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LaCost: The Evolution of Jason
What is the ultimate potential of the human mind? Jason Patrick LaCost is gifted with a genius IQ, the ability to feel what other people are thinking, and a passion for solving some of the planet's biggest problems. As head of research for one of the Midwest’s largest biotech companies, Jason makes discoveries that have the potential to revolutionize agriculture, but pose a major threat to the corporations that control, and some would say, corrupt the planet’s food chain.
Things get ugly when a corporate shark wants to steal LaCost’s discoveries. Fortunately, his boss, Robert Schimmel, and the company’s chief of staff, Janet Riker, have his back. Schimmel calls on his oldest friend, security specialist Jack Thompson, for help. Thompson is an ex-Navy Seal and black ops operative and enlists Mark Sung, a former North Korean assassin, as extra muscle.
Along the way, LaCost falls for Alison Russo and together they take seven-year-old Sarah under their wings. Sarah becomes the real star of the show as it becomes more and more clear that she is an evolved human whose intellect is way off anyone’s charts. She points the way to a new and exciting future for the species. LaCost and Sarah form a mental and intellectual bond that normal minds have never before achieved. As Sarah matures, so do her amazing abilities. To some, she is an angel from God; to others she’s their worst nightmare.
LaCost’s continuing research leads to bigger and important discoveries but also to more dangerous corporate bad guys who threaten his work, his family, and his life. LaCost and his super group of friends and extraordinary human beings band together to fight off the threats, becoming like family in the process and paving the way for further adventures.
Things get ugly when a corporate shark wants to steal LaCost’s discoveries. Fortunately, his boss, Robert Schimmel, and the company’s chief of staff, Janet Riker, have his back. Schimmel calls on his oldest friend, security specialist Jack Thompson, for help. Thompson is an ex-Navy Seal and black ops operative and enlists Mark Sung, a former North Korean assassin, as extra muscle.
Along the way, LaCost falls for Alison Russo and together they take seven-year-old Sarah under their wings. Sarah becomes the real star of the show as it becomes more and more clear that she is an evolved human whose intellect is way off anyone’s charts. She points the way to a new and exciting future for the species. LaCost and Sarah form a mental and intellectual bond that normal minds have never before achieved. As Sarah matures, so do her amazing abilities. To some, she is an angel from God; to others she’s their worst nightmare.
LaCost’s continuing research leads to bigger and important discoveries but also to more dangerous corporate bad guys who threaten his work, his family, and his life. LaCost and his super group of friends and extraordinary human beings band together to fight off the threats, becoming like family in the process and paving the way for further adventures.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 19, 2016
4 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Rizio
7 books5 followersPatrick Rizio has been a jazz drummer, journeyman cement finisher, and union representative. He grew up reading science fiction, and he loves travel, dogs, music, and tennis. Inspired by thinkers he admires including David Deutsch, Karl Popper, Carl Sagan, and Carlo Rovelli, Rizio—always an avid reader—has a developed a passion for writing. LaCost: The Evolution Of Jason is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 24, 2017
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A genius falls in love with a teacher. They take in a seven year old girl who is an evolved being. The usual corporate baddies try to interfere with them.
Not bad, but a bit shallow.
A genius falls in love with a teacher. They take in a seven year old girl who is an evolved being. The usual corporate baddies try to interfere with them.
Not bad, but a bit shallow.
January 1, 2017
LaCost: The Evolution of Jason is a promising first novel from Patrick Rizio. A fast-moving story featuring likable characters makes LaCost a satisfying read that leaves you wanting more. Rizio optimistically explores the potential of the human mind and gives a lot to think about. The super team he puts together runs the gamut from a genius scientist to a reformed North Korean assassin to a seven-year-old prodigy. There's an edge here, but a soft one that's refreshing after the brutality that's become so common in recent thrillers. Hope you enjoy LaCost!
January 22, 2017
Great first novel - I loved this book!
July 6, 2017
I was intrigued by the premise of this book. It is something that I have always been interested in: the expanding of the human mind, whether the occasional genius polymath that comes along, or, in this case, well beyond. I believe our minds are capable of so much more, and that we may be on the brink of a new age for humanity, having come so far in the past couple hundred years in science, mathematics, and technology.
Mr. Rizio embraces the change, starting with Jason LaCost, and then with the absolute amazing evolution of Sarah. I lack for another word, besides evolution. I enjoyed how the author brought in the technical, but not so much to be overwhelming, and explaining in terms easier understood by those who aren't super-geniuses, using the tool of Jason explaining to Alison.
Although it does have hints of this book being Mr. Rizio's freshman novel, the pace kept me interested, wasn't overly complicated and jargon filled, and didn't seem off-the-charts SciFi. Enough speculation and cool stuff going on to keep a SciFi fan in tow, but not having you believe they are going from 0 to going to the Andromeda Galaxy in 30 pages. Although it definitely had thriller elements, I would not put this as the primary motive of the novel. Again...enough to interest a thriller fan, but not Jason Bourne or Robert Langdon level of saturation. Overall, a well-rounded novel that I thoroughly enjoyed, and one that made me think about our human condition.
It is my opinion that Mr. Rizio has a promising writing career, and I cannot wait for the second book, Collaboration.
The only thing I wish: I wish I could be taken along for one of Sarah's "journeys", seeing what she can see, expanding my own mind to see the beauty of the universe in the way she sees it.
Mr. Rizio embraces the change, starting with Jason LaCost, and then with the absolute amazing evolution of Sarah. I lack for another word, besides evolution. I enjoyed how the author brought in the technical, but not so much to be overwhelming, and explaining in terms easier understood by those who aren't super-geniuses, using the tool of Jason explaining to Alison.
Although it does have hints of this book being Mr. Rizio's freshman novel, the pace kept me interested, wasn't overly complicated and jargon filled, and didn't seem off-the-charts SciFi. Enough speculation and cool stuff going on to keep a SciFi fan in tow, but not having you believe they are going from 0 to going to the Andromeda Galaxy in 30 pages. Although it definitely had thriller elements, I would not put this as the primary motive of the novel. Again...enough to interest a thriller fan, but not Jason Bourne or Robert Langdon level of saturation. Overall, a well-rounded novel that I thoroughly enjoyed, and one that made me think about our human condition.
It is my opinion that Mr. Rizio has a promising writing career, and I cannot wait for the second book, Collaboration.
The only thing I wish: I wish I could be taken along for one of Sarah's "journeys", seeing what she can see, expanding my own mind to see the beauty of the universe in the way she sees it.
April 7, 2019
I won this book in a giveaway and really enjoyed reading this book. It placed a small group of people who become "family" against the large corporations and political money hungry giants. I really appreciated the way the science was explained in easy to comprehend ways and the way the book explored the ultimate potential of the mind and the evolution of humanity. I thoroughly appreciated the sense of hope that infused this book. Great first book.
July 22, 2017
I won this in a GOODREADS giveaway.
July 24, 2017
A book about people with super abilities that can help or hurt mankind.
February 25, 2017
Masterful first novel. LaCost: The Evolution of Jason speaks to you in a way that every good movie should - full of dynamism, interest, and taunting elements that keep you wanting more. One of the largest delights has been brief chapters and flipping between character scenes, each painting your mind with the characters' plight incrementally, much like any good movie should. If you're looking for a read that continues to peak your curiosity while satiating your interest in real-world issues that hit close to home, LaCost is your book.
January 22, 2017
Great first novel - loved this book!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews