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Eden Series #1
Eden's Serum
Adam has everything he could want. He is a savvy businessman entrusted with his own personal branch of the company he's worked for the past five years. He is successful, intelligent and about to check off the last box on his list.
Immortality.
Just so happens the company he works for provides him the finances to do just that. After six months of testing, he is finally ready. Unbeknownst to Adam, the Serum he is about to take, ends up making him very sick. He finds out too late that Eden's Serum has taken a life before and he's about to be its next victim if he can escape the fall of humanity around him.
Immortality.
Just so happens the company he works for provides him the finances to do just that. After six months of testing, he is finally ready. Unbeknownst to Adam, the Serum he is about to take, ends up making him very sick. He finds out too late that Eden's Serum has taken a life before and he's about to be its next victim if he can escape the fall of humanity around him.
- GenresAmazonScience Fiction
206 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 28, 2016
35 people are currently reading
289 people want to read
About the author
Angelique S. Anderson
40 books221 followersAn award-winning author of sci-fi and fantasy, Angelique is an avid adventurer and chaser of dreams. Singer and songwriter in hobby, she is the mother to four precocious little ones and lover of all animals. She hopes to encourage others with her journey and passion for life. She is currently off adventuring in Stockton, Ca.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 21, 2017
When I started this book, I had a hard time getting into it. It seemed to be written for MG or YA as far as the style, but the topic did not fit those categories. Approximately half way through it though, the author hit her stride and the story took off from there.
If you were very wealthy and someone was offering a "serum" to give you immortality would you take it? Would you pay the exorbitant fee to be assured that you would never grow old, never die, never get sick?
Adam has a good life. He has developed a technology that allows everyone to be tracked and their identities to be safe from theft. He's making great money, has just been offered a massive promotion, and he's met a woman he could see himself spending his life with. But there is a serpent in his personal paradise. The company he works for has far too much knowledge of his personal life. They even know that he has decided to take Eden's Serum, the drug that purports to make you immortal. Despite the red flags and some serious misgivings, Adam goes through with the procedure and that's when his perfect life rapidly begins to fall apart.
Eden's Serum is a wild ride through corporate espionage, murder, privacy invasion, lies, and out of control technology. Hang on to your hats because it gets bumpy from here.
If you were very wealthy and someone was offering a "serum" to give you immortality would you take it? Would you pay the exorbitant fee to be assured that you would never grow old, never die, never get sick?
Adam has a good life. He has developed a technology that allows everyone to be tracked and their identities to be safe from theft. He's making great money, has just been offered a massive promotion, and he's met a woman he could see himself spending his life with. But there is a serpent in his personal paradise. The company he works for has far too much knowledge of his personal life. They even know that he has decided to take Eden's Serum, the drug that purports to make you immortal. Despite the red flags and some serious misgivings, Adam goes through with the procedure and that's when his perfect life rapidly begins to fall apart.
Eden's Serum is a wild ride through corporate espionage, murder, privacy invasion, lies, and out of control technology. Hang on to your hats because it gets bumpy from here.
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August 29, 2016
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A Tense Thriller with an Edge of Mystery
Adam Carpenter is not a nice man. As he himself says at the end of the novel, "Until you and this whole incident, I wasn't any kind of guy. I was a money hungry, power craving, expensive car enthusiast. I was selfish and didn't care about anyone but myself."
According to conventional wisdom, a writer's main character should usually be somewhat likable. It's to Angelique S. Anderson's credit that we still like Adam despite the fact that he never seems to think of anyone but himself. Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Well, Adam has lived that kind of life. On top of everything, he's invented an Identicoin that will help business and the government keep track of everything we do. Talk about Big Brother!
Then in his egotism he goes even further. He lets himself be injected by the super-expensive Eden's Serum so he can live forever and enjoy immortality. It is here that the story becomes really interesting. He meets a girl with the not-so-subtle name of Evelyn and soon they are on the run while the bad guys seek to kill them. What's it all about? What's the reason for the great conspiracy that is causing people to die around them? What do the bad guys, whoever they are, not want the public to know about Eden's Serum?
This is a page turner, and only toward the end does the narrative falter. There are some logic problems, such as when the guards fail to frisk Adam and take his gun. For that matter, why does the author let him keep the gun if he isn't going to use it? Also, the last seven pages or so are basically anticlimactic exposition as the author wraps things up. They could have been quickly implied, ending the novel with more punch. Still, this is a good read with a timeless message about science: There are some things that man should never do.
A Tense Thriller with an Edge of Mystery
Adam Carpenter is not a nice man. As he himself says at the end of the novel, "Until you and this whole incident, I wasn't any kind of guy. I was a money hungry, power craving, expensive car enthusiast. I was selfish and didn't care about anyone but myself."
According to conventional wisdom, a writer's main character should usually be somewhat likable. It's to Angelique S. Anderson's credit that we still like Adam despite the fact that he never seems to think of anyone but himself. Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Well, Adam has lived that kind of life. On top of everything, he's invented an Identicoin that will help business and the government keep track of everything we do. Talk about Big Brother!
Then in his egotism he goes even further. He lets himself be injected by the super-expensive Eden's Serum so he can live forever and enjoy immortality. It is here that the story becomes really interesting. He meets a girl with the not-so-subtle name of Evelyn and soon they are on the run while the bad guys seek to kill them. What's it all about? What's the reason for the great conspiracy that is causing people to die around them? What do the bad guys, whoever they are, not want the public to know about Eden's Serum?
This is a page turner, and only toward the end does the narrative falter. There are some logic problems, such as when the guards fail to frisk Adam and take his gun. For that matter, why does the author let him keep the gun if he isn't going to use it? Also, the last seven pages or so are basically anticlimactic exposition as the author wraps things up. They could have been quickly implied, ending the novel with more punch. Still, this is a good read with a timeless message about science: There are some things that man should never do.
May 26, 2016
Immortality is Deadly!
Eden’s Serum by Angelique Anderson is an amazing titillating adventure from start to finish. From the very first page, you are submersed into the world of Adam and at a maddening pace.
Adam is a wealthy executive who has everything…everything but immortality. Now, even that can be bought. But at what price? He soon finds out that the “serum” is more than what he originally believed, as are some of the consequences associated with it.
This is a wonderfully innovative light sci-fi novel. The plot is rich with some pleasing surprises. I DO love great twists and turns in a plot.
Eden’s Serum is a great novel containing a bit of everything! I am definitely looking forward to the next book and more from this author.
Eden’s Serum by Angelique Anderson is an amazing titillating adventure from start to finish. From the very first page, you are submersed into the world of Adam and at a maddening pace.
Adam is a wealthy executive who has everything…everything but immortality. Now, even that can be bought. But at what price? He soon finds out that the “serum” is more than what he originally believed, as are some of the consequences associated with it.
This is a wonderfully innovative light sci-fi novel. The plot is rich with some pleasing surprises. I DO love great twists and turns in a plot.
Eden’s Serum is a great novel containing a bit of everything! I am definitely looking forward to the next book and more from this author.
February 27, 2017
Fast-paced, interesting plot twists, and believable characters. I'm partial because I edited this book for Angelique Anderson, but I really enjoyed the story as I worked through it. If you are into sci-fi fantasy, it's definitely a worthwhile read.
March 18, 2021
A good idea, spoiled by descriptions of his clothes and car. I really didn't care what happened to Adam.
August 24, 2016
Eden's Serum by Angelique S. Anderson is a speculative fiction novel set in the near future. This work borders on fantasy due to some pseudo-tech that is more like magic than science. Especially in the time frame presented.
This is a fast read and I blasted through the book in two sittings. The story opens with protagonist Adam racing to his place of employment due to a bomb threat and the potential loss of his research. The police resolve things without casualties or destruction, and the perpetrator ends up being his boss. His work and career are safe. Fast forward two years and Adam is approaching a hospital where he is preparing for a radical leonization treatment. I am okay with this abrupt right turn, but others may want a little more world building and transition into this aspect of the story. We are expositively shown the big-brother identi-coin technology that has secured Adam's future. Integrated bio-dentify is something we already are capable of now with RFID and even more sophisticated technologies. The issue hasn't been the tech, but societal integration. Author Anderson brushes across some of the privacy issues and drawbacks. I can't decide whether it's ironic or unbelievable that Adam, one of the principle contributors to the tech in the story, doesn't anticipate the privacy issues that piss him off. At any rate, in my mind 2020 is waaay too soon for socio-identity integration. Practical leonization and nanotechnologies are also possible but significantly further off than four years. The science hurdles are the least of any life-extension technology's acceptance difficulties (more on these two issues in my setting notes).
Adam's misgivings about the treatment don't work for me in this. The disclaimers about the possible side-effects, the expense, piled on top of possible fraud should raise more alarm bells than they do. This is a story though and he didn't anticipate invasive identity-authentication affecting his life either.
In a span of a chapter, the story becomes a conspiracy plot it is this change and the voice of the narrative thereafter that leads me to identify this as speculative rather than science fiction. The two technologies and their ramifications simply aren't explored enough.
Categorization aside there's a decent mystery to be solved and the hero and his assistant Evelyn are appropriately hounded and challenged. I thought that story was very light on flunkies... I was a little bit baffled by the idea of company execs doing their own dirty work.
Things eventually come to a head. The resolution is a little bit pat, but this novel is a bit on the fluffy side anyway.
Rating (1-5)
Execution : 3.95 — This reads well and confines itself largely to Adam's viewpoint with a couple lapses where it drops to Evelyn (and once to Dr. Pearson). The diction is slightly off in as much as Adam is supposedly a tech guy, but just doesn't seem to talk or act much like one at times. Overall, the diction changes in patches, sometimes tight, other times kitschy. Physical registers and sensory are present in this, and do a better than average job of bringing some of the setting details off the page. I wanted a little more nuanced usage to elevate other moments of the story however.
NOTE: I am in official loathe mode with the word 'smirk'. I've seen the word in the last four books I've read. Authors, don't have your heroes 'smirk'. Ugh. Nobody likes a smarmy smirker! It's a smug arrogant air of superiority best attributed to antagonists and characters we are not meant to like. Heroes don't smirk. /rant.
Setting : 3.85 - 4.1 — There are good setting details in this. The science is a little expositiony but not overly bad. It is quite light on authentic sounding detail and could benefit from the lingo. My main quibble is just the time frame. Universal identification, check. Implemented in four years, there'd need to be some huge catastrophe... mass terrorism or something that scared people into giving up their privacy. The technophobes of the U.S. would not go softly into compliance. The are leonization (longevity) trails currently underway. So, it is possible, once all the religious screaming and caterwauling, government regulation, and who knows what else was finally overcome (something that realistically would take decades). What isn't explained is how the non-working product ever got to public consumption. There's mention of celebrities and such being treated how did it go undetected? There is the side effect which I won't ruin for readers. I wonder if author Anderson considered that "product" more viable for say-- soldiers.
Character : 3.3-3.8 — Let me get one bit out of the way (Eden + Adam / Eve) is just a little too on the nose for me. Other folks may not notice or care, but I am picky. That being said, as I wrote earlier, Adam's portrayal is slightly problematic. I think some of that is that what he actually does for a living is left a bit ambiguous. There is mention of research but his inner thoughts just don't sound like an engineer. What would sell the identicoin technology would be some kind of underlying security. The big fear now of uni-ids is that consumer identities would have to be stored in the cloud. Then the problem becomes what happens if the data is compromised, or there's loss of connectivity, sunspots or whatever. So, the breakthrough would be in some kind of up-time and reliability... that and the tech being cheap enough to be ubiquitous. Anyways, never mind the ramblings of a computer scientist...
Evelyn, on the other hand, I like as a character. We learn a fair amount about her, although her relationship and the seven years prior to showing up in Adam's office is a bit sketchy. Had she given up on her mission? That wasn't clear.
In the cases of both Adam and Evelyn there was a tendency to tell rather than show. Other times the inner narrative was fine.
I thought more should have been done with the HR lady Ms. Ellie. I feel author Anderson missed an opportunity not to humanize her more and make the reader like her. This would have made a more dramatic impact on the protagonist in the latter stages of the story. I think more mileage could have been gotten out of Doctor Plath as well.
Overall : 4.0 — This is quick easy read without overt gore, cussing, or violence. It takes a shallow swipe at privacy and the inequities of society, and makes some veiled comments on people not knowing what's really important in life. All positive things. There are some rough spots as noted, but in all it's a worthy read. I look forward to author Anderson's next creative endeavor.
November 25, 2017
Adam Carpenter, software tycoon for Indenticoin, the worlds largest virtual tracking system, is finally ready to make the decision of a lifetime.
He is going to pay the $2MM price tag, to receive Eden's Serum, a special injection which will freeze the aging process, virtually giving him immortality.
But just as he is finalizing the procedure, he begins to have second thoughts. He notices, the doctor administering the injections, who exclusively endorses the revolutionary procedure worldwide, is lying about receiving the injection himself.
Despite the doctors lies, Adam is too self-centered to reject the opportunity and receives the serum. Shortly after, his life as he knows it begins to spiral out of control. His body is counteracting the serum, and he will be dead in less than a week if he does not find an antidote. But he may not even make it a week, because snooping around, looking for answers about Eden's Serum just put a death mark on his back.
This book was exciting from beginning to end. I didn't care much for Adam at the beginning as he was very self-centered, but the author did an excellent job placing Adam in a situation he was able to learn and grow from. By the end of the book, he was a completely changed man. For the better.
He is going to pay the $2MM price tag, to receive Eden's Serum, a special injection which will freeze the aging process, virtually giving him immortality.
But just as he is finalizing the procedure, he begins to have second thoughts. He notices, the doctor administering the injections, who exclusively endorses the revolutionary procedure worldwide, is lying about receiving the injection himself.
Despite the doctors lies, Adam is too self-centered to reject the opportunity and receives the serum. Shortly after, his life as he knows it begins to spiral out of control. His body is counteracting the serum, and he will be dead in less than a week if he does not find an antidote. But he may not even make it a week, because snooping around, looking for answers about Eden's Serum just put a death mark on his back.
This book was exciting from beginning to end. I didn't care much for Adam at the beginning as he was very self-centered, but the author did an excellent job placing Adam in a situation he was able to learn and grow from. By the end of the book, he was a completely changed man. For the better.
March 7, 2017
This is an enjoyably, fast paced, sinister Sci-fi story whose premise would make a good TV series or movie. It is set in the near future, with monitoring of all personal data and assets via a disc created by our protagonist, Adam, an exclusive serum that gives immortality to those who can pay, and a series of murders that might connect the two. Scott Cummings does an excellent job of narrating the audiobook. He gives the characters individual voices and brings the story to life by imparting emotion and tension in all the right places. Even though the science is dubious, it is not so out there that it ruins the story, the conspiracies and the twists in the plot keep your attention and the inclusion of romance is a nice touch that also helps Adam reexamine his life's goals. This story of greed, corruption, murder, self discovery and romance kept me entertained from start to finish. I received the audiobook at no cost and under no obligation to review.
February 11, 2016
I read the download sample for this book and was quickly sucked in. Eden's Serum is a fast pasted, wild ride of an adventure with twists and turns you will NOT see coming. Five shiny stars for this read.
June 28, 2021
Encapsulated in a beautiful cover, ,this horrific story tells about a world where tech has advanced far beyond the need for identification and money, and even illness. Eden’s Serum is one that only the richest of the rich can afford, offering youth, health and above all, immortality. But as Adam is about to find out, not everything is as it seems, and his ultra rich bachelor life may not b as satisfying as it once was.
Check out my full review here!
https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpr...
Check out my full review here!
https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpr...
September 3, 2024
This was a disappointing read. It felt very generic, with Adam, the MC, being a generic rich guy in the tech sector. He felt dry and charmless. The bad guys were generic, idiotic bad guys who had a bad plan that was defeated with a poor crescendo and climax. The women were written very poorly especially. They were all conventionally attractive women who were all smitten with Adam. The whole book feels like an awkward series of events that occurred to the MCs rather than the MCs driving the plot forward. It was kind of a boring read and I'm glad I finally finished it.
January 29, 2018
Amiable
I had trouble getting into this book, and by the time I was going to put it down I realized that I was already half way through it. It wasn't hard to read or anything like that. I'm just used to reading a different kind of book, and was determined to read something different this time. It was quite an interesting book. I do like the idea behind it. It makes one think about how medicine and big business are now and what they could do in the future.
I had trouble getting into this book, and by the time I was going to put it down I realized that I was already half way through it. It wasn't hard to read or anything like that. I'm just used to reading a different kind of book, and was determined to read something different this time. It was quite an interesting book. I do like the idea behind it. It makes one think about how medicine and big business are now and what they could do in the future.
September 14, 2020
This is better than many but truly needs a good editor for grammar, missing words, wrong words, tense changes in the middle of the sentence. What seems to be obvious to the reader shocks and amazes the character (really, you did not see that coming?). It does have an interesting almost allegorical approach with the serum and is certainly a cautionary tale of where we basically are now with today's technology. I might read another book by this author but will not actively seek one out.
June 28, 2022
Some of the tech was interesting and the evil guys were ...well evil.
The main character was a putz and the dreary repetition about his clothes, his car, his lack of relationships really dragged this story down. I was hoping that the serum would kill Adam sooner than later.
Thankfully Evelyn did bring some much needed personality to the story.
Happily it was a quick read which is now done
The main character was a putz and the dreary repetition about his clothes, his car, his lack of relationships really dragged this story down. I was hoping that the serum would kill Adam sooner than later.
Thankfully Evelyn did bring some much needed personality to the story.
Happily it was a quick read which is now done
October 29, 2020
Rich Guy Issues
A bit difficult to relate to the main character. And the premise of wearing a digital ID around your neck 24/7 seems somewhat implausible but add androids and immortality to even it all out and you get an interesting story with a sci-fi twist.
A bit difficult to relate to the main character. And the premise of wearing a digital ID around your neck 24/7 seems somewhat implausible but add androids and immortality to even it all out and you get an interesting story with a sci-fi twist.
September 14, 2020
Action, adventure, suspense what else could you ask for? I recommend this book all readers.
July 26, 2021
Outdated
Book was written in 2015 and event's happen in 2020, which is part. You don't put years in sci to stories like this. Completely stupid and ruins the book.
Book was written in 2015 and event's happen in 2020, which is part. You don't put years in sci to stories like this. Completely stupid and ruins the book.
August 23, 2016
This book is a very readable and fun science fiction romance. Its fast pace and plot twists made it feel like a screenplay for a summer sci fi action thriller. There were a couple of times the plot genuinely surprised me and made me sit up in my chair and take notice. That rarely happens to me any more as a reader, even with science fiction.
Having worked in the biotech industry, I didn’t find the life-extension science here to be particularly believable, even in the near future, but the author did enough research and told a good enough story that I was willing to (mostly) suspend disbelief in an immortality serum and go along for the ride. I had a harder time believing that the underlying conspiracy could have gone on for as long as it did without being found out and shut down much sooner. There are already a number of biotech companies and even more academic labs working on the problem of life extension, so Plant Harmonics would not have been alone in that space. And even in our own time, if a tech company’s technology is thought to be fraudulent or even based on shaky data, the market shows signs of being self-correcting. For example, look at the rise and precipitous fall of Theranos.
The characters were appealing, but were pretty standard SF heroes and villains. Adam, the protagonist, was recognizable as a Silicon Valley overachiever who had lost the art of relationships. Evelyn was realistic but we didn’t learn much more about her than that she was pretty, spunky, and loyal to family. Watching these two characters get together romantically as they solve a massive technological conspiracy was enjoyable but not particularly memorable. The villains had some interesting, even poignant motivations for doing what they did, but I think they needed to be much more devious.
I would read other books by this author as I think she writes intelligently and has ideas about corporate invasion of privacy that deserve to be fleshed out further. With this novel she seems to be on the path of finding her own voice and exploring the themes that she finds most important.
Having worked in the biotech industry, I didn’t find the life-extension science here to be particularly believable, even in the near future, but the author did enough research and told a good enough story that I was willing to (mostly) suspend disbelief in an immortality serum and go along for the ride. I had a harder time believing that the underlying conspiracy could have gone on for as long as it did without being found out and shut down much sooner. There are already a number of biotech companies and even more academic labs working on the problem of life extension, so Plant Harmonics would not have been alone in that space. And even in our own time, if a tech company’s technology is thought to be fraudulent or even based on shaky data, the market shows signs of being self-correcting. For example, look at the rise and precipitous fall of Theranos.
The characters were appealing, but were pretty standard SF heroes and villains. Adam, the protagonist, was recognizable as a Silicon Valley overachiever who had lost the art of relationships. Evelyn was realistic but we didn’t learn much more about her than that she was pretty, spunky, and loyal to family. Watching these two characters get together romantically as they solve a massive technological conspiracy was enjoyable but not particularly memorable. The villains had some interesting, even poignant motivations for doing what they did, but I think they needed to be much more devious.
I would read other books by this author as I think she writes intelligently and has ideas about corporate invasion of privacy that deserve to be fleshed out further. With this novel she seems to be on the path of finding her own voice and exploring the themes that she finds most important.
November 15, 2016
The novel’s premise is that a company has invented a serum which allegedly grants immortality but proves to have a sinister side. Bio-thrillers aren’t my usual taste, so I don’t know if this has been done before or not. It takes a while to really get going, but by about the halfway-point it does get interesting and engaging. The final third of the novel was significantly better than the first two-thirds. However, I’m only giving it three stars because the prose and the dialogue both really need to be tightened up, and because there were a lot of small details of the story that really should have been caught by an editor or beta-reader. In this world everybody wears a chip that tracks their every move, but the protagonist drives like a maniac literally everywhere he goes without ever being caught speeding. The book has one pan-Hispanic character, who is in fact said to speak with a ‘Hispanic accent’ as opposed to a Mexican or Cuban or Puerto Rican or any real Hispanic group’s accent, who speaks Spanish incorrectly (I suppose this wouldn’t matter much to readers who don’t speak Spanish, but since I do speak Spanish it really annoyed me). There were other little things, enough to be a serious drag on my enjoyment of the book.
August 17, 2016
A captivating story!
Eden’s serum is the captivating story of Adam, whose only goal is to climb higher in the pecking order of capitalist society. Status and material pleasures are the protagonist’s main focal points, until he has to deal with the consequences of going just one step too far.
The fast pace of the story keeps you engaged and the unexpected plot twists show how just how great Angelique’s writing skills are. This witty and entertaining story takes a refreshing look at the flaws of our modern society, tied up with a romantic bow. All in all, an enjoyable read!
Eden’s serum is the captivating story of Adam, whose only goal is to climb higher in the pecking order of capitalist society. Status and material pleasures are the protagonist’s main focal points, until he has to deal with the consequences of going just one step too far.
The fast pace of the story keeps you engaged and the unexpected plot twists show how just how great Angelique’s writing skills are. This witty and entertaining story takes a refreshing look at the flaws of our modern society, tied up with a romantic bow. All in all, an enjoyable read!
February 13, 2016
This is a wonderful sci-fi novel! Eden's Serum is full of witty characters, intriguing futuristic technologies, and a hint of romance all wrapped into a nice package. I would recommend this book be placed on everyone's bookshelf!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews