Dancer (A Space Adventure)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Agent Twelve is a member of Unusual Affairs, a secretive branch tasked with hunting down rogue Ascendant Intelligences (AIs) that threaten humanity's galactic empire, The Protectorate. Agent Twelve does not like AIs. Agent Twelve is also about to go on a space adventure and learn the universe is far more complicated than it appears, especially when it comes to AIs.

Contains - Space adventures, swearing, digital drug use, explosions, larger explosions, more space adventures, disturbing descriptions of Things People Are Not Wont To Know Of

Does not contain - Harem, Number Go Up, A Cover Image That Fits RR's Template, More Than One Book (this is a short run event folks, get it while it's hot)

That's a wrap, folks, so long and thanks for all the fish!

Written by Chris Kluwe, cover art by Remy Kluwe

Updates every day at 11am PST until done

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2025
Author: Loate

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.9/ 5.0
Followers: 92
Views: 27,808

Chapters(42 total)

What readers say about Dancer (A Space Adventure)

“A fun romp through the universe as two reluctant partners try to save everyone. Except that one of them is a hyper advanced AI trying to finish it's soaps and the other is a depressed biohorror soldier in the shape of dude. Much like his other work, this is…”
AnthraxRippleRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“This was very very good, and completely stole the better part of two evenings from me. Agent 12 is someone who despite all of his post humanity is incredibly human and easy to root for and expect the best of. The villains are truly well written in their own…”
KyouzouRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(6)

AnthraxRippleRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A fun romp through the universe as two reluctant partners try to save everyone. Except that one of them is a hyper advanced AI trying to finish it's soaps and the other is a depressed biohorror soldier in the shape of dude. Much like his other work, this is a great piece of weird fiction exploring huge topics with both whit and charm.
The Best Bits
Electric Chemistry: Nobody does dialogue quite like this, it's snappy and flows well, generally making for a great read.
Unique Sci-Fi: Between a great depiction of hyper-intelligence and interesting depictions of extra-dimensional objects, the story tackles some of the stranger bits of sci-fi in unique and compelling ways.
Soaps: I'm almost as invested in the story of Ms. Butterbottom and Luitenant? Rockchin as I am the main cast. Like most of the humor here, it's an excellent running gag.
I loved shades of Forever for a lot of reasons, and while this is a bit of a different vibe I'm still really enjoying my time with it so far. It's fun, it's interesting, I really enjoy the characters. Overall I'm just looking forward to seeing how this whole thing shakes out. I highly recommend checking it out.
KyouzouRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This was very very good, and completely stole the better part of two evenings from me. Agent 12 is someone who despite all of his post humanity is incredibly human and easy to root for and expect the best of. The villains are truly well written in their own unknowable alien way, expect to be confused and enjoy it. Most of all, the world feels real, it feels lived in, familiar but incomprehensibly large at the same time.
Cheers for a great read!
LoktaiRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is an absolute masterpiece of storytelling in a setting where "you have no context for what it means to live in this setting" is an important story beat. Loate keeps the story pulsing forward on thriller-movie level action, like Speed on cocaine, and simultaneously gives us a wonderful opportunity to connect with (or be astonished by) the characters they've written. This is potentially the most interesting and realistic take on AGI I have ever seen and I am HERE for it.
StrangeGibletsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Good story, well worth reading, and an interesting view on what actual general AI would look like.
It's short but sweet, At the end I wanted more, but I'm glad it stopped at a good ending point rather than carrying on until the story gets mediocre.
Gets a little eldritch near the end
jon_jRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
OK, summary up front. This is a cyberpunk/sci-fi novella, set in a universe after the creation of true AGI. It starts with a simple mission to capture an AI infiltrator, after which things get... complicated. A wild ride ensues, taking you through a kaleidoscope of exotic environments until finally arriving at the conclusion. If that's caught your attention, go and read it already, it's very much worth your time.
I particularly appreciate the fact that there is a conclusion - so many stories on this site are ongoing serials with no end in sight. It's a refreshing change to read something that comes to a satisfying conclusion, where there isn't even a sequel hook. (The main characters' arcs are complete. The universe still exists at the end, largely unaltered, so it would be possible to write a different story in the same setting, as per Iain Banks' Culture series.)
Boring breakdown of the individual review scores:
Style: Top marks. Characters are well fleshed-out, and the setting is described with the minimum necessary amount of detail. (The latter is a "trick" that's rarely well-executed: by describing only a small slice of each location visited, you give the impression of a world that's so much larger than what's explicitly described, and you also don't bore your readers with unnecessary pages of descriptions.)
Story: Probably the weakest part, although it's still well above average. There's nothing inherently new here - but there doesn't need to be.
Grammar: Practically flawless.
Characters: Very well done, and very realistic. (Well, realistic as far as sci-fi goes - we're not even close to creating AIs like those portrayed here, so who really knows what a conversation with one would look like?!)
Overall: I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and would rank it up there with other novellas from major sci-fi authors. (I referenced Culture above for a reason...)
rycudaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Just happened?
Or what you just watched?
Where the story is deeply immersive, and leaves you with more questions than answers?
Having a book grip you and pull you into its thrall so strongly that you don't even realise coming up for air is an option is a rare delight.
I can only encourage you to share the ride. Do it for Mrs Butterbottom.