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The Future Next Door #3
Mark Park and the Flume of Destiny
Mark Park is model-handsome and strong as an ox, but thinking has never been his strong suit. When everyday machinery turns murderous, Mark will have to strain his brain to keep his friends and family safe. An amusement park holds a deadly secret and his roommates are in for the rides of their lives, but Mark will have to venture alone into a whole new world, a world where all his strength is useless and only his underused intellect can save the day. Can Mark solve the mystery of the flume before the people he loves are lost to him forever?
- GenresScience FictionMystery
376 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2014
3 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Brian Olsen
18 books43 followersI’m a writer living in New York City. I primarily write science fiction with a sense of humor, though I veer into fantasy and the paranormal from time to time. I believe strongly that fiction shapes reality through its influences on and engagement with readers, and as such I’m a proponent of diverse representation – all of my works feature a broad array of queer and POC lead characters.
I’m the author of The Future Next Door, a contemporary urban science fiction comedic thriller series in four parts, Multiverse Mashup, an ongoing genre-bending adventure series, and Yesterday's Magic, a young adult contemporary fantasy series. I’ve also written a couple of shorts and a number of plays, sketches and monologues for the stage.
I’ve been a theater person for most of my life, as a playwright, actor, director and producer. I got my MFA from the Actors Studio, so if you need someone to cry on cue, hit me up.
I’m the author of The Future Next Door, a contemporary urban science fiction comedic thriller series in four parts, Multiverse Mashup, an ongoing genre-bending adventure series, and Yesterday's Magic, a young adult contemporary fantasy series. I’ve also written a couple of shorts and a number of plays, sketches and monologues for the stage.
I’ve been a theater person for most of my life, as a playwright, actor, director and producer. I got my MFA from the Actors Studio, so if you need someone to cry on cue, hit me up.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 14, 2019
actual rating: 3.5
Definitely still a fun read but didn't feel quite as good as the previous two books. Not sure if it's just my mood or the book itself but it felt both a bit repetitive and also like it was getting too complicated with all the different characters and subplots rolling around. I did like getting to meet Mark's family and the amusement park thing was fun, although it's a bit ridiculous the way AmSyn keeps coming back at this point. I still love all the roommates and I think the series has a really good mix of light fun and tackling more serious issues, but I think the sequel books could probably be a bit shorter as they seem to drag a bit more than the first one. Still planning on finishing out the series with the last book though.
Definitely still a fun read but didn't feel quite as good as the previous two books. Not sure if it's just my mood or the book itself but it felt both a bit repetitive and also like it was getting too complicated with all the different characters and subplots rolling around. I did like getting to meet Mark's family and the amusement park thing was fun, although it's a bit ridiculous the way AmSyn keeps coming back at this point. I still love all the roommates and I think the series has a really good mix of light fun and tackling more serious issues, but I think the sequel books could probably be a bit shorter as they seem to drag a bit more than the first one. Still planning on finishing out the series with the last book though.
August 13, 2019
A worthy success to the other books in The Future Next Door series (Alan Lennox and the Temp Job of Doom, Dakota Bell & the Wastes of Time). Witty and well written, good dialog, and compelling characters.
It is hard to discuss the plot of this book without giving it all away, but basically strange things start happening to Mark Park and his friends, things which remind them of stuff which happened in the past when AmSyn was trying to kill them. But AmSyn has been eradicated (hasn't it?) so it can't be that....so what is it? And Mark Park is a hot guy who has no problems getting a girl, but is tired of a string of one night stands and years for something more. He meets someone who could help him find that, but then his family arrive for a visit, and they are staying in the vacant apartment downstairs. What could possibly go wrong?
Having read the previous two, picking up this one is like getting back together with old friends and listening to their stories.
It is hard to discuss the plot of this book without giving it all away, but basically strange things start happening to Mark Park and his friends, things which remind them of stuff which happened in the past when AmSyn was trying to kill them. But AmSyn has been eradicated (hasn't it?) so it can't be that....so what is it? And Mark Park is a hot guy who has no problems getting a girl, but is tired of a string of one night stands and years for something more. He meets someone who could help him find that, but then his family arrive for a visit, and they are staying in the vacant apartment downstairs. What could possibly go wrong?
Having read the previous two, picking up this one is like getting back together with old friends and listening to their stories.
November 15, 2017
Loving this sci-fi series about sentient companies that enslave people and try to take over the world. Our four intrepid heroes, two gay and two straight, must battle an evil amusement park, two sinister companies, and many body snatchers!
July 25, 2016
I think most of you guys already know about my childhood years spent traveling with a carnival, so when I figured out that an amusement park is one of the star attractions of the book, I couldn't wait to dig in. I had already read the two previous books, and I fell in love with the roommates and this weird mix of science fiction, urban fantasy, and horror. The fact that the author has a twisted sense of humor that is evident on every single page, and I knew I would love this one just as much as I did the first two. I was right.
Mark is one of those guys that can get any woman he wants, and he has, but it's not enough for him anymore. The events over the last two books has Mark thinking towards the future, and he's tired of sleeping with random women, and not remembering their names the next day. He's not sure what he wants out of a relationship, or even out of life, but he knows that what he's been doing, isn't working anymore. It's with this confused outlook on life that Mark is forced to deal with yet another extensional threat to the human race.
This time around he, the rest of the roommates, and their friends, are facing another incarnation of the artificial intelligence born out of Amalgamated Synergy, except this time around "she" has a younger brother. That's right, another company has spawned it's own mind controlling entity, and this time around he like makes machines do whatever he wants them to do. Add in the mad scientist from the previous book who is intent on building doppelganger clones of the first mind controlling monster and a dead actress, and the roommates are in trouble. They have to face a brain erasing carnival ride, a visit from Mark's multi-cultural family, explosions, a body count larger than the two previous books put together, out of control construction equipment, betrayals out the wazoo, and the lead human bad guy, that I'm still in love with, but just can't seem to get his act together. I really do understand where he is coming from, and I feel so bad for the pain he goes through in this book, but what he's doing is wrong. He's fighting fire with fire, and the fire he's using, can't be controlled.
But it's Mark that's the star of this show, and boy does he pull it off. He tests himself in ways that I'm not sure he thought he would be able to pass. I'm actually pretty sure he was expecting to fail this one. He saves everyone else, and is ready to get lost in the shuffle, but he shows a strength of will that surprises everyone, himself included. He comes out stronger for it, and he quickly became my favorite of the four roommates.
Mark is one of those guys that can get any woman he wants, and he has, but it's not enough for him anymore. The events over the last two books has Mark thinking towards the future, and he's tired of sleeping with random women, and not remembering their names the next day. He's not sure what he wants out of a relationship, or even out of life, but he knows that what he's been doing, isn't working anymore. It's with this confused outlook on life that Mark is forced to deal with yet another extensional threat to the human race.
This time around he, the rest of the roommates, and their friends, are facing another incarnation of the artificial intelligence born out of Amalgamated Synergy, except this time around "she" has a younger brother. That's right, another company has spawned it's own mind controlling entity, and this time around he like makes machines do whatever he wants them to do. Add in the mad scientist from the previous book who is intent on building doppelganger clones of the first mind controlling monster and a dead actress, and the roommates are in trouble. They have to face a brain erasing carnival ride, a visit from Mark's multi-cultural family, explosions, a body count larger than the two previous books put together, out of control construction equipment, betrayals out the wazoo, and the lead human bad guy, that I'm still in love with, but just can't seem to get his act together. I really do understand where he is coming from, and I feel so bad for the pain he goes through in this book, but what he's doing is wrong. He's fighting fire with fire, and the fire he's using, can't be controlled.
But it's Mark that's the star of this show, and boy does he pull it off. He tests himself in ways that I'm not sure he thought he would be able to pass. I'm actually pretty sure he was expecting to fail this one. He saves everyone else, and is ready to get lost in the shuffle, but he shows a strength of will that surprises everyone, himself included. He comes out stronger for it, and he quickly became my favorite of the four roommates.
February 18, 2016
What a quirky series. It's not too heavy and set with real characters who aren't perfect.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews