Judge Anderson: Year One by Alec Worley

Judge Anderson: Year One by Alec Worley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read Judge Anderson in my youth but that really was a long time ago yet I felt drawn to this novel by Alec Worley. The novel is actually three novels packaged into a very appealing product and I bought it for my kindle on the day of release. The three stories take place in Cassandra Anderson's first year as a judge, the pressures of being in the Psi Division and simply being a judge combined with being perhaps the most powerful of her kind all colour her work on the streets.
Heartbreaker
The first story deals with a number of supposedly random psychotic breaks by individuals in and around the Meet Market which is a secure area of the city which allows for all many of dating escapades to take part. Anderson and her partner investigate a violent murder but she discovers that the crimes are certainly not what they appear to be. As pressure mounts the potential for carnage during the upcoming Valentines Day parade looms large and Anderson is dealing with not only the perp but her own people as well.
The Abyss
Moriah Blake the self styled leader of a radical and violent group known as Bedlam who are attempting to create chaos and bring down the established order as represented by the Judges is securely incarcerated at Psych Block Six (Sponsored by Pharmville). Anderson with Judge Zeinner are sent to interrogate her and after some probing of a very controlled mind Anderson is convinced that there is a bomb in play but before they two judges can act Bedlam strikes.
A Dream of the Nevertime
Judge Anderson is having dreams, regs demand that she gives a full rundown of all her dreams to the Psi-Division but this seems to be different. During a riot she incapacitates a mob but is then put into custody by the Division when they detect some sort of psychic virus in play which may exist in another realm altogether. Anderson convinces the higher ups she can track down the source of the psychic presence hinted at in her dreams and together with a robot named Marion she drives into the cursed Earth to find answers to questions she has not even begun to imagine.

I really enjoyed the novel, like I said it's been a while since I read any Judge Anderson and comics are different from novels but these were entertaining and descriptive adventures with a strong central character and some wonderful world building.


View all my reviews