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THEM
When stock trader Devon Heathrow finds a mysterious device, a new world is open to him. He is plunged into a world of violence and uncertainty. Otherworlders murder his wife, his daughter and him.
Devon was dead.
Revived...hurt and alone, he does the only thing he can do...run. Armed with nothing he is forced to hide in the shadows, doing the unimaginable to survive. He is continually haunted by nightmares and pursued around the world by dark agents.
Devon must return home to get the answers he so desperately needs. He returns to where it all began seeking redemption and revenge, but how?
Don't trust your eyes, your ears or what you think you know because sometimes, it's not skill, hard work or luck that determines who wins and who loses, or who succeeds and who fails...
sometimes it's Them.
Devon was dead.
Revived...hurt and alone, he does the only thing he can do...run. Armed with nothing he is forced to hide in the shadows, doing the unimaginable to survive. He is continually haunted by nightmares and pursued around the world by dark agents.
Devon must return home to get the answers he so desperately needs. He returns to where it all began seeking redemption and revenge, but how?
Don't trust your eyes, your ears or what you think you know because sometimes, it's not skill, hard work or luck that determines who wins and who loses, or who succeeds and who fails...
sometimes it's Them.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 23, 2017
2 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
M.G. Hardie
7 books65 followers2019- The Altered
"an instant classic", "simply, blows your mind!",
"There is something about this story that makes a reader like me take notice, and I enjoyed it."
2017-THEM
"Amazing", "Surprising", "Completely Unexpected", "A Premise that needs to be read to be believed." ScifiPulse.net
2016- Becoming Midnight: Rise of the Black Vampires
"An Unrivaled Urban Fantasy", "This book is is Part Novel, Part Graphic Novel, All Vampire."
2010- It Ain't Just the Size
"This book kept my attention from start to finish with the combination of characters, personal issues and views on current events."
"Chalked full of solutions, if only the people of the world would heed."
"Lightning strikes twice as Hardie successfully mixes Hip-Hop references, pop culture, conspiracy theories, common sense, comedy and hot button issues into an entertaining literary gumbo."
2009- EveryDay Life
EveryDay Life is a journey from hopelessness to hope. It is a personal and inspiring look at the journey of a young African-American man who against the odds and his environment decides to change his life for the better.
Source Material for the hit film "Think Like A Man"
"an instant classic", "simply, blows your mind!",
"There is something about this story that makes a reader like me take notice, and I enjoyed it."
2017-THEM
"Amazing", "Surprising", "Completely Unexpected", "A Premise that needs to be read to be believed." ScifiPulse.net
2016- Becoming Midnight: Rise of the Black Vampires
"An Unrivaled Urban Fantasy", "This book is is Part Novel, Part Graphic Novel, All Vampire."
2010- It Ain't Just the Size
"This book kept my attention from start to finish with the combination of characters, personal issues and views on current events."
"Chalked full of solutions, if only the people of the world would heed."
"Lightning strikes twice as Hardie successfully mixes Hip-Hop references, pop culture, conspiracy theories, common sense, comedy and hot button issues into an entertaining literary gumbo."
2009- EveryDay Life
EveryDay Life is a journey from hopelessness to hope. It is a personal and inspiring look at the journey of a young African-American man who against the odds and his environment decides to change his life for the better.
Source Material for the hit film "Think Like A Man"
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 8, 2017
I read this book and like Devon, I was immediately pulled into the world of Them. I could not stop reading the book and I read page after page trying to figure out the mysteries and understanding how Devon's life had been completely pulled apart. The characters were well developed and the book was fast paced which made it a great read. I love reading books which are fast paced because this stimulates my mind and makes me want to read it even faster. Them seem very very scary in the beginning and I absolutely loved how the book progressed as it got towards the end.
And can I just say how much I love the cover? It is brilliant and instantly drew me in. Stunning job on the cover.
The other part is that the conversations that the characters had in the book made sense and gave me something to think about which I love. I will be watching out for more from this author.
And can I just say how much I love the cover? It is brilliant and instantly drew me in. Stunning job on the cover.
The other part is that the conversations that the characters had in the book made sense and gave me something to think about which I love. I will be watching out for more from this author.
April 15, 2016
THEM is an action adventure, with a rather dark and foreboding undertone.
While it thrives on the physical strengths of its characters, it damns the world around its characters to being weak and ignorant.
Our Hero, Devon, is an ordinary, successful, energetic business sort with a fantastic wife who fills in the proverbial gaps of his life with respect and caring. His life is simple, until he puts on some sort of special glasses he received in the mail. This moment changes his life, presumably forever. This will undoubtedly be a series, so who knows what’s going to happen to him.
The glasses enable him to surf the web, are even voice activated, which is pretty cool, and among other things, he sees people with the headset who are peculiar. Enter the world of THEM. THEM being a proper noun, the name of a specific being of sorts.
Once you get to the end of the short story, it’s clear that it’s an installment of a much, much bigger piece. I would go as far as calling this an origin piece of a super hero, if our protagonist winds up being an actual hero. If not, maybe the origins of an anti-hero. The reason why it does more than just hint at being an origin piece, is its arc. Sure, it’s beginning, middle and end format, but its focus is delivering the basis for the beings and people you’ll be running into, and getting the reader acclimated to some of the sci-fi that must be ingested; the storyline, plot and drama is starting here but about half way through you can feel it’s not meant to wrap up tightly. Also, to be honest, such a short story for such a big idea. Not meant to be completed in its hundred or so page length.
THEM is a fun piece of fiction reading and writing. Author M.G. Hardie does justice to his approach but does not take himself too seriously. He moves you through scenes of borderline torcher without forcing you to squint, because that is not the point here. We’re supposed to recognize the violence but not get bogged down in it. That plays well in the paragraphs. To add to it, where our protagonist is a simple dude with a job who is thrown into the fire of the plot, our antagonists and those of the same ilk are from, well, everywhere and nowhere. They’re not from space or other countries. Nope. They’re not demons or angels. Nope. They’re from somewhere else. Again MG doesn’t give a huge origin backstory on them. Instead, they serve their purpose for the story, with their function being to have our lead grow. The result is that THEM moves quickly and introduces us to the world being rebuilt for us through Devon’s eyes.
THEM comes with a deeper point, however. THEM are moving the structure of society, secretly, and in a way, as herders. More than a few times the human race is implied to be ignorant and basically sheep. Think of the Illuminati or any number of “secret” society’s that are supposedly the true Sheppard’s of the world. THEM is portrayed as having that sort of influence. It’s Devon’s eyes which are now open to this, but he needs to get over himself and move away from his old reality to help that old reality in any way possible. Devon is, in many ways, the chosen one, and at the same time, the everyday man, being represented here.
Although I consider THEM fun, it’s devoid of punch-lines. The work is asking for its readers to open their eyes to the world around them and see, as Devon does. The question the reader is left with is this: does Devon make the change; are his eyes finally open. It’s going to be up to the reader to decide. I for one say…yes.
While it thrives on the physical strengths of its characters, it damns the world around its characters to being weak and ignorant.
Our Hero, Devon, is an ordinary, successful, energetic business sort with a fantastic wife who fills in the proverbial gaps of his life with respect and caring. His life is simple, until he puts on some sort of special glasses he received in the mail. This moment changes his life, presumably forever. This will undoubtedly be a series, so who knows what’s going to happen to him.
The glasses enable him to surf the web, are even voice activated, which is pretty cool, and among other things, he sees people with the headset who are peculiar. Enter the world of THEM. THEM being a proper noun, the name of a specific being of sorts.
Once you get to the end of the short story, it’s clear that it’s an installment of a much, much bigger piece. I would go as far as calling this an origin piece of a super hero, if our protagonist winds up being an actual hero. If not, maybe the origins of an anti-hero. The reason why it does more than just hint at being an origin piece, is its arc. Sure, it’s beginning, middle and end format, but its focus is delivering the basis for the beings and people you’ll be running into, and getting the reader acclimated to some of the sci-fi that must be ingested; the storyline, plot and drama is starting here but about half way through you can feel it’s not meant to wrap up tightly. Also, to be honest, such a short story for such a big idea. Not meant to be completed in its hundred or so page length.
THEM is a fun piece of fiction reading and writing. Author M.G. Hardie does justice to his approach but does not take himself too seriously. He moves you through scenes of borderline torcher without forcing you to squint, because that is not the point here. We’re supposed to recognize the violence but not get bogged down in it. That plays well in the paragraphs. To add to it, where our protagonist is a simple dude with a job who is thrown into the fire of the plot, our antagonists and those of the same ilk are from, well, everywhere and nowhere. They’re not from space or other countries. Nope. They’re not demons or angels. Nope. They’re from somewhere else. Again MG doesn’t give a huge origin backstory on them. Instead, they serve their purpose for the story, with their function being to have our lead grow. The result is that THEM moves quickly and introduces us to the world being rebuilt for us through Devon’s eyes.
THEM comes with a deeper point, however. THEM are moving the structure of society, secretly, and in a way, as herders. More than a few times the human race is implied to be ignorant and basically sheep. Think of the Illuminati or any number of “secret” society’s that are supposedly the true Sheppard’s of the world. THEM is portrayed as having that sort of influence. It’s Devon’s eyes which are now open to this, but he needs to get over himself and move away from his old reality to help that old reality in any way possible. Devon is, in many ways, the chosen one, and at the same time, the everyday man, being represented here.
Although I consider THEM fun, it’s devoid of punch-lines. The work is asking for its readers to open their eyes to the world around them and see, as Devon does. The question the reader is left with is this: does Devon make the change; are his eyes finally open. It’s going to be up to the reader to decide. I for one say…yes.
April 14, 2016
I was given the chance to read this book before it was published (lucky me!) - This book was short but it gave me all I am asking for, when I am reading. It's cleverly written, well thought out and has some humor in it as well. What will Devon do in this dire situation? I loved the whole idea of the earth and how the author described it. It's such a suspenseful little piece of art, almost a masterpiece I'd say. MG Hardie surely is a strong writer with a good sense of how to build up tension in a story and how to make the reader feel like they are a part of it. This would make a good audio book as well, I think (with an appropriate voice actor of course). Them was quite authentic - also love the cover. This story was a breath-taking journey, a scenario that captures the reader and makes you want more. I'll give it 5 Stars.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews