Rationality Zero
J.M. Guillen
(The Dossiers of Asset 108, #1)
Publication date: April 28th 2022
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction
A living weapon. An attack on the laws of reality. One chance to save the world.
Michael Bishop is a man who never dreams, who never gets ill. He lives his entire life oblivious to the truths hidden from him.
He is a tool in the hand of the most powerful organization on Earth.
Michael’s world transforms when They bring him online- when They activate the mysterious technology buried within his skull.
Then, the lies fall away. He becomes Asset 108. Using intricate technology, he defends humanity from the gibbering, tentacled horrors that haunt our world.
When mysterious renegades fracture the very laws of nature, Asset 108 is put into position. As the world begins to unravel, a cabal of madmen with physics shattering powers hunt 108 and his cadre, driving them into an alternate reality— a realm filled with inhuman horror.
Between otherworldly arachnids, muscled brutes infected with psionic parasites, and depraved cultists, grisly deaths lurk behind Michael’s every choice.
Yet all too soon, things become far, far, worse.
—
EXCERPT:
Regular people, folks with normal lives, never dream of how strange their world could quickly become. When things get weird…
That’s where I come in.
Most of the time, things were simple. I lived the perfect life, my days drawn from most men’s fantasies. I didn’t work; I didn’t have to. I got a wire into my account every two weeks. It varied, but the amount surpassed what some people made in six months. Yet I didn’t know where it came from. The sources had vague names like VRS Solutions or Apex Enterprises, throwaway companies that disappeared the next week.
Some might call me spoiled. Yet it got better.
I drove a new sports car. A candy-red thing that got me all kinds of attention. My wardrobe was perfectly tailored to me and quite expansive. My apartment in San Francisco should have run over ten grand a month, yet I never paid a dime of rent. It had a movie room, three separate bedrooms, and a small library, not to mention the personal white room for my Facility gear.
Oh, and… company.
I almost never spent an evening alone. I could have a different enchanting companion every night if I wanted. Or two. Not due to being a sleazy pickup artist, it was simply the way my evenings unfolded. I went to the right clubs, wore the right clothes. Before I knew it, I was dancing with someone like Caprice or her nameless friend. And the night’s enticements had just begun.
As I said, I lived most men’s fantasies.
There were other things though, odd things.
I never got ill. Never.
I never remembered my dreams.
I never worked out, ate whatever I pleased, and remained incredibly fit.
I’ve never done taxes—in any country. A notation on all deposits read: tax paid.
I had no account with any public utility or phone company, yet I owned a phone and used electricity.
I never bought my clothes or books or other diversions. A metallic white board hung on my fridge. Just now, it had “Men in Black” scrawled across it, indicating I wanted the VHS. As soon as I left, I felt certain it’d appear, yet I’d never seen anyone come into my place.
When in torpor, I had no curiosity about any of this. They took care of everything. It was simple. I lived the perfect life.
Until activated.
Once active, I was a tool in the hand of the most powerful organization on Earth. I had access to devices and technology that literally shaped reality as we know it. We accomplished this through the alteration of laws we termed axioms. In actuality, axioms were an analogy for the various laws of physics, some yet to be discovered by mankind.
To Assets such as myself, the axioms of physics were weaponry. They might be bent or altogether broken while on assignment. The awesome technology responsible for that was an absolute requirement for what we did, the bare minimum of what we needed in order to come back alive.
Because dark, inhuman things lurked in the shadows of our world—things most people couldn’t even imagine. Our very reality was under siege by beings older than humanity itself.
Author Bio:
JM Guillen was your average, everyday awesome writer just trying to make it in this modern, awful corporate dystopia. He knew he wanted to make wonderful, bizarre things, but how could he afford to make that happen? Every day, he sat about crying and drinking, trying to figure out what he could do.
THEN A RADIOACTIVE METEOR CRASHED INTO HIS BACKYARD! FROM OUTER SPACE!
While examining the fuming interstellar rock, unknowable emanations radiated into the very center of his being. These unearthly energies changed the very depths of him, granting him powers that no man can name, and no god could ever master.
Reeling from the influx of spectral energies, he stumbled back into his home, his eyes open. Now, an entire universe unfolded before him. Now, he saw the way.
HE STARTED HIS OWN EVIL PUBLISHING COMPANY!
Now, JM Guillen begins to meet AWESOME people who supported his INSANE plans. Fiendishly, he scrawls story after story, writing steampunk, dark fantasy and eldritch horror…
Reality will never be the same.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Patreon / TikTok / Newsletter
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I love that cover, it’s gorgeous!
Love this cover.
Sounds like a wonderful read!
I like the cover. It looks great. Sounds like a good story.
Sounds like a “gripping” story.
Looks like its going to be a interesting story.
Sounds like a great read.
i am looking forward to reading and learning more about the technology in his skull
Great book excerpt, this sounds really good
Sounds like a book I’ll enjoy!
I like the cover art, synopsis and excerpt, I love sci-fi so this is a must read for me. Thank you for sharing the author’s bio and book details
M . H . B . is a new author to me and I look forward to reading her books.
Happy Book Birthday, J.M.! I enjoyed the excerpt and Rationality Zero sounds like a thrilling read for me to enjoy and I love the cool cover! Good luck with your book and the blitz! Thanks for sharing it with me and have an awesome day!
spiders???? did someone say arachnids????
sherry @ fundinmental
Sounds like an interesting book.
This sounds interesting. I really like the cover!
Excellent work!
I am always looking for new authors to read. This book sounds like the kind I would enjoy reading.
This sounds super good and one I would love to read this summer and the cover is amazing.
Neat cover, sounds like a good book.
wondrful covr, congrats on the release
Sounds fascinating.
Sounds very intriguing.
What an exciting book! Great cover and excerpt. I’d love to read more.
Very interesting. 🙂
Sounds interesting.
The cover looks great. I enjoyed the excerpt. Sounds good.
Science Fiction is a favorite genre of mine.
And what a great cover!
Thank you for sharing this.
Congratulations on the book release. Sounds like an exciting story.
J.M. Guillen is a new author to me and I look forward to reading his books.
Reality isn’t what it’s cracked up to be- sounds like the poor bloke is going to figure that out soon enough.
This book sounds amazing
Things always get weird. Thanks for reminding us.
Sounds like a great book!
I like the cover. The story sounds very interesting.
looks cool
This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
This book sounds amazing!
Sounds great, cool cover!
The excerpt is interesting. Thank you for sharing it.
This story line is very intriguing.
Sounds like a great read.
Sounds like a great read.
Sounds fantastic
Looks great.
sounds like a fun one
The cover looks interesting and I would love if I could eat whatever I wanted and still stay fit!
Sounds like this Tin Man needs the love of a good woman! Pan for a heart of gold in this sci-fi saga!
Fantastic cover! I want to read this!
Sounds like a great read.
Wow psionic parasites… I love the details!
Awesome cover and it sounds like an interesting book!