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Rogue Program
DON'T MISS THIS ONE!
Rogue Program is an outgrowth of my popular novel, Savage Survival, which is combined with the sequel to make one giant book, essentially two books for the price of one! Almost from the time Savage Survival was published, fans and readers wrote asking, "What happened next?" This novel not only answers the question but includes a greatly expanded and revised version of the original novel, which then segues directly into the sequel of that book. The two together make up Rogue Program. This is the longest work I've attempted and I've worked hard to make it an interesting and highly satisfying read. Lyda Brightner is a female protagonist anyone can identify with as she grows up with millions of other human captives of an unknown alien species. Conditions are so harsh and change so often that death is a constant companion, winnowing the Survivors inexorably down to only a few thousand out of fifteen million before they are returned to Earth. And then comes the hard trying to divine the motives of the aliens who have never been seen. Only their mechanical avatars have been intermittently present during five long years of terrible struggles to live, with each change bringing ever-harsher conditions. What do the aliens want? Why did they push millions of captive humans into environments where survival or death were the only options? What do they intend to do next now that the Survivors are back? Read about Lyda Brightner and how she manages to stay alive by her quick wits, her innate bravery, her compassion for those weaker than herself and a determination never to give in to the tortures of captivity that leave so many older and physically stronger than herself by the wayside. Rogue Program is a coming-of-age novel like no other, and Lyda is a character you'll remember for a long, long time. Follow her life from a privileged 'tween into an unimagined hell where she must constantly fight for her life, and on to an Enclave on the moon left by the aliens, where the biggest puzzle of the galaxy waits to be solved by the few Survivors of alien captivity. Failure to find the answer of this last test may mean oblivion not only for Lyda, her lover, and her fellow survivors, but for the whole human race! Don't miss Rogue Program!
Rogue Program is an outgrowth of my popular novel, Savage Survival, which is combined with the sequel to make one giant book, essentially two books for the price of one! Almost from the time Savage Survival was published, fans and readers wrote asking, "What happened next?" This novel not only answers the question but includes a greatly expanded and revised version of the original novel, which then segues directly into the sequel of that book. The two together make up Rogue Program. This is the longest work I've attempted and I've worked hard to make it an interesting and highly satisfying read. Lyda Brightner is a female protagonist anyone can identify with as she grows up with millions of other human captives of an unknown alien species. Conditions are so harsh and change so often that death is a constant companion, winnowing the Survivors inexorably down to only a few thousand out of fifteen million before they are returned to Earth. And then comes the hard trying to divine the motives of the aliens who have never been seen. Only their mechanical avatars have been intermittently present during five long years of terrible struggles to live, with each change bringing ever-harsher conditions. What do the aliens want? Why did they push millions of captive humans into environments where survival or death were the only options? What do they intend to do next now that the Survivors are back? Read about Lyda Brightner and how she manages to stay alive by her quick wits, her innate bravery, her compassion for those weaker than herself and a determination never to give in to the tortures of captivity that leave so many older and physically stronger than herself by the wayside. Rogue Program is a coming-of-age novel like no other, and Lyda is a character you'll remember for a long, long time. Follow her life from a privileged 'tween into an unimagined hell where she must constantly fight for her life, and on to an Enclave on the moon left by the aliens, where the biggest puzzle of the galaxy waits to be solved by the few Survivors of alien captivity. Failure to find the answer of this last test may mean oblivion not only for Lyda, her lover, and her fellow survivors, but for the whole human race! Don't miss Rogue Program!
506 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
About the author
Darrell Bain
113 books21 followersI grew up in an extremely poor family that was dysfunctional in many ways. We lived in the old segregated south, an era many of my readers have no knowledge of. This and a hardscrabble existence as well as an addictive personality gene(s) that apparently runs in our family shaped my life and played a part in me finally realizing a life-long dream and becoming a writer when I was about fifty years old. This autobiography, now in print and ebook both was begun in response to fans wanting to know more about me, and eventually one of my publishers thought it might make an interesting book. Many members from Betty’s side of the family were amazed at all the things they hadn’t known about me. You can judge for yourself now whether my publisher had the right idea of me doing an autobiography. I hope you are both entertained and possibly that some of you will learn a number of life’s lessons that I discovered the hard way!
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April 14, 2013
One of Bain's best books, in my opinion. I read the original version of this a couple years ago and enjoyed it then, but then he came out with this new, greatly expanded edition (which is really two books in one, to be honest) where he edited, refined, and expanded the original material and then added a sequel.
The first part is just as good or better than the original version. Probably the most gritty and interesting material I've ever seen from Bain. He certainly didn't shy away from anything or make things easy. In fact, I would say it's probably the only book I've read by Bain that is at least reasonably realistic in it's treatment of how people actually act. While he still doesn't really nail it (the fanatical way people follow Lyda, especially in the beginning, and then never, ever betray her or have their own agendas, is still just too blatantly unrealistic for me to get past). Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable read and it kept me hooked, wanting to know what happened next.
The second part of the book (i.e. the sequel that is newly added) feels kind of like playing a God game. What would YOU do if suddenly you were pretty much invincible and had godlike technology and 5000 faithful demi-god minions? Well, this part of the book attempts to answer that. I'm pretty sure that if such a situation were to happen in reality, there would be many more problems and the rest of the world would pretty quickly find their weaknesses, kill them all, and take their toys away. That being said, seeing what they do to fix some of the ills of the modern world is quite viscerally satisfying and I found myself chuckling a few times and wishing that we really could handle some of the world leaders the way the characters in this book do. Or solve financial woes the way they do. It's a fun thought experiment and I loved the answers Bain came up with. Even the main villain actually made me happy for it's one of Bain's more realistic villains and actually gives the main characters some real trouble. By the time they do deal with him, I was quite happy to see the way they did so.
Overall, one of the best books I've read by Darrell Bain and I recommend it for some enjoyable light reading. Most of Bain's books are guilty pleasures for me (I know I shouldn't like them...but I do), and this one was one of the best.
The first part is just as good or better than the original version. Probably the most gritty and interesting material I've ever seen from Bain. He certainly didn't shy away from anything or make things easy. In fact, I would say it's probably the only book I've read by Bain that is at least reasonably realistic in it's treatment of how people actually act. While he still doesn't really nail it (the fanatical way people follow Lyda, especially in the beginning, and then never, ever betray her or have their own agendas, is still just too blatantly unrealistic for me to get past). Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable read and it kept me hooked, wanting to know what happened next.
The second part of the book (i.e. the sequel that is newly added) feels kind of like playing a God game. What would YOU do if suddenly you were pretty much invincible and had godlike technology and 5000 faithful demi-god minions? Well, this part of the book attempts to answer that. I'm pretty sure that if such a situation were to happen in reality, there would be many more problems and the rest of the world would pretty quickly find their weaknesses, kill them all, and take their toys away. That being said, seeing what they do to fix some of the ills of the modern world is quite viscerally satisfying and I found myself chuckling a few times and wishing that we really could handle some of the world leaders the way the characters in this book do. Or solve financial woes the way they do. It's a fun thought experiment and I loved the answers Bain came up with. Even the main villain actually made me happy for it's one of Bain's more realistic villains and actually gives the main characters some real trouble. By the time they do deal with him, I was quite happy to see the way they did so.
Overall, one of the best books I've read by Darrell Bain and I recommend it for some enjoyable light reading. Most of Bain's books are guilty pleasures for me (I know I shouldn't like them...but I do), and this one was one of the best.
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