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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great concept, great execution, October 9, 2009
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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.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure awesome!, October 6, 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
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.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thrilling start of a podcast classic!, September 29, 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
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.
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