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Simon Paul Woodward
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Dead Weapons: A standalone, near-future, YA science-fiction thriller Kindle Edition

by Simon Paul Woodward (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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Violent gangsters want his hardware. Droid soldiers are after his blood. Can a son searching for his dad survive the fight of his life?

London in the near future. Ciaran Richards refuses to accept his heroic father’s death. So to uncover the true fate of his dearly departed parent, the fifteen-year-old agrees to deliver his criminal brother a rare AI-powered gun. But Ciaran barely escapes with the prized hi-tech piece when the illegal pickup goes south, and he’s framed for murder.

With the government’s intelligent weapon now fused to his hand and both cyborg black ops and mobsters hot on his heels, the embattled teen is desperate to unearth the truth. But when he ropes in his hacker ex-girlfriend to unlock the firearm’s gruesome secrets, he fears the grim reality of his father’s demise exposes an ugly and dangerous conspiracy.

Can Ciaran outrun those who want him exterminated in time to save the innocent?

Dead Weapons is an exhilarating standalone YA thriller. If you like cyberpunk tech, pulse-pounding action, and page-turning shootouts, then you’ll love Simon Paul Woodward’s mind-bending story.

Buy Dead Weapons to blow a cover-up sky-high today!
Previous page
  1. Print length
    357 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    August 26, 2017
  5. Reading age
    13 - 18 years
  6. File size
    3156 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B073QBNJJD
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ musingMonster Books (August 26, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 26, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3156 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 357 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

About the author

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Simon Paul Woodward

Simon Paul Woodward

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Simon Paul Woodward is a horror writer based in London, UK. He’s a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and the British Fantasy Society (BFS) and has won the BFS short story competition. His novels and short story collections have received plaudits from bestselling authors and his short fiction has appeared in magazines in the UK and USA.

You can visit him at www.simonpaulwoodward.com

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

NICK EVANS
5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling urban fantasy
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
Dead Weapons is a thrilling urban fantasy which hurtles along at the speed of one of my 12-year-old son's video games.

Set in the near future, this is dystopian Britain during a particularly divisive election campaign and with a backdrop of foreign wars in Muslim countries. Mmm, so perhaps not that far in the future...

Our hero is mixed race Ciaran Richards, aged 15, he is half-Irish, half-Jamaican: his Dad a dead war hero, his older brother in prison and his mum desperately trying to keep him on track.

The prospects of that don't look good when his brother blackmails him into doing one last job for him.

He is soon on the run from the police and a sinister branch of government: The Department of Weaponised Humans.

During the pursuit, he is helped by refugees who are the focus of the anti-immigration politicians, like the sensitively-drawn Ahmed:
"Why did you help me?” said Ciaran. The man sighed. “Before I fled my country, I saw many people being chased, and many people chasing them. It was a case of life or death that I learned to read the truth in faces. Who was the criminal? Who was the killer and who was the victim? I read the expression on your face; a boy, running from the police, with the expression of a victim.”

There are some great, vivid scenes:
A line of policemen blocked the road. They were holding batons, bulked up by layers of black riot armour, breath clouding like bulls in a field on an icy morning.

And moments that remained me of one of my favourite films, Wim Wender's Angels of Desire: but these winged creatures are nightmarish rather than angelic:
Then he saw it, outside the garage door, gliding down. It was man-sized but had outstretched wings. It landed alongside the police car, knees flexing to soften the impact and folded its wings behind its back.

Throughout, Woodward never lets the pace slacken. There is always a twist ahead, the plot gets murkier and murkier, and the violence is visceral. Tech geeks will love the terrifying inventions: I just hope they remain in Woodward's imagination and never get unleashed on to the street.

Be warned: this is future Britain, this is future warfare, if you let the military industrial complex and their puppet politicians dictate.

A tour de force.
2 people found this helpful
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D Brent
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy five stars!
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2017
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An absolute original! As an older reader, I was hooked straight away and I am sure young adult readers would be as well. I like a story with a well developed plot and lots of momentum and Dead Weapons has tons of both. Having just read Scrimshaw by the same author I was expecting a good read and most importantly and imaginative one and again I got exactly what I wanted. Am hoping Dead Weapons is to be developed into a fully fledged series and am sure it would be brilliant as a TV show.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed it
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2017
This fast-paced novel offers an intriguing argument of the dangers in the rise of artificial intelligence. Anti-war, anti-establishment and anti-populist, it's another reminder of how dangerous unchecked power can be.

At the heart of all this is an intelligent young man, cruelly affected by life's lottery and subsequently prone to making rash decisions with terrible consequences. When Ciaran makes yet another rash judgement, he finds his life spiralling rapidly out of control but this time he is forced to face up to his actions, rather than run away.

Ciaran embarks on a journey of discovery, redemption and revenge, all while moving in the shadows from a wildly dangerous secret government department. In a lonely and dangerous environment, his life soon becomes defined by technology, reaching a point where he cannot live with artificial intelligence - or without . Ciaran must reach his physical and mental limit to discover who he really is and where he has come from.
One person found this helpful
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Miss Amy C Alexander
5.0 out of 5 stars Great, fast-paced, absorbing, well-written and imaginative book.
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2017
Wow - this writer has a phenomenal imagination. He has created a totally believable plot, full of fanciful creatures, twists, turns and thought-provoking dilemmas. It was fast-paced but allowed time for character and situation development so, as a reader, you felt invested in the drama, really cared what happened and shared in the jeopardy. Plenty of heroes to champion, villains who you hope will receive their comeuppance and an ending that is satisfying but not one that you could predict - I dare you to try.
One person found this helpful
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James Haydon
5.0 out of 5 stars A pretty unique story with a gun that just won't let ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2017
A pretty unique story with a gun that just won't let go. Lots of action and a quest to find a father thought dead. Definitely an entertaining read! I received a copy of this free for an honest review.
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Top reviews from other countries

Susie Jane
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
Wow - the story is so engrossing, that had to carry on reading until I had finished the book. This is a brilliant novel, the first of S P Woodward's that I have read. Will definitely check out his other novels.

Troubled teenager Ciaran Richards, receives a phone call from his older brother Patrick. Patrick is currently in prison awaiting trial for murder, and coerces Ciaran into doing a job for him. He wants Ciaran to collect a case, then pass the case onto Eliza Frost, one of the most powerful criminals in Britain. Patrick tells him that their father's death was faked.

When Ciaran does find the case, he feels compelled to open it. Inside the case is a gun, that he picks up, but somehow the gun attaches itself to his hand. Police arrive at the scene, but they are gunned down by a strange winged character and Ciaran is framed for the murder of those two policemen.

He has no alternative but to go on the run. His attempts to remove the gun from his hand fail. The gun appears to be talking to him, tells him that the gun is now damaged and the only way to remove it is to connect via the shadownet. Unfortunately when he enlists someone's help to do that, his location is tracked and he has to abort the task and flee once again.

The gun (James) has been developed by DOWH (the Department of Weaponised Humans) and is a weapon that is changing the face of warfare. Hence the reason why it is so highly sought after.

Ciaran now believes that his father may be at the DOWH facility. Still being hunted by Eliza Frost, the police and the striders, he has to work out how to get to the facility, remove the gun from his hand, save James, find his father and hopefully stay alive.

This would make an excellent movie.
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avidreader
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read - fast paced and thought provoking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
The latest from Simon Paul Woodward continues his exploration of what it means to be a hero. How it's not just the thrilling action but the motivation behind the action, the confidence to trust and accept help from others. The 'hero' of Dead Weapons, fifteen year old Ciaran starts in a tough position as his Dad has been killed serving in the army in a war in the middle-east, his older brother has gone off the rails into a life of crime and his Mum is fiercely trying to keep him on the straight and narrow. Things get tougher as his brother coerces him to help with 'one last job' which catapults him into a terrifying world of gangsters, police, futuristic weapons and a sinister government department. In a few short pages, Ciaran is on the run and they are all after him. In a series of breathless adventures and narrow escapes, help comes from unexpected sources - but who can Ciaran trust - and will he allow himself to trust anyone? The pace is relentless and exciting, with all the twists and detail we have come to expect from Woodward's writing. There is also an added depth to the characters, with some very moving scenes. Definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a modern thriller and will appeal to the teen reader who is ready for more realism than magic.
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Efosa Ahabue
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed the book and could not put down
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is the first book by the author I have read but it certainly will not be the last! I really enjoyed the book and could not put down. Dead Weapons reads like a film I would happily pay money to watch and would be best described as a chase thriller with some sci-fi elements.
It is set in the modern day England and the main protagonist Ciaran is a teenage boy struggling with what his recent life has thrown at him. The dark shadow his older brother’s actions have cast, the tragic death of his father in the current war and the loss of his most important friendship.
Ciaran then does something, for some he knows he shouldn't which leads to opening him up to state of affairs he could not have imaged to be true. Although that being said it is not something so farfetched that you could imagine it to be impossible in the not too distant future!
This is fast paced novel that I feel would suit most peoples taste and would be the perfect book to take on holiday or for the daily commute.
I look forward to reading more from Simon Woodward
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
This fast-paced novel offers an intriguing argument of the dangers in the rise of artificial intelligence. Anti-war, anti-establishment and anti-populist, it's another reminder of how dangerous unchecked power can be.

At the heart of all this is an intelligent young man, cruelly affected by life's lottery and subsequently prone to making rash decisions with terrible consequences. When Ciaran makes yet another rash judgement, he finds his life spiralling rapidly out of control but this time he is forced to face up to his actions, rather than run away.

Ciaran embarks on a journey of discovery, redemption and revenge, all while moving in the shadows from a wildly dangerous secret government department. In a lonely and dangerous environment, his life soon becomes defined by technology, reaching a point where he cannot live with artificial intelligence - or without . Ciaran must reach his physical and mental limit to discover who he really is and where he has come from.
Report
Joanna E Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great YA adenture in a high octane thriller
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
Great YA adenture in a high octane thriller. There's nothing like following the twists and turns of a great thriller, and one of the best things about Simon Paul Woodward is that his books are so different from the run of the mill YA Thiller offering. His main characters are always unique and in Dead Weapons he really turns up the heat when Ciaran finds himself pitted against a futuristic military agency with some awesome weaponry at their disposal. The pace is relentless and the plot is superb and it all comes together to deliver a highly entertaining read.
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