Inception

The Genesis Machine #1

by K.J. Gillenwater

Aliens have arrived... and this isn’t the first time.

When expert Navy linguist and cryptographer Charlie Cutter is recruited into a shadowy wing of the NCIS, she’s tasked with unravelling a mysterious ancient text that has puzzled researchers for centuries. Charlie isn’t eager to revisit her previous failures... but when she discovers the same strange language in top-secret photographs, she finds herself roped into a job that could make or break her young career.

After a strange pod crashes to earth during a violent storm, Charlie and her small team uncover an incredible aliens have landed on earth – and not for the first time. Catapulted into a thrilling mystery that will carry them from the political swamps of D.C. to the scorching Las Vegas desert, Charlie must race against time to crack the code and save humanity from a possible alien invasion.

Surrounded by a web of secrets and lies, Charlie struggles to track down the origin of the pods – and unmask the hidden motives of their extra-terrestrial visitors. The mystery stretches back centuries... and it leads Charlie to a shocking revelation that will change everything.

Dive into a riveting technothriller that blends high-octane sci-fi with shadowy government organizations and desperate researchers fighting to unravel an extra-terrestrial mystery. The Genesis Machine is a page-turning read that’s perfect for fans of science fiction authors including William Gibson and A.G. Riddle. Scroll up and grab your copy today...

This book was originally released on Kindle Vella in serialized format. This version has been edited and split into three Inception, Decryption, and Revelation.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2023

About the author

K. J. Gillenwater has a B.A. in English and Spanish from Valparaiso University and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara. She worked as a Russian linguist in the U.S. Navy, spending time at the National Security Agency doing secret things. After six years of service, she ended up as a technical writer in the software industry.

She has lived all over the U.S. and currently resides in Wyoming with her family where she writes business writing government proposals and squeezes in fiction writing when she can.

In the winter she likes to ski and snowshoe; in the summer she likes to garden with her husband, take walks with her dog, and go exploring in the mountains. She is the author of the popular Genesis Machine series that has had hundreds of thousands of Kindle Unlimited pages read.

Reviews

[Andrea Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the WHAT?

I have really enjoyed this book. I've never read this author before but they have done a bang up job of keeping me... and LEAVING ME... guessing. And the ending?? All I can think is WHAT THE WHAT??? Thankfully, all three books are available so on to book two!!!

I would totally recommend this book to anyone. There is no language, intimacy or violence. A clean SciFi!!

[Fred Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting start to a mystery from the stars

[Steven Kish · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting and refreshing approach

This one wastes no time hopping right into the action. I immediately went for the next in series. The plot and characters are interesting and the science is just right to not overwhelm the casual or avid reader of this genre.

[Rae Anne Bowen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Genesis Machine - Inception is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. First, you have Charlie, and Charlie is a marine. Yet she seems to have absolutely no skill at protecting herself. And let's not even mention the failure of translating the manuscript. She tried one language and then quit her whole masters program?

Second, you have Demarco. I don't know who is worse, but since she is the main character, I will say her, but it's close. He is supposedly a macho man who thinks women don't belong in the Marines, but he just comes off as a moron.

The whole book is boring, and the characters are idiotic. This is storytelling done wrong!

[Melanie Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

K.J. always does a great job with the details in her books— and this one is no different! I can visualize the scene and it makes me feel like I’m right there along for the adventure! Fun read and the ending made me excited for the books to follow! 😊

[KathrynK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I put a more comprehensive review on the final book in this series. These aren't really books, but episodes in a book that clearly hopes to become a Netflix drama.

[Thomas M Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for young readers interested in ET's. A little too simplistic for adult readers. All the characters seem a little shallow and immature. But the story was interesting enough.

[Tom Steele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t find the characters believable.

I’ve read a lot of books that I had huge problems with, but I trudged through them to see how they ended, even though I thought the stories were full of plot holes and Deus Ex Machina.

I made it through those books for one reason; they had interesting characters that I cared about.

I am shocked to learn this author was in the NAVY. Nothing about the opening chapters felt even remotely realistic to how the NAVY would actually operate.

Charlie is onboarded into an existing team who treats her largely condescendingly, as if her lack of briefing was her fault. Her superior officers treat her unprofessionally and she interrupts her superior officers as though they are equals. It just doesn’t sound like military at all.

Also, her relationship with her father didn’t pass the real world test for me. It was far too shallow and stereotypical, and it didn’t have a believable or complex enough explanation for the very unrealistic way that they behaved with each other.

In the end, I just couldn’t get invested in the story. I was curious where the plot would go, but not curious enough to wade through a story with people who felt fake to me. YMMV

I give it 1.5 stars and I always round up because I’m a nice guy. :-)

[Bill Krieger · Rating 2 out of 5]

 
The Genesis Machine rates barely 2 bill-stars. Not good.

I rarely comment on other book reviews. Hey, different strokes. But how the heck does this book have a 4.2 rating on more than a thousand Goodreads reviews?!? That's a head-scratcher.

The writing style is linear and flat as a pancake. Descriptions of people, places, and things are bland. There’s no humor. The lead character is a woman named Charlie who is in the Navy. She is so demure that her initial reaction to every situation is to blush. The plot is glacier slow. There’s some action in there, but it’s not well written.

And finally, the book is 200 pages long, and the ending is a “To be continued” deal where you are directed to purchase the second book in the series. No thank you. Some of this is “my bad” though. The book is only $1, and it’s mentioned in the Goodreads summary that it was initially part of a serial collection.

QOTD

Demarco stood about fifty yards away. She headed in his direction. As she edged closer, her gut tightened. A gigantic, lopsided pile of green goop in the shape of a sliced open watermelon sat in about two feet of water. The pod.

- Inception, Book #1 of The Genesis Machine series

Not a good read. thanks...yow, bill

 

[Leiah Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

The kindest thing I can say is "immature." The main character discusses top secret information out in public sort of immature. The scene in the bedroom with the taser was completely unbelievable, the characters are undeveloped otherwise. The concept was somewhat interesting, but not well developed and the "love interest" so formulaic I would expect to read it in the work of a preteen with her first crush. I skimmed after the first smart mouthed interaction with her commanding officer to see if it got any better. It didn't. I won't waste my time reading any further. I sincerely doubt this writer has any military experience whatsoever, much less police experience. FYI, NCIS National Criminal Investigate Service. They ARE cops. SMH

[Iain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear, looking at photos it seems that the author is an actual adult, so I can only assume they 'staffed out' the writing of this series to a self-absorbed highschool kid, providing i) a quick plot outline, ii) instructions that no opportunity should be lost to tell us again and again and again how the neurotic insecure cliched main character feels about the utterly unbelievable actions of the remaining members of the cliché cast, and iii) any allusion or reference to any feminist or SFC themes would get them sacked as ghost-writer. Given the unbelievable overall goodreads score, I must assume the series was intensly promoted on the various Mills&Boon-esk fora.

[Lisa König · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella. The main character needed some getting used to but not because she was unlikeable but because she did not fit with my expectations of a soldier main character. The premise is interesting and this first novella definitely brings up questions to be pursued further in the next installments. The cast is manageable and has the right size for a story with so few pages though I expect we will get to see more characterisation in the sequels. All in all can definitely recommend!

[Fred Fuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a hugely disappointing read. Technically, it is science fiction, but it never really even entered the realm. The entire book was a big stalling job until it finally got to the first point of interest - ON THE LAST PAGE. I don't think it should be listed as a book at all. It is only an introduction to what could turn into a book eventually. I see no reason to pursue the following books in the hope that a real story will emerge.

[Megan Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was FAST. Crazy fast. Started today and ended before I realized what time it was. This is NCIS meets Arrival meets Men in Black (because slimy things happen). Humor, banter, secrets, science and linguistics... This book is charged. If you pick it up, don't expect to put it down until finished. I have book 2 on the way already.

On a side note... as a Navy brat who lived in DC as a kid, this was a trip down memory lane in some aspects.

[David A. Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Storytelling!

The characters are well-developed in a storyline that seems very possible, enmeshing us in an ancient modern tech reality that never disappoints, always refreshes our interest, and in my case, I simply could not stop reading…and immediately purchased the next two in this series. Marvelous!

[Robert Rozell II · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabbed me quickly and did not let go until the end........It still has me waiting to get the rest of the books.

The concept of the plot is top-notch, and the story never lets up as the main thread is always there.
The characters are complex, they all have flaws, and they also have secrets.,and fears.
"Just what is going on?" is the question and the elephant in the room!

[Suzanne Tidwell]

Cool! Love the premise.

Gillenwater has written an exciting story with strong multi-dimensional characters. The plot is written from Charlie's point of view, so we get to see people and events through her eyes.

Obviously in this short book is part one of three, so I am anxious to see how it plays out in the next two books.

[Helen Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it. so smart and gripping

Not my usual genre but once I started the Genesis Machine I couldn’t put it down. A bonus is the tie to a real renaissance mystery. I’m not only reading all books in the series but I will look up all of this author’s work.

[Tamara F. Starnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

Keeping me reading excited for "what's next"! I soup the romantic however the way Charlie pieces things together in her head, it's great seeing it described as its something I've done as well.

[Robert Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

This is the best book I've read on aliens and UFO's. It was written in such a manner that you feel that you are part of it. Has a great cast of characters, some you hate, and some you love. I recommend reading this to all fiction lovers.

[Ken Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting story.

Although I don’t like the main character and find many of the supporting characters annoying, this novel deserves a 5 star rating because the plot is new and unique. The story is well written and moves at a brisk pace.

[Douglas Kahle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skipped pages to get to the end.

I was intrigued by the title and stuck with it, but I must confess I fast-forward several times because the story got stuck. I don’t see myself reading the sequel.

[jean mary jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a good beginning to a trilogy !!!!!!!!!!!

This book is a truly good beginning to this story.I think the introduction to the characters is really well done.I can't wait for the next episode.Recommended

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good intriguing premise and action follows

Our protagonist is a brilliant linguist sent to a secret base in Washington where her translations could help deduce where alien pod crafts came from.

[potatoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Besides this book being utter bottom-of-the-barrel schlock, the author is a Trump-supporting bigot who doesn’t want Muslims to live in the U.S., is anti-trans, and is just pretty shitty about anyone who isn’t white in general. Check out her Twitter feed. Enjoy!

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a teenage angst novel than science fiction, the main character, despite being an adult and in the military, is very immature. It had an interesting concept that never developed, and the characters were hard to like or believe.

[Teresa Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected ending

And a lot of mysteries throughout the book. This is a somewhat short book but great for setting up the series and makes me wonder what kinds of things the author saw at the NSA

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

where’s the alien?

Too easy to read,many threads not finished,12 years old would like the style. I was surprised it got published in book form.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one got me right away. I felt like I was watching a fast paced movie! Started the 2nd one right away.

[Janina s. Asselin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow

This is so good. I read this in 2 hours and my muscles are so tense from the anticipation. On to the next one!