What do you think?
Rate this book
THE ALTER
Ever since his father's death, James Hyde's dream has been to become a CIA field operative. Sadly though, he just doesn't have the nerves to make it in the stressful world of cloak and dagger. After years stuck behind a desk, James is given a chance to help the CIA flush out a mole leaking intel to the Russians – a dream come true! But things turn nightmarish when his team is betrayed on the streets of London, leaving him the sole survivor. Now on the run and assumed to be the mole, James must get to the bottom of his betrayal, while fighting against an anxiety deep within him that might not be his nerves...Check out the next book in the Series Altered Reality.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2017
177 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 25, 2017
The Alter by Joel Knox is a CIA thriller with a surprising twist. James Hyde seems like you're average run of the mill computer geek. He's gifted with CPUs but not muscles. When his dreams of becoming a field agent are dashed as a trainee James settles in to a successful career in cyber-security. Then one day James gets his big break. An opportunity to run ops on a mission in the UK. Of course like any good thriller everything goes terribly wrong and James is blamed.
The following morning James is surprised he's even alive. After hacking into CIA footage he discovers he has another self and its an eight foot tall homicidal monster. James has no idea what is happening, but he does know that he isn't responsible for the mess the night before. His only option is to run. The monster or alternative him aids his escape and allows James to fight another day.
The plot continues to piece Jame's life together in a series of betrayals, conspiracies, and government coverups. He's hounded across the globe both in human and alter form as the CIA tries to eliminate James and his other self. His only hope of survival is learning to control his Alter and stopping the man giving the kill order.
This book was a surprise for me. I don't normally read CIA novels or anything remotely realistic. I enjoyed this book and was intrigued by the story line and plot. I felt like it was a paranormal twist on Jason Bourne and really liked the action sequences. I turned the pages as fast as I could for the first 200 or so pages. Then the plot took a weird twist and it kind of lost me. I won't say what it was because it would spoil the book. It wasn't a bad twist just unexpected and odd. I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not so I held off the review for several days trying to decide.
The odd twist late in the book combined with a key point or two at the end lowered the believable factor for me. They made the book feel less like CIA thriller and more like comic book fantasy and it was hard to resolve the two things mashed together. I wouldn't say that the book isn't worth reading though. Any book that can convince me to read outside my genre is well worth the time.
This was Joel Knox's second book and it was well written with only a few typos and small grammatical problems. For the most part they don't interrupt the flow of the story and are easily ignored. So for the weird plot twist that made me go huh? and other issues this book gets four stars. I can't wait to see what Joel Knox writes next.
The following morning James is surprised he's even alive. After hacking into CIA footage he discovers he has another self and its an eight foot tall homicidal monster. James has no idea what is happening, but he does know that he isn't responsible for the mess the night before. His only option is to run. The monster or alternative him aids his escape and allows James to fight another day.
The plot continues to piece Jame's life together in a series of betrayals, conspiracies, and government coverups. He's hounded across the globe both in human and alter form as the CIA tries to eliminate James and his other self. His only hope of survival is learning to control his Alter and stopping the man giving the kill order.
This book was a surprise for me. I don't normally read CIA novels or anything remotely realistic. I enjoyed this book and was intrigued by the story line and plot. I felt like it was a paranormal twist on Jason Bourne and really liked the action sequences. I turned the pages as fast as I could for the first 200 or so pages. Then the plot took a weird twist and it kind of lost me. I won't say what it was because it would spoil the book. It wasn't a bad twist just unexpected and odd. I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not so I held off the review for several days trying to decide.
The odd twist late in the book combined with a key point or two at the end lowered the believable factor for me. They made the book feel less like CIA thriller and more like comic book fantasy and it was hard to resolve the two things mashed together. I wouldn't say that the book isn't worth reading though. Any book that can convince me to read outside my genre is well worth the time.
This was Joel Knox's second book and it was well written with only a few typos and small grammatical problems. For the most part they don't interrupt the flow of the story and are easily ignored. So for the weird plot twist that made me go huh? and other issues this book gets four stars. I can't wait to see what Joel Knox writes next.
September 6, 2017
A very readable novel
The story had a really readable storyline that swept you along with the descriptive characters and the locations that the hero encounters.
The story had a really readable storyline that swept you along with the descriptive characters and the locations that the hero encounters.
November 5, 2017
An interesting journey
The super human theory is fascinating and while the story is long and labored at times I found James interesting and incomplete at times. WhileI enjoyed the book I missed not knowing more about the characters and the internal romance that never quite reached satisfaction. All in all still a good read.
The super human theory is fascinating and while the story is long and labored at times I found James interesting and incomplete at times. WhileI enjoyed the book I missed not knowing more about the characters and the internal romance that never quite reached satisfaction. All in all still a good read.
February 9, 2019
Supernatural but Real
While this is a novel of the supernatural, the characters, events and situations feel very natural. Maybe this is something that could happen. It would work as an M. Night Shamalan movie.
While this is a novel of the supernatural, the characters, events and situations feel very natural. Maybe this is something that could happen. It would work as an M. Night Shamalan movie.
March 22, 2020
A book with an ALTERnate twist in every way
Looking for something a little out of the ordinary, an adventure with a twist then meet Hyde, he'll give you one fantastic journey behind any other ....sit back, hope on and enjoy the ride !!!!
Looking for something a little out of the ordinary, an adventure with a twist then meet Hyde, he'll give you one fantastic journey behind any other ....sit back, hope on and enjoy the ride !!!!
March 11, 2018
It started out good but I couldn't finish it. Not because it might not be a good book but because I am not into superhuman books.
January 21, 2019
Very Unusual.
This is an exciting story with an edge. Although this agent faced unusual problems, he managed to stick to his guns in the face unfair
accusations.
This is an exciting story with an edge. Although this agent faced unusual problems, he managed to stick to his guns in the face unfair
accusations.
April 20, 2019
Unexpected
Not at all what I thought this book was about. Too much violence for my taste but an interesting premise.
Not at all what I thought this book was about. Too much violence for my taste but an interesting premise.
February 19, 2021
Enjoyable read. I wasn’t to share when I first started reading. As the book progressed very enjoyable characters very well written. I would highly recommend this is just a fun read.
September 10, 2020
The author was good and kept me interested. Different imagination for sure and would recommend to those who like fantasy...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews