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Tom Wilner #2
The Double Human
The explosive sequel to The Human Disguise , The Double Human is an-action packed police thriller set in post-apocalyptic Florida.
Tom Wilner is a cop. At least what passes for a cop in this shattered world. Plague and nuclear war have left most of the United States uninhabitable. Many have fled to safer zones, forcing what's left of the government to wall off cities in an attempt to control mass migration. The city of Miami is just one of these contained prison states. Bit it's the outskirts of this forsaken realm that Tom Wilner calls home.
Amid this chaos, Wilner stumbles into the path of a wild and brutal adversary. Forced to go undercover in the most frightfully ravaged corners of the Miami Quarantine Zone, Wilner uncovers something he hasn't seen in decades...a serial killer. But this killer's path is not like any other; he has been active for nearly fifty years without any repercussions. People call him "the Vampire." Indeed, this serial killer is not human...and neither are his victims.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Tom Wilner is a cop. At least what passes for a cop in this shattered world. Plague and nuclear war have left most of the United States uninhabitable. Many have fled to safer zones, forcing what's left of the government to wall off cities in an attempt to control mass migration. The city of Miami is just one of these contained prison states. Bit it's the outskirts of this forsaken realm that Tom Wilner calls home.
Amid this chaos, Wilner stumbles into the path of a wild and brutal adversary. Forced to go undercover in the most frightfully ravaged corners of the Miami Quarantine Zone, Wilner uncovers something he hasn't seen in decades...a serial killer. But this killer's path is not like any other; he has been active for nearly fifty years without any repercussions. People call him "the Vampire." Indeed, this serial killer is not human...and neither are his victims.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 2, 2010
4 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 6, 2011
Part two of this alternate Florida history sci-fi series was even better than the first installment. I can hardly wait for the next one. It does help to be familiar with the state and it's people, locations and issues to get the full impact of the text but the story is good even if this criteria is not met. Reminiscent of NBC's series The Event. More an alternate history novel than sci-fi, O'Neal seems to have an inside track on the future of Florida, the nation and the world. I can believe that what he writes about is more future fact than fiction.
April 23, 2015
3.5 stars. If you liked the first book, you'll probably enjoy this one as well. While I was disappointed certain plot elements weren't explored in this book, it was still an enjoyable read. If there's ever a third release, I'll be there.
July 14, 2012
Loved the sequel to the Human Disguise! The last page is keeping me hanging for the sequel. Wondering when it's scheduled to be released.
October 22, 2023
it didn't really cover my humanoid - alien hunger, the whole book was about a human, so tittle doesn't make sense.
May 4, 2024
Okay post-apocolyptic police/spy novel.
August 5, 2024
thought it'd be a noir and it was actually just an action crime thriller
author is a cop from florida which checks out. mid prose, mildly racist.
dude wrote his own wikipedia article lol
dnf
author is a cop from florida which checks out. mid prose, mildly racist.
dude wrote his own wikipedia article lol
dnf
April 2, 2015
Just awful.
I would like to share a snippet that succinctly sums up the literary integrity of this work. I can't because I don't have the book on me anymore. Yet I can rewrite it as best as I can remember. The fact that this is an easy task indicts the quality of the writing. Here goes:
***
They moved to an area downstairs to a murky basement level and came across a closed door. There was a sign on it with fainted lettering that read:
EVIDE
"Evidence" said Johann Halleck.
***
Johann Hallack is a character that's part of a rare offshoot of the human species that lives for hundreds of years. James O. Born might be credited for inadvertently writing the only non-stereotype character in this crime-thriller; a near immortal person that's survived both world wars and lived into an apocalyptic future, relied on as a voice of wisdom yet still comes across as dumb as a brick. It's truly unique.
Unfortunately the main characters are dumb as a brick stereotypes. There's Tom Wilner, the hard boiled detective that magically draws connections for the sake of the plot moving forward. Steve Bessilia, the rookie cop and Tom's partner. Leonard Hall, the serial killer with a heart of gold (there's a scene where he stops a kill because he hears a scream in the distance that turns out to be a drowning child which he rescues. I believe this sequence was written for Tom Wilner the hard boiled detective but due to being written in a corner was changed.)
Finally there's Mari Saltis, the love interest of Tom Wilner and target of Leronard; an object for them to fight over. To a tee, this is the Damsel in Distress. A weak character representing what I can only assume James O Born percieves belongs to a weaker gender. This book may be set in the future but the subtext belongs in the past. James O Born writes the women characters like someone that's never had a girlfriend.
I enjoyed reading this book due to how much I gain pleasure from judging something so trite. I read it to the end out of principle for finishing a book that was easy and for the sake of making fun of it while reading. Sometimes when I read I see a movie playing in my head. I saw a Leslie Nielson movie for this book.
I would like to share a snippet that succinctly sums up the literary integrity of this work. I can't because I don't have the book on me anymore. Yet I can rewrite it as best as I can remember. The fact that this is an easy task indicts the quality of the writing. Here goes:
***
They moved to an area downstairs to a murky basement level and came across a closed door. There was a sign on it with fainted lettering that read:
EVIDE
"Evidence" said Johann Halleck.
***
Johann Hallack is a character that's part of a rare offshoot of the human species that lives for hundreds of years. James O. Born might be credited for inadvertently writing the only non-stereotype character in this crime-thriller; a near immortal person that's survived both world wars and lived into an apocalyptic future, relied on as a voice of wisdom yet still comes across as dumb as a brick. It's truly unique.
Unfortunately the main characters are dumb as a brick stereotypes. There's Tom Wilner, the hard boiled detective that magically draws connections for the sake of the plot moving forward. Steve Bessilia, the rookie cop and Tom's partner. Leonard Hall, the serial killer with a heart of gold (there's a scene where he stops a kill because he hears a scream in the distance that turns out to be a drowning child which he rescues. I believe this sequence was written for Tom Wilner the hard boiled detective but due to being written in a corner was changed.)
Finally there's Mari Saltis, the love interest of Tom Wilner and target of Leronard; an object for them to fight over. To a tee, this is the Damsel in Distress. A weak character representing what I can only assume James O Born percieves belongs to a weaker gender. This book may be set in the future but the subtext belongs in the past. James O Born writes the women characters like someone that's never had a girlfriend.
I enjoyed reading this book due to how much I gain pleasure from judging something so trite. I read it to the end out of principle for finishing a book that was easy and for the sake of making fun of it while reading. Sometimes when I read I see a movie playing in my head. I saw a Leslie Nielson movie for this book.
July 22, 2012
The Human Disguise and The Double Human by James O'Neal takes place in Florida, by the Miami quarantine zone, in a future dystopian United States.
In The Human Disguise, when police officer James Wilner follows his wife and her lover into a bar to observe them, he inadvertently sets off a series of events. His investigation involves him in a bigger conflict between two ancient families. In The Double Human Wilner is investigating a "vampire" serial killer.
The Human Disguise is author O'Neal's debut into science fiction. He is an award winning crime/police procedural writer under the name James O. Born. This novel, and the second, The Double Human, are crime novels set in a future society rather than science fiction novels that involve an investigation. You need to know this. Because of this fact, both novels will likely appeal to those who enjoy crime/action novels more than those who prefer science fiction. I enjoy both types of novels, however, since my choice of these books was based on expecting more science fiction, I'll admit I was disappointed.
You will need to read the first novel, The Human Disguise, before The Double Human. The two stories are interconnected and the first book will explain more about this future society. Additionally, I felt like they both started out strong but lost some momentum in the investigation and all the fire fights. The potential of this future world was there but the plots didn't utilize it as much as I hoped. I also found some typos (see quotes) which is distracting for me because, unless I know it is an ARC, once I find one I start to look for more.) Actually, after reading both novels, I really think O'Neal needs to keep writing the O.Born crime novels because that is where his passion seems to lie.
Recommended for crime novels; so-so as science fiction
In The Human Disguise, when police officer James Wilner follows his wife and her lover into a bar to observe them, he inadvertently sets off a series of events. His investigation involves him in a bigger conflict between two ancient families. In The Double Human Wilner is investigating a "vampire" serial killer.
The Human Disguise is author O'Neal's debut into science fiction. He is an award winning crime/police procedural writer under the name James O. Born. This novel, and the second, The Double Human, are crime novels set in a future society rather than science fiction novels that involve an investigation. You need to know this. Because of this fact, both novels will likely appeal to those who enjoy crime/action novels more than those who prefer science fiction. I enjoy both types of novels, however, since my choice of these books was based on expecting more science fiction, I'll admit I was disappointed.
You will need to read the first novel, The Human Disguise, before The Double Human. The two stories are interconnected and the first book will explain more about this future society. Additionally, I felt like they both started out strong but lost some momentum in the investigation and all the fire fights. The potential of this future world was there but the plots didn't utilize it as much as I hoped. I also found some typos (see quotes) which is distracting for me because, unless I know it is an ARC, once I find one I start to look for more.) Actually, after reading both novels, I really think O'Neal needs to keep writing the O.Born crime novels because that is where his passion seems to lie.
Recommended for crime novels; so-so as science fiction
February 13, 2011
I, too, read this without realizing this was the second book in a series. Probably should have read the first book because this book could not stand on its own. There were too many side plots mentioned in this book which needed to be explained (hence the need to read the first book). Unfortunately, I found those unanswered questions too distracting to really like this book.
If you look at just the plot, it is rather mundane and boring. A stabby serial killer is loose inside the now quarantined city of Miami, FL (read book 1 to find out why Florida is under quarantine). A sterotypical Good Cop and his comic relief partner are sent by the New Consolidated Florida state police/national guard/army? (again, reader will have to read Book 1 to know why the police force of the US are consolidated). And really, that's about it. There's a stereotypical pretty lady/love interest for our good cop, but Good Cop does not want a relationship, not after what happened to his family in...Book 1.
Oh, this book does have some charming little touches. Set in the future, there's interesting reference to some futuristic hydrogen-fuel cars and other technology, but ironically, the technology for fingerprinting and analyzing DNA has been lost. Ha ha! compare that to the ubiquitous forensics shows on TV today where it takes seconds for HPLC to analyze unknown compounds (yeah, right, TV writers ahve obviously have never worked in a lab) and computer programs to find a fingerprint match.
But otherwise, this book is frustratingly lacking in details. I will probably try to find Book 1 because I want to know the answer to all those questions about immortals, the global war, the approaching alien spaceship, and most importantly, what the heck happened to Good Cop's family?
If you look at just the plot, it is rather mundane and boring. A stabby serial killer is loose inside the now quarantined city of Miami, FL (read book 1 to find out why Florida is under quarantine). A sterotypical Good Cop and his comic relief partner are sent by the New Consolidated Florida state police/national guard/army? (again, reader will have to read Book 1 to know why the police force of the US are consolidated). And really, that's about it. There's a stereotypical pretty lady/love interest for our good cop, but Good Cop does not want a relationship, not after what happened to his family in...Book 1.
Oh, this book does have some charming little touches. Set in the future, there's interesting reference to some futuristic hydrogen-fuel cars and other technology, but ironically, the technology for fingerprinting and analyzing DNA has been lost. Ha ha! compare that to the ubiquitous forensics shows on TV today where it takes seconds for HPLC to analyze unknown compounds (yeah, right, TV writers ahve obviously have never worked in a lab) and computer programs to find a fingerprint match.
But otherwise, this book is frustratingly lacking in details. I will probably try to find Book 1 because I want to know the answer to all those questions about immortals, the global war, the approaching alien spaceship, and most importantly, what the heck happened to Good Cop's family?
October 11, 2013
The Double Human by James O’Neal
The Human Disguise was the first book in this series. This too is a cop book set in a near, possible future. Tom Wilner is a cop trying to maintain order in a dystopian future south Florida. He is ex-military facing bio-engineered diseases and possible aliens. His priorities change dramatically when his family is threatened. In this second book, he continues to try and enforce a radically changed legal landscape.
The Hallecks and Simolits play a smaller part in this book. The aliens are referred to but don’t really play into the story. The current events aspect of the book is just as frightening as the first book. The ramifications of thrusting our values and ideas into foreign cultures and the ensuing violence are altogether too real. Equally, the ramifications of a collapse of the economy are certainly highlighted by the current self centered egotism on our elected and not very representative officials.
A near future characterized by an uncaring government and bureaucratic morass doesn’t seem all that unlikely compared to current events today.
Wilner and Besslia are likeable characters, the Hallecks and Simolits are figures of curiosity but hardly likeable.
The book is entertaining a combination of cop book and vigilante justice.
I recommend the book.
The Human Disguise was the first book in this series. This too is a cop book set in a near, possible future. Tom Wilner is a cop trying to maintain order in a dystopian future south Florida. He is ex-military facing bio-engineered diseases and possible aliens. His priorities change dramatically when his family is threatened. In this second book, he continues to try and enforce a radically changed legal landscape.
The Hallecks and Simolits play a smaller part in this book. The aliens are referred to but don’t really play into the story. The current events aspect of the book is just as frightening as the first book. The ramifications of thrusting our values and ideas into foreign cultures and the ensuing violence are altogether too real. Equally, the ramifications of a collapse of the economy are certainly highlighted by the current self centered egotism on our elected and not very representative officials.
A near future characterized by an uncaring government and bureaucratic morass doesn’t seem all that unlikely compared to current events today.
Wilner and Besslia are likeable characters, the Hallecks and Simolits are figures of curiosity but hardly likeable.
The book is entertaining a combination of cop book and vigilante justice.
I recommend the book.
December 14, 2013
Disappointing after "The Human Disguise"
I read and enjoyed the first book in this series - "The Human Disguise." I liked the world building and thought the combo police procedural/sci fi tale was well worth reading.
But author O'Neal puts a lot of effort into describing the Florida environment in this book - to the detriment of character development and plot.
Note - you'll get a lot more out of this book if you read "The Human Disguise." But that won't answer all your questions concerning this offering.
This story starts four months after the events in the previous novel. Detective Tom Wilner is back - chasing after a serial killer called "The Vampire." Sounds interesting? It wasn't. A disjointed narrative, editing issues (again), dangling plot ideas - all mix together to produce a hodgepodge of a book. Every time I started getting interested in the story, it took off on another tangent and many times didn't find its way back. There is the spaceship on its way to Earth introduced in the first book and never developed any further. There is the suddenly serious romance of Wilner. And the dogs. I really wanted more on the dogs. And not much on the Simolits and Hallecks this go round.
This was disappointing enough after the first book that I won't bother with any additional books in the series. Too bad. Some strong, interesting ideas that just didn't work out.
I read and enjoyed the first book in this series - "The Human Disguise." I liked the world building and thought the combo police procedural/sci fi tale was well worth reading.
But author O'Neal puts a lot of effort into describing the Florida environment in this book - to the detriment of character development and plot.
Note - you'll get a lot more out of this book if you read "The Human Disguise." But that won't answer all your questions concerning this offering.
This story starts four months after the events in the previous novel. Detective Tom Wilner is back - chasing after a serial killer called "The Vampire." Sounds interesting? It wasn't. A disjointed narrative, editing issues (again), dangling plot ideas - all mix together to produce a hodgepodge of a book. Every time I started getting interested in the story, it took off on another tangent and many times didn't find its way back. There is the spaceship on its way to Earth introduced in the first book and never developed any further. There is the suddenly serious romance of Wilner. And the dogs. I really wanted more on the dogs. And not much on the Simolits and Hallecks this go round.
This was disappointing enough after the first book that I won't bother with any additional books in the series. Too bad. Some strong, interesting ideas that just didn't work out.
Want to read
September 20, 2010I picked this up, and didn't realize it's a second book about this character. So when I came across a passage where he thinks back to things that happened before, I stopped and did research :p So maybe I'll read this sometime. The premise seemed interesting, but I'm not too excited about it as I began reading.
November 21, 2012
Fast paced, with almost too much "cliffhanger" action, but an enjoyable read. I didn't read the first of the series, though it was easy to figure out what I "missed". I'm not an fan of series and expect the first and next would be more of the same so while I liked this one it's enough of a taste of O'Neal for me.
February 10, 2011
Too much time is spent trying to explain the new world the characters live in instead of just focusing on the story and I found it distracting. I might read another James O'Neal book but if it's like this one I doubt I'd finish it.
October 12, 2010
Very clever vision of the not-so-distant future. Sort of a Highlander meets Mad Max kind of thing.
June 4, 2016
Very entertaining and a creative view of the possible future we face.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews