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The Genesis Series #1-3

Genesis Collection

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The Genesis Collection features Part I, II and III of The Genesis Series by Steven Konkoly.

David Pilcher predicted mankind's fall. The world as everyone knew it would be gone when his people emerged to rebuild Wayward Pines--a cozy, idyllic town hidden in the Idaho mountains. Only one obstacle stands in the way. An enemy far deadlier than Pilcher ever imagined possible. A powerful, uncompromising adversary--immune to fear and devoid of mercy. Humankind's worst nightmare.

With the odds overwhelmingly stacked against the success of project GENESIS, Pilcher takes a wild chance on an unpredictable member of his team. Adam Hassler, former Delta Force officer, is woken early and ordered to explore the valley. The task sounds simple to Hassler, but there's a catch. He is unaware of the lethal menace waiting in the forest--and nobody plans to warn him.

The vicious struggle to build Wayward Pines unfolds in the definitive prequel to The Wayward Pines series.

**Includes a foreword by Blake Crouch**

233 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 12, 2014

348 people are currently reading
372 people want to read

About the author

Steven Konkoly

70 books1,230 followers
Steven graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1993, receiving a bachelor of science in English literature. He served the next eight years on active duty, traveling the world as a naval officer assigned to various Navy and Marine Corps units. His extensive journey spanned the globe, including a two-year tour of duty in Japan and travel to more than twenty countries throughout Asia and the Middle East.

From enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq as a maritime boarding officer in the Arabian Gulf, to directing aircraft bombing runs and naval gunfire strikes as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) assigned to a specialized Marine Corps unit, Steven's "in-house" experience with a wide range of regular and elite military units brings a unique authenticity to his thrillers.

He still wakes up at "zero dark thirty" to write for most of the day. When "off duty," he spends as much time as possible outdoors or travelling with his family--and dog.

Steven is the bestselling author of ten novels and several novellas, including a commissioned trilogy of novellas based on the popular Wayward Pines series. His canon of work includes the popular Black Flagged Series, a gritty, no-holds barred covert operations and espionage saga; The Perseid Collapse series, a post-apocalyptic thriller epic chronicling the events surrounding an inconceivable attack on the United States; and The Fractured State series, a near future, dystopian thriller trilogy set in the drought ravaged southwest

You can contact Steven directly by email (stevekonkoly@striblingmedia.com) or through his blog (www.stevenkonkoly.com).

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5 stars
305 (43%)
4 stars
230 (32%)
3 stars
124 (17%)
2 stars
35 (4%)
1 star
9 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Profile Image for Steve.
515 reviews19 followers
February 20, 2021
As a huge fan of the Wayward Pine series and of the Kindle Worlds editions that add so much more depth to the overall story this is a prequel of the highest order.

Genesis collection takes us right back to the beginning before The Pines is built and the struggle against the "Abbies" as Pilcher tries to construct the electrified fence around what will become his crowning glory.
The story his handled well by Konkoly using the characters that Blake so beautifully wrote many years ago.
The tension that the author creates between Pilcher and Hassler is the key to the book as the two main characters bang heads over the building of the electrified fence and we get to see just how much an ego manic that Pilcher really is.
We get loads of action that's choregraphed well as the early time travelers try to take back control of the valley from the Abbies so that Pilcher's dream of Wayward Pines can be built, Is this book needed in the series absolutely not and one does not have to read it to enjoy Blakes original trilogy but its a great ride and if you are a fan then it is a worthy prequel.

Sit back strap yourself in and enjoy this thrill ride well worth your time and hard-earned cash.
Profile Image for Paul Slater.
3 reviews
March 27, 2023
As a huge fan of the Wayward Pines trilogy and season 1 of the TV adaptation (season 2 was dreadful and nothing to do with Blake Crouch, unlike in S1), I was extremely interested in this prequel. Unfortunately, I thought the storyline was boring. There was a lot of action, but the overall story could have been written to engage the reader more. Anyone whose read Wayward Pines it’s worth reading to get a view of what happened prior to WP book one but don’t expect it to be anything as gripping as Blake Crouch’s books. I was pleased to have finished it and move onto my next book.
13 reviews1 follower
May 16, 2020
A yarn about a fence.

This book really didn't need to be written. I read it as I love Steven Konkoly's work, and I also loved Blake's Wayward Lines trilogy, but this didn't come close. Very good writing from Steven as always, I just feel Steven would have been better employed at writing about what happened afterwards, instead of this prequel. Not a bad read, it just never hit the usual heights.
Profile Image for Sarah.
348 reviews
February 11, 2019
Genesis is a Wayward Pines Prequel by Steven Konkoly. Steven builds on Blake Crouch’s original Wayward Pines series, by crafting a story which aims to answer some of the burning questions left behind by the original trilogy. Mainly, how did David Pilcher create the fenced off town of Wayward Pines in the first place, with all those abbies surrounding the Superstructure.

Genesis begins with David Pilcher and his elite crew emerging from the suspension pods, to discover that they are all that is left of humanity. With the help of Adam Hassler, Pilcher begins his massive project to recreate the town of Wayward Pines, by constructing the 12 foot electrified fence that will eventually surround and protect the idyllic little town.

Steven Konkoly does such a great job with this novel that had I not read his name on the front cover of the book, I wouldn’t have known that Genesis wasn’t actually written by Blake Crouch himself. It remains true to the original series in every way imaginable, and is a fantastic addition to the world of Wayward Pines. This book is perfect for old fans already familiar with either Blake’s series, or the TV adaptation, as well as for unfamiliar newbie’s who are looking for an introduction to the story.

There were one or two points that I noticed didn’t correlate with the original novels, but these were extremely minor issues that most others wouldn’t notice, and which aren’t overly relevant. Otherwise, this is a great book, if a little short.
9 reviews
September 23, 2020
I really liked Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy and was excited to get back into with this "prequel" of sorts (not by Blake Crouch, but written with his permission). I enjoyed the story, but felt it was too much into describing how many different types of weapons can we talk about in one book. Also, not the author's fault, but this was poorly edited, as I found a handful of grammatical errors, a few spelling errors, and a couple of instances of information that was contradicted later in the book, or information about established characters from WP that were not consistent. Overall, a fun read to get back into the Wayward Pines world.
Profile Image for Suzi.
277 reviews
February 13, 2025
Really interesting seeing this imagined world building in this prequel by a different author to the original Wayward Pines. Written well, exciting story. I would love another prequel of the lives of regular staff without all the fighting and killing, but that's me. The book itself is exactly what it says it is and worth reading if you want to know more about how the town was set up, something that I did think about a lot so am pleased to read this explanation.
1,477 reviews25 followers
November 14, 2018
Wayward Pines. Steven Konkoly

Far into the future, Earth is inhabited by humanoids, no longer human, but a evolutionary nightmare. A genius, a scheming diabolical psychopath dreams of a new world. With himself calling all the shots. He grossly underestimated ex delta force operator Hassler. Extremely fast paced thriller. Enjoyed!
Profile Image for Terje.
463 reviews12 followers
July 10, 2021
[2.5/5.0]
A never-ending listing of veapons and ammunition, tedious descriptions of man VS abby fights, Piltcher being an ass and Hassler being a hero, and strange errors and deviations from the Wayward Pines trilogy. Utterly boring and unnecessary novel. The Hassler story is sort of interesting, though.
Profile Image for PJ Lea.
1,064 reviews
November 17, 2018
Hassle.

Hassler, a fitting name for a man who can cause an untold amount of hassle for the sociopath in charge of what seems to be humanity's last hope.
I've not read the Wayward Pines series but I found this story so thrilling that it is now a must-read.
8 reviews
November 8, 2021
Dull and unimaginative

You can honestly skip this one; it adds nothing to the well written Wayward Pines trilogy. Just some wanna-be author writing about, well, nothing. Two stars for good grammar.
Profile Image for Megan M Presbrey.
49 reviews2 followers
November 23, 2022
I really wanted to love this~I didn’t get through much of it before I just quit.

I was thrilled after reading the forward by Blake Crouch, but the writing style and everything is just very different.

I’m not a fan of any of it-
Profile Image for EM3.
71 reviews
February 12, 2023
Great story

A riveting backstory to Hassler from the original trilogy. This tale covers the very beginning of the future in Wayward Pines. Well written from different perspectives, clean text free of typos.
Profile Image for Kenn Goslin.
800 reviews7 followers
December 3, 2023
Very unexpected post apocalyptic scenario!

Hassler is a known unknown quantity and coupled with an eighteen hundred year gap between going to sleep and awakening survival is his first priority!
Profile Image for Stephen Wells.
60 reviews2 followers
February 17, 2018
Fun, entertaining aperitif to Blake Crouch’s Wayward Pines series. Steven Konkoly does a bang up job of giving fans of that series a view into how the town was secured. Highly recommended read!
Profile Image for Stacy coody.
1 review1 follower
April 3, 2018
Interesting.

I've watched the series of wayward pines after reading the trilogy by crouch. I've come to find i like learning about wayward pines.
7 reviews
November 21, 2018
Terrific!

A great prelude to the Pines series letting us know how the village was built. Incredible story. Overwhelming odds to face.
14 reviews
October 16, 2020
Eds review of Genes

Was impressed a pretty authentic rendering had the feel of wayward pines. The author Dr a great job how their is more to come.
Profile Image for Don.
1,027 reviews5 followers
January 8, 2022
Not my kind of book. After getting 30% into it I wasn’t enjoying the read, so I gave er up!
Profile Image for Mark Pearce.
574 reviews4 followers
August 4, 2022
I found this a good prequel to the Blake Crouch books, but my eyes rather glazed over when the often quoted gun/armament information was gone through in great detail.
18 reviews
December 28, 2024
Gaping Logic Hole

This book reads okay, but buying the premise that humans had evolved into radically obscene monsters over 1800 years? Naw.
Profile Image for Franklin .
71 reviews7 followers
May 28, 2015
From the descriptions of this author haven't written great thrillers, I found this rather dull.

The concept is certainly interesting: how was Wayward Pines actually built. I found it technically interesting in that sense, but as for the story and characters -- especially the *characters*.

One of the things that was interesting about the original Wayward Pines trilogy was that it took a billionaire, megalomaniac sociopath to create the town.

However, then the *other* characters around him turned out to be just as crazy, if not more so.

The main character in GENESIS, while having an interesting background for the story's development, turns out to be *another* wackjob by being seriously *obsessed* with the wife of another character from the novels -- repeating telling himself how much better he would be for her. *sigh*

Give the nature of the town of Wayward Pines, it becomes increasing disappointing and depressing to find that so many of those who have vital roles in its success are *major* loony-toons.

Humanity can be so far better than *this*.

. . .


Profile Image for Nicole Finch.
6 reviews1 follower
July 15, 2016
Okay

I only gave this book three stars because I feel like it departed from suspense to military fiction. The details about guns and ammo were so specific. In my opinion, it was overkill.
I also feel that the characters were a bout of a departure from the original series. I had a hard times believing that they could go from the relationships in this series to the one in the original.
I finished the collection, so it wasn't awful. It's actually pretty good but not what I wanted it to be. I would have loved him to work with different characters.
Profile Image for Sabrina.
452 reviews10 followers
December 18, 2015
Originally released as three separate novellas, this book is amazing! The whole story works seamlessly into Blake Crouch's original series. The introduction of a lesser character and his experiences in this curiously small town are outstanding. With clever twists, and non-stop action, this is a book to read on a weekend (and not started too late at night). You'll want to read without stopping! I know I did. :)
Profile Image for John Grathwol.
191 reviews2 followers
May 18, 2015
A fantastic spin-off

This was a fantastic pre-wayward series. It really gave an in depth feel as to what they faced while trying to build the town before waking the residents from suspension. All the usual people like Pan and Pope are here. If you. Loved Pines. You will love this as well.
Profile Image for Brian Switzer.
Author 4 books9 followers
December 17, 2015
A Must Read For Wayward Pines Fans

Steven Konkoly does a first-rate job of providing some backstory to the WP series. The book offers a rich, full narrative and an action filled plot. Does a great job of showing what a sociopath Pilcher is. It gave the Pines reader a full understanding of what it took to get the town built.
Profile Image for Stacy Greenberg.
2 reviews
May 25, 2015
Great read. Hassled is a better character than Ethan.

Read this is a few days and plan on following this prequel. Cheap and easy to read. Recommend it to anyone who likes apocalyptic books.
10 reviews
June 12, 2016
Great prequel

Fan of the Blake Crouch Wayward Pines series and came across this author. Figured I would give it a read and was not disappointed. This book had me wanting more of Wayward Pines. I am hooked now and can't seem to get enough.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews

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