraisive in many ways, but the reader can’t help loving her guts and pluck. I was rooting for her all the way, both that she’d achieve victory over her opponents and herself.

The plot is a classic once and Bear pulls it off to perfection: two fighters being moved like chess pieces by the arrogant SOBs in control of their lives, with Jessica undergoing some interesting trials and side-quests as the big match looms closer, and we get a knock-down drag-out mech might to end all mech fights.

My only issue is I’d wish for more of a definitive ending, and I don’t know what the next installment holds, now that the formula for the first book has been used. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

The audible book is perfect and certainly recommended.

Self-Same Recommends! Priority Utmost!

Oh, yeah! First-rate world-building, believable characters and MECHS!!! Junctionworld leaves the gate (in-story pun intended) guns blazing! It revs up with a heart-wrenching beginning then belts out a story of betrayal, self-destruction, oppression, redemption and battle-filled peril! At that, the book did a fine job of balancing character development with action. I totally bought into Jessica Krammer’s personality and struggles to the point that I almost hated her by the end of the first half only to find my heart breaking for her during the second.

Speaking of characters, I LOVED to despise the smug, autocratic aliens: evil, otherworldly sociopaths whose Code is the only thing keeping them from totally dominating their alien slaves. In fact, the supporting cast of aliens almost stole the show: from a simian-ascended cuddly gorilla-like being to a skunky tech nerd. And the battles! Talk about a feast for mech-fighting fans!

If you didn’t pick up the audiobook, you’re missing out! The narrator’s performance (Emily Woo Zeller) was top-notch, with a compelling portrayal of emotional states matched only by a repertoire of alien mannerisms. My hat’s off to both the author and the narrator. I understand this is Bear Ross’ debut novel and he did a great job! Bravo!