Vaz (#1 in The Vaz Books)

“Vaz” is a near-future science-fiction novel about Vaz Gettnor, a scientifically brilliant but socially inept man on the Asperger’s-Autism spectrum. He does NOT understand other people.
Vaz has a benevolent boss who lets him track down interesting findings instead of forcing him to stay focused on the drudgery research the company assigned him. Vaz doesn’t realize the company’s actually cashing in on his inventions while paying him a pittance—and giving him no respect.
But then... a new manager fires Vaz for his odd behavior, without realizing just how important Gettnor is to the company’s bottom line.
Once fired, Vaz finds himself in his basement, joyfully working on the research he wants to work on. NOT on the boring projects his managers assign him. He has a lead on a Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (cold fusion) that fascinates him.
Meanwhile the man who fired him, realizing he’s killed the goose that lays the golden eggs, decides he can force Vaz to hire back on, or at least make him give up the rights to his new LENR invention.
The people the old boss hires to bully Vaz into going back to work make the mistake of assuming that Vaz’s social ineptness means he won't be able to protect himself or his family.
A mistaken assumption, since—in the hands of a genius—almost anything’s a weapon!

Featured Reviews

Straightforward, Innovative, Fun

Inventive "what if" scifi, with unusual characters developed decently well. This is refreshing, new stuff, well worth the read-- and hugely worth the price. Follow-on novels Tiona and Disk are also fun and thought provoking reads. All are written in a similarly light vein, with no heavy moralizing or requirement to "work" through the science, social constructs, world-view ramifications, etc. Don't get me wrong-- among my favorite authors are Neal Stephenson and William Gibson, and I deeply enjoy the challenge of their thinking and writings. But I also enjoy straightforward stories told well. The science in this series is not intrusive, but reasonable given acceptance of the key premise. Suspend a little disbelief, and reap a lot of fun! I'd bet that nearly all readers of Vaz will decide to continue with the sequels. Dahners is now on my "Read On Sight" list.