The Gemini Effect

by Chuck Grossart, Phil Gigante (Narrator)

2014 Winner�Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award�Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror

A single raindrop opens a Pandora�s box of horrors when the spawn of perverse genetic research performed during World War II�refined by Cold War enemies and perfected by nature�are unleashed on an unsuspecting world. By dawn, only a dead city remains, eerily quiet and still, except for the mutant beasts who hide from the light, multiply, and await the shadows of day�s end.



Ordered to investigate the unfolding crisis, bio-warfare specialist Carolyn Ridenour barely escapes the creatures� nocturnal onslaught, saved in the nick of time by Colonel Garrett Hoffmann, who has lost hundreds of his troops to the mutant army that neither bombs nor bullets can break.



As Carolyn and Garrett race to stop the plague, a battered and broken US government is preparing to release the fury of America�s nuclear arsenal on its own soil.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Ebooks, Amazon

Audible Audio

First published January 7, 2012

About the author

Chuck is an award-winning and Amazon #1 best-selling author in Action & Adventure, Genetic Engineering, Post-Apocalyptic & Dystopian sci fi, Military Thrillers, Conspiracy Thrillers, and Suspense fiction (US, UK, and Australian Kindle stores). He lives outside of Omaha, Nebraska, with his very patient & understanding wife, along with a giant German Shepherd named Duke, a giant Golden Pyredoodle named Holly Jo, and tons and tons of dog hair.

You can contact Chuck through his website (www.chuckgrossart.com), on Facebook (@ChuckGrossartAuthor), or on Twitter (@chuckgrossart).

His latest military sci fi novel, OF ENEMIES AND ALLIES (The Han Wars Book 5), was released on August 13, 2022. Look for the 6th and final book of The Han Wars, REQUIEM FOR THE WARRIOR, coming soon.

Awards & Accolades:
- 2017 Killer Nashville Reader’s Choice Award Finalist for Best Fiction Adult Fantasy/Science Fiction Novel
- 2017 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalist for Best Fiction Adult Horror/Science Fiction Novel
- 2016 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Winner for Best Science Fiction Novel
- 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) Winner for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
- #1 US Kindle bestseller (THE GEMINI EFFECT)
- #1 Science Fiction author, US Kindle store
- #1 Science Fiction & Fantasy author, US Kindle store
- #1 Action & Adventure author, US Kindle store
- #2 Mystery, Thriller & Suspense author, US Kindle store
- #2 author, US Kindle store (all categories)

Reviews

[Zoeytron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book using myriad acronyms always makes me a little cranky, and this one is filled to the gills with them. Was disappointed in the very limited character development, and I thought too many storylines spoiled the stew. Even so, the opening sequence was excellent, the core idea a winner, and the breakneck pace was certainly there. A tepid three stars.

[Carrie Gulledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa. Just... whoa. Mind. Blown.

So, I grabbed this book as one of my Kindle First books for March. I'm more of a fantasy kind of girl who has a love of most things dystopian, as well. But I was skeptical when I read the synopsis for this one - I much prefer the world AFTER the "end." I like to see things fixed, not broken. Adaptation vs annihilation. But... I had to pick between this and a cheesy romance and I said, you know what? I'm going to give this a try.

Oh. My. God.

** SPOILER ALERT** Before I go any further, please know that you are reading a review - there's a chance I'm going to bring up what happened in the book... because it's a review (actually, I will bring up some things that are in the book). Please don't read this review if you're worried about ruining the book for yourself. Just know that, if you are considering reading this book, you should. You totally should. Don't worry about what you normally like to read or don't like to read. Just do it. This book deserves the chance.

For a debut novel, Chuck Grossart knocked it way way way out of the park. Now, since I don't normally read books written in this style, I don't have anything to compare this to, but I think that even if there are similarly written stories out there, this one would still have a solid edge. Mainly, that edge is that I want to gush about it, and I haven't read many books I want to gush about lately. Almost everything I've read lately has been stale - a rewrite of a rewrite of a rewrite, with little of their own imagination in the mix and less writing skills to speak of, with underdeveloped characters that you could care less about.

Oh, but this book - Ok, I'm not going to lie. I didn't understand half of the military terms and I may have tuned out during some of the plane descriptions/weapon descriptions/battle scenes and skimmed through those - but I can say that they were incredibly detailed, for anyone that enjoys those kinds of things. But even without reading those specific paragraphs, I was able to glean enough to know what was going on, even if I couldn't picture what the plane dropping the bomb looked like in my head, lol.

I enjoyed the character development - there were SO many characters to keep up with, but I didn't feel like any of them were underdeveloped. You got enough of each major player to feel something for them - hate for Jesse, pity for Andrew, heart racing hope for Garrett and Carolyn's survival, sadness for Allison... Every main character, and many supportive characters, made you feel SOMETHING. I spent half of this book on the edge of my seat, literally devouring it. I started it this morning, and ended it this evening; this in itself is awesome because with my recent book reading slump, simpler to understand novels were taking me days on end of dragging myself back to read them. This one was only put down for important things, like feeding the children, or helping the husband replace the water heater that quit working today. Even then, I had my Kindle near at hand and if I was left standing somewhere, waiting on instructions (Stand there and feed me that wire when I tell you to in a few minutes...), then I was submerged right back into this book. Grossart used some amazing imagery (detailed, and VERY gory at times - Grossart did not hold back and did not spare us any details). His explanation for the very beginning of the colossal accident that would end the modern world and throw us back to caveman days was incredibly well done. And the ending - well, I had to go back and reread half of the last chapter when I realized I wasn't reading it from the point of view that I thought I was! That was a nice little twist that just showcased Grossart's writing skills.

I will say that the part that Jessie played in all of this felt a little overdone at the beginning, when you first realize she isn't what you think she is. And before you realize she's a complete psychopath, Andrew's reactions to her felt totally out of place - hindsight, Grossart was setting you up the same say she was setting the president up. You truly believed that Andrew had feelings for her, real feelings that had developed naturally over time. I do wish that we had a little more information on what really happened to Kate, instead of the allusions to who caused her death.

I was totally caught off guard when I glanced down towards the end and realized I was at 98 percent and that there was no way the good guys were going to win in that last 2 percent. I messaged my friend and said "I think I seriously just read an entire book about the annihilation of the known world." Her response? "You have fun with that." And, while I didn't have "fun," I enjoyed this book worlds beyond what I thought I would. I cried (the scene with the Joint Chief and his daughter? Oh. My. Jesus.), I laughed, I clenched my teeth in anger, and bit my lip in fear. This is the kind of book I would LOVE to see on the big screen. It's just another zombie book, it's not just another apocalyptic book - it's something so much more. Here's to hoping Grossart decides to write a sequel (because one of a good thing is just never enough).

[lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tolerated the story when it was about the accidental release of biochemical weapons with unintended consequences. But this book goes from bad to worse about half way through when the Russian sleeper agents showed up with mind control chemicals. No, seriously. I definitely lost a few IQ points along the way.

[Rachel B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros: This is a quick, action-filled read. If you like zombie stories, military sci-fi stories, etc, you might like this if you can turn off your brain for a few hours. The first quarter to half of the book is very engaging.

Cons: After that first half, it goes downhill. No character development. Ending is abrupt and unsatisfying. Halfway through the book, the plot tries to turn into a political thriller that is just ridiculous. If the author had cut this entire plotline and just focused on the main plot, this book would have been much better. Are genetically modified, killer animals and humans not enough of a problem? Why introduce unnecessary human antagonists (and again, over halfway into the book)?

Someone else's review describes this as a budget sci-fi film with D list actors. Exactly. This is a made for TV movie that you might see on SyFy.

[Ardeth Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Junk food for the brain

When I chose this book as a Kindle First, I was under the impression it was a stand-alone book--I'm turned off by the multi-part books which are so trendy now because I believe they indicate laziness on
the part of the author--but apparently this is that kind of book, where the author can leave loose ends to his heart's content and tie them up later. When I reached the end of this book, I was scratching my head, trying to reconcile all the major plot points, without a whole lot of success. I guess that comes in Book Two, which maybe the author hasn't even figured out yet.

So for me it's a mixed bag. Reading it was kind of like eating junk food until your stomach is queasy and you wonder why you consumed it all, at the same time that you acknowledge that it tasted pretty good.

Reading

[Phoenix Robles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well That Escalated Quickly: The Book. *...

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this book, ultimately it suffered from too much going on, and a rush to the end that leaped over storytelling that could have wrapped things up much better, IMO.

The whole mutation story line was good. These mutated creatures are horrifying enough all by themselves without the additional story line about third-generation Soviet Union "sleepers," who throw a big monkey wrench into the works. IMO, it distracted from what was really the main event, and there appeared to be no motive beyond "this is what we were raised to do." With a terrifying horde of mutants spreading rapidly (and even without computer modeling, it was pretty apparent that worldwide spread of the problem would be swift and inevitable), I couldn't quite figure out the sleepers' motivation. One would think survival of the species would trump striking a political blow for a now-defunct Soviet Union, especially by people who were two generations removed from the political machine that spawned the sleepers.

The book then leaps to the Epilogue, which is I found interesting AND disappointing. Interesting, because of where it begins to take the story, and disappointing because it's actually the end of the story, and there's a lot left unexplained. I like post-apoc/dystopian fiction because I like to see how the author envisions the breakdown of society leading up to, during and after whatever event causes the disruption. This book just skips past all of that. It's like sitting down for a full meal and being given an appetizer. Or, in this case, a standalone book that really should have been a series.

[Mark Manthey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tried to be equal parts Crichton and Clancy and failed miserably

This book started off alright but quickly got to political and just too weird soon after. The dialogue and characters are shallow and the creatures were just as off. The ending was abrupt and non-sensical. I'm glad this was the free book this month or I would've asked for my money back.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book free from Kindle First.

I wanted to love this book. It's a real page turner, edge of your seat, can't put it down kind of affair but it has some problems.

For one thing, the long and repetitive descriptions of war machinery, military jargon, and mysterious (to this clueless civilian) acronyms were just too much. It struck me as overly self-indulgent but I'm sure there are readers out there that enjoy that sort of thing.

My next issue was motive. Specifically, the lack of one. I understand the 'some men just want to watch the world burn' motive but I felt like there was a bigger one here and it just wasn't fleshed out at all. We never get any explanation at all for why the bad guys do what they did.

My last issue is also probably the most personal. I'm a big cynic and I could not suspend disbelief that, prior to all hell breaking loose, that the US government was running as smoothly as the author would have us believe. I could say so much more on this front but I don't want to get any more hateful messages regarding my controversial reviews than I already do. ;)

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the dumbest books I've ever read. Normally I'd just give up and move on but it was so dumb, I had to continue, albeit with a serious dose of "read a page...skip a few" just to see if it would get dumber. It did. The character development was nil, plot lines and twists bordered on hilariously ludicrous, and the editing was just bad. In an ending reminiscent of the worst of M. Night Shyamalan we find the "animals" have discovered "the Achilles's heel" of the survivors. This survivor is then killed by one of the animals by the only means possible, which, apparently, is the Achilles heel of its kind. Yes, well, you see I knew this was the Achilles heel of its kind because I had just read that two pages earlier. Editing: the Achilles heel of writing.

[Chris Nichols · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow! An absolutely mediocre end of times story full of predictable story arcs and half assed character development. Additionally, the subtitle of this book should have been, "Look what a good job I can do Googling military acronyms." because the first part of the book was jam packed with them. Do your selves a favor folks, avoid this book at all costs. If I had not gotten this book for free through Amazon, I would have demanded my money back.

[Charles · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste

The book starts off fine but about half way into the story completely loses touch with reality and moves into the fantasy realm. It was extremely frustrating to see the author spend so much time intimately describing the inner workings of the presidency to ultimately turn that seriousness into a farce. I don't understand how this book won an Amazon award. I had no connection with any of the characters, and honestly you really don't get much in the way of information on the creatures either, alas time is wasted again and again describing the decision making processes taking place only to ultimately see it all come to naught. I found the ending to be utterly disappointing and flat. Do yourself a favor save your money and don't read this book, that is unless you're trying to check out of reality for a few hours.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers included! Well, it was a very quick read, and pretty enjoyable, as a pulp-fiction apocalyptic book. Not being in the military, the long and confusing acronyms were a little frustrating. This book also holds the distinction of being the first 'Kindle First' book that was not a steaming pile of... Manure. Given the subject matter of the book, I thought 'The Americans' (Television show-esque) deep sleeper Soviet Agents as the Director of Homeland Security and a highly-placed General was completely unnecessary and added needless nonsense to complicate the existing story. Things don't end terribly well for humanity, setting up for a possible sequel against super-soldiers with mind-controlling and telekinetic powers... Another unnecessary leap from what was a decent premise in the first place. I wouldn't recommend it as high literature, but I admit it was an enjoyable distraction.

[Charles Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Story, Bad Science.

This book technically falls into the genre of Science Fiction, but I would actually call it Science Fantasy. The basic plot is: a bio-engineered super-soldier virus causes mutations in animals and humans which creates monstrous creatures who threaten humanity. It's a fairly common trope in apocalyptic dystopian literature. My major problem with the story is the speed of the virally induced metamorphosis. To my knowledge,there is no biological process which can cause metamorphosis in mammalian or avian species. Nor is there any biological process which can grow claws and fangs in minutes. These kind of effects are only logical if we posit the existence of the supernatural. The story never even hints at a supernatural causation, thus fantasy.

The story seems excessively contrived and given to some melodrama, but it is well written and internally consistent. So, overall it is a good read.

[Isaac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not really enjoy this book. The biological agent used was so complex and powerful that it blew right past my suspension of disbelief and flew straight into absurd territory. The resolution was deeply unsatisfying. The separate conspiracy was very difficult to believe, and needed a lot more background before it could be credible to the reader. The writing and the dialog was ok, but different characters all acted similarly, and had similar ideological beliefs, apart from the dastardly villains. A recognition of the more varied and complex beliefs held by different people would have been appreciated.

[Audra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite possibly the worst book I've read in a very long time. The plot felt old and over-done, the dialogue was unrealistic, most of the characters unlikeable, there were huge gaping holes in the plot. And the ending was absurd. It was as though the author finally realized the book was going nowhere so he just ended it. Skip this one.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great start and held my interest, but then jumped the rails about half way in.
The KGB angle was one plot too much and took away from the monster action.

I will try this author again because he had me until mid way.

[Kristen Jett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm fairly sure this is a book you'll either love or hate. Unfortunately, I wasn't on the positive side of that spectrum.

The Gemini Effect is a fast paced action thriller. What happens when science blends with Mother Nature to (accidentally? on purpose?) conspire against us?

This is a really hard book to review - and many of the things I didn't appreciate are entirely subjective, so I'm simply going to note what worked for me and what didn't.

What I liked:
- The writing was fast paced - Think James Patterson style.
- Women in power
- Zombies
- Historical elements added in
- The high impact endings to chapters. I LOVED the way each chapter ended in a way that upped the ante.


What I didn't like:
- No character development or growth.
- Apparently, the president is racist?
- Apparently, women are just eye candy. Literally every single time a woman was introduced, she was essentially "too hot to be in a job of this high caliber". I must have missed the memo that only ugly women can succeed in life. But oddly, every women was attractive. Attractive enough that we remember them for their startling green eyes, their similarity to Marilyn Monroe's legs, etc, etc. There are some books this works in - I'm okay with women being there solely to be hot in a lot of campy horror novels (I mean come on - I adore Richard Laymon...), but something about the way it was inserted here really angered me.
- Entirely too farfetched for me. The book felt a bit like a SyFy movie... Except Mega Python vs. Gatoroid is more believable. Had it not been for the political plot twist midbook, I would have bought in. With it, I was...beyond scoffing.
- Lines like "General Smythe's statement hung in the air like a stale fart." To me, this was trying too hard to be memorable. Or something.
- Too much military jargon. There was an ENTIRE CHAPTER telling me what type of planes and what type of guns and what type of weapons, and I do not care. If I can boil your chapter down to three sentences by cutting out the jargon, that jargon's probably unnecessary.
- Unclear motive

The Mister is entirely surprised I finished this as every single time I picked it up, I ranted. All and all, I'd be curious about Chuck Grossart's future work - but skeptical of purchasing.

[Elli Pope · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. When this book was recommended as a sci-fi winner, I had high hopes.

When I discovered that the book was no longer in print, it should have been a warning. But it was our book club's pick for this month so I shelled out the $4 for the kindle edition.

What a waste of money.

Seriously, this book was a slog from beginning to end. I give it 2 stars only because the premise was mildly interesting. But the execution was mind numbingly awful. This isn't a sci-fi book, it's a military fantasy novel written by some ex-military dude who didn't get to fire as many weapons as he would have liked in real life and so he wrote a book that fulfilled his fantasy to blow shit up in every way imaginable.

So many military acronyms, descriptions of planes, guns, bombs, the SOUND that every single one of them makes, just ugh. Maybe if you're ex-military you'll have an appreciation for this. It gets a bit of credit for having smart women in high powered positions, and then loses all of that credit by having the male characters just talk about their sex appeal.

No legitimate character development. Tons of typos and grammatical errors. The ending made no sense and basically made the entire endeavor feel like a waste of time. If I could request a refund, I would. I hated this book and would not recommend (unless you also have fantasies about using military grade equipment to blow shit up, then maybe this book is for you).

[Doseofbella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gemini Effect
By: Chuck Grossart
Publisher: 47 North Pages. 347
Copy Courtesy of Goodreads First Reads
Reviewed By: tk

Intense Action !

A creature that can not be stopped. Biological, nuclear, genetic, or chemical warfare…who is responsible, and what are the options. A unique perspective of the tragic end of the world as we know it. From the first pages to the end, Chuck Grossart takes you from the populated, busy cities of every day life to the horrific mutations of human and animal, to a brave new world in about 72 hours.

A very fast read. I admit to having a hard time putting it down at times. I just had to know if it was going to end. Did I like it? Not really…

The plot is good, the characters are colorful, but I found the actual “mutations” extremely hard to believe. Most sci-fi /fantasy requires a good imagination, and I do enjoy creatures, aliens, magic and beyond. I just could not, for whatever reason understand the creatures here. It feels like a stretching, reaching, was going on. Like trying to hard. Of course it is just my opinion. I think if a re-imagining of the mutations, and sometimes less is more…would have been better.

Over all the plot is good. I also look forward to what comes next in the saga.
Would like to rate this higher due to content being really good. 3/5

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book four stars, not because I liked it, because I didn't, really, but because it was inventive, enthralling, and wholly interesting. The story was well-formed and had a great progression. The end left me wanting more.

I do want to interject: while I appreciated that the female characters were present in positions of power, they were also presented as sex symbols, in a very misogynistic manner. I didn't need Josh's reverie about Carolyn's body under her protective suit. I didn't need Garrett's admiration of her legs. I didn't need a full-on explanation of how hot Jessie was. It was very out of place in an otherwise intelligent and well-written story.

The concepts presented were incredible and terrifying. I adored some of the characters, and hated others. There was just the right amount of detail (without submerging the story into so much detail that it was annoying). I will be thinking about this story for a long, long time.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this one as a freebie through Kindle First....Thought I was going to love it. There's just too much going on in this book to where I don't even know what genre you would call it. The beginning rocked. We got a good end of the world theme going on and then BAM you get political thriller added in. Then the sex scene, I don't even know what that was but it wasn't even needed. It was just plain wrong in this book. Didn't fit a bit.

Then the epilogue.....Is this not a stand alone? I have no clue but the epilogue was beyond disappointing.

[Manny Santoyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book in the way chaos was happening in the story. I appreciate this not having a typical ending and let all hell break loose. I loved how it shows the world's true nature when opportunity is taken when big brother is no longer watching and fear overwhelms everyone and control is lost. Thank you Chuck for a delightful read.

[Thom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly quick read, this is Chuck Grossart's first published novel and winner of a 2014 Amazon breakthrough award. More horror than science fiction, this novel combines a genetic horror story with a political thriller, but not really excelling at either.

The author was originally a strategic analyst for the U.S. Air Force, and that experience shows as the US military tries to deal with a genetic horror derived from Soviet chemical experiments. While the mutations of the little beasties are fairly unrealistic, the response vectors and chain of command are very believable. One could easily class this with giant ants (Them!) and other matinee horrors to make for an enjoyable story. I do wonder why nobody tried fire (or napalm) to deal with this problem.

Halfway through the book, things take a political thriller turn, and this author is no Tom Clancy. Also unrealistic, a shadow organization uses this internal threat to turn the world on its ear, launching revolutions and coups in governments around the globe. US allies (and supported governments such as Taiwan and South Korea) are attacked in a complete sideshow that in the end means nothing.

So, what to make of this chimera, this twin plot novel? It was mostly just okay, slightly more enjoyable than irritating. It was also a very quick read. If the author had just stuck to the monster story, I would have rated it a high 3 or low 4. Planning to read more from this author - I have last years' The Phoenix Descent on my list, and it has higher goodreads ratings also.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining little read with a great narrator as I listened to the audiobook. I teetered between giving it four or three stars but settled on the three as I was hoping for more chemical warfare/ mutated creature action as opposed to politics and undercover secret Russian sleeper agents. But it was a good read, kept me entertained and at some stages, on the edge of my seat and eager to find out what was going to happen.

I also liked the split of the day’s and it really had an apocalyptic atmosphere and was written well. I didn’t have much of an attachment to any of the characters though but quite liked the story and how it went. I probably wouldn’t continue with the series though but I did enjoy what I listened to!

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book version of a Saturday night scifi channel movie. This was a fun thriller, but it was pretty damn stupid. I loved the scary creatures, but I lost interest when the twist happens the femme fatale is a Russian sleeper agent controlling the president by drugging him . It was fun, though, and I loved the outrageous ending. The US gets nuked to shit and every other country goes to war, and then the epilogue is the creatures and I actually read five pages before I realized that the creatures were narrating, not humans. I loved that the humans were still alive and hunting the creatures to get earth back.

[Minke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, mostly because I read this series out of order ( read the Phoenix Descent first). It answered some of the questions I had from the second book which was nice. I think if I read this series in the correct order I don't think I would have liked this story as much.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I didn't like this book, but I kept reading and I'm glad I did! This turned out to be a pretty good book. No spoilers but I loved the ending.

[Bill Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting fast moving end of the world, zombie political intrigue type tale. I learned one thing I didn't know about Dugway Proving Ground chemical weapon facility in Utah. Author seems to know a lot about military and military hardware.

Note: zombie creature things are different than the norm as they can move and run incredibly fast unlike the slow dumb creatures from Night of the Living Dead or the Walking Dead. Scary.....

[Wendy Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm wasn’t sure at first but got pulled in when it changed from full-blown horror to something else entirely. Well conceived and very exciting!