Unity

Looking for another Jeremy Robinson book to read after recently finishing his last Chess Team book, Empire and stand-alone books The Divide and The Others. I decided to try Unity. The only negative point I have to make is ...where is the next book?! I could not put it down! Action packed plot. Great character development with Effie. Interesting side characters. Mr Robinson has done it again! Each time I finish one of his books it reaffirms why he is one of my favorite writers. Unity is listed as a Stand-Alone book. I hope that will not be the case. The story ended with questions still unanswered and Effie ready to save the world. Don’t let her down Mr. Robinson!

The author clearly spent a lot of time designing the robots, and daikaiju before writing this. The ending is action-packed, and he does a great job showing us what Unity is up against, and you can't help but zip up your (ill-fitting in my case) flight suit, and leaping into battle. The first half feels more like Lord of the Flies, but introduces all the characters that way, so it works. I guess my biggest struggle was picturing the monster itself. I know (now) that it's on the cover, but only for the print version's wrap around, and the step by step process at the end of the book (which I really liked seeing). By the time the fight was finished, I had a pretty close mental picture to what was on the cover, but it took the entire final battle to visualize the daikaiju. I'm on board for the rest of the series, though!

I received this book free for review, but honestly, I would have bought it anyway so I was thrilled for a chance to read it for free! I have been a Jeremy Robinson fan since before his "Origin" novels were actually known as the "Origin" novels. He is a must read author for me, and I have read everything he has written. Unity is another epic adventure by Jeremy Robinson, and it is written in classic Robinson style: fast paced, can't stop reading, great story line, and it leaves me wanting more. It's a great thing he's such a prolific writer, I never have to wait years for his next novel. Robinson's writing has gotten better and better, and he knows how to spin an excellent yarn. Another great story by Jeremy Robinson! Well done!

I have been a follower of Jeremy Robinson ever since I discovered Project Nemesis. Jeremy has not just reinvented or reinvigorated the kaiju novel, he has supplanted it with UNITY. Part Hunger Games, Part Pacific Rim, Part (pick any alien invasion movie), UNITY has it ALL. Strong characters and strong story aside, UNITY delves directly into the "are we alone" discussion and provides a definitive answer (not to be revealed in this quick review). UNITY has the potential to be a series unlike anything kaiju fandom has read before. My only question is how soon will this become a comic book like Project Nemesis and Island 731?

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

The only books of Robinson's I've read are his Project Nemesis books, Island 731, which has tied into Nemesis books, and Apocalypse Machine. I clearly see he loves his giant monsters and with Matt Frank's art they help make kaiju unique and thrilling without just carbon copying Godzilla and Gamera. While the narration of Project Nemeis 1st person narration took me a while to get used to I see clear love for kaiju. So since I'm such a huge Pacific Rim fan I was excited when I saw Unity's cover pop up and waited eagerly for months.

I got it since I know there's at least one giant monster and giant robot and eagerly read it...one big problem. You just have to wait a long time for the robot and monster to show up. Up until then it's a bit of Battle Royale or Hunger Games but with child and teenage geniuses stuck on an island and trying to figure out what is going on. It a grim tale of survival where things go from bad to worse and Robinson is developing the world slowly, bringing in gradual sci-fi tropes like drones, powered armor and the giant robot while there's a simple story of two warring factions on the island.

It's fun, violent but my biggest complaint is that again I had to wait a long time for what is on the cover to show up. However the plan is that there will be two more books so I'm certainly not regretting my purchase and I look forward to reading part 2 of Unity.

Full disclosure; I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The short version of my review is that this is an awesome book and if you like action or giant monsters you should definitely buy it. The longer version is below.

As a long time Robinson fan and even longer kaiju fan, I was incredibly excited when I learned that this book was being written. I was not disappointed. Unity is an incredibly strong start for a new series that looks to contain some of the best kaiju vs. mech action I have ever seen. With that said, since this book is the start of a trilogy a large portion of it is buildup and world building before we get to the big monster battle payoff. However, where many kaiju stories have human-focused section that are really just the stuff we suffer through to get to the cool action, Robinson does not let a single page go to waste. As the book progresses we get to know some very interesting characters and follow them as they begin to unravel the secrets of the strange island they suddenly find themselves on. There is also plenty of Robinson’s signature action; which in this case feels like a mix between the chess team and the hunger games. The action is gripping and fast paced, and the giant showdown at the end is well worth the wait. I couldn’t put the book down and ended up finishing it the same day I started reading it.

This book shows once again how Robinson is a master at taking story elements we have all seen before and giving them his own unique twist. Teenage protagonists, giant monsters, giant robots, and many of the other elements of this story have been used dozens of times before, but Robinson somehow manages to make a unique and original story out of it all. I particularly liked how several standard elements of young adult stories were used in ways that didn’t feel forced or clichéd.

The kaiju in this book are the sixth distinct kaiju species Robinson has created for his books, and they are a testament to his endless creativity. Despite the vast menagerie of monsters already present in his works Robinson keeps coming up with unique creatures to add to it. In his first kaiju novel, Project Nemesis, Robinson gave us his take on classical kaiju; massively powerful, immune to our best weapons, and at the same time capable of being a very personal menace at times. In his second original kaiju story, The Apocalypse machine, he showed us a new kind of kaiju that is essentially beyond the human scale. A creature against whom even our greatest structures are utterly insignificant. In Unity Robinson brings the scale back down to give us a new type of kaiju that is both destructive and viscerally disturbing. I won’t go into detail because spoilers, but these monsters are creepy in a way I don’t think I have ever seen in a kaiju story before.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this story is the main character. When I first read the description for this story I thought that Effie was in danger of being the weakest part of this story. Robinson usually produces great characters in his stories, in fact both the Nemesis series and the Jack Sigler thrillers contain very well written women and teenage characters, but the the store description of Unity makes Effie sound like every other violent antisocial protagonist with a huge chip on her shoulder. This kind of character seems to be very common in action driven plots and, while it works in some stories, I am getting tired of narratives that expect me to sympathize with arrogant violent jerks. Thankfully, when I began reading Unity I quickly realized that my concerns were baseless. It took less than three pages for Unity to show me that its leading character was a complex and ultimately likable person. My favorite character driven scenes in this book were the first and last chapters. Both of these chapters show multiple facets of Effie’s character, both good and bad, and they both do a good job of showing the reader who Effie is at that point in the story.

Ultimately Unity is an incredibly strong start to a new series. It managed to hit almost every note perfectly and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel.

Jeremy Robinson is one of my favorite authors of this genre & I have read all of his books. While of course I liked some of his books better than others, I never was disappointed after reading any - until I read this book. It is simply a thinly disguised rip-off of Ender's Game (just change sex of main characters) & Pacific Rim, a movie where I can't believe that for some reason it was decided it would be better to invest your limited time & resources in building giant robot exosuits to go "mano-y-mano" with ridiculously huge creatures rather than using many smaller, far more maneuverable fighter craft & tons of rockets & such.
I was able to read this book using my Kindle Unlimited membership so I'm glad to say I got my moneys worth. I'm disappointed & expected better from Mr. Robinson & sincerely hope that this isn't the direction that his future writing will go.

As I began writing this review, in the first sentence, I wrote “this movie.” This books acts like a blockbuster action flick, a combination of Top Gun and Independence Day. It feels like the movie Pacific Rim, which is itself a combo of Top Gun and Independence Day.

The hero’s nickname is F-Bomb, and she is terrific. I need more books with her in them, right now.

Jeremy Robinson has few equals in action writing. By that, I mean it sounds like play-by-play commentary, not rote recitation of details. Reading the battles is cathartic fun.

The book contains disasters, monsters, robot suits, and a roster of cool things. You’ll want to consume mass quantities of popcorn while you read this book, but that would stain the pages.

Do it anyway. This book is made for popcorn. Bring lots of napkins. (review by Joe Crowe, [...]

Thank you thank you thank you! Ive been patiently waiting for the release of another of your books. I've read them all, and will continue to re-read. They really take my mind off days out here overseas and I thank you. You truly are a special talent sir.

Unity is the latest book by author Jeremy Robinson. It's about a bunch of extraordinary kids who crash on an island. They're chased by psycho killers, learn to pilot giant robots, and do battle with enormous alien monsters. What more would you like? I really love this book.

Yet another interesting series from Robinson merging the Kaiju's with future tech and even human made Hyperion's! As typically with his other books the reader is immediately immersed into action and a plot that leaves you wondering where it will go next. Definitely a fun read!!!

Personally, I love this book, a well written story of a strong willed teen girl forced into a leadership position, she rises to the occasion and finds out how strong she really can be. In the process she learns she has friends and they rely on each other to win the day. Well written and a very enjoyable book. 5 Stars in my opinion.

Unity is the first in a new apocalyptic youth series from author Jeremy Robinson.

At its most basic level, Unity is about adults sending children out to fend for themselves and save the world from alien invaders. To do so, the children are sent to a remote island for training. Arriving is an ordeal as transport crafts crash and only a handful of children are left alive.

The first thing the children encounter is evidence of the last group of children being executed. They then encounter a few of the last group of children who are now young adults and have turned into a Lord of the Flies type civilization. There are violent, graphic encounters until the younger group resolves the situation. They then find a secret science lab full of huge robots that are to be piloted by them. They have to figure out how things work in a hurry as a kaiju attack on their island is imminent. They have had no training and the lead, Effie, has only been in the program for weeks so is in the dark about everything. Effie is the stereotypical angry teen who has been brought up in foster care.

Unity refers to a trinity of mind, soul, and body. Each child has a strength that corresponds to one of these traits and that is used to group them together into individual fighting units.

The story is written well and cohesive. It moves along quickly with few downtime moments. If you like youth warriors, end of the world, kaiju stories this is for you. I will add a caution for some of the youngest readers. There are a couple of graphically violent scenes.

Personally, I don’t particularly care for stories that put the responsibility of saving the world solely on children. For me, the story would have been more successful if there were a least a few adults being adults and helping the children, fighting at least a couple of the more intense fights.

Another great read from Jeremy. Unfortunately, it is wholly a YA novel. While I appreciate Jeremy's efforts to bring younger readers to his awesome world of monster action and adventure, I didn't really take to it like I have with his other books. The lead character is simply a rehash of Jane Harper from The Sentinel and The Raven books (under Jeremy Bishop). His devotion at the beginning makes it very clear that the adventure is just beginning. Here comes Hunger Games and Divergent all rolled into one. Not really happy with that outcome. Again, I love Jeremy's books. I was not ready for him to join the dozens of authors trying to win it big with another YA classic series and movie deal. I will the sequels regardless.