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Praegressus Project #1
Rebirth
The United States have fallen. A new power has risen in North America, but now a terrifying virus is spreading across the countryside. Once infected, people change, mutating into superhuman creatures known as the Chead. Wherever they walk, death follows. Desperate to defend its citizens, the government launches the Praegressus Project – an experimental program to enhance the human race.
Elizabeth Flores was just a normal girl – until the Chead slaughtered her parents and made her a fugitive. With winter approaching she seeks refuge in the city of Sacramento, but the hunters are waiting. Abducted off the streets, she’s spirited away to a facility deep in the Californian mountains. There, Liz wakes in an iron cage – and she’s not alone.
In the opposite cage, Christopher Sanders stands wrongfully accused of treason. Along with Liz, he has just become a volunteer in the Praegressus Project. Stripped of their rights, they will soon learn there is little separating humanity from the monsters they seek to destroy. The two must work together if they want to survive, but even then, their chances are slim.
Of course, only the lucky get to die.
Blending the insane experiments of Stranger Things and the haunting dystopia of the Hunger Games, fans will love this thrilling new series. Discover a future where the powerful rule without mercy, and nothing is ever as it seems. With hints of YA Dystopia, Genetic Scifi, Urban Fantasy and just a touch of Romance, the Praegressus Project truly has something for everyone. Enter a new world with New York Times Bestselling Author Aaron Hodges.
This series is COMPLETE for your enjoyment!
Author interview
What made you write a Dystopian series?
I’ve always been quite fascinated with the intricacies human nature. I thought writing a dystopian scifi would give me an opportunity to explore a range of characters, and how they cope with a world in which the rules of society no longer apply – at least not to the powerful!
Would you call your series Young Adult?
Kind of? The cast are for the most part young adults, but there’s definitely no holding back when it comes to the world they’ve found themselves in. As much as I enjoyed the Hunger Games and Maze Runner series, I felt they both were missing the raw tragedy and suffering of the real world. There’s no holding back here. Characters you love will die, and those who remain have to deal with it – even while still fighting for their own lives.
Who would enjoy this novel?
Anyone who loves a good emotional roller-coaster of a journey will enjoy these books. The concept is dark (I based much of the political persecution off Argentina in the 70s) and if you’re expecting a happy ending…well you’ll just have to read them to find out what happens there!
Elizabeth Flores was just a normal girl – until the Chead slaughtered her parents and made her a fugitive. With winter approaching she seeks refuge in the city of Sacramento, but the hunters are waiting. Abducted off the streets, she’s spirited away to a facility deep in the Californian mountains. There, Liz wakes in an iron cage – and she’s not alone.
In the opposite cage, Christopher Sanders stands wrongfully accused of treason. Along with Liz, he has just become a volunteer in the Praegressus Project. Stripped of their rights, they will soon learn there is little separating humanity from the monsters they seek to destroy. The two must work together if they want to survive, but even then, their chances are slim.
Of course, only the lucky get to die.
Blending the insane experiments of Stranger Things and the haunting dystopia of the Hunger Games, fans will love this thrilling new series. Discover a future where the powerful rule without mercy, and nothing is ever as it seems. With hints of YA Dystopia, Genetic Scifi, Urban Fantasy and just a touch of Romance, the Praegressus Project truly has something for everyone. Enter a new world with New York Times Bestselling Author Aaron Hodges.
This series is COMPLETE for your enjoyment!
Author interview
What made you write a Dystopian series?
I’ve always been quite fascinated with the intricacies human nature. I thought writing a dystopian scifi would give me an opportunity to explore a range of characters, and how they cope with a world in which the rules of society no longer apply – at least not to the powerful!
Would you call your series Young Adult?
Kind of? The cast are for the most part young adults, but there’s definitely no holding back when it comes to the world they’ve found themselves in. As much as I enjoyed the Hunger Games and Maze Runner series, I felt they both were missing the raw tragedy and suffering of the real world. There’s no holding back here. Characters you love will die, and those who remain have to deal with it – even while still fighting for their own lives.
Who would enjoy this novel?
Anyone who loves a good emotional roller-coaster of a journey will enjoy these books. The concept is dark (I based much of the political persecution off Argentina in the 70s) and if you’re expecting a happy ending…well you’ll just have to read them to find out what happens there!
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 27, 2017
397 people are currently reading
968 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Hodges
53 books297 followersAaron Hodges was born in 1989 in the small town of Whakatane, New Zealand. He studied for five years at the University of Auckland, completing a Bachelor's of Science in Biology and Geography, and a Masters of Environmental Engineering. After working as an environmental consultant for two years, he now spends his time traveling the world in search of his next adventure.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
September 6, 2018
Rebirth
The Praegressus Project, Book 1
By: Aaron Hodges
Narrated by: Michael Stene
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
This is a suspense-filled book that kept me on the edge of my....tablet. lol
The world building was good and I don't want to live there. It was an intense book where scientist were experimenting on kids. If you like Max Ride by James Patterson then you will like this. Similar but different enough to stand alone. Can't wait to see what happens next!
The narrator kept the feel of the book flowing well. Great job!
The Praegressus Project, Book 1
By: Aaron Hodges
Narrated by: Michael Stene
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
This is a suspense-filled book that kept me on the edge of my....tablet. lol
The world building was good and I don't want to live there. It was an intense book where scientist were experimenting on kids. If you like Max Ride by James Patterson then you will like this. Similar but different enough to stand alone. Can't wait to see what happens next!
The narrator kept the feel of the book flowing well. Great job!
April 15, 2019
What’s there not to like about my at the moment favorite dystopian genre? And about the story of young boys and girls, by the government proclaimed traitors, destined to either subject themselves to experiments and genetic manipulations or keep their integrity and dignity by accepting the death sentence with no trial?
And what’s there to like about living in a society which abducts and stigmatizes children by the sins of their parents and with savage brutality forces them into submission to use them as weapons for the survival of the human race and one secret project?
Can and will they endure the torture, violence and humiliation inflicted upon their bodies and minds? Can ordinary kids-proclaimed traitors-turned victims spread their wings and raise themselves to the pedestal of superhumans and heroes? Or will they succumb and perish in the dust of others who vanished in the gutters of the American dystopian world?
Merciless, violent and painful is an American future in Rebirth, exciting first book of the Praegressus Project series by Aaron Hodges.
And what’s there to like about living in a society which abducts and stigmatizes children by the sins of their parents and with savage brutality forces them into submission to use them as weapons for the survival of the human race and one secret project?
Can and will they endure the torture, violence and humiliation inflicted upon their bodies and minds? Can ordinary kids-proclaimed traitors-turned victims spread their wings and raise themselves to the pedestal of superhumans and heroes? Or will they succumb and perish in the dust of others who vanished in the gutters of the American dystopian world?
Merciless, violent and painful is an American future in Rebirth, exciting first book of the Praegressus Project series by Aaron Hodges.
March 3, 2018
Pretty good writing mechanics, but content was sorely inaccurate.
This is a look into a dystopian future, one I certainly NEVER want to happen here in California. It’s all about very high-level genetic engineering as part of a government project allegedly meant to deal with what I’ll call the Walking Zombies on Speed. Subjects being experimented upon are the children of adults accused of treason against the Western United States of California, Oregon, and the State of Washington. I’m not certain if any of these accusations are actually real because the writer hadn’t gone into detail. All I can tell is that they might have been accused of treason just to get to their children rather than the other way around. Either way, treason means death, and the assumption is that by submitting to bodily experimentation, the adolescents might survive… a little longer.
Now I have just read this introductory book, and while mechanically, it’s pretty sound, I was EXTREMELY disappointed in the lack of proper research, and what research that had been done, well, I don’t think it was being used to justify the storytelling. It’s like taking science and forcing it to work. In some cases, there were just stupid errors that will be explained below.
Length: Long novella.
Character development: I know this is the first of a series, so I should not expect development rather than character establishment. You know? “Hiya! Time ta get ta know ya, ya know?” But it really flopped for me. I really wanted to get into these characters, but I just could not.
Emotional factor: Usually when I talk about emotional factors, it’s usually whether or not I am sympathetic towards these characters… or not. In this book, I am exposed to extreme violence. It’s like I’m reading the notes of Dr. Mengele. My question is: Why should these kids be pitted against each other to the death to prove their worthiness to advance to the actual experimentation? That doesn’t necessarily mean they are great candidates for bizarre genetic engineering. Not from a medical viewpoint. The ability to kill someone in order to survive doesn’t mean that person is ideal to mess with his/her genome. This sounds like Nazi propaganda. Do I feel sympathetic to these young people? No, not really. I’m not sure the writer worked hard enough to deliver that emotional hook at the beginning. My answer to that is that the reader really wasn’t given enough information on WHY these families were labeled traitors to the government. Had I had known what Chris’ mother was really up to, I might had been more sympathetic.
Speed of action: Decent. No slowness. Obviously, we’re going to be left at a cliffhanger because “But wait! There’s more!”
Predictability: It really was a matter of figuring out who was going to survive. Obviously, there will be deaths, probably not our main two but definitely someone close and collateral. (It’s a formula, but one I am not necessarily fond of.)
Credibility issues:
(1) “Chris swallowed hard. A trick of sweat ran down his neck and he tasted bile in his throat.” Completely medically inaccurate. In order to taste bile in your mouth, you have to be projectile vomiting more than a few times. You have to vomit so badly that you think you’ll see your toes in the toilet. Stomach acid? Yes. Bile? Nope! Not under these circumstances.
(2) “Your collars are capable of delivering an electric shock of five hundred volts and up to one hundred milliamps.” Uh… these two terms are NOT the same thing. Here’s a cute explanation of volts vs amps by HowStuffWorks: “Voltage is measured in volts, current is measured in amps and resistance is measured in ohms. A neat analogy to help understand these terms is a system of plumbing pipes. The voltage is equivalent to the water pressure, the current is equivalent to the flow rate…” Obviously, no editor here (or one who has two electronic engineers in the family, but it still is no excuse). My father once told me that it isn’t the volts that kill you, it’s the amperage.
(3) When Halt activates a large voltage of electricity via a control collar around Chris’ neck, the description of the young man’s agony is totally inaccurate. Do you know what happens when you hit the body with electricity? All the muscles activate, and you go into a state of tetanus. It doesn’t feel like fire. I don’t know how this impression ever got into people’s heads. Have you ever touched an agricultural electrified fence? I have. It felt like someone severely punched me in my upper arm, and my fingers shot out straight with all muscles fighting against each other. We’re talking about tearing of the muscle from within. You’ve heard the term tetanus the infection? Electricity can act the same way. Since the muscles that pull your head backwards are stronger than the muscles that pull your head forward, you can break your neck if the shock is strong enough. Oh, and there is no sudden absence of pain, not at the level Chris was hit with. He’ll hurt like hell for at least a few days, not go back to normal as indicated in the book.
(4) Viruses cannot be in the genome. The DNA of a virus can be inserted in a genome. Augh!
(5) In the field of evolution, there is a saying that is practically their mantra: “Mutations are yucky!” Basically, it points out that just because a mutation takes place, it usually produces a fatal outcome. Rarely are mutations helpful. The concept of the chead is intriguing, but to integrate that many genes in a single genome, it will take way too long to produce a viable creature. Of course, you could integrate these genes in extrons, but these segments are generally ignored or remain dormant and rarely utilized. And don’t forget the immune system! God, why do even geneticists forget how unpredictable the immune system is. When I heard they had advanced to the human level of experimentation regarding inserting a gene that would essentially repair a genome belonging to a woman with rheumatoid arthritis, I called them, begging them NOT to do it. Yes, they did have dramatic, positive results with even their primate studies, there is a mantra well-known to geneticists: The human immune system is completely unpredictable. They laughed at me and assured me that you can’t get to human experimentation unless even the committees were absolutely convinced that the risks were acceptable. It wasn’t. She died painfully four months later. That’s when Genotech and other hot genetic think tanks… uh… tanked. It hasn’t been until the last few years that they returned to immunotherapy, but it’s now for cancer. I suppose it’s easier to bomb something and blow it up. And that is the point I want to make. More than likely, instead of transforming into a superior mutation, the whole thing WILL blow up in your face. Now you’re back at your starting point. That is why the theory of evolution only works in periods of many, many years upward to millions of years. Too many yucky mutations!
(6) I do not understand this quote: “In other words, the virus was a part of the Chead now. There was no reversing the process.” The integrated viron was already part of the Chead in the first place, not just after activation. There is an error in the logic train here.
(7) Did you know that the town of Julian actually exists? It’s the mountains (1288 meters above sea level) in San Diego County where gold was discovered in 1869. It’s a California Historical Landmark now, and the last time I was there, they grew great apples and made fab cider but was not a dusty farmland.
(8) Since many of the enzymatic reactions are temperature-sensitive, having bunsen burners around is rather… archaic and dangerous. I used induction heating pads with the ability to control temperatures +/- 0.25 degrees C. You can’t control the heat of a bunsen burner, and I can’t think of any other reason to have one in a genetics lab, even to incinerate-sterilize inoculation loops. But that’s just basic microbiology, not high-level genetic engineering.
(9) Sure, it’s nit-picky, but isn’t “broiled stew” an oxymoron?
(10) No, no, no… If you want to really incapacitate someone, you don’t kick him in the back of the knee. You kick the outer side. I learned that dirty trick from disreputable soccer players. THAT destroys the medial collateral ligament and probably the anterior cruciate ligament, it will incapacitate someone with little effort. It is so painful because of the nerves within the ligaments, tendons and periostia. I suppose if the kick was that of Chead strength, you could rupture the patellar ligament, but that’s usually very, very difficult to do even under super-power circumstances. Besides, the massive muscles of the thighs and hips would prevent any instability, so the mutated chead would not be so easily taken down. And where did you come up with this plexus of nerves behind the knee cap? THERE ISN’T any! Just bone, cartilage, and joint juice. I’ve examined cadavers AND live-action knee scopes. This plexus would interfere with the smooth workings of the patella and cause painpainpain with normal walking. Where did you do your anatomy research? Who told you that crap? Look, you want to know medical, contact me. I can give you plenty of inspiration and keep it fundamentally correct. That’s the sign of a smart and professional writer. (You obviously need a better content editor. A good content editor would never let these errors slip by.)
Grammar and technical errors: Actually, with few exceptions, the mechanics were pretty decent. Content wasn’t. (See above.)
I have an idea where this guy is going with this series, but… considering some of the gross content errors, I don’t think I would continue reading this series. I mean, if he wants to go back and correct these errors, that’s the sign of a true writer, sort of analogous to a true scientist. A true scientist must be willing to completely rewrite his belief system once a new truth is uncovered. If he is unwilling to do so (more because of pride issues or fear of having his theories debunked), he is not a true scientist. Adapt and move on.
I also am ambivalent about the level of violence. I KNOW that dystopias are not violence-free. All they are is survival of the fittest. I supposed that the “kill or be killed” means of culling the experimental candidates was to justify the later actions that they had what it took to get out of the facilities, but I will tell you that the psychic destruction will be terrible, and I really don’t think this genetic rewrite of these young people’s genomes will wipe the slate clean because there is another mantra about the human physique: Bodies NEVER forget. Everything bad will come back to haunt them, and the results will not be good. If Aaron Hodges doesn’t consider this biological truth, then I probably won’t be coming back for seconds and paying for the privilege.
This is a look into a dystopian future, one I certainly NEVER want to happen here in California. It’s all about very high-level genetic engineering as part of a government project allegedly meant to deal with what I’ll call the Walking Zombies on Speed. Subjects being experimented upon are the children of adults accused of treason against the Western United States of California, Oregon, and the State of Washington. I’m not certain if any of these accusations are actually real because the writer hadn’t gone into detail. All I can tell is that they might have been accused of treason just to get to their children rather than the other way around. Either way, treason means death, and the assumption is that by submitting to bodily experimentation, the adolescents might survive… a little longer.
Now I have just read this introductory book, and while mechanically, it’s pretty sound, I was EXTREMELY disappointed in the lack of proper research, and what research that had been done, well, I don’t think it was being used to justify the storytelling. It’s like taking science and forcing it to work. In some cases, there were just stupid errors that will be explained below.
Length: Long novella.
Character development: I know this is the first of a series, so I should not expect development rather than character establishment. You know? “Hiya! Time ta get ta know ya, ya know?” But it really flopped for me. I really wanted to get into these characters, but I just could not.
Emotional factor: Usually when I talk about emotional factors, it’s usually whether or not I am sympathetic towards these characters… or not. In this book, I am exposed to extreme violence. It’s like I’m reading the notes of Dr. Mengele. My question is: Why should these kids be pitted against each other to the death to prove their worthiness to advance to the actual experimentation? That doesn’t necessarily mean they are great candidates for bizarre genetic engineering. Not from a medical viewpoint. The ability to kill someone in order to survive doesn’t mean that person is ideal to mess with his/her genome. This sounds like Nazi propaganda. Do I feel sympathetic to these young people? No, not really. I’m not sure the writer worked hard enough to deliver that emotional hook at the beginning. My answer to that is that the reader really wasn’t given enough information on WHY these families were labeled traitors to the government. Had I had known what Chris’ mother was really up to, I might had been more sympathetic.
Speed of action: Decent. No slowness. Obviously, we’re going to be left at a cliffhanger because “But wait! There’s more!”
Predictability: It really was a matter of figuring out who was going to survive. Obviously, there will be deaths, probably not our main two but definitely someone close and collateral. (It’s a formula, but one I am not necessarily fond of.)
Credibility issues:
(1) “Chris swallowed hard. A trick of sweat ran down his neck and he tasted bile in his throat.” Completely medically inaccurate. In order to taste bile in your mouth, you have to be projectile vomiting more than a few times. You have to vomit so badly that you think you’ll see your toes in the toilet. Stomach acid? Yes. Bile? Nope! Not under these circumstances.
(2) “Your collars are capable of delivering an electric shock of five hundred volts and up to one hundred milliamps.” Uh… these two terms are NOT the same thing. Here’s a cute explanation of volts vs amps by HowStuffWorks: “Voltage is measured in volts, current is measured in amps and resistance is measured in ohms. A neat analogy to help understand these terms is a system of plumbing pipes. The voltage is equivalent to the water pressure, the current is equivalent to the flow rate…” Obviously, no editor here (or one who has two electronic engineers in the family, but it still is no excuse). My father once told me that it isn’t the volts that kill you, it’s the amperage.
(3) When Halt activates a large voltage of electricity via a control collar around Chris’ neck, the description of the young man’s agony is totally inaccurate. Do you know what happens when you hit the body with electricity? All the muscles activate, and you go into a state of tetanus. It doesn’t feel like fire. I don’t know how this impression ever got into people’s heads. Have you ever touched an agricultural electrified fence? I have. It felt like someone severely punched me in my upper arm, and my fingers shot out straight with all muscles fighting against each other. We’re talking about tearing of the muscle from within. You’ve heard the term tetanus the infection? Electricity can act the same way. Since the muscles that pull your head backwards are stronger than the muscles that pull your head forward, you can break your neck if the shock is strong enough. Oh, and there is no sudden absence of pain, not at the level Chris was hit with. He’ll hurt like hell for at least a few days, not go back to normal as indicated in the book.
(4) Viruses cannot be in the genome. The DNA of a virus can be inserted in a genome. Augh!
(5) In the field of evolution, there is a saying that is practically their mantra: “Mutations are yucky!” Basically, it points out that just because a mutation takes place, it usually produces a fatal outcome. Rarely are mutations helpful. The concept of the chead is intriguing, but to integrate that many genes in a single genome, it will take way too long to produce a viable creature. Of course, you could integrate these genes in extrons, but these segments are generally ignored or remain dormant and rarely utilized. And don’t forget the immune system! God, why do even geneticists forget how unpredictable the immune system is. When I heard they had advanced to the human level of experimentation regarding inserting a gene that would essentially repair a genome belonging to a woman with rheumatoid arthritis, I called them, begging them NOT to do it. Yes, they did have dramatic, positive results with even their primate studies, there is a mantra well-known to geneticists: The human immune system is completely unpredictable. They laughed at me and assured me that you can’t get to human experimentation unless even the committees were absolutely convinced that the risks were acceptable. It wasn’t. She died painfully four months later. That’s when Genotech and other hot genetic think tanks… uh… tanked. It hasn’t been until the last few years that they returned to immunotherapy, but it’s now for cancer. I suppose it’s easier to bomb something and blow it up. And that is the point I want to make. More than likely, instead of transforming into a superior mutation, the whole thing WILL blow up in your face. Now you’re back at your starting point. That is why the theory of evolution only works in periods of many, many years upward to millions of years. Too many yucky mutations!
(6) I do not understand this quote: “In other words, the virus was a part of the Chead now. There was no reversing the process.” The integrated viron was already part of the Chead in the first place, not just after activation. There is an error in the logic train here.
(7) Did you know that the town of Julian actually exists? It’s the mountains (1288 meters above sea level) in San Diego County where gold was discovered in 1869. It’s a California Historical Landmark now, and the last time I was there, they grew great apples and made fab cider but was not a dusty farmland.
(8) Since many of the enzymatic reactions are temperature-sensitive, having bunsen burners around is rather… archaic and dangerous. I used induction heating pads with the ability to control temperatures +/- 0.25 degrees C. You can’t control the heat of a bunsen burner, and I can’t think of any other reason to have one in a genetics lab, even to incinerate-sterilize inoculation loops. But that’s just basic microbiology, not high-level genetic engineering.
(9) Sure, it’s nit-picky, but isn’t “broiled stew” an oxymoron?
(10) No, no, no… If you want to really incapacitate someone, you don’t kick him in the back of the knee. You kick the outer side. I learned that dirty trick from disreputable soccer players. THAT destroys the medial collateral ligament and probably the anterior cruciate ligament, it will incapacitate someone with little effort. It is so painful because of the nerves within the ligaments, tendons and periostia. I suppose if the kick was that of Chead strength, you could rupture the patellar ligament, but that’s usually very, very difficult to do even under super-power circumstances. Besides, the massive muscles of the thighs and hips would prevent any instability, so the mutated chead would not be so easily taken down. And where did you come up with this plexus of nerves behind the knee cap? THERE ISN’T any! Just bone, cartilage, and joint juice. I’ve examined cadavers AND live-action knee scopes. This plexus would interfere with the smooth workings of the patella and cause painpainpain with normal walking. Where did you do your anatomy research? Who told you that crap? Look, you want to know medical, contact me. I can give you plenty of inspiration and keep it fundamentally correct. That’s the sign of a smart and professional writer. (You obviously need a better content editor. A good content editor would never let these errors slip by.)
Grammar and technical errors: Actually, with few exceptions, the mechanics were pretty decent. Content wasn’t. (See above.)
I have an idea where this guy is going with this series, but… considering some of the gross content errors, I don’t think I would continue reading this series. I mean, if he wants to go back and correct these errors, that’s the sign of a true writer, sort of analogous to a true scientist. A true scientist must be willing to completely rewrite his belief system once a new truth is uncovered. If he is unwilling to do so (more because of pride issues or fear of having his theories debunked), he is not a true scientist. Adapt and move on.
I also am ambivalent about the level of violence. I KNOW that dystopias are not violence-free. All they are is survival of the fittest. I supposed that the “kill or be killed” means of culling the experimental candidates was to justify the later actions that they had what it took to get out of the facilities, but I will tell you that the psychic destruction will be terrible, and I really don’t think this genetic rewrite of these young people’s genomes will wipe the slate clean because there is another mantra about the human physique: Bodies NEVER forget. Everything bad will come back to haunt them, and the results will not be good. If Aaron Hodges doesn’t consider this biological truth, then I probably won’t be coming back for seconds and paying for the privilege.
May 29, 2017
Rebirth is the first of a three-part science fiction series entitled The Praegressus Project. Eighteen-year-old Chris and his mother were both taken in the dead-of-night. Soon, Chris awakens in a cell. Confused and frightened, he has no knowledge of where his mother is--only that she's accused of treason and children must pay for their parents' crimes. Chris must join forces with others just like him in the fight for survival against a group of doctors who are experimenting with science in order to enhance the human race.
The premise of the story kept my interest from start to finish. It held at a steady pace with a couple of action scenes here and there. Most of the setting takes place solely in the cells, so there wasn't a lot of world building; however, that didn't drag the plot. Unlike most science fiction stories, Rebirth wasn't about building a world, but about character development. It's hard not to like the characters, particularly Liz, the young woman Chris first meets after he awakens in his own cell. Chris, on the other hand, took awhile for me to like. But I believe out of the small group, Chris was the one who grew the most--and maybe that's what author Aaron Hodges had in mind, although I can't vouch for sure.
I believe Rebirth would fit just about any type of readers. There's just about everything one could want: science, fantasy, friendship, love, power, and survival. It's clean of bad language and no sex scenes. There is a bit of violence, though, but it's not heavy, so no gore. It only shows how evil these experimenters are. They treat their captors as if they're lab rats.
There were some errors here and there, but I'm quickly learning not to count against it...especially since the errors were few. After all, we are all human, and shouldn't be expected to be perfect! Even the greatest has misprints at times. I don't know if Aaron Hodges edited his own work or not, but as a professional editor myself, I've learned that it's not easy editing one's own work.
Rebirth was well-written, tight and a story I couldn't wait to finish just to find out what happens. Aaron Hodges is definitely on the fast track to becoming an excellent science fiction novelist. I can't wait to read more from him. Highly recommended.
*For more book reviews, visit https://angelakaysbooks.com/book-revi....*
The premise of the story kept my interest from start to finish. It held at a steady pace with a couple of action scenes here and there. Most of the setting takes place solely in the cells, so there wasn't a lot of world building; however, that didn't drag the plot. Unlike most science fiction stories, Rebirth wasn't about building a world, but about character development. It's hard not to like the characters, particularly Liz, the young woman Chris first meets after he awakens in his own cell. Chris, on the other hand, took awhile for me to like. But I believe out of the small group, Chris was the one who grew the most--and maybe that's what author Aaron Hodges had in mind, although I can't vouch for sure.
I believe Rebirth would fit just about any type of readers. There's just about everything one could want: science, fantasy, friendship, love, power, and survival. It's clean of bad language and no sex scenes. There is a bit of violence, though, but it's not heavy, so no gore. It only shows how evil these experimenters are. They treat their captors as if they're lab rats.
There were some errors here and there, but I'm quickly learning not to count against it...especially since the errors were few. After all, we are all human, and shouldn't be expected to be perfect! Even the greatest has misprints at times. I don't know if Aaron Hodges edited his own work or not, but as a professional editor myself, I've learned that it's not easy editing one's own work.
Rebirth was well-written, tight and a story I couldn't wait to finish just to find out what happens. Aaron Hodges is definitely on the fast track to becoming an excellent science fiction novelist. I can't wait to read more from him. Highly recommended.
*For more book reviews, visit https://angelakaysbooks.com/book-revi....*
January 9, 2018
Fresh, fast-paced Sci-Fi Fantasy.
With Rebirth (The Praegressus Project Book 1), Aaron Hodges has put his own fresh stamp on the enhanced human genetic story. Driven by compelling characters, an intriguing post-apocalyptic world and an absorbing mystery, Rebirth is a real page-turner. I was riveted from the first action-packed chapter to the last gut-wrenching scene.
Fans of James Patterson's Maximum Ride series will get hooked on Rebirth. I sure did!
With Rebirth (The Praegressus Project Book 1), Aaron Hodges has put his own fresh stamp on the enhanced human genetic story. Driven by compelling characters, an intriguing post-apocalyptic world and an absorbing mystery, Rebirth is a real page-turner. I was riveted from the first action-packed chapter to the last gut-wrenching scene.
Fans of James Patterson's Maximum Ride series will get hooked on Rebirth. I sure did!
March 29, 2017
Before I start my review you should know I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi and it's not my go to genre. I decided to review this book because I'm in the middle of a long list of books to review for my website Artistic Bent and didn't have anything like this so I figured why not? If I have to be even more honest I was ready to hate it just because like I said I'm not a big fan of this genre and figured it would take an Act of Congress to get through this book. If I was in a good mood I might even give it a pity 2-3 star with pulling some nice stuff out of the heavens. I really shouldn't pre-judge a book by its genre cause this was actually good - honest to goodness decent story with talented writing that didn't require me creating any BS to do a review.
Aaron Hodges is one of those fantasy / sci fi writers you should add to your favorite author list. If you haven’t given the genre(s) a fair chance then try him; his writing might make you a convert. If you never read any of his previous work then this is an excellent introduction.
This is one incredible ride that engrosses the mind and will make you want to stay up late to read. In an era where so many writers feel the need to up the gore factor and get borderline, if not over the boundary of XXX, he is one of the golden few who knows how to write vividly without the crassness and obviousness. He gave the right amount of background in his plot set up so you know what you’re getting into, how this world was formed, who the characters are, everything you need to contextualize the story so you can easily enjoy this.
As part of his plot setting Hodges gives you a good long exposition on what is done to the people, AKA experimental subjects, who are taken against their will to be part of this perverse research. I liked that he spent so much time focusing on this part of the story instead of rushing it because it helps to drill into you the types and lengths of evil humanity will aspire to while finding ways to justify it. No matter what justification is used, human beings are still human beings and shouldn’t be treated like lab rats with no rights. The author does a good job in character development so these become real people who your heart aches for at their treatment and hate those who do it.
One of the things I liked was getting different points of view so you can get a clearer picture of what is going on and how it impacts various types of people. I’m also a fan of this writing technique because I think it’s a quick and easy way to measure how talented a writer is by how well he handles the changes. You either get something that is easy to tell who is talking and the perfect experience of the major characters involved or you get crap. This was thankfully NOT crap.
Overall it’s just very well-written and takes the dystopian genre into a different area since it adds a pretty cool sci-fi theme. Even better, Hodges really knows how to write an ending that pulls at the heartstrings so be prepared.
Aaron Hodges is one of those fantasy / sci fi writers you should add to your favorite author list. If you haven’t given the genre(s) a fair chance then try him; his writing might make you a convert. If you never read any of his previous work then this is an excellent introduction.
This is one incredible ride that engrosses the mind and will make you want to stay up late to read. In an era where so many writers feel the need to up the gore factor and get borderline, if not over the boundary of XXX, he is one of the golden few who knows how to write vividly without the crassness and obviousness. He gave the right amount of background in his plot set up so you know what you’re getting into, how this world was formed, who the characters are, everything you need to contextualize the story so you can easily enjoy this.
As part of his plot setting Hodges gives you a good long exposition on what is done to the people, AKA experimental subjects, who are taken against their will to be part of this perverse research. I liked that he spent so much time focusing on this part of the story instead of rushing it because it helps to drill into you the types and lengths of evil humanity will aspire to while finding ways to justify it. No matter what justification is used, human beings are still human beings and shouldn’t be treated like lab rats with no rights. The author does a good job in character development so these become real people who your heart aches for at their treatment and hate those who do it.
One of the things I liked was getting different points of view so you can get a clearer picture of what is going on and how it impacts various types of people. I’m also a fan of this writing technique because I think it’s a quick and easy way to measure how talented a writer is by how well he handles the changes. You either get something that is easy to tell who is talking and the perfect experience of the major characters involved or you get crap. This was thankfully NOT crap.
Overall it’s just very well-written and takes the dystopian genre into a different area since it adds a pretty cool sci-fi theme. Even better, Hodges really knows how to write an ending that pulls at the heartstrings so be prepared.
June 1, 2017
This is a great book for older teens, it is a dystopian future sci-fi theme but distinguishes itself from the plethora of books in this category. A warning, it does have some violence and abuse but is not too explicit. And I am not good gn to detail the plot here as it will offer too many spoilers. Let us just say that although it is sci if, it is close enough to realistic fiction that it will appeal to many who don't traditionally like that genre.
The thing I liked most about this book was the mediocrity of the characters, I mean not that they were written poorly rather they are written exceptionally well, with great empathy and care, but that they were realistic, fault filled and hardly heroic. The main characters are hardly extraordinary, they do not have special gifts like other dystopian, nor do they fined unusual strength to stand up to the tyrannical overlord. It is quite the opposite, their characters do what most of us would do in their shoes, survive. There are several POVs and it is written and in third person. The characters do truly horrific things (murder, torture) under extreme duress. They are not noble, they are not self sacrificing, they succumb to pain and despair. The ending is well written, tying up most lose ends but leaving enough openings that you will want to read the next.
The thing I liked most about this book was the mediocrity of the characters, I mean not that they were written poorly rather they are written exceptionally well, with great empathy and care, but that they were realistic, fault filled and hardly heroic. The main characters are hardly extraordinary, they do not have special gifts like other dystopian, nor do they fined unusual strength to stand up to the tyrannical overlord. It is quite the opposite, their characters do what most of us would do in their shoes, survive. There are several POVs and it is written and in third person. The characters do truly horrific things (murder, torture) under extreme duress. They are not noble, they are not self sacrificing, they succumb to pain and despair. The ending is well written, tying up most lose ends but leaving enough openings that you will want to read the next.
May 12, 2017
Aaron Hodges has excelled himself in this new sci fy/dystopian series! Congratulations! The science applied to the plot is very realistic, not that I'm an expert, but, every experiment is described as if it's real. I was totally hooked from the beginning, the feelings described so well, I could really feel the hurt, despair, struggles,... I couldn't stop myself feel and be at one with the characters, there were moments I had tears rolling down my cheeks till the end! This is the end of "boys don't cry", and I'm glad they can let go their feelings! Looking forward to the next release!!
May 4, 2017
Excellent
I LOVE when fantasy meets science. This is the PERFECT book to read in a time when our world is watching the leaders and distrust of the government is a MUST! This book shows an excellent example of what government and science gone wrong can accomplish. You cannot crush the true human spirit!
A MUST READ NOW!!
I LOVE when fantasy meets science. This is the PERFECT book to read in a time when our world is watching the leaders and distrust of the government is a MUST! This book shows an excellent example of what government and science gone wrong can accomplish. You cannot crush the true human spirit!
A MUST READ NOW!!
September 9, 2017
Emoting emotingly
The logic is thin, and the characters are so emotional as to be drama queens. No one acts rationally; they all have stereotypical roles to play. Not enough is really explained to make sense of everything.
The copy editing is acceptable and the plot stays true to itself.
The logic is thin, and the characters are so emotional as to be drama queens. No one acts rationally; they all have stereotypical roles to play. Not enough is really explained to make sense of everything.
The copy editing is acceptable and the plot stays true to itself.
December 7, 2020
I have wrote a lot of bad reviews ,I have told authors fuck you ,go fuck your self .and other variations
I have abandoned a lot of books ,finished many that I hated
I can't say that this is the worst book I have read
This book isn't that good at being bad,it doesn't get under your skin
It doesn't want to make you howl
It's average in it's rotten mediocrity
I have abandoned a lot of books ,finished many that I hated
I can't say that this is the worst book I have read
This book isn't that good at being bad,it doesn't get under your skin
It doesn't want to make you howl
It's average in it's rotten mediocrity
January 3, 2018
Rebirth is an ambitious and exciting beginning to the Praegressus Project series. This series, by New Zealand author Aaron Hodges, is in the same vein as The Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, and other dystopian near-future fiction that puts teams of young adults through a series of brutal tests, the purpose and origins of which only become clearer to the protagonist and the reader as the story unfolds.
The writing is serviceable, spare, and cinematic in nature. One could easily imagine this story in film, as it moves from dark city landscapes to the testing and experiment cages to the open mountains. Where I wish the author had taken more advantage of the novel's form is in the characters' thoughts. He seems to be going for more of an ensemble cast than a single protagonist, and I liked that about this story. However, with more viewpoint characters, the writing challenges increase exponentially, and this book is a little too short and spare to do them all justice. There is also a lot of action in this novel, much of it violent and some of it repetitive. It may be just a personal taste of mine, but I would have liked to see more of the characters sitting around thinking, talking, and planning and less of seeing them getting beat up, getting killed, or killing someone else.
The cage setup strikes me as extremely artificial and yet not well thought-out, always having partnerships of one boy and one girl. I would like to understand more about why the government set their experiments up this way. As it is, it seems more like a set-up for some obligatory romance and sex scenes between tortured teenagers than a calculated manipulation intended to breed the ultimate warriors that will save humanity. In general the governmental experimenters are too one-dimensional. Halt, in particular, comes across as a cartoon villain rather than a complex human being who has made a series of choices that have led him away from his own humanity.
That said, there are some wonderful and moving scenes in this novel. The author does a better job than most with explaining the fictional science in his world and making it believable. I also found the ending uplifting and full of possibility and wonder. It made me look forward to the next book in the series, where the characters promise to come into their own.
The writing is serviceable, spare, and cinematic in nature. One could easily imagine this story in film, as it moves from dark city landscapes to the testing and experiment cages to the open mountains. Where I wish the author had taken more advantage of the novel's form is in the characters' thoughts. He seems to be going for more of an ensemble cast than a single protagonist, and I liked that about this story. However, with more viewpoint characters, the writing challenges increase exponentially, and this book is a little too short and spare to do them all justice. There is also a lot of action in this novel, much of it violent and some of it repetitive. It may be just a personal taste of mine, but I would have liked to see more of the characters sitting around thinking, talking, and planning and less of seeing them getting beat up, getting killed, or killing someone else.
The cage setup strikes me as extremely artificial and yet not well thought-out, always having partnerships of one boy and one girl. I would like to understand more about why the government set their experiments up this way. As it is, it seems more like a set-up for some obligatory romance and sex scenes between tortured teenagers than a calculated manipulation intended to breed the ultimate warriors that will save humanity. In general the governmental experimenters are too one-dimensional. Halt, in particular, comes across as a cartoon villain rather than a complex human being who has made a series of choices that have led him away from his own humanity.
That said, there are some wonderful and moving scenes in this novel. The author does a better job than most with explaining the fictional science in his world and making it believable. I also found the ending uplifting and full of possibility and wonder. It made me look forward to the next book in the series, where the characters promise to come into their own.
Want to read
December 15, 2017💝 FREE on Amazon today (12/15/2017)! 💝
September 17, 2018
I found it eerie reminiscent of the world we live in. Nice pacing and lots of action.
March 27, 2021
I got through this book a lot faster than I thought I would. I went in knowing that this was a young adult book and expecting the usual bullshit that goes along with that (extra drama, random outbursts, misplaced sexual tension, etc.) and that's exactly what I witnessed. Although the main character is 18, I couldn't help myself but picture them as younger, maybe 16. Throwing all of that aside, the story itself is interesting and very easy to read. I think I will put this series back on my shelf for a time when I am more in the mood for a young adult vibe. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book but I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites or one that I would recommend to most people.
September 3, 2017
Rebirth
When I purchased this book, I saw the amazing cover art and the title Rebirth, and thought I am ready for a great fantasy tale. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Rebirth is one of the greatest Sci-fi fiction thrillers, I have ever read. It is astounding, outstanding and make the maze runner series in comparison seem like elementary school games. As we seen and gain emotional ties with the four original characters through their trials and tribulations that are barely conceivable to the mind. Aaron Hodges has written an enduring masterpiece that has set a new plateau for Sci-fi fiction thrillers. Don't pass go and collect $200 ( A monopoly game reference ) Just Get Your Copy Today And You Will Enjoy It. I Loved It!!!!
When I purchased this book, I saw the amazing cover art and the title Rebirth, and thought I am ready for a great fantasy tale. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Rebirth is one of the greatest Sci-fi fiction thrillers, I have ever read. It is astounding, outstanding and make the maze runner series in comparison seem like elementary school games. As we seen and gain emotional ties with the four original characters through their trials and tribulations that are barely conceivable to the mind. Aaron Hodges has written an enduring masterpiece that has set a new plateau for Sci-fi fiction thrillers. Don't pass go and collect $200 ( A monopoly game reference ) Just Get Your Copy Today And You Will Enjoy It. I Loved It!!!!
May 26, 2017
Not drawn in
Has that simplistic vibe to it that's common in teen and young adult books. Here is your enemy, now let's make them super evil so you hate them. The book is focused on creating outrage to the point of making the world and characters hard to believe. For example, a law that makes you outraged should make people in the book outraged and could never exist for long in a functioning civilization. The world just wasn't dystopian enough for some of the premises. At the other end of the spectrum, the protagonists somehow stick to a cringey moral high ground instead of acting realistically.
Has that simplistic vibe to it that's common in teen and young adult books. Here is your enemy, now let's make them super evil so you hate them. The book is focused on creating outrage to the point of making the world and characters hard to believe. For example, a law that makes you outraged should make people in the book outraged and could never exist for long in a functioning civilization. The world just wasn't dystopian enough for some of the premises. At the other end of the spectrum, the protagonists somehow stick to a cringey moral high ground instead of acting realistically.
February 6, 2019
Aaron Hodges once again proves his writing skills and imagination are astounding! I was sucked into this first book in the series on the first page and it spit me out on the last page with a longing for the rest of the story. Which I definitely plan to read soon. The characters are so well written I, sometimes, felt their pain. Of which, there is a lot! This world is a dangerous place to live and the government is the worst of the bad guys. I highly recommend it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author just for signing up for his newsletter and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author just for signing up for his newsletter and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
May 3, 2017
Great read
I was a little hesitant going into this one as I really didn't know what to expect but I ended up pleasantly surprised the story is quite different from other novels I have read and found myself really enjoying it. The only reason I gave this 4 stars is because it involved the characters being in a jail cell most of the book so the lack of world building was a bit disappointing but other than that it was a great read looking forward to the next one.
I was a little hesitant going into this one as I really didn't know what to expect but I ended up pleasantly surprised the story is quite different from other novels I have read and found myself really enjoying it. The only reason I gave this 4 stars is because it involved the characters being in a jail cell most of the book so the lack of world building was a bit disappointing but other than that it was a great read looking forward to the next one.
June 16, 2017
I liked the books well enough to read the sequels. They are interesting, sort of original if you can ignore the Maximum Ride books. One thing did drive me crazy. I'm reading the Kindle version, so it may not show up in others, but when you pull something tight, the word is taut, not taught. Please all authors out there, don't be afraid of the dictionary. It's your friend.
August 22, 2018
Wow what a read. Just couldn't put it down before I totally finished it. Everyone just has to read this. Just recently listened to the audio book, absolutely amazing. Will definitely reread and listen to the audio version again.
May 4, 2017
Interesting but...
We're getting a little cliché with the winged humans and genetic mutation. Kept my interested enough to continue reading though.
We're getting a little cliché with the winged humans and genetic mutation. Kept my interested enough to continue reading though.
May 26, 2017
Just not that into it
Maybe I am just pushing for more but it just wasn't that interesting to me. I was hoping that I would get into it within the later chapters but I never did.
Maybe I am just pushing for more but it just wasn't that interesting to me. I was hoping that I would get into it within the later chapters but I never did.
September 23, 2017
This ebook was amazing but it was also hard to read sometimes. I normally finish a ebook quickly but this one took time because I could actually imagine this happening. Especially in today's political climate. I highly recommend this book, which has two sequels I plan on reading next.
The book starts in the aftermath of a war between Washington state, Oregon and California leaving the United States an becoming their own country, the Western Allied States. There ends up being a war between the new states and Washingon. D.C. The powers that be's (ptb) are very controlling and anyone that is suspected of treason is immediately arrested, including ALL members of the family. The adults are presumably executed along with the majority of their family members.
The only exceptions occurs when an adult son or daughter fits a specific profile. They are then tested in the most painful way possible, mentally as well as physically. Only the strongest survive to "join" the Praegressus Project.
The main characters are Chris, the 18 year old son of a woman accused of treason as well as Liz, also 18, the daughter of sharecropper parents that were charged with treason and executed, but Liz managed to evade capture for two years before being caught.
Chris and Liz are put into a cell with Sam and Ashley. Ashley's parents use to work for the government until their true feelings were discovered. The parents as well as Ashley's sister were killed but Ashley was sent to see if she qualified for the Praegressus Project.
Most of the book takes place in the Praegressus facility that houses the subjects of the Praegressus Project. There is violence but the author does not describe it graphically.
The facility is ran by a disgusting person named Dr. Halt but the person in charge of testing the subjects is Dr. Angela Fallow. To say that the two doctor's don't get along is an understatement. Dr. Fallow was present when Chris and his mother were arrested and Chris is hoping to find out what happened to his mother from Dr. Fallow.
The directors of the Praegressus Project wants Dr. Fallow to finish testing the final 200 subjects, which include Chris and Liz. Sam and Ashley have already been qualified to go to the next phase. The whole process and the final results are mind blowing.
There are two more books in this series and I am looking forward to reading them. After I read something lighter like a time travel romance.
I got this ebook for free from Amazon and agreed to give an honest review of it.
The book starts in the aftermath of a war between Washington state, Oregon and California leaving the United States an becoming their own country, the Western Allied States. There ends up being a war between the new states and Washingon. D.C. The powers that be's (ptb) are very controlling and anyone that is suspected of treason is immediately arrested, including ALL members of the family. The adults are presumably executed along with the majority of their family members.
The only exceptions occurs when an adult son or daughter fits a specific profile. They are then tested in the most painful way possible, mentally as well as physically. Only the strongest survive to "join" the Praegressus Project.
The main characters are Chris, the 18 year old son of a woman accused of treason as well as Liz, also 18, the daughter of sharecropper parents that were charged with treason and executed, but Liz managed to evade capture for two years before being caught.
Chris and Liz are put into a cell with Sam and Ashley. Ashley's parents use to work for the government until their true feelings were discovered. The parents as well as Ashley's sister were killed but Ashley was sent to see if she qualified for the Praegressus Project.
Most of the book takes place in the Praegressus facility that houses the subjects of the Praegressus Project. There is violence but the author does not describe it graphically.
The facility is ran by a disgusting person named Dr. Halt but the person in charge of testing the subjects is Dr. Angela Fallow. To say that the two doctor's don't get along is an understatement. Dr. Fallow was present when Chris and his mother were arrested and Chris is hoping to find out what happened to his mother from Dr. Fallow.
The directors of the Praegressus Project wants Dr. Fallow to finish testing the final 200 subjects, which include Chris and Liz. Sam and Ashley have already been qualified to go to the next phase. The whole process and the final results are mind blowing.
There are two more books in this series and I am looking forward to reading them. After I read something lighter like a time travel romance.
I got this ebook for free from Amazon and agreed to give an honest review of it.
April 2, 2018
This book was easy to get through but didn't leave much of an impact behind. The world building was almost non-existent. It appears that something happened in America where rebellion occurred and it was struck down and traitors and their kids are now hunted. It was so quick that I believe it was regulated to one sentence in the book. Then there are creatures attacking people in cities. Again, they are given maybe a paragraph and it's hard to tell if they're zombie like creatures or something else. The whole backstory is really hard to understand what exactly is happening and how it's different or the same as the world we currently live in. There's no scale given to the former war or the creature attacks. There is a lot of missing pieces that needed to be fleshed out a lot more.
The main characters are there and that's it. There are two of them, a boy and girl, and they react to things done to them in the plot. That's about all. They are mostly defined by what happens to them and the choices they make or their ability to survive their situation is just matter of fact. Their physical changes they go through at like the final 10% of the book is also confusing and doesn't add to anything.
Finally, this is part of a series. The fact that each book was published every couple of months probably tells me the quality of the others. The fact is, this first book, as with all series starters, needs to earn their foundation starter. This first book feels like the starting 30% of a whole book with a lot of missing pieces of character, plot, and setting. I will not be continuing the series. Final Grade - F
The main characters are there and that's it. There are two of them, a boy and girl, and they react to things done to them in the plot. That's about all. They are mostly defined by what happens to them and the choices they make or their ability to survive their situation is just matter of fact. Their physical changes they go through at like the final 10% of the book is also confusing and doesn't add to anything.
Finally, this is part of a series. The fact that each book was published every couple of months probably tells me the quality of the others. The fact is, this first book, as with all series starters, needs to earn their foundation starter. This first book feels like the starting 30% of a whole book with a lot of missing pieces of character, plot, and setting. I will not be continuing the series. Final Grade - F
December 18, 2017
A dystopic society, with a government which is out of control and grasping power no matter how! Many people are just disappearing with families being classified as traitors and killed. A group of young teenagers are abducted and brutally imprisoned in a laboratory and medical centre in the middle of nowhere. They are tortured and abused physically and mentally to the extreme, then those who made it to the final phase of the so called Praegressus project are injected with the dna of various strains of animals to make them stronger and invincible. Amongst the youths we encounter Liz and Chris, Sam and Ashley on the one hand and Dr. Fallow and Dr. Halt on the other plus all the guards and equipment used to subdue and keep the youths terrorised and alienated from one another. Dr. Halt is pure evil and reminds me a lot of Prof. Conguise in L. S. O'dea series whilst the torture they inflict reminded me of the series Shadowstalker by Renee Scattergood. I just hope to see Dr. Halt die a most horrific death at the hands of this group of teens. Dr. Fallow on the other hand seems to be seeing the way things have gone out of hand at the laboratory and she seems to be having second thoughts regarding the whole project! Will she be the weak link the young people need to get out of the hell of a place they are in? I loved this book, cannot believe that this is the first Hodges has written in this genre as it is very well written and keeps the reader wanting more and on their toes, it's a very exciting read!!
January 7, 2018
This follows two teenagers, one dragged from his home with his mother, the other a girl caught after having survived alone on the streets for years, as they are accused of treason for the actions of their parents !
They are taken to a secret facility where they are forced to do the unthinkable to survive and experiments are carried out on them by doctors with domination on mind. The world as it was is no more and monsters are tearing up people and coming into the remaining cities - called Chead - too strong for many to survive.
We get insights into the training experiments being carried out in these kids and their cell mates but the pressure for results on The Praegressus Project, make one doctor, on a power trip of viciousness, to accelerate the experiments and have the final part put into action.
Rebirth of the title is very apt for what happens with the characters and makes thus a very good read - I shall now have to find the next in the series to find out what happens to them all.
I would recommend this book to all !
They are taken to a secret facility where they are forced to do the unthinkable to survive and experiments are carried out on them by doctors with domination on mind. The world as it was is no more and monsters are tearing up people and coming into the remaining cities - called Chead - too strong for many to survive.
We get insights into the training experiments being carried out in these kids and their cell mates but the pressure for results on The Praegressus Project, make one doctor, on a power trip of viciousness, to accelerate the experiments and have the final part put into action.
Rebirth of the title is very apt for what happens with the characters and makes thus a very good read - I shall now have to find the next in the series to find out what happens to them all.
I would recommend this book to all !
March 12, 2018
i received the e book of rebirth and then i love the way the author done the book . i read the book and then i got the book and read it lees than 2day i got in to the book .If you like angle you will like this book but they are doing to the young kid the government is corrupted and the thing going around the area and they are killing them but they are tolerant to bullets so who try to kill them will be dead as soon as they get hold of you like a zombie .
The gov got the adults and they figured the kids will come and they come but they kill the parent unless they are doing good but most die with in couple of days which mean the kid are alone the government take them over mind and soul.
Well here come 6 kid all age are put in the cell boy and girl together and they the doc check them out and then they are good health little malnourished and then they are still good shape so now is the experiment coming they are testing the kid the kids in see if they can handle what in store
You will love the book and the ending is great
The gov got the adults and they figured the kids will come and they come but they kill the parent unless they are doing good but most die with in couple of days which mean the kid are alone the government take them over mind and soul.
Well here come 6 kid all age are put in the cell boy and girl together and they the doc check them out and then they are good health little malnourished and then they are still good shape so now is the experiment coming they are testing the kid the kids in see if they can handle what in store
You will love the book and the ending is great
March 26, 2018
"This was a free audiobook with the option of a review."
In the near future a civil war ripped through America. The dust has settled, but the Chead, super-soldiers that are effectively monsters, still roam the countryside wreaking havoc. A shadowy organization (of course) comes up with a plan to fight said monstrosities. They kidnap children of people who fought for the losing side in the war, and "adapt" them to fight the Chead.
So far, so superhero. It's a good yarn though, as the protagonists are beaten and tortured en route to being transformed into monsters of their very own. The plot is pacy, and the leads are sympathetic characters, having their life turned upside down for their parents' "transgressions." The organization is a bit boo-hiss, although there is there is one character who you'll feel for.
The narrator is very good, keeping you engaged and interested, and the story as a whole is well worth a read/listen. Roll on book 2.
In the near future a civil war ripped through America. The dust has settled, but the Chead, super-soldiers that are effectively monsters, still roam the countryside wreaking havoc. A shadowy organization (of course) comes up with a plan to fight said monstrosities. They kidnap children of people who fought for the losing side in the war, and "adapt" them to fight the Chead.
So far, so superhero. It's a good yarn though, as the protagonists are beaten and tortured en route to being transformed into monsters of their very own. The plot is pacy, and the leads are sympathetic characters, having their life turned upside down for their parents' "transgressions." The organization is a bit boo-hiss, although there is there is one character who you'll feel for.
The narrator is very good, keeping you engaged and interested, and the story as a whole is well worth a read/listen. Roll on book 2.
December 19, 2017
Mr. Hodges really dug deep for this story. Liz, a runaway teenager and Chris, a devoted son are captured and held against their will. The are the children of believed enemies of the Government. That's an automatic death sentence. They are given the choice of death or life. If they want to live, that are to be used in horrible experiments. There are hundred of kids from every walk of life, all being used and pitted against each other in a brutal way to see who's the strongest.
Wow, this is a very powerful and emotional book for me. It kind of made me think that something like this could actually happen. The Government has fallen and has been taken over by power hungry corrupt people and terrible things are happening to the country. Leader are doing so by making fear a part of life.
Wow, this is a very powerful and emotional book for me. It kind of made me think that something like this could actually happen. The Government has fallen and has been taken over by power hungry corrupt people and terrible things are happening to the country. Leader are doing so by making fear a part of life.
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