Goddess from the Machine

A Prequel to the Ark Saga

De: Daniel Rodrigues-Martin

Narrado por: Rhiannon Moushall

“You don’t need the stars telling your story. I don’t believe in constellations. Not yours, not mine. So forge your own future.

”Reese Sadoleto is an ex-slave, genius machinist, and the only companion of the superhuman “Vigilant.” Together, Reese and the Vigilant battle the City of Machindoun’s underground slave trafficking network and force its secret leaders to the brink. But the night the Vigilant plans to deliver the death blow and end slavery for good, he vanishes.

A tense ceasefire settles over Machindoun.

Trafficking goes underground and regular folk walk the streets again. With no hero to mend, missions to plan, or gear to repair, Reese determines to forget her past and forge a future all her own.But the past never forgets.A year after his disappearance, the Vigilant’s foes return to take back Machindoun, killing one of Reese’s new friends in the process. Fueled by vengeance, Reese determines to finish what the Vigilant started no matter the cost. She weaponizes her body with cybernetics while playing the city’s criminals, elite, and working class against each other in an escalating game of cat-and-mouse.Machindoun’s factions go to war against each other, unaware that Reese has orchestrated the conflict. But when her greatest foes reveal themselves as the architects of Machindoun’s—and Reese’s—suffering, she realizes that to kill her past, free herself from the Vigilant’s legacy, and forge her own life for herself, she must sacrifice either her humanity or her life. Neither vengeance nor her foes will let her escape with both.

©2025 Daniel Martin (P)2025 Daniel Martin

Goddess from the Machine

The Goddess from the Machine is a fast-paced sci-fi, cyberpunk novel. Many of these types of stories are set in a dystopian world of chaotic misanthropes creating havoc with no motivation other than ... creating havoc. The Goddess from the Machine is a unique approach; the author has a message, and the characters are unique, motivated, and purposeful. This is a tale of human trafficking in a distant future - it's still an issue for mankind ... as is slavery, greed, and evil. Reese Sadoleto, the main protagonist, has memories of life's tragedies that any reader will easily relate to. She is a brilliant, take-no-prisoners hardass with a tender heart - you will root for her and her friends.

World-building is incredibly creative, detailed, and descriptive. The prose poetic at times, thoughtful ... with a few delightfully humorous interactions - you will have trouble putting this book down.

Release in June 2025, 15 hours of audiobook listening, narrated by Rhiannon Moushall.

Recommended!!

Good

Goddess From the Machine is a slow-burn cyberpunk thriller that succeeds most where it matters: its world and its protagonist. It’s not flawless, but when it works, it really works.

The plot follows Reese Sadoleto, an ex-slave and gifted machinist trying to carve out a quiet life after the disappearance of her superhuman partner, the Vigilant. For a while, she almost manages it. Then violence returns to Machindoun, someone she cares about is killed, and the past she’s been trying to outrun drags her back into the city’s shadows. The book moves between Reese’s present-day search for answers and her earlier years working alongside the Vigilant to dismantle the city’s trafficking network. These two threads slowly converge into a larger picture of corruption, control, and the people who profit from both.

Machindoun feels fully lived-in. It's industrial, unequal, and quietly rotting. The book uses its setting as scenery and pressure - you can feel the city wearing people down, shaping them, and in Reese’s case, pushing her toward reinvention and revenge. It’s not hard to see why Arcane comparisons come up; the combination of industrial decay, class tension, and moral complexity fits well.

Reese herself is the book’s biggest strength. She’s capable, wounded, stubborn, and believable in all of those things. Her trauma informs her choices without swallowing the story whole, and watching her rebuild (literally and figuratively) is satisfying. Even when the plot takes its time, her voice keeps the pages turning.

The pacing in the first half is occasionally too deliberate. The early stretch moves slowly, almost cautiously, as if the book isn’t entirely sure it wants to start yet. The dual timeline adds texture but sometimes dilutes urgency, and a few side characters never rise beyond functional. These aren’t fatal flaws, but they do keep the book from hitting as hard as it could in the first half.

Once things shift into place, the book becomes far more gripping. The action sequences are gritty, chaotic and physical. The escalation toward the end feels earned, and the final revelations land well.

Despite its pacing issues and a few thinly sketched characters, Goddess From the Machine is a good story. Its worldbuilding is excellent, its mood consistent, and Reese is a memorable protagonist. If you’re willing to settle in and let the book build slowly, it rewards the patience.