Generation (Crime thriller with a horror injection) [Kindle Edition]

William Knight (Author)

Book Description

A man emerges from the sodden undergrowth, lost, lonely and starving he is mown down by a speeding car on the edge of a remote forest.

Rumours of ghostly apparitions haunt a rural Northumberland community.

A renowned forensic research establishment is troubled by impossible results and unprecedented interference from an influential drug company.

Hendrix 'Aitch' Harrison is a tech-phobic journalist who must link these events together.

Normally side-lined to investigate UFOs and big-beast myths, but thrust into world of cynical corporate motivations, Hendrix is aided by a determined and ambitious entomologist. Together they delve into a grisly world of clinical trials and a viral treatment beyond imagining.

In a chase of escalating dangers, Aitch must battle more than his fear of technology to expose the macabre fate of the drugged victims donated to scientific research.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A strange, intriguing, and gripping novel."  NORMAN BILBROUGH, author of A Short History of Paradise

"Deserves to be shelved next to the current breed of really good sci fi. It's a page turner with a message," bookiemonster.co.nz

"The science was mind blowing and the build to the story's climax was intense. You will read it thinking, 'Could this really happen?'" bookstackreviews.com

From the Author

The facts behind the fiction

In 2001 scientists isolated the gene for regenerating damaged organs from the DNA of a

South American flatworm. Within five years it had been spliced into the chromosomes

of a rhesus monkey, transported through the cell walls by a retro-virus denuded of its own genetic material.

Attempting to regrow impaired or elderly tissues, a scientist will one day modify the DNA

of human beings by injecting the gene-carrying virus. It is just a matter of time.

Before consenting to treatment, you may want to ask a simple question: could there be

a situation in which you would want to die but were unable to do so?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 424 KB
• Print Length: 296 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1468148583
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: The Standing Hare Publishing Company (October 22, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005YHZ9ZU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #447,580 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Poses Interesting Questions... June 6, 2012

By jamiebmusings

Format:Kindle Edition

Fair warning. I am NOT a math and science-minded person at all. In fact, I pretty much can't stand coming anywhere near a Doctor's office and refused to have anything to do with dissection in school. So what does this mean to you? Well, it means that I am at a bit of a disadvantage as I can't speak to the accuracy or plausibility of the medical/scientific stuff. Just sayin'.

What I can talk about is what I thought of the story as a whole and the journalism stuff. As you've seen from the description the book centers on British writer Hendrix Harrison, who works at a rag full of psuedo-science and conspiracy theories. I'm talking "Big Foot's Been Sighted" or "Elvis is Alive" kind of stories, although they do publish the occasional "respectable" piece. Hendrix ends up getting dragged into what is possibly one of the biggest (and most scandalous) stories involving a pharmaceutical company ever. The only problem is, the Doctor (Sarah Wallace) he wants to speak to won't have anything to do with him and his boss is on him constantly about tweeting thanks to a new social-media savvy owner.

Knight does a great job of portraying work place and academic politics. In fact, it's so dead on in some ways, it's depressing to think about as you watch Harrison get canned by a publisher who would rather bury an important story than face a team of lawyers. You feel Sarah's frustration as she attempts to figure out what's going on after having the university tie her hands. The book also poses some great questions about scientific breakthroughs. When is the price too high? Are there some things we shouldn't do, even though we can? I couldn't help but be drawn into the very disturbing story Mr. Harrison uncovers and I enjoyed the interactions between the characters.... This one might not be for everyone (especially if you're squeamish) but I liked it. I'd definitely be interested in reading more of Mr. Knight's work. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gruesome Science! A Great Read! March 20, 2012

By leahgonz

Format:Kindle Edition

When I first heard about the book, I was a little hesitant about reading it. I read the blurb, took one look at the muy creepy cover, and thought, "Oh man, zombies." The blurb also mentioned words like sci-fi, crime and thriller, and I haven't read a single crime thriller in a long time, so I wasn't exactly in the mood for one. However, I decided to suck it up and give it a go as part of my personal reading and writing goals. WELL, I'm glad that I went ahead with it because it turned out to be even more interesting than I thought. Yes, it has sci-fi, crime, horror, and a little bit about the walking dead, and it was all GEWD.

First, let me say a little zomething about zombies. I am seriously terrified of zombies, or rather, the thought of zombies. I mean, I've seen the George Romero movies, the Resident Evil films, and Zombieland, and I thought they were gross, but really cool, too, in a way. It wasn't until I read this other book that the thought of the walking dead really freaked me out. The book was about the zombie apocalypse told through transcripts of interviews with survivors. For me it brought the zombie issue down to the individual level. It was about what people had to go through and had to do to survive. For me, imagining the personal horrors of these survivors was more terrifying than the actual zombies themselves.

Generation gave me a similar kind of feeling. Although the book isn't really about zombies, it talks about the scientific possibility of reanimation or regeneration of human cells--a concept that has already been widely used in many crime thrillers and zombie stories. In Generation, however, the author uses it in a slightly different way. Knight doesn't take the usual "OMG botched scientific research results to zombie hordes run for your lives!!" route.... He doesn't talk too much about the dead, but rather about the living. He talks about the lengths people are willing to go to for a chance to live longer. He also touches on corporate supremacy and capitalism. How far would you go in the name of scientific or medical research? How far will corporations go to earn a gajillion dollars? Is it all worth it?

Another thing unique about the book is that it also shows the side of the so-called walking dead. Most films or books only show the stories of the people trying to escape the madness and portray the infected ones as mindless soul-less creatures. Generation takes a different stab at these "mindless soul-less creatures" by including short features that show the perspectives of these poor souls.

Here's an excerpt to give you an idea:

"Case Number SW0112

He could not die. He remained, even as they ate into his half-buried torso. Dropping into the surrounding sea of leaves, burrowing and pulsing, tunnelling through his flesh and gnawing his bones; they made a home. He'd been aware of them throughout the long winter, but now the air was warmer and his senses were awakening. Perhaps he could hide from the plump overfed bodies. He wanted to go home.

He struggled to raise his mud-caked arm. Silver-dewed cobwebs strained and snapped, releasing sparks of water. Sodden earth clung to his elbow forming a gnarly branch. Trailing ivy, fed by leaching nutrients, tied the limb to the ground. He fought the binding weed until he collapsed, exhausted. Once more his arm settled back into the leaf mould as if it had never moved.

But on this day his thoughts came quickly and fluidly. Weeping joints and dead muscles warmed by sunshine filtering through the canopy oiled his movements. Finally he was free of the binding roots. He emerged like a fly from its chrysalis, unfolded his body, crease-by-crease, joint-by-joint, and willed each sinew to do his bidding. At last he stood.

His limbs resembled felled branches of trees: waterlogged, mould-spattered and swollen, with open splits in the skin. He rubbed his forearm and scraped off a layer of fat, releasing an odour of soap and damp, and exposing raw muscle. The smell awakened his dull senses, and at first he thought it was the soft fragrance of his wife's perfume. He tried to find her. But as the sun warmed his sagging flesh and stirred his turgid blood, bacteria swarmed and divided, excreting the stench of decay. He realised her perfume was thick odour made sweet by fond memory. She was lost."

From the very vivid description of decay and decomposition, you would think this character was simply dead and walking, but then you read about its thought process and feelings, and you wonder if this is really one of the walking dead. It was the fate of these poor things (and the very gruesome description of skin and muscle falling off gaahhhh) that lingered with me after I read the book.

Overall, the book was a pretty good read and I enjoyed it. The science part was really interesting and sounded very believable. Made me think about more horrifying what ifs--which for me is a good sign that the book was, well, worth reading. Read more ›

28 of 38 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Dark Techno-Thriller with problems, but still an OK read. April 2, 2012

By CabinGoddess

Format:Kindle Edition

Someone said to me, "You will love it, it's a zombie, well scientific umm errr... pandemic?? well .. sort of ... just read the book.." Yes, that is about how the conversation went. Well, I heard zombies and thought AWESOME! When I read the synopsis I thought huh? I love procedural crime novels. I love when someone gets really technical and scientific and fiddles around with genomes. I had also read a response on the Amazon page:

"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo meets the X-Files." ROB SVENSON
OK, I thought then I read the synopsis :
PROVIDED SYNOPSIS:

A crime-thriller with an injection of horror

Journalist Hendrix 'Aitch' Harrison links bodies stolen from a renowned forensic-research lab to an influential drug company. Aided by Sarah Wallace, a determined and beguiling entomologist, he delves into a grisly world of clinical trials and a viral treatment beyond imagining. But Aitch must battle more than his fear of technology to expose the macabre fate of the drugged victims donated to scientific research.

Hendrix is not a technophobe, he does not fear technology. If this is what the author meant, he is completely wrong. He wrote this as a soldier that lost his squad due to an enemy combatant using a cell phone to set off a bomb. He does not like his cell phone, but he is fine with his laptop and in the book it is even pointed out when he is on it he is "in his element" this is not someone who is afraid of technology. You are either afraid or not, there is no selective fear when the such a generalized statement is made. Afraid of certain types of technology or uncomfortable about moving into the future, YES. This synopsis really screwed up my reading. Plus do no tell me it is a zombie book when there is not one zombie in the whole thing.... Tell me it is dark techno thriller? I would have been less frustrated.

I feel the need to delve into a few things that caused my struggle to read this novel. This read should have taken me 3-days tops. I read fast, but I am highly picky about specific technical issues. I get really hung up on little things that ruin a story for me.

I am in the habit of reading analytically, I cannot help it, it is what I do. This book was obviously written by someone with a creative AND technical mind. Every artist mixes something special into the pigment of their piece. With so many well constructed metaphors and images within GENERATION, to have someone so carelessly use these two recognizable and popular works sets the readers up with expectations. The quote was obviously placed there because of who reviewed it, not the actual content. I had more than a few.. Zombie like? X-File like? The powerful duo of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo? (cracking knuckles). Let's get down to a few.

X-Files comparison:

Yes, I can see this definitely. A journalist not accepted as a true journalist because of the publication he works for, a paranormal paper.. Mulder! Absolutely nothing wrong with this. He is a freelancer, and this publication happens to be the place that sends him the most work. He seems to be happy to getting the work considering how he left the service. (The reasons why he left are EXTREMELY important and are dumbed and played down and this is another problem for me..This was hinted at but never completely explained unless you really are paying attention and taking notes [umm ya I did LOL] ) The scientist, the person of reason, obviously our entomologist Dr. Sarah Wallace is our Scully. OK I buy it so far.

Girl with a Dragon Tattoo comparison:

No clue other than you have a journalist who has been blacklisted due to being sued by a person of influence and power who targeted him on purpose after he got to close to the truth. YES that is about where it stops. (thinking a bit more... umm hmmm) yes this is where it stops. OK you got me there.. right (throwing pen down). But no this is not all!

Let's talk about the main character for a bit. Hendrix Harrison, what a great name right? It is a GREAT character. Though I think that some of the character building needed to be a bit more precise. Most folks label him, including here, as a technophobe. This is very misleading, he is not TECHNICALLY a technophobe. He is a soldier who has PTSD. Due to the fact this book was written over a ten year period of time and that the UK is not up to speed as we here in the US PTSD is not the standard form so being discharged because of it has a huge stigma attached. OK I can move on and not let that bother me. I won't continue to explore this much more than I have because it would be a spoiler.

4 stars for all character development needs to be noted. They are well constructed. The sinister corporate man, the powerful media mogul our focused scientist.. even the poor geriatric widow are well rounded and three dimensional.

Another amazing aspect of writing that makes this author shine, and makes me really not like giving it just a GOOD rating is his incredible chapters from the viewpoint of the victims of the genetic modification treatment, labeled as "case" numbers. It speaks not only directly to the dangers of messing with "creation" but also for me I could see how Harrison is another victim. He is not infused with this horrific GM therapy, but his soul is in a constant state of regrowth just as fast as the flesh of it is decomposing because of what happened to him while serving overseas. These are threads woven by the authors voice for me. As horrific as it is to read about these poor victims, it has a dark beauty that speaks to the under tones of the book.

5 stars!!! for the psychological horror painted for me, for the not so subtle message of the dangers of gene modification as well as a VERY subtle hint of politics. Especially the ending. It was perfectly wrought! The wording of each of these chapters would work well even as a stand alone. The purple prose are stunning, even with such a horrific subject.

After reading 85% of the book with a nice build up of sexual tension between Hendrix and Saran, much like Mulder and Scully, between our journalist and our doctor (see I can give props to a reviewer of such caliber *rolling eyes*) I still was unprepared for what happens. A gentle clutching of each other.. or even a fast snatch and grab passionate scene due to what had JUST happened in the previous chapter (won't ruin it with a spoiler). They were in the middle of a clandestine search for the truth about the experiments, had just witnessed the must jaw dropping unreal acts. These two were just trying to find the truth, to regain their reputations that were being squashed by Big Brother Pharmaceuticals, much like Lisbeth and Mickael. (see again with the props in relation to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

But unlike these two couples... wait perhaps partners would be better, partners thrust together in circumstance by someone or some company in a position of great power. These two are all of a sudden getting down and about to have sex, "naked before their accusers" is where they will soon be. Here is my issue, for it is not the "almost sex" it is the crass poorly executed and badly written scene which completely took all the power and the the umph that had been building out of my sails. The wind had died on this tome and I was left dead in the water (sorry could not help it). I did not want to read anymore.

1 star for this poorly constructed and awkward hack erotica/sloppy porno scene.

I think this book would be a good study at the dangers of small publishing houses and your work. I believe this author has been poorly advised. I can see the threads of the story and I feel the novel had huge potential! I can also see someone else's voice being half hazardously threaded in many different parts of the book. Oh I am sure that Knight wrote all of it. But I can tell it was probably suggested by an editor/marketing "professional" to write things in, such as the sex scene. It was uncomfortable, and unnecessary as presented, it needed work. I believe it was a good plot device and had obvious metaphoric necessity towards the fluidity of the characters and their development. All it did is make me throw my hands up and exclaim "WTF" more than a few times and cause my poor cat to hide underneath the bed.

OK so let's wrap this up:

Characters 4 stars +
Psychological Horror 5 stars +
Miserably failed sex scene 1 star
10 ÷ 3 = 3 1/3 's

WAIT I am not done... The ending? It was a BRILLIANT non-traditional and unexpected one! FANTASTIC... I absolutely disagree that this is a cliff hanger. This is what made me rethink a few things and made me question the other voice I kept hearing. This book is worth the read JUST to get to the ending and read all the INCREDIBLE psychological and visual horror scenes of each case file.. THIS part of the canvas gets 6 stars!!!!!!

GENERATION has a lot of great potential. The case files that are from the decomposing bodies are brilliantly written. With such poetic flavor to such a horrific nature and point of view, especially the ending. It was a shame to see so many points downplayed and small sections of the book obviously ruined the read. JUST when things were ramping up sophomoric and horribly executed not-having sex sex scene is written in. This was just one of many "little" things that added up to causing me to lose touch with the story. To drag me out of my "story bubble" so to speak. I read it as a case of mis-guided editing but apparently this was all from the authors standpoint. So I stand corrected. I hope he listens to the people who took a lot of time away from their busy lives to devote on critiquing a book that they deemed worthy of their time. Otherwise it will be a OK to Good read, but nothing spectacular and nothing to recommend. In fact I think the CASE files of each of the victims of this horribly experiment would work as stand alone excerpts in an anthology. These, again were brilliant. Read more ›

More About the Author

William Knight is a journalist and technologist currently living and working in Wellington, New Zealand. A graduate engineer, he's chased a varying career starting in acting, progressing to music, enjoyed a brief flirtation with handbag design, and was eventually wired into technology in 1989.

By 2003 his non-fiction was being regularly published in Computing newspaper in the UK, and he has since written about the many successes and failings of high-technology for the Guardian, Financial Times and the BBC, among many others publications.

Generation, his first novel, was conceived from a New Scientist article in 2001 and has been ten years in development. His second Novel, Foretold, will be available in June 2012.