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The Genesis Signal: Science Fiction Thriller

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2077. In the greatest feat of strength in history, 900 chosen people are put into cryogenic sleep in orbit to provide Earth with a plan B in the event of a global catastrophe. One of them is engineer Adrian Morris.

When he awakens from cryostasis, he is horrified to discover that parts of the Genesis space station have been destroyed. Almost 2000 years have passed and the planet he once called home seems to have been completely devastated. Adrian and the other survivors decide to return to Earth to search for answers among the ruins. But when they get there, they receive a mysterious signal that does not originate in the solar system …

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2024

1035 people are currently reading
84 people want to read

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Dominik A. Meier

57 books14 followers

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5 stars
224 (34%)
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200 (30%)
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148 (22%)
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46 (7%)
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29 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
1,055 reviews13 followers
January 11, 2025
Someone please recommend this book to Elon Musk for a good laugh!

The plot seems very nonsensical to me.

DNF at 64%

If humanity had extremely vague fears its extinction, why did it not send arcs to nearby star systems instead of to preserve its future? The idea to cryogenicial freeze and store just 900 people on a space station orbiting Earth just in case and then to forget about them for thousand years to be awoken only if or when having received the information that humanity was extinct is obscenely moronic.

It is even more contrived that station is supposed to have survived the entire time undisturbed, especially close before and after the apocalypse. Moreover, why did nobody improve or modernise the equipment of the station in more than a thousand years? The station was such a trash that it was a 50-50 chance if it survived docking to the space elevator that had been built for it..

What was their return this way supposed to achieve? Why didn't they even have enough supplies for some extra weeks?

Their plan to resettle a radiated hell hole devoid of resources is utterly moronic!

The protagonist most times acted like an android, rather emotionless and entirely focused on his mission. In other times he was troubled.

In general the characters tended to ponder about moral dilemmas at the most importune moments to show that the author is on "the right side of history". Therefore, gender, anti populism and anti capitalism statements were forced into the story..

In general, the author does everything to dramatise the story, mostly by having the actors act impatient and moronic or having them come to wild conclusions.

In the end, i gave up on the book when the author's nihilistic world view became too much
for me and i realised that the plot led nowhere.

Criticism and comments

The use of nuclear weapons causing extra long radiation is absolutely idiotic in any scenario as it makes the war utterly pointless as there is nothing to win from it..

I found it hilarious that they worry about the radiation during a short reconnaissance mission toan only secondarily affected territory but with the same breath plan to build a permanent colony #rofl#.

The author obviosly doesn't understand how the thermohaline circulation of oceans works. If there is a major difference of temperature of the poles and the equator it has to exist!

A space elevator is supposed to have survived 1000 years and a nuclear holocaust intact? And the imbeciles built it on a dormant volcano directly bordering three Tectonic plates! of all places? That seems absolutely preposterous.. I also highly doubt that their non metal equipment would have survived the time. They should have been printed fresh when needed..

If the team has been trained from a very young age why did not establish optimised, well coordinated teams? Why were they not psychologically and ideologically prepared for the possibility of depopulation the Earth? Why are there no sperm and egg banks with suitable incubators? Religious hesitations?

The excursion to Svjalbard seemed horribly mis-timed as it served no current purpose.

#Rofl# the space station needed a working space elevator for people to reach Earth- otherwise they would have starved to death in space.. Not to mention that their protocol to only put on environmental suits after having landed successfully is that idiotic that only Hollywood film makers would be dumb enough to do that..

Did the space station have no properly working scanners? Why didn't it neither have satellites or drones? The determination of radiation and temperatures and the general situation in the landing area BEFORE sending ill equipped people there would've been critical. The lack of measurements about the magnetic field and tests for air borne pathogens is sheer criminal as well.

One would assume that these people would have the best equipment for every foreseeable scenario to achieve their critical mission. Sadly, theirs reminded me more of pre 1970s Russian equipment.

The protagonist's glorious choice to open his helmet in an untested environment in extremely cold environment reminded me of idiotic Hollywood Scify movies again..

The plot to neutralise Toussaint seemed extremely convoluted, sabotaging her module like the others would have been easier and foolproof!

Why would T. Need his cides if she had superior access herself?

Regarding the rusted robotic arm - only fools would leave the station pressurised with air over such a long time.. But it fits to the other idiocies..

Why could the crappie space station not contact the satellites in orbit?

Their terraforming efforts of an entire planet would need much more time given the low amount of personal. What was vehemently ignored at that point was the rampant radiation that would have to overcome first. Furthermore, the process seems to be out of order. Without stabilised weather and nitrogen in the ground and cleaning potential pollutions and pathogens planting seems pointless..

I had to shake my head several times when i read about their idiotic repopulate the Earth plan. Firstly, the jokers have cloning tech but don't use it for alternative procreation, secondly they worried about limited food supplies and radiation already and their ability to reliably grow excess food in the next decades seems doubtful. I also couldn't follow their sentiment of unfairness of having and raising children reproachably preventing them from doing jobs with a high lethality rate as men.. The fact that they were even taught such notions which might endanger the mission whilest being prepared for their quest in isolation once again shows the gross incompetence of their mentors.

It was hilarious how amateurish they did their Greenland expedition. Anyone with half a brain would use sonar and radar before landing. The same goes for scanning for radiation. Their surprise to find ice on Greenland was laughable as it was states that big parts of the northern and southern hemisphere were covered by ice... Moreover i had troubles with the existence of an secret listening post as the necessary antennas would be a dead give away.. once again i missed drones or robots for reconnaissance as it is standard in our time..

I couldn't follow the logic behind the irradiation of the personal.

The conclusion from the signal loop seemed unfounded and arbitrary.

The reaction to the incident was bizarre as it was either caused by a massive malfunction or sabotage, both of which endanger their holy mission.

The statement about the remaining living age of our sun was wrong, the one about the universe was a hypothesis..

Regarding the Kanpur mission. This seems to be a very bad location for a major radio telescope as there are no high mountains nearby. Once again they didn't use their sensors properly to locate the entry point and best landing point.To prevent a hostile take over of the aircraft it also should have started again. I found it bewildering that they would take a woman to a suicide mission if they insist on traditional reproduction.

Their accidental discovery of a potent world threatening phenomenon in the area showed again how amateurish their protocols were. Before resettling the planet they should have scouted it properly. Once again their clownish and utterly reckless behavior reminded me of idiotic western Scify movies..

About the climate crisis that led to the final war.The plot tries to make the reader believe that terraforming equipment that is 1000 years older than the crisis is supposed to be superior to anything the imbeciles on Earth could come up with? Even if that was the case people from Earth would have used it!!

The exodus: the protagonist's thought process was bizarre - he acted like a drama queen. Given the fact that the remaining crew could and should go into cryo sleep, his mission has the potential to save both them and their mission in the future..

Ross 128b: the fact that there is a space station orbiting the planet seems to contradict magnetic storms, the same goes for the scientific data regarding the sun.. The fact that nobody contacted them did not mean that no contact is possible. Once again the premature decision to land without ANY easily achievable intelligence was utterly reckless, just again gross incompetence for drama reasons.. instead there was more abstract gender drama.. #argh#

Rossur: i found it hilarious how wrong most of the protagonist's deductions and conclusions were. Their "rescue" was as moronic as the original plot. More population would not help to improve the situation. Better living standards would most likely lead to to social reforms. Capitalism is not the unique evil form of society that demands work to survive.

Lyra: i had to agree with her. This is a time for actions to improve the lives of everyone and not for hollow revolutionary declarations!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Tom Steele.
97 reviews8 followers
July 7, 2024
Depressing and confusing

I spent a lot of time unsure of my surrounding. Things weren’t described well and I rarely had a solid mental picture of the environment. There was far too much unrealistic science in the book as well, whether it was sociology, genetics, or physics, I questioned a great deal of the book.

The radiation wasn’t terrible, but many things just didn’t add up.

It was very difficult to set aside rationality and believe that terraforming of a planet could be done in 400 years, much less 40 years!

The casual way in which a planet with 1.3 or 1.5 (I forget) times earths gravity wouldn’t be very difficult for earth life to survive on without huge changes was hard to buy as well.

Mostly, I just walked away from the book not seeing how there was ANY hope. Nothing about the end left me to believe that any of what they were going to do was even remotely likely to be successful.

The characters were not particularly likable either. Their relationships felt wooden as well.

I’d rather read more positive stories. If I am going to suspend my belief in rationality and pretend that lots of things that seem impossible or unlikely are possible, then I at least want to feel good about it.

Nothing in the Genesis Signal made me feel good about humanity, individuals in the story or a hopeful ending. I just felt bad.

I cannot recommend this book. There isn’t enough going for it. If you like dystopian stories that end with no hope for a better future then this might be your cup of tea, but it was not for me.
63 reviews1 follower
July 3, 2024
Adrian had trained from childhood for one job... to save humanity. And it didn't matter where that job took him. He was going to do it! He knew that when he was awakened, it was time to go to work. Humanity had ravaged Earth. But a private group had created a Plan B... 900 humans kept in cryostasis until they were needed... until there was no other option. Or was there?

The Genesis Signal is a great hard sci-fi adventure with a strong core of primary characters and non-stop action, intrigue, and suspense. I gave this book four stars as it kept me entertained until the very end. I'd love to see a sequel.
8 reviews
October 2, 2024
AI job

Reads like it was either written by an AI or at best a formula driven flack

Weak plot, constant Deus ex Machina effects, far fetched wooden stereotypes and definitely not up to BQM’s normal standards

I’ll Not be continuing in this vein, preferring the original BQM style rather than this insipid knock off
Stuff
263 reviews1 follower
April 22, 2025
Confusing jumble

This is a story about post apocalyptic survival. A team is prepared and put into cryostasis for the purpose of being the survival of the human race after an apocalypse. Numerous contingency plans are considered with various preparations for possible difficulties. An apocalyptic event occurs, and the team starts it's process of awakening and preparing for survival. Unexpected problems arise immediately. As each problem arises, the team tries to make lemonade out of the lemons it's handed, but things just get worse. There's an ending that doesn't make sense since it seems a successful resolution has occurred, but we end with the remainder of the team heading out to try to succeed at survival in light of a failure. Besides this ending that seems to indicate that the author forgot the facts of the story, there are numerous places in the story where he's forgotten how to spell the name of his characters, or forgotten their gender.
Profile Image for M.J. Edington.
Author 3 books4 followers
December 21, 2024
Good Novel... almost.

This story was compelling and followed a group of well-defined characters in their struggle to save humanity from extinction.
It is a terrific scifi yarn that suffered due to numerous errors throughout. Such errors interrupt the flow and disconnect the reader from the storyline.
A great novel in need of the Editor Signal.
Profile Image for Nino.
29 reviews
September 12, 2023
Unerwartet spannend. Obwohl das Szenario über 1000 Jahre in der Zukunft stattfindet, fühlt es sich erschreckend nah an.
Profile Image for Mary Carolyn .
117 reviews1 follower
June 1, 2024
I used to be more free with five star reviews. But then occasionally I would run into a book that was so outstanding that I wanted to give it more than five. So I started saving five star reviews for books that really just wowed me, those rare books that stick with one for years. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book I would give five stars to, and this one more than earns them. Humanity’s last desperate attempt to save itself results in a small number of people striking out to create a nearly hopeless, but critical future. I won’t tell more than that because you deserve the joy of discovery when you read this book. I love the characters - likable and good people who have integrity and treat each other well, and do the right thing. The science is solid and the scenario is both heartbreaking and exhilarating. I highly recommend this book, especially if you have been looking for decent Science Fiction in these modern times. Not easy to find, but you will love this one. Outstanding!
Profile Image for G.
7 reviews
September 14, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. I think it is a solid sci-fi read. It's pretty fast paced. So much was happening in the first 100 pages, I felt really pulled into the story.
Is it a perfect story? No, but it's really entertaining and full of drama. There were a couple editing mistakes that jumped out at my non-editor eyes, but it didn't bother me. I thought the MMC, Adrian Morris, was a bit too much of a "male saviour", and rolled my eyes a few times. He's an engineer, often stating in the narrative he's not a physicist/biologist, etc, but often makes assumptions and performs tasks in those fields that end up being correct/successful.
Overall, a solid book.
Profile Image for Ralph.
251 reviews1 follower
January 2, 2025
The fact that Adrian woke up, meant that the world had come to an end. He and the rest of the Genesis crew were the last chance for humanity to survive after the Earth's destruction. Their job is to preserve the human race at all costs. That's what they had been trained for since birth.

The situation is an interesting one, fraught with emotional and ethical conflicts. The story moves along at a good pace. There were some editing errors that were slightly annoying but otherwise, this was a good story. The ending leaves room for a possible sequel.
13 reviews
July 6, 2025
The word: disappointing is perhaps overused in literary reviews. But in this case there is no escaping it. The book is well written and pacy, but at the 3/4 point the authors simply ran out of ideas how to either pad more disasters or construct a satisfying ending. And when in doubt - fall back on the old malevolent AI who wants to kill-em-all for no good reason while saving the day. Utter pish.
4 reviews
September 29, 2025
Wanted to like this a lot, but was so disappointing. The author has character dialog all over the road. People get mad and start yelling at the drop of a hat, it’s bizarre and distracting. Made no sense.

Tons of great plot ideas are also never followed up on or resolved. Also, way too many editorial errors and typos. Once the author even calls his own character a he instead of a she. Bizarre. C-
Profile Image for Theresa.
48 reviews1 follower
August 9, 2024
The beginning was promising. It's an interesting idea, keeping people on ice in space stations but Adrian, the key character, is a little boring, despite living through a number of end-of-world scenarios. The science was intriguing but very undeveloped, with cryostasis, near the speed of light travel and terraforming engines as available as flat pack from IKEA.
97 reviews1 follower
March 1, 2025
While I’m not as negative as some, I have similar complaints. It’s a bit formulaic and leaves some threads hanging. So why wasn’t Plan B Mars or the Moon? It seems odd that humans would plan for the apocalypse, but who knows?
Over all the writing style and character development was fairly weak, but the idea was interesting and I did finish the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Marlene.
8 reviews1 follower
April 8, 2025
I really enjoyed this book...possibly because I never knew where it was heading next! With the thread of strong characters carrying the story well, there was room for an expansive trip of the imagination. No guns, no aliens, no fights....just a powerful story about humanity and what it means to be human.
Profile Image for Owen Elgie.
Author 7 books23 followers
May 6, 2025
Big questions about us all.

Humanity is always at risk in one way or another but examining how we'd still cling to life, even after destruction of life on Earth, lets us see it all too clearly.
I loved this book for the message of hope, of the potential nobility of humans, but also for the warning of the horrors we're capable of.
Well worth a read.
347 reviews1 follower
June 4, 2025
Great book

This book was amazing. Even though it is fiction it could very well be within our grasp. Adrian, the main character, was a great symbol for each man wanting to be like him. He had a great supporting cast of characters. This book is something to dream about. I recommend reading this to all that love science fiction.
362 reviews4 followers
July 3, 2025
Excellent

But it's a scanner... And even with scanning at times it was tedious and boring... So I'll leave it at that... Don't know if any of the other books by this author/authors/publisher are any more readable/less for scanning... I'll leave that decision up to whoever wants to find out.
99 reviews
August 29, 2024
Not my kind of book.

For me there was way way too much detail in this story. I would have like it much better if had twenty percent less detail. I don’t plan on reading any more books by this author.
Profile Image for Alex Lennon.
25 reviews
October 14, 2024
Great book strange ending

So I enjoyed this greatly. There were a couple of oddities but the main thing is I really can’t follow the ending at all. No spoilers but it’s just not making sense to me
14 reviews
December 1, 2024
All your fears of humanity in one book

It’s a good read with a desperation within an environment in which humanity cannot survive. The antagonist is the stupidity and arrogance of humanity itself.
1 review
June 15, 2025
Inaccurate science

The characters are saying it looks like cities were devastated by neutron bombs. So they're concerned about long-lasting radiation. I quit reading it at that point. Neutron bombs were specifically developed NOT to create long lasting radiation.
194 reviews1 follower
October 6, 2024
Long and slow

This reads like a 500+ page text book. I hope that this is the last of this storyline, long and slow.
Profile Image for Allen.
44 reviews
October 22, 2024
I really had a hard time getting into this book. It seemed to kind of jump all over the place and it didn't seem to be edited well. I really wanted to like this story but never could.
Profile Image for Old Bob.
151 reviews
January 25, 2025
Too woke for me and the lead character is simply too angry. Feels like it was written by Greta Thunberg so prepare to be lectured .
43 reviews
February 3, 2025
Ok good plot

Good plot interesting story but I didn't like the characters I didn't warm to them which made the only average.
338 reviews3 followers
July 7, 2024
Earth is doomed. Humanity is saved...or is it?

A space station is crewed by many different people that are all in cryostasis. They are supposed to be a reboot for mankind once mankind has destroyed itself and possibly the Earth too. Adrian is awakened to find that 6 of the 30 modules have been jettisoned! Adrian travels down to Earth to try and discover what happened to mankind and the Earth and find out why the signal to wake them up and fulfill their destiny was sent. However, things turn out to be worse than was originally planned for and also the origin of the signal was not from where they expected....!
An entertaining novel exploring the self destructive nature of mankind as well as their penchant for scientific exploration. There is suspense, intrigue, unexpected threats, a mastermind who may have lost her humanity in trying to save mankind, sacrifices, terraforming and even romance that combine to make a fascinating tale.
7 reviews
February 16, 2023
Mag sehr wie das Buch geschrieben ist. Es wurde realistisch begutachtet was bei so einem Szenario passieren würde und es wurden auch alle Szenarien ausgeschrieben - obwohl dann im Endeffekt nur eins verwendet wurde. Aber das "Was wäre wenn" das oft erläutert wird hat einen immensen Reiz.
Profile Image for Alex Fürstenau.
191 reviews14 followers
November 4, 2023
Insgesamt ganz spannend. Es fühlte sich allerdings wie zwei Bücher an. Nach etwa der Hälfte war der Klimax eigentlich erreicht und dann begann sozusagen der zweite Teil.
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