Beaten

by Sam T Willis

Nathan Werner just got drafted. They give him a couple weeks to get his affairs in order–easy when you’ve dropped out of school, alienated your friends, and never had a job or a family life to begin with–then it’s off to basic training. Now he’s a pacifist without a cause and the drill sergeant’s personal punching bag. He spends the next three months failing to stay out of harm’s way, failing to make friends, and failing to get himself sent home. Getting thrown through a shatter proof glass window doesn’t even buy him a day in the infirmary. He’s stuck, and his pathological inability to shoot other people is making things harder by the day.
Plus the brass keep “clarifying” that they’re not actually in the Army. And there’s this high pitched tone that’s keeping Nate awake at night. And people’s veins keep turning black…right before they go on murderous rampages. It seems Nate and his non-buddies are victims of an experiment, the next great advancement in “defense” technology, and he could become just another suspiciously obedient bloodthirsty berserker at any moment. Faced with the prospect that his creators intend to make more like him, and use them to kill more people, Nate is forced to decide if he should keep his hands clean or become a disobedient type of killer. As the very blood in his veins darkens, he fears the decision is being made for him.
BEATEN is the full length novel follow up to BREAK, which was released in August of 2012.

242 pages, ebook

First published February 25, 2013

About the author

I write stories like ninjas skulk around in the dark: constantly. Most of them disappear into that place where short-term memories go instead of becoming long-term ones, but occasionally I manages to pin one down before it escapes. When I’m not pursuing an endless procession of characters and scenes through the catacombs of my brain, I’m chasing two diminutive demons (my son and daughter) through the recesses of their house in Schenectady, NY. When these two worlds collide, one question arises: “Daddy, why do you make up this crazy stuff?”

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very good and always wanted to make you keep reading. It was also a very "down to earth" book meaning that it was very real and direct.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 8.0/10.0
Review: Author Sam Willis brings a gritty, realistic feel to the basic premise of a loner who joins the military and ends up getting more than he bargained for in the book, “Beaten”. The main character Nathan Werner has real profundity and issues that are explored throughout this dark tale that focuses on the deep-seeded issues that plague society. Written in incredibly short chapters, the book moves you along through the life of Werner as he enlists in the military and quickly becomes the target of his drill instructor. It makes one realize the varying depths a pacifistic person can endure when entering a career where violence is the norm. With a title that sums up the ideas related in this book very nicely, reading “Beaten” is like stepping into a dark alley filled with plenty of danger and action and before you know it, you’ve made it through a changed person. There are plenty of times that the story just envelops you and you can’t put this book down without finding out what happens next. At 344 pages, the book is well-written, yet could use a little touching up by an editor to flesh out some of the various typos and other issues that pop up throughout. However, this story offers the reader an action-packed account of one man’s journey into a secret program where things are not always how they appear. With plenty of twists, “Beaten” manages to be original and brings plenty of insight into the subject of survival at all costs.

Review by IABookReviews.com