Book 4 in the Origins series “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” These words were spoken by the Manhattan Project’s scientific director after the first atomic detonation, but in truth they applied to any number of men during the rise and fall of the Third Reich. The question is, do they also describe the actions of Hastelloy and his crew in the past or present? NSA agent Mark Holmes must determine the answer amid the Alpha’s rampaging Terracotta Army in China, a rogue NSA Executive Committee member about to provoke World War III in Egypt, and First Contact from outer space. The only one who can help him is a man he cannot trust. How can he trust a being who engineered the First World War? How can he trust someone who facilitated the rise of Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler? Can he trust that it was all done in order to defeat an even greater threat? Hastelloy will do his best to plead his case, but will it be enough? Old enemies become friends while old allies turn enemy in this gripping thriller that challenges everything you thought you knew about the formative years of the twentieth century. Once again, the Origins of all will be revealed.
Mark Henrikson grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis Missouri and attended the University of Missouri, Columbia where he earned a bachelors degree in Finance and Economics in 1998. He later earned his Masters of Business Administration from Lindenwood University.
Mark's love of story telling began at a young age while listening to imaginative, and often times scary, bedtime stories by his father. His respect for the written word was reinforced by the attentive eye of his mother who taught English for many years at St. Charles High School.
Mark has been happily married since 2000 and is the proud father of two children. He works as a financial analyst and uses his fiction writing as a creative outlet from the rather sterile profession he none the less enjoys.
His Origins novel series began as a two page plot write-up his older brother decided was not going anywhere. With his permission, Mark used that synopsis as back story for the main character in the Origins series and allowed his creativity to take over from there.
Hastelloy finds out that the whole of the Alpha are not destroyed at Mars and they need to advance the technological prowess of the earth to stop their threat. But to do that he has to orchestrate the bloodiest years of earth to ensure the fast advancement. Meanwhile in the present, Mark has to decide whether to trust Hastelloy or not while the Alpha are released from Chinese tombs resulting the the clay warriors taking over a military base in China with ease. Also how will Mark's over ambitious and paranoid boss handle the situation in Egypt. This is one of the rare series where each of the books in the series have kept up with the high quality bar. Each of the books are really enjoyable and have been very well written. Can't wait to finish the last one.
Hastelloy and friends walk us thru the creation of the power nations of the world. New agencies are created to control alien sightings and Mark’s behavior is better explained. Tomal gets his comeuppance. Now we await the arrival of the Novi!
I loved The fact that an alien was seeing a psychiatrist And the psychiatrist had no idea. I really liked Watching the good doctor realize that everything the alien told him was true and that he had been talking to an alien
The Origins series continues in this fourth installment. This time, our weary aliens navigate the Earth through World War I, the rise of Hitler and Stalin leading to WWII. They help Roosevelt through the Manhattan project culminating with the atomic explosions in Japan. They work to gather the German scientists who worked on their atomic program. We follow the rise of communism, the growth of the Cold War, and end with Kennedy's famous speech about going to the Moon.
Along the way, the characters continue to develop, some good, some evil. Ultimately though, good wins. At least that is what we think. The Novi's plan to get back home through accelerating scientific achievement have led to destruction and distrust. Their attempts to balance power led to the Cold War. One of their own planned and executed Hitler's plan for "the final solution." Nuclear war comes all too close to breaking out as the U.S. launches missiles to take out the Novi's secret locations in the Great Pyramid and the Sphynx. And, the U.S. uses stealth bombers to destroy the Alpha's base on The Earth - the tomb of the first Emperor of China.
We learn that the Novi's attempt to signal their home world has succeeded. But almost 5,000 years have passed so no one is sure how the Novi have evolved over those years. I'm looking forward to the exciting conclusion in book #5.
This installment, has been my least favorite with a four star review. But, I have to admit, I am not very excitable with Nazi history. There was of course, far much more in this book then Nazi history. It falls in line with the rest of the books, and is an awesome read. My four-star evaluation, as opposed to five star on each other, is because this book is a little slipshod with its time line being clear. I must say, As much as I am excited to read the fifth and final installation of the series, I am also saddened. I'm trying to remember if there is any other series that I have read from book one to book ends. But I cannot think of any other. This was very enjoyable!
This was okay. Not amazing, not terrible, just okay. I still compare this series to Twilight: poor writing offset by a good enough plot to keep me reading despite the poor writing. There is a fifth book in this series. I won't be reading it.
Another great read in the Origins series! Mark Henrikson is one talented author and I cannot wait until he finishes the next/last book in this series although I will most certainly miss my adventures with Hastelloy and the boys!!
this book moves faster then the third book of the series. Lots of action in this one. This one also has alot more historical inaccuracies then I noticed in the previous books or it could be that I know modern history better then I know early history. Pretty predictable, it still is fun to read.
After months of putting the series down, I picked it back up. I was not let down with this book, decently written, decently edited (some funny incorrect words), decently entertaining.
Mark Henrikson is one talented author and I really enjoyed the first book in this series. This was was ok. It tends to get draggy. I am looking forward to the next one.