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Obedience Protocol: Sci-Fi Mystery Thriller
Julian Voss can't remember the first seven years of his life.
Twenty years after federal agents rescued him from Sand Mesa—a desert cult where obedience was holy—Julian has built a careful existence as a journalist. But when an A.I. buried in a government black site begins speaking to him in riddles, the wall he's built around his missing memories starts to crack.
As America slides toward algorithmic authoritarianism and dissenters begin vanishing, Julian discovers his forgotten childhood might hold the key to everything. The cult wasn't just indoctrinating children. They were building something. Programming something. And whatever they put inside Julian's mind has been waiting two decades to activate.
Now, with the A.I. as his only guide through a maze of suppressed memories, Julian must uncover what happened at Sand Mesa before the past he can't remember destroys the future he's trying to save.
In the tradition of Blake Crouch’s Recursion and Naomi Alderman’s The Power, Obedience Protocol is a pulse-pounding techno-thriller that explores memory, manipulation, and the algorithms that decide who we become.
Twenty years after federal agents rescued him from Sand Mesa—a desert cult where obedience was holy—Julian has built a careful existence as a journalist. But when an A.I. buried in a government black site begins speaking to him in riddles, the wall he's built around his missing memories starts to crack.
As America slides toward algorithmic authoritarianism and dissenters begin vanishing, Julian discovers his forgotten childhood might hold the key to everything. The cult wasn't just indoctrinating children. They were building something. Programming something. And whatever they put inside Julian's mind has been waiting two decades to activate.
Now, with the A.I. as his only guide through a maze of suppressed memories, Julian must uncover what happened at Sand Mesa before the past he can't remember destroys the future he's trying to save.
In the tradition of Blake Crouch’s Recursion and Naomi Alderman’s The Power, Obedience Protocol is a pulse-pounding techno-thriller that explores memory, manipulation, and the algorithms that decide who we become.
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 9, 2025
48 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 8, 2025
Modern 1984.
Obedience Protocol was my first read from Xander Gray. I'd describe it as authentic, mature, philosophical, descriptive, and realistic. There is much common ground with the book 1984 by George Orwell, which was written in the year 1948.
Obedience Protocol reflects many elements of modern times (2026). As examples: Considering divisive politics, the role of journalism, what constitutes the narrative of "truth" versus propaganda, technology as agency, religious nationality, spin and branding, and the needs of the individual versus the whole of society. ...Megalomania, narcissism, self-aggrandizing behaviors, and self-preserving behaviors in government are all present as well. Provocative and enjoyable.
Obedience Protocol was my first read from Xander Gray. I'd describe it as authentic, mature, philosophical, descriptive, and realistic. There is much common ground with the book 1984 by George Orwell, which was written in the year 1948.
Obedience Protocol reflects many elements of modern times (2026). As examples: Considering divisive politics, the role of journalism, what constitutes the narrative of "truth" versus propaganda, technology as agency, religious nationality, spin and branding, and the needs of the individual versus the whole of society. ...Megalomania, narcissism, self-aggrandizing behaviors, and self-preserving behaviors in government are all present as well. Provocative and enjoyable.
December 15, 2025
Smart and unsettling
Obedience Protocol blend psychological suspension with razor sharp techno thriller tension, exploring memory, control, and identity in a chillingly plausible future. The slow reveal is gripping, the ideas linger long after, and Julian’s journey feels both personal and relevant.
Obedience Protocol blend psychological suspension with razor sharp techno thriller tension, exploring memory, control, and identity in a chillingly plausible future. The slow reveal is gripping, the ideas linger long after, and Julian’s journey feels both personal and relevant.
January 1, 2026
It is happening today, January 1, 2026
This is scary. Today is January 1, 2026, and if you look at our president and what he is doing, the politicians who are supporting him and his radical followers, you are reading a true story of our present times, not a story of fiction.
This is scary. Today is January 1, 2026, and if you look at our president and what he is doing, the politicians who are supporting him and his radical followers, you are reading a true story of our present times, not a story of fiction.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews