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Shard: One mind, one thousand pieces
Jason will never forget what he saw. Blood covered every inch of the pavement. A window lay open five stories above. Why would Grandpa Rupert commit suicide? Every pair of eyes was on the disfigured body. Except one. One very powerful pair of eyes observed Jason. It was the end of Rupert’s troubles but the beginning of Jason’s.
A biologist perceives the world differently to the way a soldier does. People could look at the same object but see very different things. This was the foundation of a covert research program. But they needed the right subject to take their experiment further. And alas they had one. The ultimate weapon.
Follow Jason on a treacherous journey that changes the way he perceives the world. And ultimately changes the way the world perceives him.
A biologist perceives the world differently to the way a soldier does. People could look at the same object but see very different things. This was the foundation of a covert research program. But they needed the right subject to take their experiment further. And alas they had one. The ultimate weapon.
Follow Jason on a treacherous journey that changes the way he perceives the world. And ultimately changes the way the world perceives him.
72 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2016
About the author
Saad Ul Haq
5 books17 followersBorn in the United Arab Emirates, and being brought up in London and Abu Dhabi, Saad Ul Haq has also lived in Canada and Pakistan. He is ethnically from Pakistan and is a British citizen. Saad lives in England where he began studying theoretical physics at King's College London but later switched to a career in medicine. He is a patent holder, author and a former competitive swimmer who won national gold in 2015 for Pakistan. His patents have been cited by Samsung, Yahoo, Facebook, Google, AT&T and IBM among others.
Saad wrote his first novel in 2009 at the age of 15 and subsequently adapted it for screenplay. His reason to write a novel was to convey an idea he had and thus he describes himself as an author by opportunity rather than one by profession. Saad eventually published the novel in 2016 after finally taking the initiative to take his work further and share it with the world.
Saad wrote his first novel in 2009 at the age of 15 and subsequently adapted it for screenplay. His reason to write a novel was to convey an idea he had and thus he describes himself as an author by opportunity rather than one by profession. Saad eventually published the novel in 2016 after finally taking the initiative to take his work further and share it with the world.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 7, 2017
Shard: One mind, one thousand pieces by Saad Ul Haq
3 stars.
This was a very hard book to review. How does a person write a fair review for a book written when the author was only fifteen? Should it be judged with other books it competes against in a similar genre or against what the average fifteen year old could possibly write? Ultimately I decided on something in between.
THE CIA mind control program of the fifties and sixties provides the inspiration as we join characters affected by multiple personality disorder as a result. It starts with a dream sequence of one affected character and dream sequences are never easy to write as they need to convey a sense of the abstract to feel suitably ‘dreamy’ so to speak but the author manages this well.
I loved the cracked glass cover which perfectly represents the theme of a shattered mind and there are some lovely bits of prose such as…“..proceedings of vermillion protoplasm…” and “Their shoulders were the same width as a mature Baobab and their veined musculature resembled its roots.” There were many more. I also loved the scientific idea of a sub-vocal mouthpiece to covey intelligence as well as the references to the United Arab Emirates and Sheik Zayed al Neyhan. I was living in Bahrain at the time that he died and this brought back fond memories.
Certainly I wasn’t capable of writing anything of the standard of Shard When I was fifteen or even coming up with the ideas that the author has. My mind just wasn’t able to think in that way. Nevertheless it was published when the author was an adult and certainly would have benefited from the attention of a copy editor and proof reader because in places it is very obvious there’s an immature mind at work. This isn’t in the events that take place but in the words used to convey the events and the word choice in places is very odd almost as if the author has swallowed a thesaurus but chosen the wrong or needlessly complicated word for the context.
Some examples “first of his body kissed the ground…”, “…disappeared under the barrage of his body…”, “…perpetual cyan pupils…”, “..peeking verdant fringe…”. I don’t even know what that last one means and why are odd words here and there in italics? A thorough read through as an adult would have picked these up.
The National Security Agency is an American agency and wouldn’t have its headquarters in the UK. If this is a separate UK government agency then a different name and acronym would have been more appropriate to avoid confusion.
It’s very disjointed and doesn’t flow well and the lack of any real plot or characterisation makes it a difficult and confusing read in places. I would leave and struggle to pick up the story again. If it was intentional to convey a shattered mind then great job well done but it’s not an easy reading experience for the reader. You have to work at it and persevere which not all readers are inclined to do but I certainly applaud the imagination that can come up with something this complex at such a young age but the execution doesn’t quite reach the heights the imagination managed.
3 stars.
This was a very hard book to review. How does a person write a fair review for a book written when the author was only fifteen? Should it be judged with other books it competes against in a similar genre or against what the average fifteen year old could possibly write? Ultimately I decided on something in between.
THE CIA mind control program of the fifties and sixties provides the inspiration as we join characters affected by multiple personality disorder as a result. It starts with a dream sequence of one affected character and dream sequences are never easy to write as they need to convey a sense of the abstract to feel suitably ‘dreamy’ so to speak but the author manages this well.
I loved the cracked glass cover which perfectly represents the theme of a shattered mind and there are some lovely bits of prose such as…“..proceedings of vermillion protoplasm…” and “Their shoulders were the same width as a mature Baobab and their veined musculature resembled its roots.” There were many more. I also loved the scientific idea of a sub-vocal mouthpiece to covey intelligence as well as the references to the United Arab Emirates and Sheik Zayed al Neyhan. I was living in Bahrain at the time that he died and this brought back fond memories.
Certainly I wasn’t capable of writing anything of the standard of Shard When I was fifteen or even coming up with the ideas that the author has. My mind just wasn’t able to think in that way. Nevertheless it was published when the author was an adult and certainly would have benefited from the attention of a copy editor and proof reader because in places it is very obvious there’s an immature mind at work. This isn’t in the events that take place but in the words used to convey the events and the word choice in places is very odd almost as if the author has swallowed a thesaurus but chosen the wrong or needlessly complicated word for the context.
Some examples “first of his body kissed the ground…”, “…disappeared under the barrage of his body…”, “…perpetual cyan pupils…”, “..peeking verdant fringe…”. I don’t even know what that last one means and why are odd words here and there in italics? A thorough read through as an adult would have picked these up.
The National Security Agency is an American agency and wouldn’t have its headquarters in the UK. If this is a separate UK government agency then a different name and acronym would have been more appropriate to avoid confusion.
It’s very disjointed and doesn’t flow well and the lack of any real plot or characterisation makes it a difficult and confusing read in places. I would leave and struggle to pick up the story again. If it was intentional to convey a shattered mind then great job well done but it’s not an easy reading experience for the reader. You have to work at it and persevere which not all readers are inclined to do but I certainly applaud the imagination that can come up with something this complex at such a young age but the execution doesn’t quite reach the heights the imagination managed.
July 26, 2018
I received a copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for a fair and impartial review.
Before reading the book, I was intrigued to discover that the author had written it when he was 15 years old; very precocious! This being the case, I managed my expectations on the content of the story and was surprised to find by the end that it was a fascinating idea.
I must confess, I struggled with reading the story. Although it is a relatively short 87 pages, I frequently found myself becoming disengaged with it and moving onto other books. I believe that this is because the format of the book is very disjointed and initially confusing without any context to rationalise what is going on which made it quite difficult to read.
Part of this is also due to the language used; at times it is almost as though the author used a thesaurus to get alternate synonyms that was occasionally jarring as it did not fit properly, a good example of this would be using ciliated and flagellous to describe eyelashes.
Having said that, the concept behind the story is a futuristic take on the MK Ultra project popularised during the latter half of the 20th century, utilising the theory of Multiple Personality Disorder in an entirely unique method which does work well.
Although there is no real characterisation of the ‘protagonists’ due to the nature of the story and its brevity, or indeed the antagonists as a standard shadowy government agency with nefarious aims to weaponise ordinary individuals, there is enough to get a basic understanding of how the main character is affected by events and how they are subsequently made vulnerable by a traumatic experience.
I think if you have Kindle Unlimited and enjoy novellas about mind-control and brainwashing then you could well get a kick out of it. I must confess, although I enjoyed the concept, the story itself did not really appeal to me but that is just a personal preference.
I would have scored the book as 2 stars, however, given that the author wrote this when he was 15, I was inclined to give 3 stars.
Before reading the book, I was intrigued to discover that the author had written it when he was 15 years old; very precocious! This being the case, I managed my expectations on the content of the story and was surprised to find by the end that it was a fascinating idea.
I must confess, I struggled with reading the story. Although it is a relatively short 87 pages, I frequently found myself becoming disengaged with it and moving onto other books. I believe that this is because the format of the book is very disjointed and initially confusing without any context to rationalise what is going on which made it quite difficult to read.
Part of this is also due to the language used; at times it is almost as though the author used a thesaurus to get alternate synonyms that was occasionally jarring as it did not fit properly, a good example of this would be using ciliated and flagellous to describe eyelashes.
Having said that, the concept behind the story is a futuristic take on the MK Ultra project popularised during the latter half of the 20th century, utilising the theory of Multiple Personality Disorder in an entirely unique method which does work well.
Although there is no real characterisation of the ‘protagonists’ due to the nature of the story and its brevity, or indeed the antagonists as a standard shadowy government agency with nefarious aims to weaponise ordinary individuals, there is enough to get a basic understanding of how the main character is affected by events and how they are subsequently made vulnerable by a traumatic experience.
I think if you have Kindle Unlimited and enjoy novellas about mind-control and brainwashing then you could well get a kick out of it. I must confess, although I enjoyed the concept, the story itself did not really appeal to me but that is just a personal preference.
I would have scored the book as 2 stars, however, given that the author wrote this when he was 15, I was inclined to give 3 stars.
October 17, 2016
In the wake of having witnessed his grandad commit suicide, Jason is led into a deadly game of cat and mouse as he becomes a subject of interest to an organization out to change the world. An organization ready to take the next leap forward in science but at great loss…or perhaps great fortune depending on who you ask.
Follow Jason as he deals with mysterious tablets prescribed to him, weird incidences of deja-vu, his doctor oddly reported missing…and something about multiple personalities.
Bit of a mixed review. This book grabbed my attention straight away. However, in the next few chapters it seemed to have lost its flow and seemed like short stories rather than one book. All is then revealed towards the middle/ end and it makes sense and is done for a reason.
Throughout the book I wasn't sure what rating to give. During the section that didn't seem to make sense it was looking to be 2/3 of 5. Now that I finished it though it will get 4 of 5 stars. Excellent concept and I think now that I know what was happening if the author was to write another book it would be 5/5. Unfortunately though as I did struggle up until the big reveal I can only give 3.5 which would be a 4 as no half options.
This was written when the author was just 15 and for that I praise him. Again, excellent concept and I would like to see a second book with the same idea which I could enjoy more now I know what it would be about if that makes sense. On saying that leaving the explanation to the end was like a twist and that is also good. As I said, very mixed review. Fantastic descriptions throughout the book as well as suspense. xx
Follow Jason as he deals with mysterious tablets prescribed to him, weird incidences of deja-vu, his doctor oddly reported missing…and something about multiple personalities.
Bit of a mixed review. This book grabbed my attention straight away. However, in the next few chapters it seemed to have lost its flow and seemed like short stories rather than one book. All is then revealed towards the middle/ end and it makes sense and is done for a reason.
Throughout the book I wasn't sure what rating to give. During the section that didn't seem to make sense it was looking to be 2/3 of 5. Now that I finished it though it will get 4 of 5 stars. Excellent concept and I think now that I know what was happening if the author was to write another book it would be 5/5. Unfortunately though as I did struggle up until the big reveal I can only give 3.5 which would be a 4 as no half options.
This was written when the author was just 15 and for that I praise him. Again, excellent concept and I would like to see a second book with the same idea which I could enjoy more now I know what it would be about if that makes sense. On saying that leaving the explanation to the end was like a twist and that is also good. As I said, very mixed review. Fantastic descriptions throughout the book as well as suspense. xx
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews