The BulletProof Ghost: Prototypes

by Jake D.H.

Kyle Richard is constantly picked on by a group of bullies. One day, they took it too far and killed the young boy. Kyle awakens as a cybernetic killing machine created by a mysterious man only known as William. Kyle makes new alliances and reforges connections with old friends as the action packed climax comes to a fever pitch. Will Kyle obey his creator's will or forge his own destiny?

157 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 9, 2014

About the author

Jake dh is the author of The BulletProof Ghost novel series as well as several short horror stories. His new horror anthology, Nightmare People and Other Short Horrors is out now!

Jake lives with his wife Sarah, son Xander and daughter Chloe in Evansville, IN. He enjoys gaming, genre movies, anime and comics.

Reviews

[C McNulty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle was a really fascinating main character. He starts out as a 13-year-old human teenager who is repeatedly bullied, and then killed. Definitely an interesting start to what will undoubtedly be an intriguing series. Three years have passed, and he is now a robot that is created to do the bidding of William, his creator. In exchange, William promises Kyle revenge on the boys that murdered him. Unfortunately, even though Kyle is now a robot, he still has some human tendencies. He doesn’t believe he can go through with his murderous plan. During his training, he comes across another human turned robot named 004. Kyle is ordered to destroy Four but instead befriends him. This book was sort of a Robo-Cop, Short Circuit, Star Wars mash-up with a YA twist (with the language maybe not so YA). I loved seeing the world through Kyle’s human eyes and watching the computer program within him battle with who he is. The plot isn't really original, but the action along with the exciting twists and turns definitely sets it apart from other books in the same genre. The book had such great detailed descriptions, making the few typos and editing errors easy to overlook. Although at times I felt the story was a bit forced - especially Kyle's thinking and dialogue. But other than those few instances, it was fast paced, and I found myself rooting for Kyle all the way.

[Mel Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bulletproof Ghost is a captivating story that instantly reveals to the reader the devastating consequences of bullying, tying real life issues into a well-spun science fiction story where the protagonist finds himself indebted to an unknown saviour with ulterior motives.
Kyle, despite having been upgraded into a "killing machine", struggles internally with deciding whether to embrace his new abilities and use them for power or to draw away and focus on helping others. As Kyle makes his decisions throughout the story, we see a mix of support and backlash from those around him, as well as his own turmoil from the decisions he makes.
It's very interesting because despite the fact that Kyle has aged and been enhanced, he still carries his own perspective as a traumatised child, overpowered by emotion and carrying burdens, some of which are not his fault. Four and Irene do their best to help Kyle throughout, each of them carrying their own burdens and using their experiences to support and understand each other.
Although I personally felt the story could have been more descriptive to help with scene and character imagery, it was very well written with the intention of it being seen as an action movie or comic series. I look forward to the books to follow.