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Agents of Change #1
Agents of Change
Karma has a new face...
In his debut, Guy Harrison writes a unique tale of corruption and espionage in what's been called "an exciting thriller with plenty of surprises" and "an exciting story packed with twists, disasters and suspense."
An amiable corporate manager by day and a matchmaker whenever he can get around to it, Calvin Newsome's new dream job falls into his lap when he's recruited by a secret worldwide organization whose agents use uncanny abilities to empower and influence everyday downtrodden individuals. Disaster strikes, however, when an elaborate scheme leaves Calvin as a prime murder suspect...and his new employer is presumably to blame.
With the authorities on his heels and his life left in ruin, Calvin uses his new powers to blend in until a journey for freedom becomes a quest for peace. As the agency's rival organization threatens the security of all of earth's inhabitants, he teams up with unlikely allies and battles surprising enemies hellbent on unleashing their power in a twisted version of justice, innocent lives be damned.
Other praise:
"Harrison's writing was non-stop action, and kept me turning pages beginning to end...the themes throughout the book were fantastic." --Underground Book Reviews
"Calvin is a strong character who drives the narrative well." --In Potentia, book blog
In his debut, Guy Harrison writes a unique tale of corruption and espionage in what's been called "an exciting thriller with plenty of surprises" and "an exciting story packed with twists, disasters and suspense."
An amiable corporate manager by day and a matchmaker whenever he can get around to it, Calvin Newsome's new dream job falls into his lap when he's recruited by a secret worldwide organization whose agents use uncanny abilities to empower and influence everyday downtrodden individuals. Disaster strikes, however, when an elaborate scheme leaves Calvin as a prime murder suspect...and his new employer is presumably to blame.
With the authorities on his heels and his life left in ruin, Calvin uses his new powers to blend in until a journey for freedom becomes a quest for peace. As the agency's rival organization threatens the security of all of earth's inhabitants, he teams up with unlikely allies and battles surprising enemies hellbent on unleashing their power in a twisted version of justice, innocent lives be damned.
Other praise:
"Harrison's writing was non-stop action, and kept me turning pages beginning to end...the themes throughout the book were fantastic." --Underground Book Reviews
"Calvin is a strong character who drives the narrative well." --In Potentia, book blog
380 pages, Paperback
First published February 13, 2012
11 people are currently reading
296 people want to read
About the author
Guy Harrison
6 books18 followersGuy Harrison is a professor of journalism and electronic media at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his doctoral degree from Arizona State University in 2018. 'On the Sidelines: Gendered Neoliberalism and the American Female Sportscaster' is his first scholarly book. In 2012, Harrison made his debut as a novelist, self-publishing 'Agents of Change,' the first of three books in a trilogy of science fiction action thrillers.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Philadelphia, Harrison lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife Lindsay and their three children.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Philadelphia, Harrison lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife Lindsay and their three children.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 7, 2012
When my friend Amy recommended this book to me, I decided to give it a shot. I have always been a huge fan of fast-paced, action-packed suspense novels and this book does not disappoint. The fast tempo of the plot really helps to add drama and suspense to the entire work. Couple that together with hilarious and sometimes sarcastic comments every now and then and you have a great novel. In fact this is the best independently published book I have ever read and I highly recommend this book.
All of the characters were well developed and back stories were explained thoroughly. The reader really finds themselves standing alongside the main character, Calvin Newsome, as he is introduced to the Agency of Influence and this whole new world for him. Then when you think things are going in a certain direction a plot twist is thrown in to throw both you, as the reader, and Calvin off their feet.
The story was also very original and I can really see this book becoming a movie.
I cannot wait to read Agents of Chaos.
All of the characters were well developed and back stories were explained thoroughly. The reader really finds themselves standing alongside the main character, Calvin Newsome, as he is introduced to the Agency of Influence and this whole new world for him. Then when you think things are going in a certain direction a plot twist is thrown in to throw both you, as the reader, and Calvin off their feet.
The story was also very original and I can really see this book becoming a movie.
I cannot wait to read Agents of Chaos.
March 26, 2013
A nice read and the ideas were interesting. I liked the idea of the various Agencies – Influence, Justice. There is a science fiction element to the book - the Change Machine that allows agents to become another person – but there wasn’t a strong enough feel to the book to categorise it in this genre. I was looking for a little more explanation about how the agents could morph into someone else since it was the core element of the story.
Other than Calvin Newsome, I never really got to know any of the other characters. They fell a bit too flat for me. This can be a tricky balance when writing in first person.
The second book is showing a stronger rating on Goodreads, which tells me the author may have addressed issues some other readers had with Book 1.
In my opinion, worth reading and an exciting author to watch out for.
Other than Calvin Newsome, I never really got to know any of the other characters. They fell a bit too flat for me. This can be a tricky balance when writing in first person.
The second book is showing a stronger rating on Goodreads, which tells me the author may have addressed issues some other readers had with Book 1.
In my opinion, worth reading and an exciting author to watch out for.
April 26, 2013
I enjoyed this book very much, and I believe others would as well. I will try to find more books by this author, as I really think he is a gifted writer. I will most definitely read the other books in this series, and I am looking forward to getting Book 2 very soon.
July 24, 2017
Espionage *** Suspense *** Sci/Fi *** Paranormal
Agent of Change is the first book of Agents of Change series and free on Kindle.
The story concept is unique and interesting. It's what kept me turning the pages.
The action was thrilling and engaging. A big part of how this book drew me in and held me. Page fillers were nonexistent. A HUGE plus. Guy Harrison didn't piddle around and carried you directly to each important scene.
4 stars for being a debut book, originality and the thrilling action.
July 10, 2012
To see this review and more like it check out my site, www.ufreviews.com
For me I felt like this book started off a little bit on the slower side of things, which is one of my pet peeves in books, but there was one thing about this book that I think helped with this. The author has a pretty good sense of humor in the beginning of the book, so even though it starts off a little bit on the slow side the humor within the beginning helps distract you from the slower pace. And I always like a little bit of humor in my books, so that was kind of nice for me.
I think that the idea behind the organization that Calvin is recruited by will appeal to a lot of people, and they will find it interesting. The Agency basically does things to help people who are going through hard times in their life, which kind of feels a little like Pay it Forward to me. But in the times that we are, with a lot of people going through hard times, I can see how the idea of an Agency like this existing could be appealing to people.
While there are a lot of concepts in the book that I think are interesting I am not sure there was enough done with them to make them truly work within the book itself. I think the first problem I had with the book was the powers you get from being a part of the Agency. I felt like the powers could have been interesting if they made more sense within the context of the Agency, but the powers often had a way of overshadowing everything else, and the backstory behind them in connection with the Agency wasn't really strong enough to support it.
I felt like there were also a lot of problems with the secondary characters. I don't think any of the characters beside Calvin were designed to be likable. This was a problem for me mainly because I don't think one character can really carry a book on their own, the readers has to enjoy at least a few of them. When you don't, at least for me, it starts to interfere with the pacing of the book and become less enjoyable of a reader. This really didn't start to become a problem for me until about half way through the book.
There is a lot of action in this book, so if you are a person who really like action in their books then this could be a book for you. For me though I really wanted there to be more to the book than there really was. I felt like I needed more character development in order for me to become really invested in them as characters and in the plot. I think the bones of the book could be really good they just needed more work before going to press. I think if you like a lot of action then you might enjoy this book, it does have some interesting concepts.
For me I felt like this book started off a little bit on the slower side of things, which is one of my pet peeves in books, but there was one thing about this book that I think helped with this. The author has a pretty good sense of humor in the beginning of the book, so even though it starts off a little bit on the slow side the humor within the beginning helps distract you from the slower pace. And I always like a little bit of humor in my books, so that was kind of nice for me.
I think that the idea behind the organization that Calvin is recruited by will appeal to a lot of people, and they will find it interesting. The Agency basically does things to help people who are going through hard times in their life, which kind of feels a little like Pay it Forward to me. But in the times that we are, with a lot of people going through hard times, I can see how the idea of an Agency like this existing could be appealing to people.
While there are a lot of concepts in the book that I think are interesting I am not sure there was enough done with them to make them truly work within the book itself. I think the first problem I had with the book was the powers you get from being a part of the Agency. I felt like the powers could have been interesting if they made more sense within the context of the Agency, but the powers often had a way of overshadowing everything else, and the backstory behind them in connection with the Agency wasn't really strong enough to support it.
I felt like there were also a lot of problems with the secondary characters. I don't think any of the characters beside Calvin were designed to be likable. This was a problem for me mainly because I don't think one character can really carry a book on their own, the readers has to enjoy at least a few of them. When you don't, at least for me, it starts to interfere with the pacing of the book and become less enjoyable of a reader. This really didn't start to become a problem for me until about half way through the book.
There is a lot of action in this book, so if you are a person who really like action in their books then this could be a book for you. For me though I really wanted there to be more to the book than there really was. I felt like I needed more character development in order for me to become really invested in them as characters and in the plot. I think the bones of the book could be really good they just needed more work before going to press. I think if you like a lot of action then you might enjoy this book, it does have some interesting concepts.
March 8, 2014
More of my reviews here: http://dawnofthebooks.blogspot.ca/
The first thing I could think of when I saw this book was, I love the cover. And, well, the cover is neat. So I proceeded to read the blurb and all the right things caught my eyes. This book, like many others, started off a little slow for me, but eventually is started to get more into the action of the plot.
Calvin Newsome is your above average man who seems to have one of those hearts that really reaches out towards others. He is caring, and a little too easy going on people. To much for his own good. I guess I kind of liked that about him. I mean, how often do you see a character who is so whiling to do anything to make other peoples lives easier? So his life is just like everyone else's (sprinkled with a few childhood problems), but that all changes when he is recruited by an agency. The Agency of Influence, a group of people who want to do those little deeds that will help ordinary people who are going through hard times.
I found the idea of such an organisation very interesting and original, but there was one aspect of it that threw me in a flurry of questions. The change machine. It is a machine that can give you the power to change into anyone you like. The thing that got me was that on some occasions, when Calvin needed to change into someone, he chose really famous people. Now, how does that really work out? I mean, so I'm at a store, and Oprah just walks in... A little bit unreasonable if you ask me. But the whole change machine didn't throw me off course or anything.
I really liked Calvin's other job. Match making. The thing that I liked about it in particular was how he was willing to help a teenage boy while in the midst of a crisis. That was really touching.
All in all, I believe this book has a lot of potential, but I could find it in myself to add an extra two stars to the three. The plot, in my opinion, just didn't seem... fiction enough. There were too many real life connections. The way the characters talked didn't seem I don't know, fluent enough for me. But everyone has their own opinion. I just happen to like a more fantasy/sci-fi kind of thing. Overall, though, for a first novel, it was well done.
The first thing I could think of when I saw this book was, I love the cover. And, well, the cover is neat. So I proceeded to read the blurb and all the right things caught my eyes. This book, like many others, started off a little slow for me, but eventually is started to get more into the action of the plot.
Calvin Newsome is your above average man who seems to have one of those hearts that really reaches out towards others. He is caring, and a little too easy going on people. To much for his own good. I guess I kind of liked that about him. I mean, how often do you see a character who is so whiling to do anything to make other peoples lives easier? So his life is just like everyone else's (sprinkled with a few childhood problems), but that all changes when he is recruited by an agency. The Agency of Influence, a group of people who want to do those little deeds that will help ordinary people who are going through hard times.
I found the idea of such an organisation very interesting and original, but there was one aspect of it that threw me in a flurry of questions. The change machine. It is a machine that can give you the power to change into anyone you like. The thing that got me was that on some occasions, when Calvin needed to change into someone, he chose really famous people. Now, how does that really work out? I mean, so I'm at a store, and Oprah just walks in... A little bit unreasonable if you ask me. But the whole change machine didn't throw me off course or anything.
I really liked Calvin's other job. Match making. The thing that I liked about it in particular was how he was willing to help a teenage boy while in the midst of a crisis. That was really touching.
All in all, I believe this book has a lot of potential, but I could find it in myself to add an extra two stars to the three. The plot, in my opinion, just didn't seem... fiction enough. There were too many real life connections. The way the characters talked didn't seem I don't know, fluent enough for me. But everyone has their own opinion. I just happen to like a more fantasy/sci-fi kind of thing. Overall, though, for a first novel, it was well done.
December 17, 2012
I don't know what I was expecting, the book was free on the kindle so I figured, why not?
While the story idea was good, my biggest gripe with the novel is the clunky dialogue and abrupt ending to thoughts and scenes that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
The dialogue was horribly unnatural and uncomfortable for most of the entire story. It had no fluidity to it and tended to jump from one subject to another between characters unexpectedly which only left me scratching my head and wondering why Mr. Harrison would do that. It has a disturbingly disconnected feel to it. I feel like the author didn't believe in his own story much, let alone his characters.
I'm not going to go into the story line, you can read it if you like. I will tell you that there is shape-shifting and telekinesis involved with the characters and that the vision of the characters is surprisingly narrow.
I guess the short answer is: I didn't believe it. When I read novel, I want to get lost in the world of the novel, to live in the pages with the characters. If you've read a good book, you know what I'm talking about.
I feel like the author just woke up one day and said "I think I'll write a book." and then forced himself to write a book with little interest in anything other than finishing it. The ending was abrupt and disappointing and didn't make a whole lot of sense.
To his credit, the story idea was interesting enough to force myself to read through to the end I just think that if he would have put a little more passion into it and fleshed it out a lot more, it could have been great. As it is, it falls flat and is begging for help.
But, hey, it's free.
While the story idea was good, my biggest gripe with the novel is the clunky dialogue and abrupt ending to thoughts and scenes that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
The dialogue was horribly unnatural and uncomfortable for most of the entire story. It had no fluidity to it and tended to jump from one subject to another between characters unexpectedly which only left me scratching my head and wondering why Mr. Harrison would do that. It has a disturbingly disconnected feel to it. I feel like the author didn't believe in his own story much, let alone his characters.
I'm not going to go into the story line, you can read it if you like. I will tell you that there is shape-shifting and telekinesis involved with the characters and that the vision of the characters is surprisingly narrow.
I guess the short answer is: I didn't believe it. When I read novel, I want to get lost in the world of the novel, to live in the pages with the characters. If you've read a good book, you know what I'm talking about.
I feel like the author just woke up one day and said "I think I'll write a book." and then forced himself to write a book with little interest in anything other than finishing it. The ending was abrupt and disappointing and didn't make a whole lot of sense.
To his credit, the story idea was interesting enough to force myself to read through to the end I just think that if he would have put a little more passion into it and fleshed it out a lot more, it could have been great. As it is, it falls flat and is begging for help.
But, hey, it's free.
July 17, 2012
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I really like the book cover picture. “Karma has a new face,” is the perfect quote for this book’s cover. Also, the pages feel thicker, like card stock. I’m guessing it’s just my copy, but I’ve never had a book with pages this thick before. I really like the physical appearance and feel of the book.
After reading the first two chapters, you realize from the book’s title that things will change. The story has a lot of excitement. Calvin Newsome (a.k.a. Kevin Stewart) is the main character who gets recruited onto the team, Agents of Influence.
Several times I was cracking up laughing as I was reading. Some were the obvious set-ups such as “a la Don King”. Some were just normal statements that you can read, understand, and know are just simply true. “It’s old, it’s dirty, and most of it’s patrons fit that description.” Or, “Name me one woman who doesn’t care for Denzel.” I love a book with a good story line that can literally make me laugh out loud while reading.
Overall, I like the story. I have a teenage son who is now starting to read it also. It’s nice when we can both read the same books, and talk about them after.
After reading the first two chapters, you realize from the book’s title that things will change. The story has a lot of excitement. Calvin Newsome (a.k.a. Kevin Stewart) is the main character who gets recruited onto the team, Agents of Influence.
Several times I was cracking up laughing as I was reading. Some were the obvious set-ups such as “a la Don King”. Some were just normal statements that you can read, understand, and know are just simply true. “It’s old, it’s dirty, and most of it’s patrons fit that description.” Or, “Name me one woman who doesn’t care for Denzel.” I love a book with a good story line that can literally make me laugh out loud while reading.
Overall, I like the story. I have a teenage son who is now starting to read it also. It’s nice when we can both read the same books, and talk about them after.
June 5, 2013
The reason I decided to read Agents of Change was because the first chapter was humorous, action-packed and suspenseful. I figured, if anything, at least it would keep me entertained. In that respect, the book delivered. Guy Harrison's writing was non-stop action, and kept me turning pages from beginning to end. Other than that, though, the book fell flat.
The premise of Agents of Change revolves around a secret institute which uses magical shape shifting and telekinetic powers to "do good." While this could be an interesting scenario, I found that it was no more than a plot device. The back story behind the shape shifting ability seemed disconnected from the story; a magical arrowhead carved by a Shaman seemed like an easy out. The Agents of Change would simply "swoosh" into their new form, changing in seconds into a new person, and even wearing new clothes. And the Agency's goodwill mission seemed trite compared to the possible power of shape shifting and telekinesis.
Read the rest of this review at Underground Book Reviews dot com.
The premise of Agents of Change revolves around a secret institute which uses magical shape shifting and telekinetic powers to "do good." While this could be an interesting scenario, I found that it was no more than a plot device. The back story behind the shape shifting ability seemed disconnected from the story; a magical arrowhead carved by a Shaman seemed like an easy out. The Agents of Change would simply "swoosh" into their new form, changing in seconds into a new person, and even wearing new clothes. And the Agency's goodwill mission seemed trite compared to the possible power of shape shifting and telekinesis.
Read the rest of this review at Underground Book Reviews dot com.
May 8, 2012
So this is more a 3.5 in my world, I liked it, up till the end. It does feel like the start of a series, but then I'm not sure where it will go. The writing for the most part was strong, though it did get "choppy" for the lack of a better term. The time line switches also were a little difficult to follow. I love the premise, and hope it is the start of a series as there are so many unanswered questions! The end left me wanting more of an explanation, was he caught? was it all in his head? was he really free to go find elena?
September 14, 2014
The plot to the story is good however I found the writing style to be a bit choppy. I will give the series a try just to give the author a chance. The story reminded me of a "ok" movie that you watch because you've invested the time in it.
July 9, 2013
I enjoyed the book. The story kept me wondering what was coming next. I'm interested in reading the sequel.
Read
September 30, 2012Review to come later. :)
January 25, 2013
Can't wait to read the sequel.
February 3, 2013
This was a fast pace advanture that hooked me from page one.
Nice read.....
Nice read.....
March 16, 2013
I'd really like to give this 3 1/2 stars. it was fun enough to read that I'd like to read the 2nd book in the series to see what hapens to Calvin
October 31, 2013
WOW...Just WOW. Exciting and thrilling
March 30, 2014
This could make a good TV series based on what's currently on TV. I need to learn the outcome so I'll read the rest of the series.
August 8, 2014
Never finished.
September 8, 2013
Really amazing book even with all it's twists and turns I hope there is another to continue it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews