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The Scarab
Any problem can be solved with help from your friends and the proper application of high explosives. The Scarab is a PG near-future thriller that fans of pod racing, Ready Player One, and King's Avatar will enjoy. Hemophiliac and ace mechanic Ethan Hayes has risen to the top of the computer gaming circuit as the Scarab. When he invents a device that makes him rich overnight, he enters SimCon, the Super Bowl of virtual races. He was unprepared for the dirty tricks big companies would pull to win. When someone kidnaps his girlfriend, Mary Ann, it’s up to the Scarab to save her.
- GenresScience Fiction
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 31, 2011
3 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Scott Rhine
39 books58 followersScott Rhine wanted to find a job that combined his love of reading with math problem solving, so he studied both short stories and computer languages. As a techno-gypsy, he worked on optimizing some of the fastest and largest supercomputers in the world. A couple of degrees, patents, and children later, at forty-eight, he still didn't know what he wanted to be when he grew up. When his third publication "Doors to Eternity" unexpectedly hit #16 on the Amazon epic fantasy list, he decided to retire from engineering in order to become a full-time author. Humor is a part of every story he writes because people are funny, even when they don't think so. In the real world, something always goes wrong and people have flaws. If you can't laugh at yourself, someone is probably doing it for you. Strong female characters also play a major role in his stories because he's married to a beautiful PhD who can edit, break boards, and use a chainsaw.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 4, 2018
Good
I felt this book was very well written but some of the material i did not understand, yet it did not take away from the great writing.
I felt this book was very well written but some of the material i did not understand, yet it did not take away from the great writing.
July 11, 2011
Article first published as Book Review: The Scarab by Scott Rhine on Blogcritics.
Car Racing, gaming, and espionage do not seem to go together and yet they make a great combination. There is action, adventure and excitement all of which create an adrenalin rush which hold the fans of each at it long into the after-hours.
In The Scarab by Scott Rhine, we enter into a virtual reality form of racing and espionage, full of excitement and danger. The action is fast and the vehicles are faster, built by the gamers themselves, to win by whatever method works. Ethan Hayes is a young man down on his luck. He is still paying off the medical bills from his mother’s treatment and does not expect to ever get anywhere in life due the amounts due, in an effort to stave off the disease that was killing her. Ethan himself is a hemophiliac and it colors everything he does in life. He is a good mechanic and during the day, he takes care of the business, but at night, he puts on his other hat. He is a gamer and his second life revolves around GEVSIM. In this life, his alter ego is known as the Scarab.
This game with Ground Effect Vehicles is first made popular though colleges, but now accepted and played worldwide. He uses the shops computers after hours and no one is the wiser. It is during his play that he first begins to notice the anomalies. Something illegal is going on and since the satellite guidance systems are all under Federal jurisdiction, they require a special type of Marshal to patrol them. The local police vehicles could not accelerate fact enough to catch the perpetrators before they could get out of city limits. The only person he knows that is a member of the patrol is his friend Mary Anne Anselm.
They met just after high school and dated for some time, but when she began to get serious and wanted marriage he decided he could not put her in that situation. First, his blood-clotting problem was genetic, and there was the issue with his debt. Marriage would make her legally responsible for the money as well. Deciding to report his findings to her, she agrees to follow up on the information. When he is called into the station for more questions, he finds that his discovery has now put him in a delicate situation. The police want his program that shows how he found the speeders, and they want it with no strings attached. When an attorney shows up, hired by his friend Mary Anne, he is able to get out of the jam with his program still his own and intact.
Suddenly he finds that he may not be in the crisis that he had assumed. Nigel, his attorney is not only able to get him money for his project but also able to get his mother medical bills expunged. The money he made on his discovery plus some his father’s life insurance would have to be spent post haste, and when he finds he has just over $100,000 left he decides to enter his latest design in the SimCon Gev. He would be racing side by side with some of the best in the world, the game is international and there is a great deal of money at stake. With both Mary Anne and Nigel at his side, he is ready to take on the world and prove his capabilities. When things begin to go wrong, with vehicles tampered with and people murdered, Ethan, now known again as the Scarab in racing circles, seems to be in the middle. When Mary Anne is kidnapped and an Undercover FBI operative is murdered, the Scarab must dig deep to find the clues to save his friends. Can he figure out who is behind the espionage before it is too late?
Rhine has written a fast-paced novel full of suspense and danger. While I do not understand the gaming world, he made it seem quite fascinating. Racing has always been a popular form of recreation, and doing it with these GEV’s in a virtual reality situation just seemed quite extraordinary. As I was explaining the book to one of my friends who is a gamer, he was quite enthralled with the possibilities. He is not a reader and yet assured me that a book like this would be something that would get him off the computer and into reading.
Some of the explanations were over my head and yet Rhine did such a good job of explanation that I was able to stay on track. There was fun, suspense, danger, and romance all brought together in this amazing race.
This would be a great read for the suspense and action aficionado. The action is frenetic and the intricacies of the dialogue are garnered to the gamers and racing fans around us. The story is interesting, and yet it may not appeal to some due to the very things that also make it work. I struggled with much of the virtual dialogue, but the racing itself was what drew me. If you enjoy gaming and virtual simulation this suspenseful and action packed thriller will draw you in.
This book was received as a free copy from Smashwords. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.
Car Racing, gaming, and espionage do not seem to go together and yet they make a great combination. There is action, adventure and excitement all of which create an adrenalin rush which hold the fans of each at it long into the after-hours.
In The Scarab by Scott Rhine, we enter into a virtual reality form of racing and espionage, full of excitement and danger. The action is fast and the vehicles are faster, built by the gamers themselves, to win by whatever method works. Ethan Hayes is a young man down on his luck. He is still paying off the medical bills from his mother’s treatment and does not expect to ever get anywhere in life due the amounts due, in an effort to stave off the disease that was killing her. Ethan himself is a hemophiliac and it colors everything he does in life. He is a good mechanic and during the day, he takes care of the business, but at night, he puts on his other hat. He is a gamer and his second life revolves around GEVSIM. In this life, his alter ego is known as the Scarab.
This game with Ground Effect Vehicles is first made popular though colleges, but now accepted and played worldwide. He uses the shops computers after hours and no one is the wiser. It is during his play that he first begins to notice the anomalies. Something illegal is going on and since the satellite guidance systems are all under Federal jurisdiction, they require a special type of Marshal to patrol them. The local police vehicles could not accelerate fact enough to catch the perpetrators before they could get out of city limits. The only person he knows that is a member of the patrol is his friend Mary Anne Anselm.
They met just after high school and dated for some time, but when she began to get serious and wanted marriage he decided he could not put her in that situation. First, his blood-clotting problem was genetic, and there was the issue with his debt. Marriage would make her legally responsible for the money as well. Deciding to report his findings to her, she agrees to follow up on the information. When he is called into the station for more questions, he finds that his discovery has now put him in a delicate situation. The police want his program that shows how he found the speeders, and they want it with no strings attached. When an attorney shows up, hired by his friend Mary Anne, he is able to get out of the jam with his program still his own and intact.
Suddenly he finds that he may not be in the crisis that he had assumed. Nigel, his attorney is not only able to get him money for his project but also able to get his mother medical bills expunged. The money he made on his discovery plus some his father’s life insurance would have to be spent post haste, and when he finds he has just over $100,000 left he decides to enter his latest design in the SimCon Gev. He would be racing side by side with some of the best in the world, the game is international and there is a great deal of money at stake. With both Mary Anne and Nigel at his side, he is ready to take on the world and prove his capabilities. When things begin to go wrong, with vehicles tampered with and people murdered, Ethan, now known again as the Scarab in racing circles, seems to be in the middle. When Mary Anne is kidnapped and an Undercover FBI operative is murdered, the Scarab must dig deep to find the clues to save his friends. Can he figure out who is behind the espionage before it is too late?
Rhine has written a fast-paced novel full of suspense and danger. While I do not understand the gaming world, he made it seem quite fascinating. Racing has always been a popular form of recreation, and doing it with these GEV’s in a virtual reality situation just seemed quite extraordinary. As I was explaining the book to one of my friends who is a gamer, he was quite enthralled with the possibilities. He is not a reader and yet assured me that a book like this would be something that would get him off the computer and into reading.
Some of the explanations were over my head and yet Rhine did such a good job of explanation that I was able to stay on track. There was fun, suspense, danger, and romance all brought together in this amazing race.
This would be a great read for the suspense and action aficionado. The action is frenetic and the intricacies of the dialogue are garnered to the gamers and racing fans around us. The story is interesting, and yet it may not appeal to some due to the very things that also make it work. I struggled with much of the virtual dialogue, but the racing itself was what drew me. If you enjoy gaming and virtual simulation this suspenseful and action packed thriller will draw you in.
This book was received as a free copy from Smashwords. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.
May 7, 2012
Book Info: Genre: Science Fiction thriller Reading Level: Adult (PG-rated per author)
Disclosure: I purchased this book for myself so am under no obligation, but am happy to provide an honest review.
Synopsis: The Scarab is a PG, first-person, near-future, Science Fiction thriller that fans of Speed Racer will enjoy.
There are very few problems that can't be solved with a little help from your friends and the proper application of high explosives. Hemophiliac and ace mechanic Ethan Hayes had risen to the top of the computer gaming circuit as the Scarab. When he invented a device that made him rich over night, he and ex-girlfriend, Mary Ann, were able to enter SimCon, the simulated European road race.
When Ground Effect Vehicles became common, prototypes were too dangerous and expensive to build outright. Instead, each year, major designers competed in the Super Bowl of virtual races – SimCon. The vehicles needed speed, skill, and weapons to get ahead. The winners in each class got millions in production contracts and advertizing.
Ethan made a lot of enemies in his first professional race, including a cyber-criminal named Kali. The challenges of a week-long trek across Europe are nothing compared to the dirty tricks, murder, and kidnapping that took place off the track. Being a severe hemophiliac meant Ethan had to keep his temper under control, and think. When someone kidnapped Mary Ann, it was up to the Scarab to save her.
My Thoughts: This book dates from prior to my acquaintance with Scott Rhine; I have read all of his other stuff and really enjoyed it, so had been looking forward to this chance to finishing reading all of the Scott Rhine library.
This was a different book – there was quite a lot of mechanical details as Ethan worked on his Ground Effect Vehicle (GEV) for the race. I had expected that sort of thing might glaze my eyes, but Rhine explains things in a way that provides the details that a non-mechanically inclined person like me needs without overloading or bogging down the action. And there was action: lots and lots of action. The SimCon quickly became a game of “pick-on-the-Scarab,” and Ethan is definitely kept on the ropes. The reader is not allowed to become bored or complacent, as twist after turn comes flying at you. I’m not quite sure if I completely agree with the science fiction genre; I see more speculative fiction aspects to this, as well as almost a coming-of-age subtext. I quite liked it. If you like fast pacing and intricate details, you should love The Scarab.
Disclosure: I purchased this book for myself so am under no obligation, but am happy to provide an honest review.
Synopsis: The Scarab is a PG, first-person, near-future, Science Fiction thriller that fans of Speed Racer will enjoy.
There are very few problems that can't be solved with a little help from your friends and the proper application of high explosives. Hemophiliac and ace mechanic Ethan Hayes had risen to the top of the computer gaming circuit as the Scarab. When he invented a device that made him rich over night, he and ex-girlfriend, Mary Ann, were able to enter SimCon, the simulated European road race.
When Ground Effect Vehicles became common, prototypes were too dangerous and expensive to build outright. Instead, each year, major designers competed in the Super Bowl of virtual races – SimCon. The vehicles needed speed, skill, and weapons to get ahead. The winners in each class got millions in production contracts and advertizing.
Ethan made a lot of enemies in his first professional race, including a cyber-criminal named Kali. The challenges of a week-long trek across Europe are nothing compared to the dirty tricks, murder, and kidnapping that took place off the track. Being a severe hemophiliac meant Ethan had to keep his temper under control, and think. When someone kidnapped Mary Ann, it was up to the Scarab to save her.
My Thoughts: This book dates from prior to my acquaintance with Scott Rhine; I have read all of his other stuff and really enjoyed it, so had been looking forward to this chance to finishing reading all of the Scott Rhine library.
This was a different book – there was quite a lot of mechanical details as Ethan worked on his Ground Effect Vehicle (GEV) for the race. I had expected that sort of thing might glaze my eyes, but Rhine explains things in a way that provides the details that a non-mechanically inclined person like me needs without overloading or bogging down the action. And there was action: lots and lots of action. The SimCon quickly became a game of “pick-on-the-Scarab,” and Ethan is definitely kept on the ropes. The reader is not allowed to become bored or complacent, as twist after turn comes flying at you. I’m not quite sure if I completely agree with the science fiction genre; I see more speculative fiction aspects to this, as well as almost a coming-of-age subtext. I quite liked it. If you like fast pacing and intricate details, you should love The Scarab.
June 26, 2011
I have to admit that I had a hard time with this one. The writing was fine, but the techie quality just went way over my head. It took a very long time for me to find my pace because I felt like I was reading techno jargon over and over again. That would be my one complaint.
What I did like is more important. I liked the characters. They were believable. You had a man with genuine concern for the love of his life. He also had a long list of very real reasons why he couldn't marry her, despite his desire. That made me feel sorry for him. Of course, all of that changed seemingly overnight. He became this amazing super smart millionaire. Gotta love that.
His love interest, Mary Ann, is this bad ass female cop. She can kick anyone's butt and you almost dare someone to try. It seems like she's a walking contradiction. She gorgeous and intelligent, yet she has a mean street wise streak that would make Al Capone cower. She's hard core.
The SimCon race was pretty intense. Once I made myself ignore the techie aspect of the plot, I was able to focus on the content. There were a few diabolical schemes floating around. You had major subterfuge and blackmail, among other things. Anyone that likes James Bond style action would enjoy this read. There were plenty of car chases and an aura of mystery that could keep you interested.
I don't really think this fits in the YA genre. It seemed geared more towards adults--particularly the male audience. Maybe that's just my take though. I don't see my students being able to comprehend the intricate detail that went in to describing the SimCon race and the cars. I feel like all of that would have gone over their heads.
What I did like is more important. I liked the characters. They were believable. You had a man with genuine concern for the love of his life. He also had a long list of very real reasons why he couldn't marry her, despite his desire. That made me feel sorry for him. Of course, all of that changed seemingly overnight. He became this amazing super smart millionaire. Gotta love that.
His love interest, Mary Ann, is this bad ass female cop. She can kick anyone's butt and you almost dare someone to try. It seems like she's a walking contradiction. She gorgeous and intelligent, yet she has a mean street wise streak that would make Al Capone cower. She's hard core.
The SimCon race was pretty intense. Once I made myself ignore the techie aspect of the plot, I was able to focus on the content. There were a few diabolical schemes floating around. You had major subterfuge and blackmail, among other things. Anyone that likes James Bond style action would enjoy this read. There were plenty of car chases and an aura of mystery that could keep you interested.
I don't really think this fits in the YA genre. It seemed geared more towards adults--particularly the male audience. Maybe that's just my take though. I don't see my students being able to comprehend the intricate detail that went in to describing the SimCon race and the cars. I feel like all of that would have gone over their heads.
July 6, 2011
While not my normal cup of tea, Scarab is a story you can't help but get sucked into. Ethan's character draws you in to his focused desire to build and enter his own design. While this detached feeling seems off at times, I think it was intentional to give us a true understanding of his character. Being a hemophiliac is something most people don't have to deal with, but his health issues certainly don't dampen his drive. The story of Ethan and his Scarab will take you into various realities fraught with virtual and real dangers where often discerning between them is difficult. Where does reality stop and the virtual world begin? Ultimately, is death the same in both worlds? And who is behind the not-so-subtle attempted murders of Ethan and his friends? This is a great debut novel for Scott and a great introduction for Sci-fi readers looking to escape into a race for the finish and a new life, especially when life's deck of cards seems to have been stacked against you since birth. I enjoyed reading the novel and would recommend it to others, especially at such a great price.
September 11, 2012
Overall Feedback: A fast passed, adrenaline pumping read from cover to cover. The author draws us in and holds us hostage in this Virtual Racing World that he has created. Unbelievable action and suspense all wrapped in a tightly woven story. This is a "Do Not Miss" read for the year.
Point of View: You follow Ethan on his trek to overcome his obstacles and save the race.
Voice: A plus to drawing in anyone into the gaming world. A bit of the jargon may catch you off guard but the author does well to explain.
Character Development: Finely tuned just like the Virtual Racers.
Plot: The next step in gaming evolution.
Dialogue: Due to the jargon you may get lost but stay steady and the end will be there.
Pacing: Races through your imagination and fuels your brain with high voltage dreams.
Setting: Virtual Reality is here.
Continuity: Not a loose spot in the story.
Point of View: You follow Ethan on his trek to overcome his obstacles and save the race.
Voice: A plus to drawing in anyone into the gaming world. A bit of the jargon may catch you off guard but the author does well to explain.
Character Development: Finely tuned just like the Virtual Racers.
Plot: The next step in gaming evolution.
Dialogue: Due to the jargon you may get lost but stay steady and the end will be there.
Pacing: Races through your imagination and fuels your brain with high voltage dreams.
Setting: Virtual Reality is here.
Continuity: Not a loose spot in the story.
May 7, 2011
Full review can be found on my blog here : http://killie-booktalk.blogspot.com/
Overall, this was a fun and light hearted read, the SimCon race elements in particular were entertaining and I was always looking forward to the next race stage to come up. The few issues I had with the non-race elements of the novel being "solved" a little bit too easily were minor. I would therefore recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, near future adventure along the lines of the movies; Deathrace 2000 or Speed Racer.
Overall, this was a fun and light hearted read, the SimCon race elements in particular were entertaining and I was always looking forward to the next race stage to come up. The few issues I had with the non-race elements of the novel being "solved" a little bit too easily were minor. I would therefore recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, near future adventure along the lines of the movies; Deathrace 2000 or Speed Racer.
February 27, 2012
I was surprised by this novel it was not what I was expecting and I really enjoyed it. I believe that you don't have to be a gamer to enjoy this novel, it has something for everyone.
All the characters are well thought out and are created with excellent description. The plot is well though out and transports the reader into that world.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
A copy of this novel was received for free and all opinions expressed are my own through reading it.
This review was first published on http://everybookhasasoul.wordpress.com
All the characters are well thought out and are created with excellent description. The plot is well though out and transports the reader into that world.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
A copy of this novel was received for free and all opinions expressed are my own through reading it.
This review was first published on http://everybookhasasoul.wordpress.com
July 23, 2011
A great book for people who love computer racing and combat games. Reminded me of the movie "the Great Race" and the TV series "Speed Racer"
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews