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The Gaia Origin #1
Restoration: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Adventure Novel.
"An insightful dystopian tale with dynamic characters and a surfeit of surprises." - Kirkus Reviews
The year is 2075 and the human race is dying. Decades of war, famine, and bio-engineering have finally taken their toll, and birth rates have declined to near zero. The leaders of two of the solar system's largest corporations believe they can save humanity, but they will have to break the law to do it.
When Doctor Evan Feldman decided to have his body frozen immediately after his death, he always hoped that one day the technology would exist to cure his cancer-ravaged body. But he never imagined that his granddaughter, Aubrey Harris, would be the one to restore him to life, nor could he imagine how much the world would change in fifty years. He doesn't know it yet, but he is at the center of a secret plan to save the human race from extinction.
After General Secretary Dianne Merkel, head of the government agency charged with enforcing Earth's anti-cloning laws, learns that Evan has been restored she will stop at nothing to bring him, and those that restored him, to justice. Unfortunately for her, Evan has a lot of help and she soon finds that capturing him is easier said than done.
Aubrey and her co-conspirators are determined to succeed at any cost and they quickly get Evan off of the Earth, sending him fleeing across the Solar System in a frantic race against time. With an elite team of soldiers closing in on them, the conspirators are forced to improvise. Has restoring Evan cost them everything they've worked for?
The year is 2075 and the human race is dying. Decades of war, famine, and bio-engineering have finally taken their toll, and birth rates have declined to near zero. The leaders of two of the solar system's largest corporations believe they can save humanity, but they will have to break the law to do it.
When Doctor Evan Feldman decided to have his body frozen immediately after his death, he always hoped that one day the technology would exist to cure his cancer-ravaged body. But he never imagined that his granddaughter, Aubrey Harris, would be the one to restore him to life, nor could he imagine how much the world would change in fifty years. He doesn't know it yet, but he is at the center of a secret plan to save the human race from extinction.
After General Secretary Dianne Merkel, head of the government agency charged with enforcing Earth's anti-cloning laws, learns that Evan has been restored she will stop at nothing to bring him, and those that restored him, to justice. Unfortunately for her, Evan has a lot of help and she soon finds that capturing him is easier said than done.
Aubrey and her co-conspirators are determined to succeed at any cost and they quickly get Evan off of the Earth, sending him fleeing across the Solar System in a frantic race against time. With an elite team of soldiers closing in on them, the conspirators are forced to improvise. Has restoring Evan cost them everything they've worked for?
- GenresScience Fiction
365 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 4, 2018
22 people are currently reading
535 people want to read
About the author
Daniel C. McWhorter
3 books13 followersDaniel C. McWhorter (“Dan” to everyone who knows him) is an avid reader and life-long science fiction and fantasy fan who has long dreamed about writing for a living.
As is the case for many of us, the realities of life took him in a different direction and his dream was put on hold while he worked to achieve successful careers in telecom, software engineering and talent development. In 2017, Dan decided to leave corporate America and start writing. His first book, Restoration, was the result.
Dan lives in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia with his wife and three dogs. When he's not writing, he likes to hike, boat, fish and experience the exceptional beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. If the weather is bad, you may find him online playing the current MMO flavor of the month or banging away on his Xbox controller.
As is the case for many of us, the realities of life took him in a different direction and his dream was put on hold while he worked to achieve successful careers in telecom, software engineering and talent development. In 2017, Dan decided to leave corporate America and start writing. His first book, Restoration, was the result.
Dan lives in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia with his wife and three dogs. When he's not writing, he likes to hike, boat, fish and experience the exceptional beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. If the weather is bad, you may find him online playing the current MMO flavor of the month or banging away on his Xbox controller.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 17, 2019
I absolutely loved this book. It definitely makes you wonder what the future could hold for humanity. I loved the way the author described the difference in the worlds. Its very action packed and once I started I didn't want to put it down. I won this on a Goodreads giveaway and it was probably the best book I've won so far.
December 30, 2018
I won this KINDLE edition in a GOODREADS giveaway.
August 20, 2018
This is definitely an action packed, Sci-fi page turner that is worth purchasing and well-worth the read! When I started reading this book I did not want to put it down, and I found myself picking it up to continue reading it while I was making dinner, when waiting for appointments, and anytime I had a few minutes. What made this book truly amazing included: the characters were realistic, well described, and easily relatable; the situations in the story were believable, sometimes terrifyingly believable descriptions based on how the world could most definitely be like in 2075; the author had a brilliant way of twisting the plot and the story line so much so, that I would say out loud, "Wait, what just happened there!" and have to re-read a line or two to be sure; and it was the best and fastest read I have purchased in some time. Restoration left me wanting more from this author at the end of each chapter and the end of the book! If you are a Sci-fi fan like me, and looking for the next best book out there, check out Daniel McWhorter's Restoration - you won't be sorry! I am hoping for a second book from this author soon, and look forward to re-reading Restoration once I have ordered the second book and it is on its way!
October 13, 2018
Restoration by Daniel C. McWhorter was very impressive! It takes you on a wild sci-fi ride during the entire 350+ page novel! Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. Mr. McWhorter has come up with a brilliant and intellectually-stimulating story. This novel will entertain both the casual and hard core sci-fi fan.
The vivid detail in the story makes you feel you are right there with the characters as they travel to Luna (the Moon), Mars and Ceres. It provides the reader a head start on imagining how advanced technology and tools such as drones, A.I. and space travel, etc. might operate in 2075. I can’t wait for McWhorter to finish the sequel!"
The vivid detail in the story makes you feel you are right there with the characters as they travel to Luna (the Moon), Mars and Ceres. It provides the reader a head start on imagining how advanced technology and tools such as drones, A.I. and space travel, etc. might operate in 2075. I can’t wait for McWhorter to finish the sequel!"
August 9, 2019
This was a GoodReads giveaway win of a Kindle Edition ebook. This book is helping me overcome my bias against ebooks. Perhaps I have been reading too many poor books as a safety against spending a lot of money on ebooks that I know little about.
This was a Star Trek kind of theoretical hard science fiction. Not likely to happen soon, but the science was thought out and made logical sense. The human reaction / politics of human cloning make for an interesting future. The action sequences were good. And I liked the ending.
For a debut novel, well done. I will be looking out for more work from McWhorter.
This was a GoodReads.
This was a Star Trek kind of theoretical hard science fiction. Not likely to happen soon, but the science was thought out and made logical sense. The human reaction / politics of human cloning make for an interesting future. The action sequences were good. And I liked the ending.
For a debut novel, well done. I will be looking out for more work from McWhorter.
This was a GoodReads.
January 17, 2019
I received a copy of this from the author from a Goodreads Giveaway.
My first problem with this book is that the author seems to have an aversion to commas. So many places where there should have been commas.
Second, most of the book is information dumping. The dialog doesn't really feel like dialog, but rather just more info dumping, then we get to read it AGAIN...
The story line is good, in and of itself, but the execution is horrible. An good editor could help make this book so much better than it is now
My first problem with this book is that the author seems to have an aversion to commas. So many places where there should have been commas.
Second, most of the book is information dumping. The dialog doesn't really feel like dialog, but rather just more info dumping, then we get to read it AGAIN...
The story line is good, in and of itself, but the execution is horrible. An good editor could help make this book so much better than it is now
October 24, 2018
Daniel McWhorter does a fantastic job with Restoration. It brought me right back to those times as a kid staying up all night dreaming about what life would be like on different planets! I had a hard time putting it down. It provides a realistic picture of the impact of present day innovations like, artificial intelligence, space travel, and genetic manipulation. I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in Sci-Fi and cant wait for the next one!
October 4, 2018
Kept my interest throughout
January 5, 2019
Amateurish prose. Read because it was a giveaway.
June 15, 2020
It is always a pleasure to encounter some serious, hard-core science fiction, full of speculation about our place in the stars, where humans meld with machines, about the locus of consciousness within a future technology, and so on. This one has it all.
The prologue begins with dying magnate, Evan Feldman, attended by his daughter yLilly, and her husband. His cancer has got the better of him, even whilst still only in his fifties.
Feldman dies, and his daughter is to discover that there things her father never told her - mainly about his cryogenic suspension. Fast forward again and this time, her granddaughter Aubrey secretly pulls her grandfather's Mo d and psyche back into a new, cloned body for a purpose she is loth to tell him about too soon.
Actually, not so secret. For there are spies everywhere, out to make sure the multinationals who have spread their culture not just on the Moon but on Mars and various asteroids too, don't clone dead people: It's is strictly illegal. Feldman and his helpers are forced to take a rocket plane to the Moon to escape their enemies, but when Luna proves to be too hot for them, they head for Mars and then Ceres - their pursuers never less than a couple of moves away. And needless to say, phasers are not always set at stun.
Geeks might well enjoy the details given about gravity propulsion regarding the new rocket science, while this reader might well have been more interested in how Lunar and Martian society have evolved - but this writer does not allow the action to stop here. For the race is on to take future survivors to a new destination altogether - if they don't get killed first.
Within all the adventure and espionage emerges yet another interesting character, the android Christian. Yet even here, the pace of the story does not fixate on the whole Pinocchio theme of that one, but rather, what happens if consciousness might be able to inhabit more than one body.
As with certain other kinds of speculation where no one has gone before, there is the question too of what role humanity as it now stands, lies within this. Possibly not much.
There are twists aplenty in the telling here, with some individuals definitely not being all they seem at all, and suspension is craftily built up from the adventure point of view.
It will be interesting to see where this writer takes all of this in the next editions of this story.
The prologue begins with dying magnate, Evan Feldman, attended by his daughter yLilly, and her husband. His cancer has got the better of him, even whilst still only in his fifties.
Feldman dies, and his daughter is to discover that there things her father never told her - mainly about his cryogenic suspension. Fast forward again and this time, her granddaughter Aubrey secretly pulls her grandfather's Mo d and psyche back into a new, cloned body for a purpose she is loth to tell him about too soon.
Actually, not so secret. For there are spies everywhere, out to make sure the multinationals who have spread their culture not just on the Moon but on Mars and various asteroids too, don't clone dead people: It's is strictly illegal. Feldman and his helpers are forced to take a rocket plane to the Moon to escape their enemies, but when Luna proves to be too hot for them, they head for Mars and then Ceres - their pursuers never less than a couple of moves away. And needless to say, phasers are not always set at stun.
Geeks might well enjoy the details given about gravity propulsion regarding the new rocket science, while this reader might well have been more interested in how Lunar and Martian society have evolved - but this writer does not allow the action to stop here. For the race is on to take future survivors to a new destination altogether - if they don't get killed first.
Within all the adventure and espionage emerges yet another interesting character, the android Christian. Yet even here, the pace of the story does not fixate on the whole Pinocchio theme of that one, but rather, what happens if consciousness might be able to inhabit more than one body.
As with certain other kinds of speculation where no one has gone before, there is the question too of what role humanity as it now stands, lies within this. Possibly not much.
There are twists aplenty in the telling here, with some individuals definitely not being all they seem at all, and suspension is craftily built up from the adventure point of view.
It will be interesting to see where this writer takes all of this in the next editions of this story.
November 9, 2024
I was blown away by how engaging this was. The tension built steadily, keeping me on the edge of my seat. The twists were surprising and kept me guessing until the very end. I found myself thinking about it long after I finished. It’s the kind of story that stays with you. Highly recommended!
December 28, 2019
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway, for which I am very grateful. This review is my own opinion.
Hard science fiction is a little harder to come by these days, especially the type where I can run the numbers myself, to check the author's work! :-) This novel is one of those for which I search. Mr. McWhorter has done some very believable extrapolations of various working theories of which I have a smattering of knowledge, developing them into creditable working models. To my delight, he also weaves in a thread of dystopian issues, another genre I enjoy. Toss in some sentient artificial intelligents, and you have a rollicking good hard science fiction.
Character and plot development are good, leading the reader to the surprising conclusion. All this was even more gratifying when I realized that this was the author's first novel. Very creditable. I shall need to follow this author so I can get more of his work!
Hard science fiction is a little harder to come by these days, especially the type where I can run the numbers myself, to check the author's work! :-) This novel is one of those for which I search. Mr. McWhorter has done some very believable extrapolations of various working theories of which I have a smattering of knowledge, developing them into creditable working models. To my delight, he also weaves in a thread of dystopian issues, another genre I enjoy. Toss in some sentient artificial intelligents, and you have a rollicking good hard science fiction.
Character and plot development are good, leading the reader to the surprising conclusion. All this was even more gratifying when I realized that this was the author's first novel. Very creditable. I shall need to follow this author so I can get more of his work!
March 3, 2021
Interesting twist
A lot of twists and turns in this story. A surprise end to it all. I didn't know who to root for. Still not sure after the ending.
A lot of twists and turns in this story. A surprise end to it all. I didn't know who to root for. Still not sure after the ending.
March 5, 2023
Amazing story
Absolutely amazing story! I totally enjoyed reading this book. I am excited and anxious to read the other books in this series. I do recommend this book to read.
Absolutely amazing story! I totally enjoyed reading this book. I am excited and anxious to read the other books in this series. I do recommend this book to read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews