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Synopsis: Escaping from deranged cyborgs and a malcontent artificial intelligence had been the run of Daisy’s life, but one from which she had miraculously come out the other side, and in one piece, no less. Unfortunately for her, she had survived that ordeal only to find herself in a far deeper mess.With an even more dangerous turn of events throwing her in harm’s way, Daisy’s original plight was now dwarfed by the new issues at hand. Issues involving not only her crewmates and herself, but threats on a global level. Earth was in jeopardy, and much as she hated to admit it, Daisy, it seemed, was its best hope.Driven into action and forced to rely not only on her own wits, but also the voice in her head, tirelessly watching her back, Daisy found her newfound skills tested to their limits, and quite nearly to their breaking point. Unfortunately for her adversaries, they didn’t know just who it was they were pushing around, because Daisy was most definitely not to be trifled with. She was the woman who pushed back.
Kindle Pages: 357
Publisher: N/A
Publication Date: 15th November 2018
Daisy, is constructed as a stereotypical snarky technologically-apt guru, who wakes up to find, the ship she is on, needs repairs. But, this eventuates to be the least of her worries. (Repeat after me, they’re not always watching, and they’re not out to get you……. Convincing, yeah?) Before reading this novel, I re-read Daisy’s Gambit. Initially, I viewed Daisy as flawed. Not just due to her innate discrimination, but due to her perfection. She was created, and moulded to be the perfect human – but human’s are not perfect, and Daisy is not a human at least, not really. In discovering her own humanity (or lack thereof) she’s thrown off kilter; lashing out at those who are also “not human”. She does this, not because she dislikes these ‘people’ – as we see throughout – but rather, they are a reminder of what she thought she was, and never will be. In this, we see the limitation of Daisy’s perfection and her emulation to become as such. She is paranoid, and rightly so. On the cusp of a conspiracy theory revelation, her best-friend (and as we discover, sister), is jettisoned out to space, leaving Daisy with a broken heart, and taking dangerous steps to compensate for her loss. She quickly discovers that her (and Sarah – sister, friend) were right, there is a conspiracy. But it’s not what she thinks. Spiralling into a cataclysmic series of events we quickly saw betrayals, loss of love, loss of life, anger, and a humbling truth. Daisy, is not what she thinks she is. Escaping the ship (after aforementioned events), Daisy soon realises that those she thought were out to get her, were not out to get her. It is a learning curve for our dear Daisy, and in discovering the true extent of herself, and her similarities to those people she began to hate, we begin the new novel Pushing Daisy. Disclaimer: I re-read, and then read the next two novels in the series in quick succession – ergo: there may be some spoilery content, and mis-mashed information here – reader beware. Never-fear, Daisy remains a snarky technologically-apt guru. In-fact, she grows into this role (yes, pun intended), surpassing every boundary imposed upon her, and simply becoming more. Scott Baron explores the inter-personal relationships of Daisy and her ship-mates further, and despite an initial reluctance to appreciate this aspect, he does this with a delicacy which does not overwhelm the entire narrative. Daisy, is still Daisy. Rather, these relationships help us to understand who exactly Daisy is. In her desperation to cling to her humanity – again, or lack thereof – Daisy pushes away those who only wish to help her grow, her cheer-leaders if you will. She denies the genuine nature of the man she loves (yes, she loves him), yet learns to not shirk from those who are also augmented (in different manners). Later, she realises how wrong this is, but SPOILERS. Constructing un-suspecting friendships and alliances, and learning to love who she is (and in a bi-partisan way, learning to hate others less), Daisy dives head-first into her role as a saviour. Scott Baron writes a beautiful, convincing novel which touches on themes of destruction, trust, honour, love, and prejudice. A forseeable future – albeit reluctant acknowledgement – The Clockwork Chimera series (or atleast, this far into it), is promising, and leaves you eager for more. I received an advance copy from the author – with no requirement to review the novel. For more Bookish Content, visit;
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