Review: Zero Alternative by Luca Pesaro (Belinda’s review)

Zero Alternative 
written by Luca Pesaro
published by Three Hares Publishing

find it here: (affiliate links) Amazon, Goodreads

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange  for an honest review.

Did I enjoy this book: I was really excited in the beginning. Pesaro has a strong hook and a fast-paced, interesting story.

Then I got to about 30% where the fast-paced action screeches to a halt for a strip joint scene that goes on for about ten pages.

“Her breast were larger than you would expect from her slim frame, with wide aureoles,” (yes, he used the word aureoles. I’d never heard the word outside of breastfeeding class) “nipples pointing upwards in the lightly chilled air.” 

I was still hanging in there at this point – but feeling a little creeped out. The woman continued to remove all her clothes and dance. After she ends the dance, our main character tells the manager of the strip joint, “I’d like to book a private dance with Felena.”

The manager informs him, “She’s at top rate . . . and there’s a few in front of you.”

I grabbed a bucket. The one that I put next to the children’s bed when they’re home sick with the stomach flu, and soldiered on.

Main character: “I’ll give her five hundred quid for half an hour. And two hundred for you, but I’m not waiting.”

He pays for the the woman. She dances for him, performs oral sex on him, throws him down and screws his brains out, then drugs him and steals his money. Am I the only one confused here? Why not just drug him and take the money? Why the ten pages of graphic sex first? Gratuitous perhaps? Let’s read on.

Then she saves his life. (I know you’re confused now, too.)

***

He does (kind of) fall in love with the overly large breasts with the slim frame and wide aureoles. They reunite later in the story:

“Walker could see the fear in her eyes but he kept his voice cold. ‘No. I still need your help, if you’re ready. And I think you are now.’

‘How do you know, when I can’t even be sure of myself?’

She was shaking and he stopped himself from taking her hand. ‘Everyone deserves a second chance. This is yours – don’t f— it up.’”

It’s really hard not to hate this guy. He takes being a jerk to levels I didn’t know existed.

Basically, we have a good story that’s ruined by an arrogant, sexist, and really creepy protagonist.

Would I recommend it: I’m sure there’s an audience out there somewhere for this book, and frankly, that scares me.  I won’t read it again.

About the book – from Goodreads:

Framed.
Hunted. 
Betrayed.

Scott Walker is a fugitive from the quicksands of Finance, with one card to play – DeepShare, a silicon oracle coveted by billionaires, hitmen and hackers. As he fights for survival and vengeance, digging deeper into the dark heart of the global economy, one question torments him: what price will the world have to pay?

ZERO ALTERNATIVE is an action-packed conspiracy thriller that plucks at the heart of human nature. When our grip on love, hope and morality starts to slide, the only future worth living is the one we choose for ourselves.