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The Canker Death [Kindle Edition]

James Bottino
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: $0.99 What's this?
Kindle Price: $0.99 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet

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Book Description

When the reclusive, cynical systems administrator, Petor Fidelistro, discovers that one of his own servers has been cracked late one night, he makes it his personal business to track down the perpetrator. What his search uncovers thrusts him, unaware, into a mad shifting between worlds, time and alien minds.

Fighting to keep his grip on reality, and forcing him to cope with his past, Petor finds himself uncontrollably transitioning between sentient minds that range from semi-conscious to dominant, from beings whose bodies and identities he can control, to those who control him so fully as to be unaware of his presence. As the story unfolds, Petor gathers clues in a twisting mystery that sends him shifting between the mourning child Nanzicwital; the golem giant Faskin; the lascivious, female ambassador Desidia; and Nokinis, an insane prisoner with whom Petor battles for mastery of his own memories. As he struggles to make sense of what is happening to him, Petor finds himself embroiled in the tumultuous upheaval of a ubiquitous society that transcends life, itself.


Product Details

  • File Size: 785 KB
  • Print Length: 418 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Septimus Press (August 22, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B005IOMWPY
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,448 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Great read, fast paced, filled with very memorable characters. art  |  8 reviewers made a similar statement
A book for Science Fiction fans and for literature buffs. Doug Pratt  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This is a fantastic read. The characters morph, the plot morphs and evolves for the reader in virtually every chapter. The use of metaphors and symbolism in this book really make you think. It all comes together at the end (I won't ruin it) and peaks into quite a journey. Funny, yet serious at times the book is simple well-written and worth every minute. If you like Robert Heinlein, Tom Robbins and Audrey Niffenegger; you'll love the Canker Death. BUY IT NOW. It would actually make a good movie....of course the book is always better.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Not at all what I was expecting: A big disappointment September 27, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really wanted to like this book. It started out so well, like a runaway train. And then it got weird. Very weird. I tried to slog through the weird for a while, hoping the story would return to what it had been in the first 4-5 chapters. But that never happened. All of the sudden the main character was off in some pipe-dream inspired world. The ensuing descriptions of the crazy fantastical events were way too drawn out and downright boring.

I was unable to finish this novel, which is unusual for me since I have a fairly high tolerance for pain. Since the book was free, I didn't feel too bad about not finishing it. Don't waste your 99 cents if you're not prepared for a fairly mainstream thriller to turn into nonsensical fantasy without the slightest warning.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Weird, but that's okay November 13, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found The Canker Death weird. There's nothing wrong with that in principle, and I was quite willing to read it to the end. As other reviewers have said, the story morphs quite spectacularly from a story of a hacked computer to a wild, unexplainable journey into other worlds, alien races, and cosmic philosophy. The main character is clueless about what is happening to him and much of the book shows the slow development of his understanding of the situation and his place in it. Like I said, weird, but it works pretty well.

There were things I didn't like about it. I like things to be pretty well tied up and understandable by the end, and this left lots of things hanging waaaay out there. I don't think the environment of this book or the plot necessitated the nudity and sex that was included, leaving me thinking it was entirely gratuitous. The main character, who is ripped out of a relatively normal life on earth into an absolutely terrifying and bizarre new universe, says how odd it is, but all in all accepts it awfully calmly - beyond my ability to believe. Bottino is not the only author to do any of these things, and I consider my dislike of them mostly a reflection of my tastes, not actual criticism.

The story is very well-conceived and it all hangs together quite well. It moves at a breathtaking pace most of the time, which kept me reading late into the night. The concepts explored are fascinating and seem extremely original to me. Each world is nicely described and each is quite different. The characters are interesting and finely drawn. I can recommend this as a good read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars A Lot Of Words For Little Reward
I see this book I obtained as a free offering for the Kindle is receiving a lot of praise. I guess I am someone who enjoys hard Science Fiction with a strong, coherent plot line... Read more
Published 3 months ago by William E. Hall
4.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing Read
Wow, what a ride! This was a well written, interesting book. I have never read one like it and that is what made it so intriguing - I love a good, unique Sci Fi novel. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Epithet
5.0 out of 5 stars Science Fiction at its best
This is a very interesting and well written book that will keep your attention to the end. The initial chapters are so intense that if this book ever turns into a movie, it will be... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Roberto Mattos
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply amazing...
As a techie, this book spoke to me from the moment I started reading it. I tend to read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars A book for our times!
As the line between art and technology becomes ever more blurred, James Bottino has proven himself as an author for our times. Read more
Published 18 months ago by A concerned father
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read.
Great read, fast paced, filled with very memorable characters. Be warned... this book will definitely deprive you of some sleep, as you will not be able to put it down once you... Read more
Published 18 months ago by art
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Original Blending of Fantasy and SciFi
The Canker Death is a fantastic and mysterious journey of self-discovery for the main character, a seemingly average system administrator (as a techie, I could relate). Read more
Published 20 months ago by drphil
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating combination or reality and fantasy
This is a challenging book that jumps back and forth from the utterly fantastic to hauntingly surreal. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Doug Pratt
5.0 out of 5 stars Very imaginative!
Wow, very captivating and enjoyable! I couldn't stop reading as the mystery deepened with each chapter. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Kent
5.0 out of 5 stars A captivating fantasy
An adult fantasy evocative of the Phillip Pullman Golden Compass series blending fantasy and science fiction. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Allyson
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More About the Author

James R. Bottino is a self-admitted computer geek and a creative writing teacher rolled into one. He earned a BS in English Education from Illinois State University and taught high school English in a suburb of Chicago for several years. After teaching all day, he studied creative writing in graduate school at Northern Illinois University. All the while, though, in the deep corners of the night, when no one was looking, he led a double life hacking and building computers and networks. Eventually, unbeknownst to him, word of his activities leaked out, and employment offers started coming in. In the end, he switched his hobby with his profession and became a senior computer / networking administrator for a scientific research laboratory. Just six months into this position, however, tragedy struck when, at the age of 31, James was diagnosed with cancer. Given ten to one odds of living out the year and knowing that his infant daughter would never remember him if he died, he began the fight of his life, enduring massive doses of chemotherapy that killed the cancer but nearly killed him as well. After years of struggle, he survived, but only after enduring systemic nerve damage from the treatments that left him permanently photophobic, phonophobic and with frequent difficulty in using his hands. These events focused his efforts and helped him to prevail in his dual goals: being a father to his daughter and completing his first novel, The Canker Death. James currently lives in a suburb of Chicago, with his wife, daughter, two Australian cattle dogs and far, far too many books and abstruse computers.

James R. Bottino can be contacted at: "nokinis(at)thecankerdeath(dot)com"

http://www.thecankerdeath.com
http://www.twitter.com/greyhame
http://www.facebook.com/jim.bottino



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