Kalin Taylor is on the path to success. He's just won a scholarship to the prestigious Sanderson College of Arts and Science to study medicine. He's also about to do something very, very stupid in the name of becoming one of the 'in' kids at college.
It sounded simple at the time. Sneak into a branch of the top-secret, interstellar scientific company GenTech, take a photo of the genetically engineered creature Project Tau that's supposedly inside, and sneak back out again. Cue membership of the college frat house, cue popularity and an improved lifestyle, right?
Unfortunately for Kalin, simple doesn't mean easy. Now he's facing a life of slavery, assuming GenTech's 'training' doesn't kill him first, and if he doesn't find a way to escape soon, it'll be too late, not just for him but for Project Tau as well.
Project Tau is a “genre-bending” sci-fi psychological thriller and emotional drama and the first book in Jude Austin’s Five Worlds series! It’s not the kind of sci-fi book filled with spaceships and aliens, but instead it’s a character-driven sci-fi realism story set in a future where humanity has left Earth to inhabit other planets and genetic engineering and cloning exist (and have gone horribly wrong)! The book explores the human and emotional impacts of those technologies in a straightforward, thrilling, fast-paced story—making the book appeal to a much larger audience than your typical sci-fi novel!
The story follows Kalin Taylor, a college freshman, who’s dared by fraternity leaders to break into the headquarters of GenTech, a powerful genetics corporation, to get a glimpse of the infamous “Project Tau.” Kalin is immediately caught by GenTech, and rather than facing trial or release, he's forced to become part of the Project program himself, stripped of freedom and subjected to the same brutal conditioning meant for clones. It is here that he meets Project Tau. Unlike Kalin, Tau has never known a life outside the lab. Naïve, obedient, and desperate for approval, Tau has been raised to accept that he is less than human. Together, they face a harrowing struggle for survival inside a system designed to crush body and spirit alike.
The writing is fresh, snappy, and easy to follow and has lots of dry humor and banter incorporated throughout. Although the main protagonist is a young adult, this book is a dark, emotionally intense novel suitable for both upper YA/new adults and adults and includes some potentially triggering content: abuse & torture, dehumanization, scientific cruelty, gaslighting, and profane language.
The majority of the story is told from the 3rd-person POV of protagonist Kalin, allowing readers to become fully acquainted with the character and learn about his backstory and unhappy family life. Kalin is initially cocky, impulsive, and naive—all traits that help lead to his imprisonment at GenTech. His character arc is a central part of the story—his nightmarish experiences at GenTech force him to confront his identity and the true definition of freedom. He's unwilling to be broken and clashes with GenTech’s methods and scientists at every turn, and his incredible resiliency makes him very "badass" and likeable! The real heart of the story lies in the bond between Kalin and Project Tau. After getting to know Tau and witnessing firsthand the inhuman training and conditioning exercises he’s been forced to endure, Kalin takes on the role of protector and mentor for him.
Meanwhile, Tau slowly starts questioning the lessons and programming drilled into him since birth, learning from Kalin that he deserves more than the life GenTech has forced upon him! Even though Tau is a naive clone bred for servitude, he’s still portrayed as a deeply sympathetic character—and his innocence, confusion, and programmed obedience make him very tragic early on. Fortunately, with Kalin's help, he expands his self-awareness and becomes bolder later on, and readers will be rooting for him!
The story is also told from the POVs of GenTech scientists Denison, Renfield, and Chatton. Denison is the most vile—his detached, casual cruelty makes him extremely unlikable, and his clashes with Kalin often end in violent punishments—which is heartbreaking to read at times. Renfield is the most likable of the scientists—even though he mostly remains detached and clinical, he later begins to question Kalin’s real identity and the ethics of keeping him at GenTech—triggering some major plot twists!
This book has very powerful, thought-provoking themes, including the ethics of cloning, dehumanization, and the role of friendship in survival situations. Tau’s character and journey to self-awareness pose the question: if a human is artificially created, does that lessen their humanity? His emotional arc and character development give a very strong argument to suggest that he’s just as human as Kalin (or any other regular human). For all the thought-provoking discussion this book will incite, it's a great option for a buddy read or book club!
In terms of pacing, the book has a slow-burn start but quickly picks up momentum and remains fast-paced throughout, with clever twists and turns in the second half. The story culminates with “explosive” final chapters and ends in a cliffhanger—which isn’t surprising, being the 1st book in a series—but readers will be eager to find out what happens next! Fortunately, book 2, Homecoming, is available in Kindle and audiobook formats, so readers can immediately continue their reading adventure with these amazing characters!
In summary, Project Tau is a gripping, unsettling, and thought-provoking “light” sci-fi thriller. The author does a phenomenal job creating memorable characters readers will empathize with and root for! Even readers who don’t usually pick up science fiction will easily connect with the characters’ emotional journeys—and anyone looking for their next highly original, thought-provoking thriller should give this book and series high consideration!
🎙️Narrator Performance🎙️(⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The audiobook of Project Tau is an intense and immersive listen narrated by experienced voice actor Matt Weisgerber. Weisgerber uses a youthful, intelligent-sounding voice infused with unease, defiance, and sarcasm in all the right places to accurately portray protagonist Kalin through all his experiences at GenTech. This isn’t a casual listen—it’s the kind of story that demands your full attention—and Weisgerber’s narration pulls you right into Kalin’s headspace and keeps the atmospheric tension high from start to finish! The dialogue between Kalin and Tau is a major highlight, as Weisgerber organically transitions their conversations from guarded and uncomfortable to trusting and heartfelt. The exchanges between Kalin and the scientists are equally captivating. Weisberg authentically conveys Kalin’s dramatic defiance and high level of resiliency, especially in the hostile scenes with Dr. Denison. Weisgerber injects voice cracks into Kalin’s tone at the precise moments to allow listeners to feel Kalin’s fear and anger without overacting.
Weisgerber portrays Tau with a naive, hesitant voice, perfectly capturing his childlike conditioning and limited grasp of the world. Weisberger subtly shifts his performance to convey more confidence and self-awareness as Tau begins to question what he’s been taught—making him feel more relatable and a character listeners want to root for! In contrast, Weisgerber uses a cold, clinical-sounding voice to portray the GenTech scientists, with Dr. Denison given the most ruthless and sinister tone, to the point of being chilling and making him very unlikable!
Weisgerber also does an expert job pacing the story—the pacing is deliberately slow at times to match the oppressive laboratory and quickened during confrontational scenes (especially when Kalin becomes frantic) and the high-stakes scenes at the end—making the listening experience very cinematic!
Overall, this highly original story is elevated by Matt Weisgerber’s excellent and immersive narration, creating a gripping, unsettling, and emotionally raw listening experience! It’s an audiobook that will make you live all the experiences with the characters and become emotionally invested in their outcomes—and will make you want to listen to the sequel, Homecoming, afterwards! If you haven’t listened to Matt Weisgerber's narration before, this audiobook is a great example of his impressive acting skills and smooth, engaging storytelling, and you’ll be excited to listen to more of his work in the future!
It's a good story that could have been executed better. Where are the editors?! The extra - planetary setting does nothing to advance the story and there is minimal sci-fi elements beyond the genetic manipulation.
Project Tau is centered around Kalin Taylor, an eighteen-year-old college student trying desperately to fit in. He's also overweight, and an all-round nerd, which does nothing to help his popularity. So he agrees to do the stupidest thing possible as a hazing stunt and, unsurprisingly, falls through a hole of really deep trouble involving one of the biggest interstellar companies, GenTech.
I haven't read many indie books, so I picked up this book without many expectations. But I'm genuinely surprised at the lovely read I've stumbled upon.
To start off, the characters are brilliant. They are realistic, relatable, and intriguing; the kind whom you want to listen to and you're not skimming through paragraphs to get on with the story. And then there're the character bonds, which I loved. Honestly, as far as the characters are concerned, I don't think this book could've done any better.
Writing, dialogue and pace—10/10. Writing and dialogue are two areas where I'm far too stingy with stars, especially in the 'Young Adult' genre, where they rarely ever fail to disappoint (unfortunately!). To be fair, the starting was a bit slow and the writing a bit stiff. But then, halfway through the second chapter I realized, the writing was pretty darn good. The writing has just the right amount of dry humour to completely sell itself to me.
But the book was not without its flaws. Especially for a science fiction novel, some elements of the story/plot/worldbuilding just didn't fit together very well. I can't mention any here without spoiling the story so I won't, but I will say that the book could've really done without them. I don't think the average YA reader would have a problem with them (because YA is notorious for gaping loopholes!), that is to say, if they even notice them. Like I said, the characters and writing are brilliant, the parts I liked went further than the ones I didn't like.
Project Tau by Jude Austin is a gem in the YA sci-fi genre. No Mary-Sue's, no bad writing, and no snore-fest inducing dialogues. It was a page turner from start to finish, and I can't recommend this book enough to young adult sci-fi lovers.
"Project Tau" is a novel both fascinating and disturbing at the same time. It follows the lives of two "projects", one of whom, Tau, was "grown" in a vat in adult form and trained by scientists to obey orders without question. The other, Kalin Taylor, is a college student who snuck into the scientists' facility as a frat stunt. They capture him and immediately set to work turning him from a human into a heavily modified project named Kata.
The scientists begin a horrifying campaign to dehumanize Kalin, referring to him as an "it" and addressing him as "Project Kata". Kalin naturally protests this treatment and is punished for it by the scientists. He contrasts sharply with Tau, who was "born" to this life and who knows nothing else. He is very accepting of his fate and passive, until Kata helps him to see how he is being abused and violated.
The scientists are all working for a terrifying corporation called GenTech, an organization that sells modified human "projects" to the highest bidder. In Kata's case, they intend to sell him to the military for billions of dollars.
I tend to be a fairly slow reader. I sometimes don't "get back" to books, even when I want to read them. When I started reading "Project Tau", I kept coming back to it because of the suspense, which the author crafted very well. I wanted to know what would happen to Kalin, the unfortunate college student who unwittingly became embroiled in GenTech's heartless experiments. The story begins with a horrific scene of death and violence, and then moves into the arrival of Kalin Taylor to GenTech, when he is a naive student. I found that the story was excellent in that the reader knows that something big and terrible is going to happen, but we don't have all the details yet. We must keep reading to find out how and why the mayhem takes place.
Although violence is certainly part of the story, the author never lets it dominate over the characters' psychological development. Tau is very slowly influenced by Kata throughout the novel to become less obedient and passive; and Kata slowly begins to let go of his old life as the torturous "training" and body modifications become more and more extreme.
In the beginning of the book, I found it difficult to distinguish between the scientists. They all seemed to inhabit a mundane world where they had normalized the intense violence done towards the "Projects". As the narrative progresses, however, they begin to reveal themselves more by their willingness to challenge the evil that is going on around them:
Dr. Dennison reveals himself as a heartless sadist, even as the author lets us in on his thinking processes. When we enter his mind, we see a man who actually believes his own propaganda, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. As Kata continues to rebel and plot against him, Dennison often seems oblivious to it, as if he truly believes that a trained Project cannot think and act for himself.
Dr. Renfield begins to question what is happening around him early on and eventually, he even acts to try and stop some of it. Unfortunately, he is not rewarded for his good behavior--and he is added to the tragic horror of the GenTech corporation's indifference to humanity.
Dr. Chatton seems to be stuck in the middle, acting only when Dennison's behavior becomes so reckless as to be psychopathic. Mason is the boss or CEO of the operation, but he is so completely oblivious to what is going on underneath him that he sometimes seems to fade from memory, until recalled by one of the character's thoughts about him.
One thing that I found somewhat confusing were the quickly changing points of view that jumped from one character to another, sometimes two or more times in a chapter. There may have been a good reason for this, perhaps shuffling the characters around in the reader's mind so that they could re-materialize as more fully realized beings when the time came. And the time does come, for each of the characters, in their own ways. The author, Jude Austin, brings the action to a close through a very skillful ending, without allowing the violence to fully overshadow the characters and their thoughts.
I would recommend this book to any sci-fi fan. It describes a grim, dystopic vision of the future; but there are slight glimmers of hope as Kata and Tau forge a bond of friendship and at least a couple of the scientists wake up enough to save their own humanity. Indeed, one of the messages I took from the book is that one cannot deny another their humanity without also denying one's own.
Overall, an intriguing read that points us in the direction of our own society's failures of injustice.
The world building in this story was interesting if a bit simplistic and anachronistic at times. The primary theme revolves around human cloning … called Projects … that are grown and used in place of humans in dangerous environments (mines) and experiments that have apparently greatly benefited humanity in general, but these clones are always property, treated more or less like animals. But they are hugely expensive and the labs that grow them operate on a very slim margin … so when the opportunity to pass off a human as a project lands in front of the lab executives, they just can’t pass that up … and Kalin becomes project Kata … with skills and abilities no Project has ever had before if only they can “break” his independent streak. And that is where the story turns very dark, especially for a YA genre.
When Project Kata is thrown in with Project Tau (an actual, advanced human clone), the interactions provide a backdrop to explore what is means to be human … and what it means for a human to be reduced to mere property (think chattel slavery). There is also a dimension of human psychology with respect to how these projects are trained (aka broken) that provides an opportunity to highlight the effects of abuse and violence, both physical and mental, that was designed to dehumanize the subjects (not human and clone) and how those in authority can justify their inhuman behavior. It all seemed plausible given my understanding of human history and psychology; although to be honest, I found the focus here a little difficult to take at times, but the protagonists were very sympathetic characters and I was pulling for them the entire time while anticipating a better situation at the end …
I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
The book opens with very intense, attention gripping, thrilling action. Captivating your senses and your curiosity straight from the prologue. It then slowly sates that very curiosity it has pulled from your brain with an immensely gratifying story. The Author keeps you captivated on bated breath with each turn of the page while she takes you through the events that led up to the opening scene. The author takes you into a world of great imaginative science fiction and the life of a very relatable character. The awkward bookish young man who, as an effort to reinvent himself at college, lands himself in a world of trouble due to his naivety of the world. What started as a pledge challenge to earn Kalin’s place among the ‘in’ crowd turns into a living nightmare for him and his parents. Manipulated, mislead, abused, and stripped of his identity by a mega-corporation to be transformed into their latest ‘Project’ superhuman. He finds himself developing a fortuitous kinship with the resident Project of the facility despite himself. As much as Kailin regrets his decision to seek out Project Tau, he ultimately finds himself bonded to the project and respecting him. Along the way, this human clone named Project Tau learns there is more to the world than living in the laboratory. Through their time together as roommates Project Tau doesn’t just learn the basic literary academics denied him by the mega-corporation that created him but develops a sense of humanity none of the scientists anticipated as a possibility. Failing to see the kinship between the projects for what it was the scientist overseeing Kalin’s captivity belatedly discovers the danger of underestimating the will, ambition, and determination of an angry teenager modified and held captive. An oversight that proves fatal in the end. Kalin uses the new body modifications surgically forced upon him and assassin skills they spent 2 years training him on to take back his freedom while exacting violent justice on his and Project Tau’s oppressors. This book challenges your concept of what humanity means to each of us, and just where the line should be drawn on just how far science should be allowed to press upon the boundaries of our humanity to expedite our evolution and advancements in life. While simultaneously stimulating our creative, scientific minds with all the positive ways some of the technology used in the story could better the world around us today. The author also manages to pull you so deeply into the story you become emotionally invested in the lives of Project Tau and Kalin. Referred to by the scientists as Project Kata during his captivity. You cringe along with them over their pain, empathize with their mental and emotional turmoil, and celebrate their small victories with them. This book will have you losing sleep out of the sheer will to read just one more chapter before putting it down for the night. I recommend a great night of rest before you begin reading.
pros: - great writing, pacing, plot, tension, character building, dialogue, everything - really cared about both Tau and Kata, and liked that the scientists all got pretty distinct personalities too - dealt interestingly with moral issues and I especially liked when Tau pulled Kata up on treating Tau like a tool
cons: - would have liked to see even more of Tau's character - there seemed to be a jump in development between him interacting with Kata for most of it, and then him and Kata fighting the scientists - didn't like the prologue, I would have enjoyed the suspense of wondering what would happen more than knowing the ending at the start - thought Kata didn't think of his family enough
other than that - excellent, would definitely read more nb. found this through OBC but didn't read it through them
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Have humans created the ultimate utopia or a legalized form of slavery?
Project Tau by Jude Austin features a futuristic world where holosuites and hyperspace travel are all the rage. And human cloning is the norm. On a frat dare the protagonist Kalin Taylor sneaks into GenTech, one such cloning laboratory. There he meets Project Tau and is introduced to a whole new world. A world in which as a project " You will never have to worry about human concerns such as money, bills, food, or housing." What about the concern of freedom? This book is a must read for Sci Fi lovers 18 and older. I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars. Austin does a good job of creating empathy for the characters and the challenges that they face as they navigate their new way of life.
Project Tau was a decent story that tackles the question of what makes someone human.
The author Jude Austin does a decent job fleshing out the main characters but some of the supporting roles were quite one dimensional. I was also disappointed in the lack of women in the novel. The female characters that did exist were not well explored. The writing style was simplistic and almost seemed as if it was a high school creative writing assignment. Some scenes seem almost cut short without explanation or detail.
So why three stars? The idea of the story was interesting. The main character was well-developed. And the goal of exploring humanity was done well.
I have read most of Anne Rice’s, Dan Brown’s, and Michael Crichton’s novels and now that my family is home full time, we read everything we can get our hands on. I prefer fiction with some truth to them but every now and then a book like this propels me into a fantastic world where the impossible lives. I had a few road blocks in which the author used language that I could not make sense of. After several attempts, re-reading the paragraph in different ways, I gave up and moved on so I may have missed something significant but I doubt it. This was, after all, meant to be an easy, quick read. It was fun but not intellectually stimulating.
5 star story- 3 star writing. This is a good solid story with interesting, unique characters. It's got good movement, but some of this is lost in the writing style. The author changes point of view more than any author I've read. You hear what everyone is thinking- and he sometimes adds "in the privacy of their own mind"...as if we don't know what a thought is. The pace was lost a bit at the end too. It's too bad, because I really enjoyed this story and even with the writing style will check out the next in the series. The author just needs a little more work polishing his writing skills. I would say it's worth checking out.
What a beautiful imagination for the first book of this series which is a total easy to understand and pure fun of science fiction, simple to read or listen to by the author Jude Austin who have thought and managed to get it all on paper with unbelievable ease.
Matt Weisgerber also have done an amazing job narrating each character perfectly.
How I wish for the next audiobook of this series to fall into my hands as this one have !
This book will remind you of the movie Blade Runner, as well as the Amazon Prime series Humans.
The premise is similar, the foil in this book are "Projects", cloned or otherwise lab generated humans. In the opener of this book series, a college student, Kata for short, unwittingly and unwillingly takes on the persona of a project. Forced to train as a project, Kata own biases are revealed as he thrust into living quarters with an actual Project, Tau. Over the course of the book, we find Kata becoming more like a Project and Tau becoming more human. Fittingly, at the end of the book, Tau makes a more humane decision than Kata would have made.
Great thriller for sci-fi fans interested in a fast-paced, horrific story about human cloning. Kalin Taylor is your typical lonely college freshman nerd. Looking to make some friends, he tries to rush a fraternity. They don't like him, so they give him a fool's task. They say they'll admit him, IF he sneaks into a nearby top-secret cloning lab and snaps a picture of their latest complete human clone, Project Tau. Kalin is desperate enough to actually try this. And when he breaks in, they won't just let him go...
I actually really like this book. I have been looking for a book to read and this came up as one that I was going to get paid to read. It was not even a slow start. I didn't know until chapter 14. That it was part of a series. So I'm going to go back and read the rest of the series. If you like comparing the real world, political actions, and the 1% to future on what it could all turn out to be like, this book was a nice one to read for that kind of perspective.
Book 1 in the Five Worlds series. This was a really interesting, unique and thought-provoking Sci-Fi novel about cloning, human experimentation and crossing the line into cruelty and inhumanity. It was very dark and emotionally intense, and full of dark humor. It started slow, but picked up and was full of action, suspense and twists and turns. The characters were well-written, and the friendship that develops between Kalin and Tau was my favorite part of the book. Most definitely check the trigger warnings on this one!
Project Tau, is a well written, well edited, well wrought off tale that keeps you entertained all the time until you finish with the book.
Jude Austin, had presented a great YA book that tells the story of Project Tau and Project Kata, two very unlikely and different friends, whose relationship change each other so much as to be able to give us one of the best YA Science Fiction stories I've read in a good while.
I truly love the basis of this book. It tells a lot in to what makes a human a human. Is it feelings, intelligence, personality? Could a clone develop all of these things and not be considered human? The only thing I wish is that there was a little more detail as to some of the background stories. Nuances make the book and I can only imagine how much more invested I would have been with the characters with more details. Definitely downloading the next one!
This was an innovative story with the right amount of action, suspense, and background story telling and character building. I read a lot of books and I find many male authors have to much action and not enough substance which is the opposite of many female authors. It’s not that I don’t enjoy both types of books, it’s just that I am usually left wanting. However, this book fits right in the sweet spot me. Thanks Jude.
Kalin Taylor was a teen eager to start a new life at college. He plans on joining a frat house, with hopes of fitting in. But after a frat stunt goes horribly wrong. Kalin is left imprisoned at a top secret scientific facility that specializes in human cloning. This is a very action packed novel with plenty of shock factors. I enjoyed every bit and never wanted to put it down.
Take a College boy and strip his humanity away. Take a clone who is like a child and let him learn from the College boy. Add pain, inhumane acts and watch what you get. It is a hard book to read as you can see the degradation, the small acts of mercy and you can 'see' it happening someday
This was a fun read. Gritty, engaging, and deep enough to make one think. I really enjoyed the characters and the twists and turns of the plot were unexpected. Full disclosure that there's a fair amount of swearing in the book but it doesn't detract and sometimes adds to the story. Looking forward to the next book!
it started out like any typical book about a teenager who is looking for acceptance. However, I was willing to persevere, and it soon got a lot better. I’m assuming there’s a sequel because the main characters haven’t grown enough yet. Plus there are a bunch of plot threads still dangling.
A novel for teens (main character) rather than adults. The premise was interesting, but the details were a total mess. A CEO with the mind of a 10 year old is unlikely, unless it was the focus of the story. Brutality in the company in the extreme is also counter-productive. Volume 1 is enough for me.
I really enjoyed this book. There were things I questioned a lot but I don’t want to give things away in my review. Kata & Tau are very interesting characters and I’d definitely be interested in listening to or reading book 2. Narration was really good by Matt Weisgerber. I was given this title in exchange for a review.
Project Tau is a futuristic book about a human clone Tau and his human friend Kaylin Taylor. The book tells us about the torture inflicted on human clones and their consequences. If you are into sci-fi this is the book for you.
Excellent cool read and story line! Once again I found a book that was hard to put down. I do have other things to do than read but it was difficult to stop and each reading’s end. Thanks!
"Project Tau" by Jude Austin is a spectacular sci-fi realism novel. It follows Kalin Taylor as he evolves from a bullied obese boy to an unwilling killing machine. Along the way, we also get to meet Project Tau as he starts to unshake his shackles of slavery.
I loved this book. It drew me in fast. Project Tau is a very well written book, and I couldn't wait to read the next book in the series. Even if you do not love reading science fiction, I believe anyone would enjoy this book.
Great book has some really good characters in it and unexpected parts throughout out. There are some swear words throughout the book. This book was a really good read though and kept me interested throughout the entire book.