K.R. Martin, is still kind of an unknown to mainstream literature. So this review is more of a personal desire to have more people read his book. Martin actually runs a YouTube channel called Krimson Rogue, and one of his main attractions to the channel is his series "The Book Was Better" where he compares movies to the books they were based on. He also does another great series called "From the Krimson Library," where he reviews a book he had recently read. I get most of my book choices from him. When I discovered he had written a book, I had to check this out.
"Micro God" is a very unique kind of story. Its more of a novella, but it carries a lot for one. The story follows a man, Richard Clarke. Richard is no ordinary man though, he is a god, or at least has godlike powers. He is not only immortal, but can control reality within a five foot radius of him, that includes repairing damaged equipment, restoring injuries of people, and even resurrecting those who have died. And like most immortals, he is impervious to bullets, stab wounds, or basically anything that can kill a person.
He has spent most of his immortal life fighting wars, and traveling city to city trying to eliminate all crime in the world. In this book, he is in Chicago and comes across what seems to be another generic gang. Like always he overpowers them, killing many of the gang members, except for one, Clarence, one of the newest members of the gang. Clarence is badly hurt, and Clarke agrees to escort him to the hospital if he promises to get off the drugs, which Clarence agrees too. When they arrive at the hospital, a young doctor, Chloe, asks Clarke to stay overnight to hold off gangs who have been attacking the hospital generator which he reluctantly agrees do. This is where the plot begins to go into motion. The gang seek revenge on Clarke for all the casualties he caused. Meanwhile, Clarke takes a liking to helping out at the hospital, it even implies a budding romance with Chloe. However, all hell breaks loose when the gang storms the hospital. I would go into details, but I already gave half of the book away.
While the plot is pretty thin, it isn't empty. Most of the story relies on Richard Clarke's character to keep the readers interest. And ultimately, that's exactly what it does. With literal powers of God possessed by this man, many would be quick to call him a Gary Stu. If no one knows who a "Gary Stu" is, (or a Mary Sue for female characters) these are characters with such perfect qualities that they aren't challenged by the plot. In a way, you could call Clarke a "Gary Stu," but that's exactly what works against him. He is immortal, he has watched people he has grown close to die, and it makes his feelings for Chloe sort of a danger for him. And even though he can control reality within five feet of him, when he moves away from anything he changed, reality goes back to its original state. He still feels hunger and is tired at the end of the day, like a typical human would be. And yes, he has no problem taking down bad guys, but he can never succeed in eliminating all evil in the world. You can tell that he has fought crime for so long, he just doesn't care anymore, because he knows its never going to stop. It's obvious he can simply stop doing what he's doing and let chaos take its course. It's like being perfect can still be a burden rather than a blessing, and for Clark, it is a burden.
Chloe also is a very interesting character. She is a dedicated doctor, thinking about nothing more than the hospital and the welfare of her patience. She has that no nonsense kind of attitude, making her not only "tough as nails" but sometimes the most dominant figure in the room, even towards Clarke sometimes. And ultimately this is how she wins over Clarkes admiration. But this is kind of a flaw on the story's part. There is hints of a budding romance between Clark and Chloe, but it doesn't actual bloom into a relationship other then the fact he is starting to develop feelings for her. I'm willing to let this flaw slide, since it really falls on my own personal taste.
Regardless, the book was certainly a page turner. Despite its thin plot, the character study of Richard Clarke was just interesting to read. Not many stories can rely on a character rather than the plot to keep the pages turning and that is what Micro God did for me. If K.R. Martin can pull a story like this out of his hat, then I would love to see what else he could do.
But these are just my opinions. Have you read the book? if so what did you think? If not, please download it. Its only ninety-nine cents, and its worth it. You can also subscribe to the authors channel at Krimson Rogue!!
