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Blurb

Winner of the 2023 Best Indie Book Award in Cyberpunk!
Winner of the 2023 American Fiction Award in Sci-Fi / Cyberpunk!

A corrupt megacity. A broken world. A girl who can no longer afford to hide from her past.

Jack is a techie and long-time shut-in, driven to save her father from corporate servitude. That means getting her hands on scrip, and lots of it. Going into debt with the most violent bikers in Hope Megacity will get her the cybernetic limbs she needs to overcome her disabilities, but that's only the beginning.

A vicious betrayal, a lethal cyberattack, and some broken neural hardware has Jack seeing things -- namely a huge column of light climbing all the way to the Global Corporations' city in the clouds. She'll need to join up with the city's most notorious hacker to find out what the elite are hiding from the millions of people living under their feet.

Action, suspense, and wit, presented in an accessible take on the genre. If you like complex worlds of near-future tech, dystopian struggle, and memorable characters, you'll love Into the BeanStalk!

"Fully fleshed-out characters that are both interesting and unique drew me into this thrill-a-minute, absorbing read. J. Paul Roe's plotting is razor-sharp and ingenious...I am sure we will see lots more from this highly talented author." - Tracy Traynor

What Our Readers Think

This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Into the BeanStalk
Author: J. Paul Roe

Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 15
Stats
Editing: 7/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 7/10
Cover: 5/5

Of the 15 readers:
13 would read another book by this author.
15 thought the cover was good or excellent.
15 felt it was easy to follow.
13 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author's strongest skill was 'plotting a story'.
Of all the readers, 1 felt the author's strongest skill was 'developing the characters'.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author's strongest skill was 'writing style'.
15 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
13 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.

Readers' Comments
“I enjoyed this futuristic thriller. I think Jack (girl, by the way), the protagonist, is fun to root for. It has a cyberpunk feel to it which I liked too. Possibly it'd go down best with older YAs, but it's still a strong novel for adults too.” Female reader, aged 25
“Cool cover! Very Matrix-looking! Liked the story too. Admittedly, character development isn't the best, and the speech is a little wooden, but there's plenty happening, the MC is likeable (and relatable) and there's lots of futuristic elements to the plot/setting which sci-fi readers will enjoy.” Male reader, aged 36
“ I loved the Jack and the Beanstalk premise and how the author's altered it to sci-fi. MEGA-clever! Cool story, a bit short for me (I like big bricks) but I will be hunting out book two.” Female reader, age 19
“If you enjoy tech-novels with fast pacing, this is for you. I have never read a cyberpunk novel based loosely on a fairy tale before! Good writer, possibly needs to develop the secondary characters more. Overall, exciting read.” Female reader, aged 21

To Sum It Up:
'A fast-paced, thrill-a-page, dystopian thriller. Perfect for readers looking for a gripping read. A FINALIST and highly recommended!' The Wishing Shelf Book Awards