Goddess in the Machine

Lora Beth Johnson

Jun 2020 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Andra wakes up from a cryogenic sleep 1,000 years later than she was supposed to, forcing her to team up with an exiled prince to navigate an unfamiliar planet in this smart, thrilling sci-fi adventure, perfect for fans of Renegades and Aurora Rising.

When Andra wakes up, she's drowning.

Not only that, but she's in a hot, dirty cave, it's the year 3102, and everyone keeps calling her Goddess. When Andra went into a cryonic sleep for a trip across the galaxy, she expected to wake up in a hundred years, not a thousand. Worst of all, the rest of the colonists--including her family and friends--are dead. They died centuries ago, and for some reason, their descendants think Andra's a deity. She knows she's nothing special, but she'll play along if it means she can figure out why she was left in stasis and how to get back to Earth.

Zhade, the exiled bastard prince of Eerensed, has other plans. Four years ago, the sleeping Goddess's glass coffin disappeared from the palace, and Zhade devoted himself to finding it. Now he's hoping the Goddess will be the key to taking his rightful place on the throne--if he can get her to play her part, that is. Because if his people realize she doesn't actually have the power to save their dying planet, they'll kill her.

With a vicious monarch on the throne and a city tearing apart at the seams, Zhade and Andra might never be able to unlock the mystery of her fate, let alone find a way to unseat the king, especially since Zhade hasn't exactly been forthcoming with Andra. And a thousand years from home, is there any way of knowing that Earth is better than the planet she's woken to?

Ratings and reviews

Such an interesting read!! Definitely a hard book to get started because of the world building/different language, but once you get going this book takes you on a ride. Some really great twists that I didn't see coming but they don't feel ungrounded, so they're jaw dropping but not frustratingly out of thin air. Can't say I'm super attached to any of the side characters but I really started to feel for Andra on her journey. I'm intrigued to see how the romance between Andra and Zhade builds up in the next book as that's a pretty minor part of this one. If you're a sci-fi reader I'd definitely recommend giving this book a chance, and pushing through the first like 70 pages.

I cannot express how impressive this novel is. I am not usually a fan of sci-fi, but this book seamlessly blends the futuristic and fantasy elements that it feels both old world magic and futuristic space colony while making total and complete sense. Beyond that, the language is incredible. Lora Beth Johnson has created a new dialect of English that is as middle English is to modern English, yet I could understand the exact intent. I have never read a book that has done anything like this with a fantasy language. It's brilliantly evolved in a way that makes complete sense and from an etymological standpoint had to have been exhaustively researched. I am in complete awe. Beyond the basics, the story is beautiful. I love the characters and the relationships they develop throughout the novel. The two narrators are incredibly deep and developed, and I cannot wait to see how they continue to evolve throughout this series. The world she has created is so well layered and I am so excited to read these books for years to come. Although, I definitely wish the next in the series was in my hands now, I can say with certainty, it will be worth the wait.

From the opening hook, I was pulled into this unique and believable world and never wanted to stop reading. The world felt so real, with sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touch senses all working together to build a fantastic world for me to experience while reading. I loved Andra and felt every emotion, every pain, sharing right along with her. The author tossed surprising twists at me that I truly never guessed were coming. They delighted me and made this a five star read for me. The ending left room for a sequel that I'm hoping will be coming soon as I need to know what happens next! My mind was blown and mouth left open at some of the twists near the end especially. This book has everything I love about fantasy and science fiction all twisted together in a perfect package--danger, intrigue, secrets, hints of romance, friendship, and deceptions so fierce, plus plenty of action. The science fiction part was my favorite as nano technology, cryogenetics, and AI fascinate me.

About the author

As an only child, Lora Beth Johnson grew up telling herself stories and reading past her bedtime. She spent her adulthood collecting degrees, careers, and stamps in her passport before realizing her passion for creating fictional worlds. When she's not writing, she's teaching college English and learning new languages. She lives in Davidson, NC with her little roommate, Colocataire the Yorki-poo. Goddess in the Machine is her first book.

Find Lora Beth on Twitter @LoraBethWrites