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Connected
Simon Denman - 2012
Across the country, a university student, enjoying the unexpected attentions of an enigmatic seductress, is disturbed when his best friend falls to his death from the thirteenth floor of a neighbouring campus tower block.As each tries to unravel the mystery behind the apparent suicides, they are drawn into an obsessive search for a computer-generated fractal video sequence, with startling effects on human consciousness, and which might just pave the way for discovery of the ultimate Theory of Everything. However, they are not the only ones to have seen the potential of this mind-altering video, and soon find themselves in a desperate race against time with gangsters from the shadowy worlds of sex, drugs, cyber-crime, and massively multi-player on-line gaming.Science ContentAlthough, as the reviews testify, CONNECTED has been enjoyed by many with no background in computer science, Mandelbrot Fractal geometry, string theory, quantum physics or brain science, those with some interest or knowledge in these areas seem to have particularly enjoyed the book. One reason for this appears to be that most of these references are actually based on fact. Of course, some readers have preferred to skim these sections, and claim that this did not detract from the story. Others have appreciated the scientific detail and fidelity, and some have even thanked the author for explaining such things in a way that enabled them to learn something new.Philosophy, Science and ReligionAlthough CONNECTED is mostly enjoyed as a fast-paced mystery thriller, it is also, to a limited extent, about the inevitable conflict between science and religion. The two main male protagonists happen to be atheist, and some of the dialogue explores the different thoughts and attitudes concerning some of life’s deeper questions. These include the origins of the universe, the nature of consciousness, and whether there could be life after death. Again these philosophical references to faith and atheism are few, and mostly quite short, but all are crucial to the story.Setting and slangCONNECTED is a contemporary novel, set entirely in England. As the story unfolds through two converging plot threads, the action switches between a fictitious village in the Lake District, the University of Essex in Colchester (an old Roman town about 60 miles north-east of London), Bracknell (a newer suburban town some 40 miles west of London), and North London.Consequently, there is some British slang and occasional use of bad language (e.g. a few instances of the F-word etc.) in keeping with the age and background of the characters.Why Connected?Years ago, while the author was at university, a fellow student had a breakdown and was admitted to the local psychiatric hospital. A few, who knew him well, went to visit and reported that he’d subsequently lost the plot and was gabbling incomprehensibly of having found the answer to life, the universe and everything. While most people seemed consumed with sadness and pity at this, the author’s first thought was, “What if he really had discovered some universal truth?” Although never seriously believing that he had, it was on that day that the seed of an idea lodged in his young brain – a seed that years later would
The Deep Green
John Lyman - 2015
A month later, the ship runs aground on a Texas beach-and no on board is alive. When an elite military force and shadowy intelligence officers descend on the small island town of Port Aransas, Texas, a strong-willed local girl is swept into the search for a dedicated scientist as she and others race to unravel a dark secret before something none of them have ever seen before is unleashed into the world. In a literary thriller that mirrors today's headlines, The Deep Green is author John Lyman's most compelling novel yet. Blending scientific fact with provocative fiction, he takes readers on a wild ride to the dark side of genetic engineering, where the potential for unintended consequences is very real. Intricately layered with remarkable research and detail, the heart-stopping action that builds right up to the end proves once again that bestselling author John Lyman is a master storyteller.
Girl, Kidnapped
Peter R. Stone - 2020
Wearing a threadbare knee-length dress and with her badly-bruised ankles encased in leg irons, she's filthy, malnourished and covered in burn scars. She has no memory of how she got there, where she has been or even who she is. A doctor's examination reveals that her memory has been deliberately erased by repeated electric shock therapy.Desperate to find out who did this to her and why, and displeased with the police superintendent's plodding pace, Caitlyn launches an investigation of her own. However, she is unnerved by her brother's insistence that she talk to him first when her memories start returning because he suspects that their father is the one who did this to her...
Near Death
Richard C. Hale - 2011
And every night for the past two years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The moonless night. The piercing screams. The horrific crash. The night his wife was taken from him. The last time he saw her alive.Everyone tells him to move on. But for Jake, there can be no closure. A message appears in his dreams—a warning he is reluctant to heed.The omens ignored, Jake finds himself caught between the desire to see his beloved wife again and disrupting the delicate balance of life and death. The technology he developed has shown him the path, and others will do anything to use it, but at what price?He must choose, and the consequences may ultimately shatter his world.
The Gemini Effect
Chuck Grossart - 2012
By dawn, only a dead city remains, eerily quiet and still, except for mutant beasts that hide from the light, multiply, and await the shadows of night to continue their relentless advance.Ordered to investigate the unfolding crisis, biowarfare specialist Carolyn Ridenour barely escapes the creatures’ nocturnal onslaught, saved in the nick of time by Colonel Garrett Hoffman, who lost hundreds of his troops to a swarm that neither bombs nor bullets can stop.As Carolyn and Garrett race to stop the plague, a battered and broken government prepares to release the fury of America’s nuclear arsenal on its own soil and its own citizens.
The Gemini Effect was originally published as The Mengele Effect. This edition has been completely edited and revised, including significant plot changes.
Beneath
Maureen A. Miller - 2018
Miller comes this young adult adventure that will plunge you deep into the Atlantic Ocean.
It was Stella Gullaksen’s final break before starting her freshman year at college. Joining her best friend, Jill, and Jill's family aboard the STARKISSED, Stella wakes to a violent storm that capsizes the boat over a hundred miles off the New Jersey shore. As the waves haul her under Stella knows that she is going to die. Instead, an unusual current drags her deep into the underwater canyons of the Atlantic Ocean. Powerless against the raging waters, she is suddenly sucked into a ventilated cave. One by one, Jill and her family also emerge in the sunken cavern.With only a faulty diving flashlight to keep oblivion at bay Stella and her best friend's brother, Colin, search the cave in hope of finding a way back to the surface. What they discover, however, is that they are not alone. There are other survivors in this subterranean grotto–survivors spanning decades of maritime disasters. Will this discovery prove salvation, or have they all been condemned to the same fate? A grim finale at the bottom of the sea?On an alliance forged by friendship and attraction, Stella and Colin battle to escape the danger that lies beneath.
Gloop!
David Brian - 2015
It has lain in the cold and dark of the bog, waiting patiently for a host to set it free. Now, for John Cluer and his family, nothing will ever be the same again.A novelette of approximately 10,000 words.
My Husband's Fiancee
Wendy Owens - 2021
When Dr. Evelyn Powell showed up on visiting day, I was shocked to learn she was my husband’s new fiancé. I befriended her in hopes of finding answers to my questions.Was my husband behind the brutal slaying? If I wanted to regain my freedom, I had to figure out a way to convince Evelyn to betray the man she loved and search for the evidence that would prove my innocence. After all, if I was right about my husband, she could be his next victim.A psychological thriller with a twist you’ll have to read to believe.
When The Tik-Tik Sings
Doug Lamoreux - 2015
More victims follow, each killed under the oddest circumstances, each bearing an identical but unidentified wound, each attack accompanied by the most eerie, musical ticking. When the lead homicide investigator goes missing, Police Sergeant Erin Vanderjagt is forced into the fray and into a personal hell she never imagined.Who or what could be behind the bizarre deaths, and why is Erin's boyfriend suddenly acting crazy? Why has her idyllic world suddenly fallen apart? And – as the murders continue – what can Erin do, where can she go, how can she fight the horror... When the Tik-Tik Sings?
Winslow: The Lost Hunters (Winslow Doyle Mysteries Book 1)
David Francis Curran - 2017
WINNER 2018 READER'S FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE IN WRITING.
Pieces of Stone
L.M. Kaye - 2015
After being abandoned by her father and losing her mother to drugs, Emma raises her younger sister, Kate, and maintains her emotional and mental equilibrium by keeping the friendly residents of Clare at a safe distance. In fact, in all her relationships, Emma plays it cool, choosing to break up with boyfriends before things get “too serious” and keeping only one close, true friend. She’s been hurt before and isn’t willing to get hurt again, so she keeps her heart under lock and key and refuses to let anyone in too deep. This strategy works well enough until a mysterious man comes to town, and Emma’s life—and the lives of the people she cares about—begin to unravel, forcing her to confront painful questions about love and loss. A suspenseful, fast-paced psychological thriller, Pieces of Stone is about the desire to belong, family ties, and the fears and needs that plague us all.
Collapse
Richard Stephenson - 2012
With the American people deep in The Second Great Depression and two of the most powerful hurricanes on record to contend with, the United States is in no condition to deal with hidden terrorists on its soil, maniacal politicians, and the most formidable military threat the world has seen since the Third Reich. This is the story of three men from three very different walks of life: Howard Beck, the world's richest man, also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome; Richard Dupree, ex-Navy SEAL turned escaped convict; and Maxwell Harris, a crippled, burned-out chief of police of a small Texas town. At first, they must overcome their own struggles and fight for their survival against impossible odds. In the end, the unlikely trio must band together to save their beloved country from COLLAPSE. Empires topple. Nations crumble. Civilization is fragile. In 2027, America will fall.
The Trouble With Charlie
Kenneth Preston - 2020
If somebody doesn’t stop him, he is going to explode. Fellow student Sam Caffey has never met Charlie, but he’s been watching him. He knows that Charlie is dangerous, and he knows that if he doesn’t act fast, people are going to die.But the more Sam learns about the enigmatic Charlie, the more he begins to question his own sanity. He wants to stop Charlie. He wants to tell somebody that Charlie has killed and is going to kill again. But he can’t. Something in his head won’t let him. Is Charlie controlling Sam’s thoughts? Or is Sam losing his mind?Sam has seen Charlie kill, but nothing can prepare him for what Charlie is about to do next. Charlie wants revenge. He wants to kill everybody who has ever wronged him. Can Sam stop Charlie? Or will he be forced to join him?
Season Of The Harvest
Michael R. Hicks - 2011
The group’s leader, Naomi Perrault, is a beautiful geneticist who Jack believes conspired to kill his friend, and is claiming that a major international conglomerate developing genetically engineered crops is plotting a sinister transformation of our world that will lead humanity to extinction. As Jack is drawn into a quietly raging war that suddenly explodes onto the front pages of the news, he discovers that her claims may not be so outrageous after all. Together, the two of them must battle a horror Jack could never have imagined, with the fate of all life on Earth hanging in the balance…
Asylum Lake
R.A. Evans - 2010
Through its doors came the weak and the weary, the disabled and the discarded, the frail and the forgotten. But an open door is an invitation, and some visitors, once invited, are loath to leave. The hospital abruptly closed in 1958 under a cloud of mystery. It has remained empty and silent, save for the memories trapped both within its walls and far below the surface of the nearby lake that bears its name. At the bottom of Asylum Lake, the unremembered are growing restless. Brady Tanner is trying to outrun memories of his own. After the sudden death of his wife, Brady retreats to the small town where he spent the summers of his youth. But he soon learns small towns can be stained by memories... and secrets, too. As Brady is drawn into unearthing these secrets, as he discovers a new love in an old friend, he is also drawn into the mystery of Asylum Lake and the evil that lies submerged beneath its sparkling surface. What is the source of this evil - and what does it want with Brady Tanner?