Customer Reviews

7th Son: Descent

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm pretty familiar with J.C. Hutchins' work -- I've listened to his podcast fiction for some time, and I've been very eager to see how it would translate to the printed page. I wasn't disappointed at all.

In the wake of a presidential assassination, seven men named John Michael Smith are abducted from around the country, brought together at a secret complex, and told the truth about their lives. They're part of an enormous experiment, one that has shaped every moment of their lives, and one that makes them the only people capable of hunting down the assassin before he does something even worse.

Hutchins has done some really impressive work here. He comes up with not just one, but several intriguing concepts that could each support a story of their own -- the 7th Son project, NEPTH-Charge, the Mem/RI and so on -- and combines them all into a tense, powerfully charged thriller. The John Smiths, although obviously having a common origin, are each different, unique individuals with their own personal story arcs that make them more than placeholders in the story. The puzzles and challenges they face are tailored for these characters, and the cliffhanger sets things up very nicely for the next two installments of the trilogy. That's the other thing -- this is the first book of three, but unlike so many trilogies, you don't feel like this was padded to stretch it out. There's plenty enough going on here to sustain the story across three volumes.

You don't often see a really original twist on the thriller, but Hutchins has brought something new to the table. Fans of thrillers and contemporary sci-fi would do well to check this one out.

If you missed the podcast phenomenon you can find it at http://jchutchins.net. If you favor audio books to print books, I have to suggest listening to the podcast. For one thing, it's free. For another, the author has an amazing voice. You'll love it.

If you prefer your books in print, not audio, you're going to want to pick this up. The book starts with a presidential assassination and keeps building from there. It's one of the best rides in print out there. It's exciting. It's fun. It's compelling. It drags you through to the end, not letting you put it down for a moment. Easily the best book of the year.

While I'll admit that I'm not the biggest sci-fi reader, the idea of clones & espionage is pretty intriguing. The fact that this book was also touted by Scott Sigler, one of the best sci-fi podcast authors out there, was another bonus. (There's even a nod to Sigler in the book, as Hutchins named a minor character after him.) I do have to admit that I was a little wary- not all podcasts translate well into the written form. Sometimes what works in audio format doesn't work in the written form. Luckily for me, this book did translate well.

The book opens with the death of the President by a 4 year old boy. No explanation is given by the boy or his parents, who claimed ignorance of everything. Meanwhile seven seemingly different men men are yanked out of their lives by armed men & taken to an unknown location. They are initially given no explanation from their captors, but it isn't until the captives are placed together that they realize the one thing they have in common. They all have the same face & the same memories up to a certain age. They are told that the original model, the Alpha, has gone insane. And they have to stop him.

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once I got the characters down I was able to keep up with the flow of the story. The idea of cloning has been done before, but this book manages to put an interesting spin on it. It's interesting to see how drastically (& not so drastically) different all of the men are. I do wish that I'd been able to get a bit more background on each character, but then there's two more books in the series for all of that background to come out in. I was given enough background to get to know the distinctions between each character, but I have to admit that there are one or two that stand out, such as the insane Kilroy 2.0.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book & I have to admit that I'll be waiting with baited breath for the next book to come out. (I could download the podcasts, but I enjoy reading more than listening.) Sci-fi fans will love this book & I would even recommend it to non sci-fi fans. The book is an accessible read for anyone who loves reading a good thriller.

JC Hutchins has a knack for storytelling. His words in both 7th Son and Personal Effects: Dark Art are simply a pleasure to read or listen to, depending on whether you go for the audio or print versions. His story weaves seven distinctly different men-an insane computer hacker, a disciplined military man, and a calm priest to name a few-into a dizzying conspiracy where these men discover that they are clones, they have been groomed to be in their current careers, and are called upon to find who is behind the recent bizarre presidential assassination. However, the person who is behind the president's death is the man they were cloned from.

Hutchins excels at characterization, making us feel for each character (even if the feeling is annoyance or dislike or hatred - there are few people that we are ambivalent about). His action scenes are mind-blowing and the secrets behind his conspiracies are nothing less than brilliant. 7th Son is a science fiction thriller, but it also raises questions of faith, the soul, mental illness, and personal strength. Highly recommended.

A word before we begin: Everything that follows, no matter HOW it reads at first glance, is meant as a POSITIVE Statement.
We begin:
J.C. Hutchins is an interesting creator. He doesn't actually write books. He writes multi-media happenings. "Personal Effects:Dark Art" comes with ID cards, birth certificates, all sorts of paraphrenalia, and requirements for going to various on-line sites, to fully appreciate it. "7th Son" began life as, and continues to be, a podcast. Additionally it will, apparently, have its own "Original Soundtrack Album" and Lord knows what else. "Descent", the opening salvo in what will be an ongoing series, presents us with the origins of seven Human clones who battle evil and fight for Truth, justice, and... well you get the picture. Moreover, it accomplishes the rather extraordinary feat of being both highly derivative AND completely original, at the same time. Great writing? No, not really. Brilliant plotting? Not so much. One of the most fun events of the year? You betcha!

7TH SON: DESCENT is an entertaining techno-thriller, but I found it wanting on the characterization front. If you enjoy novels with outlandish, over-the-top plots, you will probably find this effort enjoyable.

This novel revolves around a top-secret cloning project financed by the U.S. Government. These novel features seven main characters, who all happen to be clones (betas) of the same individual (the alpha). The alpha happens to be an incredibly villanous individual who has just assassinated the President of the United States. When 7TH SON: DESCENT opens, the seven clones (who are not aware they're clones) are forcibly reunited to stop the alpha from carrying out his dastardly plans.

The plot of 7TH SON: DESCENT is patently absurd, but Hutchins writes in an energetic, melodramatic style that I found fun to read. This book mostly succeeds as a pageturner, and it does contain some genuinely surprising twists. This its the first novel of a proposed trilogy, however, so the book does end unsatisfactorily -- with a cliffhanger.

The major downside of 7TH SON: DESCENT is the superficial characterization. This novel lacks a central protagonist -- instead Hutchins constantly shifts perspectives between his seven different clone heroes, as well as a significant number of supporting characters. This made it difficult for me to identify with any particular character. As a result, I didn't have much emotion invested in this story, which is problematic for any suspense thriller.

Overall, however, this novel's a fun read. J.C. Hutchins offers a free podcast version of 7TH SON: DESCENT on the internet, so you may want to listen to the first few chapters before committing to a book purchase.

To the newcomers to the phenomenon known as 7th Son:

Welcome all. I just want to give you some quick backstory on this book before we start:

JC Hutchins wrote this book (and its two sequels) around 2003. He was rejected by every publisher that got the manuscript, and so he recorded himself reading it out loud, plunked it on the Netterwebs, and thus became the most popular "podcast novelist" in history. Now things have come full circle, he got a book deal, and the thing is now in print.

That is a pretty damn cool story. And if that story isn't cool enough to send your hard-earned dollars the way of JC Hutchins, then you'll be happy to know that the Hutch is in fact a talented writer.

I won't give anything away, but let's just say that we get a surreal, slightly disturbing Prologue, then things get normal, then weird, then weirder, then the Prologue starts to make sense, then things get even weirder, and then we get an epic, guns-blazing climax, and then you want MORE. Trust me. You will.

Now the way you get more is by buying this book, because that will convince the publishers to kindly place the next 2 installments on bookstore shelves, and here on Amazon.

Now, if you listened to the podcast in 2006, there are a couple of things you should know.

There have been changes made. New scenes have been added that, among other things, show the villain of the story in nefarious action. In addition, the UN employee formerly known as Jonathan is now named Jay. None of these changes cause the book to jump the shark, and actually make it better IMO.

My thoughts? This book is great. No, Great, with a capital G. The premise is clever, the characters are memorable, the writing puts you in the mindset of the characters.

If I had to think of a problem, it would probably be a personal one. One of the most sympathetic characters is a priest, and the only atheist is a complete jerk. A scientist character was described on the book's website as "working in a field where skepticism is more important then evidence." Because of my own atheism, this got a little annoying after a while, I guess. But if you're letting something as petty as a religious disagreement with the author get in the way of your buying this swonderful book, then I feel very sorry for you.

In short, buy it, support this very cool guy, get a great story, and pave the way for an entirely new model of grassroots publishing. Here endeth the lesson. :)

Jordan

From the first scene Hutchins book draws you in. Its high octane and interesting adventure, kind of a twist on the boys from Brazil. The plot was a bit confusing at first but not too bad, and once you settle down you'll zip right through. I wasn't aware that their were podcast books prior to this, but i will be on the lookout for more of them in the future.

An Awesome thrill ride from a master you may not have heard of... A good bit of us got the privilege of listening to this book as an audio podcast a couple of years ago. It is still out there, and if you want a taste of this book, you can check it out jchutchins dot net. This book is the updated version of that original podcast.

This is a spoiler free review, but the opening line of the book: "The president of the United States is dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four-year-old boy." Really sets up the book nicely... it is a roller coaster ride the rest of the way.

The basic premise: 7 Men are brought together to stop the man behind the assassination of the president. They are the only ones who can, because he is the man they were all cloned from.

This is the first book of a trilogy. I have already listened to all three books... and they do not disappoint. This is one of the best stories I have read/listened to/watched in several years. I'm sure you will like it too.

Also JC wrote 7 short stories. One fore each of the Clones. They are a prequel, and take place 2 weeks prier to the main events of the story. They are in audio, but give a bit of insight into these characters. you can find them at: jchutchins dot net/site/about-7th-son/7th-son-7-days/

Pick up this book... It's great!

This has been a Shmoo Review

Stephen "The Almighty Shmoo" Gill

7th Son is one of those novels I really hate.

The writing? Oh, it's great. The author, JC Hutchins, does a great job at telling the story and keeping his words interesting. His dialogue among characters is a particular strong point--very creative, and realistic.

Character development? No problems there. Since the book revolves around seven men, each with the same name, who are clones of each other, there's real potential for things to be uber-confusing. But Hutchins handles it well, and I always knew who was who as the story progressed.

The Plot? I loooved the plot. It was a little far-fetched, but Hutchins sold me on the premise pretty much from page one. Besides, it's no more out-there than Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse." (Come to think of it, they both deal with themes of memory, identity, and the rights of the individual. And both Big Bads are named Alpha. But I digress).

No, the reason I hate 7th Son is it's one of those novels I couldn't put down. Literally. At 2AM this morning, I looked at the clock, then back to the book. "Just one more chapter," I kept telling myself. Four hours later... The book is a whirlwind read and as addictive as home-made onion dip laced with feta cheese.

I just hope that the cliffhangering bastard will have the decency to subsidize my newly established coffee habit. These bags under my eyes are all his fault, really.