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The Sentience
An Eldritch abomination descends on the Australian outback. When geophysicist Bill Stevens notices an unusual seismic anomaly occurring somewhere in outback Western Australia it piques his interest. He dedicates his time to discovering the true cause of this strange signal. But this dedication sets events in motion that could change the course of history.Meanwhile Robbie Davis, a young mine worker based in Kalgoorlie, struggles with a strange gift. He can sometimes hear people’s thoughts … and he hates it … Little could he know that his fledgling mental ability might prove instrumental in the brewing storm against an incomprehensible force bent on fulfilling its own sadistic whims.
- GenresScience Fiction
249 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2023
4 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
S.J. Patrick
5 books31 followersFrom a young age S.J. Patrick has been an avid reader, with loves spanning between fantasy, science fiction, and especially horror. As a published scientific author, he branched out into fiction in 2021 and had a blast doing so!
Released in 2023 were his first two novels, DARK MATTER and THE SENTIENCE, each combining his dual loves of science and horror into plots both thrilling and scientifically accurate.
In 2024 came an homage to his favourite horror niche, vampires! EXHUMED has become an instant hit in the genre, with a sequel, SIREN, releasing later in the year.
Finally in 2025 released GOLDEN BLOOD which brought the Exhumed trilogy to a thrilling conclusion!
Released in 2023 were his first two novels, DARK MATTER and THE SENTIENCE, each combining his dual loves of science and horror into plots both thrilling and scientifically accurate.
In 2024 came an homage to his favourite horror niche, vampires! EXHUMED has become an instant hit in the genre, with a sequel, SIREN, releasing later in the year.
Finally in 2025 released GOLDEN BLOOD which brought the Exhumed trilogy to a thrilling conclusion!
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 29, 2023
I do love a sci-fi and I found this entertaining, especially since there are scientists involved, making me reminisce about my fieldwork during my university studies.
Ever wondered if we're not alone in this universe? Ever thought that maybe aliens have indeed already made contact with Earth? Well, in this book something has been waiting for millennia for an opportunity to be freed and when that happens, you guessed it, it's not good news! This is what Bill Stevens, a geophysicist, finds out the hard way, when he discovers an anomaly in the seismic activity in Western Australia and decides to investigate. I guess being a curious scientist is not always good is it?
This was a fun story, that reminded me of old school science fiction films. A couple of drawbacks for me were the slow build up and the very anticlimactic ending, where all the built up tension was dealt with very quickly. Having said that I still enjoyed it and liked the concept, that made me shiver only thinking about it.
Thanks to S.J. Patrick for a copy and this is my honest review.
Ever wondered if we're not alone in this universe? Ever thought that maybe aliens have indeed already made contact with Earth? Well, in this book something has been waiting for millennia for an opportunity to be freed and when that happens, you guessed it, it's not good news! This is what Bill Stevens, a geophysicist, finds out the hard way, when he discovers an anomaly in the seismic activity in Western Australia and decides to investigate. I guess being a curious scientist is not always good is it?
This was a fun story, that reminded me of old school science fiction films. A couple of drawbacks for me were the slow build up and the very anticlimactic ending, where all the built up tension was dealt with very quickly. Having said that I still enjoyed it and liked the concept, that made me shiver only thinking about it.
Thanks to S.J. Patrick for a copy and this is my honest review.
October 27, 2024
After time untold, the sentience was free from its imprisonment.
I found S.J. Patrick's "The Sentience" to be an interesting scifi/horror concept; however, the story itself gets bogged down with details and suffers more than a bit from a choppy writing. It's also quite unnecessarily repetitive in spots, repeating either key details or even key words more than once in the same sentence (for example: "He loaded the data… and applied the corrections to the data." or "His hands shot to his head and he tore two small chunks of hair from the sides of his head."). Overall, I found the pacing to be pretty slow-moving where the writing style itself is very clipped. By this I mean that the book reads either like a newspaper report or maybe the way someone would write a letter to a relative. I couldn't decide on which analogy I liked more but there's a definite "I did this. Then I did this. And later, this happened." formulation. I also could have done without all the examples of 'he' or 'him' in quotations. After the first time, well, we got it!
The fear was not necessary; it just got a sick pleasure out of it.
On top of that, the first 20% or so is particularly methodical, as we get a bit bogged down in the details of geological surveying. I mean, I watch as many Discovery Channel gold- and opal-mining shows as I can, but in written form it's not quite as thrilling as seeing things in action. Yes, it's relevant to the story - we need it to get to the bottom of the "weird seismic anomaly that made absolutely no sense" - but it just felt far too much like someone was quoting from a Wikipedia article for comfort. Having said that, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't actually get to see the X-ray fluorescence aka the XRF guns in action.
‘Host’ was not the correct terminology; the human simply no longer existed…
Eventually though, the alien consciousness that is at the heart of this story is "freed"… and as they say: that's when the killing begins. We quickly learn that this accidental visitor is anything but a friendly wee E.T. looking to make contact with mankind. Instead, this brutal entity is extremely egotistical, finding its victims - of which there are several, even to the point of true "serial killer" level - and the rest of the mass of humanity far beneath it as if it were only here to smash bugs. It is also undeniably potent (even omnipotent in its own eyes) as its "mind powers" - or whatever functions as a mind in this creature - are in fact used to cause the geological anomalies that begin the story. Its method of killing is particularly gruesome - not in a gory or bloody "oh look at all the entrails flying everywhere" kind of way - but its still a decidedly cruel manner, leaving its victims at very least braindead in the short term after it has performed its metempsychosis (great word) process. I won't spoil any further details than that but needless to say that imagining meeting an end like this is especially horrifying, particularly if you are as frightened as I am of suffering from dementia one day!
It was almost too easy – these ‘people’ may as well be upright cattle.
Fortunately - so fortunate in fact it definitely comes off as more than a little contrived - we also meet Robbie. And wouldn't you know it, but it seems that young Robert (legally only) is in fact telepathic, being able to read minds and pick up on "bad vibes" around him. Not only that, but his abilities - or perhaps better said the act of learning NOT to use his abilities - allows him to withstand a surprise attack by the alien. Very convenient that! This then is furthermore useful in that it has the unintended result of making Robbie's skills crank up a notch or three … and the battle of the minds is on. This - along with the spirited pursuit of our perpetrator by one Sergeant Jim McAdams of the Australian Federal Police based in Perth - is then the crux of this story.
You will open your mind to me and your body will become my final vessel on this worthless rock!
We get very little in the way of character development besides "The Sentience" itself who, truth be told, was a bit too "bwhahaha, bow before me foolish humans" evil villian-ish for my tastes (you're essentially an immortal and omnipotent being and that's your spiel?). This is true for everyone with the exception of Robbie who we both see dealing with his ever-growing power set - as well as being around his family. No one really goes beyond a name and a brief description of who they are, where they work, etc. I can't speak to the potential for clichés in terms of the various Australian locals and/or locales (nodding to the amazing amount of kilometers we put behind us from start to finish!), but it's basically this guy, that guy, the cop with a tortured past driving him forward, the love interest and so on. In terms of other execution issues, the editing is better than fair though there are a lot of extraneous full-stops thrown onto the end of too many sentences.
It was like there was no shred of intelligence inside her – she was just vacant and empty.
I will say though that the last quarter of the book really ratchets things up significantly, especially once it turns out that not only the alien kills people (ok, it was self-defense but still). OK, there was some sappiness and a good dollop of silliness included - for example, Robbie being unable to utilize his telekinesis (yep) because his hands were tied up - but overall the latter part of the book was more fun to experience. I mean, I was pretty excited once the "Scanners" action started (for you young 'uns, that's a David Cronenberg classic from 1981!). Or if you prefer, scenes like we enjoyed in 1984's "Dreamscape" with Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer! Anyway, even if the writing still stayed more than a little stilted, the Battle for Kalgoorlie (I just love writing that word!) winds up being worth the price of admission!
I found S.J. Patrick's "The Sentience" to be an interesting scifi/horror concept; however, the story itself gets bogged down with details and suffers more than a bit from a choppy writing. It's also quite unnecessarily repetitive in spots, repeating either key details or even key words more than once in the same sentence (for example: "He loaded the data… and applied the corrections to the data." or "His hands shot to his head and he tore two small chunks of hair from the sides of his head."). Overall, I found the pacing to be pretty slow-moving where the writing style itself is very clipped. By this I mean that the book reads either like a newspaper report or maybe the way someone would write a letter to a relative. I couldn't decide on which analogy I liked more but there's a definite "I did this. Then I did this. And later, this happened." formulation. I also could have done without all the examples of 'he' or 'him' in quotations. After the first time, well, we got it!
The fear was not necessary; it just got a sick pleasure out of it.
On top of that, the first 20% or so is particularly methodical, as we get a bit bogged down in the details of geological surveying. I mean, I watch as many Discovery Channel gold- and opal-mining shows as I can, but in written form it's not quite as thrilling as seeing things in action. Yes, it's relevant to the story - we need it to get to the bottom of the "weird seismic anomaly that made absolutely no sense" - but it just felt far too much like someone was quoting from a Wikipedia article for comfort. Having said that, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't actually get to see the X-ray fluorescence aka the XRF guns in action.
‘Host’ was not the correct terminology; the human simply no longer existed…
Eventually though, the alien consciousness that is at the heart of this story is "freed"… and as they say: that's when the killing begins. We quickly learn that this accidental visitor is anything but a friendly wee E.T. looking to make contact with mankind. Instead, this brutal entity is extremely egotistical, finding its victims - of which there are several, even to the point of true "serial killer" level - and the rest of the mass of humanity far beneath it as if it were only here to smash bugs. It is also undeniably potent (even omnipotent in its own eyes) as its "mind powers" - or whatever functions as a mind in this creature - are in fact used to cause the geological anomalies that begin the story. Its method of killing is particularly gruesome - not in a gory or bloody "oh look at all the entrails flying everywhere" kind of way - but its still a decidedly cruel manner, leaving its victims at very least braindead in the short term after it has performed its metempsychosis (great word) process. I won't spoil any further details than that but needless to say that imagining meeting an end like this is especially horrifying, particularly if you are as frightened as I am of suffering from dementia one day!
It was almost too easy – these ‘people’ may as well be upright cattle.
Fortunately - so fortunate in fact it definitely comes off as more than a little contrived - we also meet Robbie. And wouldn't you know it, but it seems that young Robert (legally only) is in fact telepathic, being able to read minds and pick up on "bad vibes" around him. Not only that, but his abilities - or perhaps better said the act of learning NOT to use his abilities - allows him to withstand a surprise attack by the alien. Very convenient that! This then is furthermore useful in that it has the unintended result of making Robbie's skills crank up a notch or three … and the battle of the minds is on. This - along with the spirited pursuit of our perpetrator by one Sergeant Jim McAdams of the Australian Federal Police based in Perth - is then the crux of this story.
You will open your mind to me and your body will become my final vessel on this worthless rock!
We get very little in the way of character development besides "The Sentience" itself who, truth be told, was a bit too "bwhahaha, bow before me foolish humans" evil villian-ish for my tastes (you're essentially an immortal and omnipotent being and that's your spiel?). This is true for everyone with the exception of Robbie who we both see dealing with his ever-growing power set - as well as being around his family. No one really goes beyond a name and a brief description of who they are, where they work, etc. I can't speak to the potential for clichés in terms of the various Australian locals and/or locales (nodding to the amazing amount of kilometers we put behind us from start to finish!), but it's basically this guy, that guy, the cop with a tortured past driving him forward, the love interest and so on. In terms of other execution issues, the editing is better than fair though there are a lot of extraneous full-stops thrown onto the end of too many sentences.
It was like there was no shred of intelligence inside her – she was just vacant and empty.
I will say though that the last quarter of the book really ratchets things up significantly, especially once it turns out that not only the alien kills people (ok, it was self-defense but still). OK, there was some sappiness and a good dollop of silliness included - for example, Robbie being unable to utilize his telekinesis (yep) because his hands were tied up - but overall the latter part of the book was more fun to experience. I mean, I was pretty excited once the "Scanners" action started (for you young 'uns, that's a David Cronenberg classic from 1981!). Or if you prefer, scenes like we enjoyed in 1984's "Dreamscape" with Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer! Anyway, even if the writing still stayed more than a little stilted, the Battle for Kalgoorlie (I just love writing that word!) winds up being worth the price of admission!
dnf
October 25, 2023DNF'd this at ~38%. I typically love scifi-horror but this one didn't work for me. Not much happened by 30% and the Sentience was just making basic/smug observations at everything. So many unnecessary details and observations. As soon as something would come close to happening, the chapter would end and it would switch to a different POV. I wish I enjoyed it more!
November 17, 2023
Fabulous read. I am new to this genre and found S.J.Patrick to have a writing style that flows, is informative, articulate and is a talented wordsmith.
I was entertained from start to finish with his down to earth characters and intriguing storyline.
I look forward to more of his storytelling.
I was entertained from start to finish with his down to earth characters and intriguing storyline.
I look forward to more of his storytelling.
October 15, 2023
I received an advance copy from the author and was really intrigued with the storyline. A bit different to my usual reads but I enjoyed the story and related to the characters. The villain was very evil! Didn't like him much! Enjoyed it overall. Good story and an easy read!
November 26, 2023
thrilling book right through, with one of the best endings I've ever read. what a great read!
October 13, 2023
Rating: 3.5/5 fearful minds
~there was just this preternatural feeling of oppression in the air. Like it was oozing slowly into everyone's mind.~
The author kindly gifted me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
☄️What is it about:
A strange seismic anomaly in the Australian outback. Geophysicist Bill Stevens is in charge of analyzing the cause . What should have been a routine check, turns into a nightmare when a powerful being with an appetite for minds is freed. And Robbie, a guy with the gift to read minds, might become it's vessel for ultimate power - or it's downfall.
☄️What I thought about it:
This was a fun, unique Eldritch Horror Adventure for me. I especially enjoyed the POV of the Eldritch being, to learn more about it's thoughts and motivations. It's arrogance was highly amusing to me. 😂 In general, it was a highly captivating and super interesting being to read about! It's also a fairly quick, smooth read.
However , the story was a little slow for me at the beginning and we got a lot of information that felt like fillers. It picked up from page 80 so there's some patience needed. I'm also not a big fan of conversations that are just described or summed up. Very rarely we are able to read conversations in the real words of the characters. To me, that's important to get to know the characters in a more holistic way because speech says a lot! I think I could have bonded with the characters a little more that way. Nevertheless, a very fun story that I definitely enjoyed! 😊
Read it if you love:
☄️ Eldritch Horror
☄️ Multiple POVs
☄️ unique creatures
☄️ psychic ability
~there was just this preternatural feeling of oppression in the air. Like it was oozing slowly into everyone's mind.~
The author kindly gifted me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
☄️What is it about:
A strange seismic anomaly in the Australian outback. Geophysicist Bill Stevens is in charge of analyzing the cause . What should have been a routine check, turns into a nightmare when a powerful being with an appetite for minds is freed. And Robbie, a guy with the gift to read minds, might become it's vessel for ultimate power - or it's downfall.
☄️What I thought about it:
This was a fun, unique Eldritch Horror Adventure for me. I especially enjoyed the POV of the Eldritch being, to learn more about it's thoughts and motivations. It's arrogance was highly amusing to me. 😂 In general, it was a highly captivating and super interesting being to read about! It's also a fairly quick, smooth read.
However , the story was a little slow for me at the beginning and we got a lot of information that felt like fillers. It picked up from page 80 so there's some patience needed. I'm also not a big fan of conversations that are just described or summed up. Very rarely we are able to read conversations in the real words of the characters. To me, that's important to get to know the characters in a more holistic way because speech says a lot! I think I could have bonded with the characters a little more that way. Nevertheless, a very fun story that I definitely enjoyed! 😊
Read it if you love:
☄️ Eldritch Horror
☄️ Multiple POVs
☄️ unique creatures
☄️ psychic ability
October 15, 2023
The Sentience, while the second book that I have published, is actually the first book that I wrote. I had the idea bouncing around in my head for a long time and one day finally started writing, keeping it secret from everybody in my life. A few people inevitably caught on and wanted to read, and their encouragement and praise can be credited (or should I say blamed?) on my writing career taking on a life of its own.
The Sentience tells of a vastly powerful entity that has come amongst humanity in the outback of Western Australia. An unwitting character with mental abilities that even he does not understand is thrust into a conflict with this entity, with the stakes of all of humanity on his shoulders. No pressure, right?
I sincerely hope you enjoy it and would be more than happy to discuss with anybody!
The Sentience tells of a vastly powerful entity that has come amongst humanity in the outback of Western Australia. An unwitting character with mental abilities that even he does not understand is thrust into a conflict with this entity, with the stakes of all of humanity on his shoulders. No pressure, right?
I sincerely hope you enjoy it and would be more than happy to discuss with anybody!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews