1908... Siberia... A tiny comet rips through Earth's atmosphere and explodes above the Tunguska region of Siberia, instantly engulfing thousands of square acres of the mostly desolate region. The explosion is heard for hundreds of miles, the light of the comet seen halfway across the globe. Had the comet hit a few hours earlier in a more populated area, millions would have been killed...
A century later, another comet - this one hundreds of times bigger and more powerful - encounters a black hole in deep space and is pushed onto a new, deadly course leading straight to Earth...
A small group of humans - including the President of the United States, a former astronaut and a middle school science teacher - discovers the existence of this potentially deadly comet and keep its existence hidden from the rest of the world. Although the group - which calls itself the Inner Circle - has twelve years to deal with the problem, they will need every second of that time. Not only must they figure out a way to avert this crisis, they must also start to make plans in case they can't avoid a catastrophe that could annihilate humankind...
The Inner Circle is the first book of the 12-part Comet Clement series. Please enjoy and if you like it, keep an eye out for books 2 and 3, which will be available in one download...
Kevin George has written over 40 books with plenty more on the way. They are as follows:
COMET CLEMENT SERIES The Inner Circle - Book 1 Interception - Book 2 The New Space Race - Book 3 The Three Arks - Book 4 Evacuation Earth - Book 5 Final Days - Book 6 Impact - Book 7 Uninvited - Book 8 Takeover - Book 9 Mission: Survival - Book 10 Relocation - Book 11 A Second Chance - Book 12 The Compound - Book 13 A New World - Book 14 Book 15 coming soon...
THE TRAIL OF MAGIC SERIES The Oasis War (Book 1) The Wilderynth (Book 2) Castle Island (Book 3) The Floating Lands (Book 4) The Palace (Book 5) more books coming soon...
THE GREAT BLUE ABOVE series The City Below (#1) The Dome of Life (#2) The Battle Above (#3) Before the Nothingness (#4) The Tunnel War (#5) The Mountain (#6) Above the Great Blue (#7)
CRYO-MAN series Cryo-Man (#1) Robotropolis (#2) Dearborn (#3) Beyond River City (#4)
LIFE, INC. - If you could learn the exact moment of your death, would you? If you could see a deceased loved one for one final day - at the cost of one year of your life - would you? These are the answers Life, Inc. wants to know...
KEEPER OF THE WATER series Drinking Life (#1) Recruits (#2) The Water Queens (#3)
FLEA'S FIVE CHRISTMASES The North Pole Challenge (#1) The Rudolph Challenge (#2) The Jack Frost Challenge (#3) The Frostie Challenge (#4) The South Pole Challenge (#5)
THE HINTERLAND CHRONICLES Pigeon in the Pinewoods (#1) The Castle Tree (#2) The Pendant of Hinterland (#3)
Eddie and Jeremy Go to the Aquarium Eddie and Jeremy Go to the North Pole
There isn't anything particularly new about an apocalyptic novel based on the premise of a wayward comet crashing into earth. But Kevin George's THE INNER CIRCLE does it up right and manages to be a refreshing, interesting, page-turning and quite compelling take on an old theme. The politics, the characters with developed and completely disparate personalities, the secrecy, the astronomy, the worry, the paranoia, the fear, the struggle for a solution to save mankind ... it's all there and, as I said, stays away from anything that might be called trite, stale, repetitive or derivative. At the end of this first novel in a (are you ready for this?) 12 part mammoth series, I'm definitely hooked and ready to move quickly on to Part 2. Whether or not, Mr George can spin this out and keep me on the edge of my seat for another 11 full length novels remains an open question. But I'm certainly ready to get started
I seriously struggled with how to rate this book... mostly because I haven't read many indie authors. So, my frame of reference is primarily traditionally published books - books that have been thoroughly edited, revised, and put through the ringer that is the publishing process. This book clearly hasn't gone that process.
The book has a good premise. And, for that reason alone, I pushed through the whole book. But, there are a few things that made it a real struggle to ride out the entire novel. There are gaping plot holes, and scenarios that challenge even the most dedicated suspension of disbelief. Each of these pulled me out of the book. Next, the characters are largely two dimensional. Each could have been pulled from a drawer of formulaic caricatures. Finally, and most regrettably since it could have been so easily addressed, is the sheer volume of the book that does little to advance the story.
Most writers would admit that one of the big challenges is cutting scenes and characters that don't advance the story. There's an emotional connection as the creator that makes it hard to toss elements aside. But, doing so, ultimately, makes for a better book. In this case, I felt as though I wasted countless moments of my life reading passages that did nothing to advance the story. Now, there is the promise of eleven(!) more books in the series - so maybe this was all ground work. But, I know that I won't be able to persuade myself to come back in the hopes that it's all worthwhile down the road.
This was probably a harsh review for the author to read. And, I tried to limit myself to three key criticisms in order to avoid the feel of an all-out assault. But, for me, the key is that in its current form the book doesn't meet the standards of traditional publishing. It was a long, tedious read of what should have been an exciting story. That said, the level of editing - in terms of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage - far exceeded what I would expect from an indie publisher. That's impressive. Hopefully the author has the ear of someone with an ear as great at refining the writing.
A final thought for Mr. George... How many other stories, series, or even epics, take twelve books to be told? Had I known before I started reading that this was the first in a twelve book series, I would have recognized such a serious problem that I would have passed immediately.
In 1908, a comet exploded over the Tunguska area in Siberia. The explosion missed populated areas by a matter of hours. Now, a hundred years later, another, even larger, comet is on a collision course with Earth. Kept hidden to avoid panic, it is down to a select few who know the secret to devise a means of saving the world. Will they make it? Or is it already too late?
The Tunguska Blast is one of those things that despite the answer being known still tends to get swept up in conspiracy. That being said, I was surprised when this book actually chose to approach the matter from what actually happened. It's a nice change of pace.
I was expecting the story to be about another event of that nature occurring and the aftermath of said impact over a major city (it would appear as though a nuke went off), however, the story is about seeing a comet coming and assuming that will be the outcome. The Tunguska Blast was a fluke on astronomical scale. It took just the right set of circumstances to result in the event. If it happened every time a comet met our atmosphere there'd be a lot more gigantic explosions in recorded history.
The opening chapter of this book was great and I was really looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. That was until around the point the insultingly cartoonish Australian used the words 'little bugger' in what was noted as a professional conversation between astronomers. From that point on the writing became gradually more grating with each chapter.
It takes a lot for me to abandon a book, but this book managed to hit every mark. I gave up around the 50% mark and this is just book 1. The characters were all two-dimensional (or less) and the plot ended up being too contrived for my taste.
When I read that the president was keeping it a secret outside a small group of select people preparing to avert disaster, I'd assumed it meant a government branch working in secret, not five guys who happened to find out first. That's right, the 'inner circle' is the president, his chief of staff, an ineffectual head of the Defense department, a retired astronaut running Nasa, and a guy they picked up off the street.
Leaving aside how bad an idea it is to leave the entirety of planetary defense to a middle school teacher who happened to be using the telescope at the time, their plan is utterly infeasible. They plan to retrofit a prototype space probe to go bomb the comet with nukes until it changes course. Trying to do the entire thing with only five people is beyond impossible. Even if he is the president, I doubt he could hand out a stack of nukes without at least someone raising an eyebrow.
The story is set in 2009, but everything feels like it should really be the 80s. Russia still acts like the Cold War is going on, no one seems to know what the internet is, the chief of staff uses a 'personal pc' which seems to be an antiquated PDA for some reason, and the general attitudes of everyone involved seem to be at least 20-30 years out of date.
The writing here was just bad, in my opinion. There were many spelling and grammar mistakes along the way, and the whole book could have used another edit. I didn't really like any of the characters to the point that when the diabolous ex machina finally caught up to some of them I was glad.
I couldn't bring myself to continue reading, so I'll never know if the comet wipes out mankind or not, but on that count I have one last thing to say:
I found this book very thrilling. I am starting book 2&3 tomorrow. Characters are well written, I get annoyed at some, frustrated with others and cry for others. I RECOMMEND this book for those who are interested in dystopia.
I have read this series once already but couldn't resist starting it again. The way the series meshes is wonderful and the characters react how you would imagine' real people' would. Really good length and doesn't drag. Love it.
Standard doomsday senario, bloated writing, lack of a good editor, cut out characters, really bad decision making...
All of that. And yet it held my interest enough to get me through the first 4 books. (A kindle freebie bundle) But by the last one I read, I was really suffering to slog through. So tedious. As the bad decisious and triggers for future melodramtic plot point unreleltingly piled up... My interest drained away.
Admittedly, if anyony ever puts out a detailed summery I'd read it out of curiosity. I'd like to know the % accuracy of my prognosticators for the rest of the series.
I was skeptical at first. Didn't think I would finish reading after the first few pages. By the second chapter I became so involved in the stories interwoven that I couldn't stop reading. Reminds me of the tv series "Salvation". Trying to keep such a monumental secret and maintain sanity knowing the world could end if the hidden plan fails is proving difficult. The author answers questions about space capsules and probes I have often wondered about. Look forward to reading the 2nd installment.
If you like science fiction this is totally the story to read it starts out with Characters looking for a comet and finding it and then exploring what it complete to they decided it would hit earth and it would end everything and story keeps you on the edge of your seat and I read this in 1 day because I couldn't stop once I began reading the author does a fantastic job of keeping readers interest but it's kind of scary to think like this could happen Good job Kevin
If I believed the world as we know it would end in 12 years it would not bother me because I don't think I will live that long myself, considering my present age. There would be hysterical reactions from those that may survive, but the world as we know it now would be wiped out as , electrical power and water would be severely comprmised, if any could even be found. Wars and genocide would prevail as the survivors fought for the rights to whatever remained.
I won't spoil any of the plot, but the book is very well written and while at first I groaned when I figured out where the plot waa headed I must say it was a fun ride. You'll want to check your criticisms at the door, as there is no possible way this could be pulled off by a handful of people, but its very entertaining and not too hokey. Well done.
The story was interesting, the characters also interesting. The premise, while believable, did not make sense ... What would a government gain by keeping such a secret? It makes sense not to panic the world but not to take advantage of other country's resources and knowledge seems foolish. The more people know the bigger risk of exposure and chaos but biggest chance of solutions. Installment series
The science around this set of books is intriguing. What happens when a comet that's supposed to miss the Earth by 400 thousand miles glances off the gravity of a black hole at points itself to Earth? That's the basis of volume one of the Comet Clement series. The Inner Circle is comprised of the President and a very small group who keep the secret at they decide how to ensure humanity continues. Fascinating.
A science teacher and a student find a comet and the comet is one of the largest ever found. Then the Russian government map it going into a black hole and the comet is now heading to earth. Now the US President, A science teacher, NASA Director and the Secretary of defense are the only people who know the earth may come to an end. So a Rocket ship is send to the comet to destroy it. Will it work? Ok story.
Abandoned book after a jelly-donut eating cop made an appearance, and then 2 characters watched a comet with an orbit around our sun get deflected in real time by a unknown black hole, and then a scene with a couple of pantomime Russian cliche characters that just made me think the Science behind the Sci-Fi is too ridiculous for consumption and the writing was dreadful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A comet is heading for Earth on a crash course for disaster and only a few people know it. The inner circle has a plan to solve the crisis but doesn't want the general population to know. The only thing I ended up not liking about this book is that its a huge cliffhanger....Neil is still up in space only a few weeks into a 4 year journey so I will have to read a few books to know how it ends!
There is a comet hurtling towards Earth but for now only a handful of people know about it. They, the 'Inner Circle', include the President of the United States and he has a plan that could save the planet. He also has a back-up plan that would save a few hundred people, should the worst come to the worst. This is the first book in a series and I look forward to reading more of them.
I was able to finish this first of the series (I downloaded 4 books). The premise is very interesting and suspenseful. But it became tedious as George worked his way through describing the many characters and their part in the story. Apparently he didn't want to leave anything out. I couldn't finish the second, or was it the third, book.
The initial story explores the response of governments politicians, an astronaut and science teacher to an impending apocalyptic event. The need to protect humanity without informing the world of the disaster an the motivations of the characters are probable and realistic and leads you into the next book.
This was hard to give two stars to, but it is an okay book. It is thoroughly predictable. And (sadly) ends on a cliff hanger - being part of a triology. However, this did not compel me to get the next book. I'm done with the stories, don't care about the characters. Totally meh.
I thoroughly enjoyed this first in the series book and look forward to reading the next one. I am also going to read some of his other books. This author is going on my list of favorites.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story about something that makes you think about something that could possibly happen. The government keeping it secret from the public to avoid mass panic. Great author. Great writing and great story.
Although I wasn't sure where the story was going at the beginning, I enjoyed how the author started tying each storyline together. I look forward to reading the next chapter (book) of this saga.