Soup: The Future Is Past And Present

by Travis Haugen, Haley Craw (Illustrator), Eric Anderson (Editor)

Scott Yonge exploded onto the national consciousness at the 2001 Garrett Awards and quickly rose to legendary status on the wings of his music and his whirlwind romance with independent film actress Michelle Zoe. What should have been a perfect life was interrupted by an ultra-right wing militant group called the American Freedom Force and its leader, Colonel Randall, who forces Scott to choose between his life and that of his son. After his heroic sacrifice, his family is left to pick up the pieces and forge ahead to a future in the vacuum he left behind.

Now, in 2021, his son Hedley inherits music for himself, becoming a star in his own right as technology gives new life to the medium. Scott's daughter, affectionately known as Soup, throws herself into unravelling the mysteries of her family's history. Michelle commits herself to keeping them all together and trying to make sense of life without the one she loves. Through it all, the AFF looms in the shadows, threatening to resurrect the pain they have just begun to overcome.

In the first of his new series, Travis Haugen explores the reaches of the near future through his love of music, technology, and the unbreakable bonds of family. This book includes access to twenty-four original songs created by the author to bring the story and its characters to life.

Link to Music
www.soupsyz.com

324 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 2018

About the author

Travis was born and raised in the prairies of Saskatchewan, lived in Calgary for over 25 years and presently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Travis Haugen has spent forty years of his life touring on the road as a musician and has spent hundreds of hours in recording studios. Travis spends much of his time writing songs, writing stories, playing music and spending valuable time with his family and close group of friends.

Travis Haugen has written a series of Interactive Musical Thrillers which combine an interesting plot of a musician’s family life during a period of political unrest. SOUP, the first book of the series, links 24 songs that can be played while reading the fictional story and are part of the story itself. Here is a link to the 24 songs, www.soupsyz.com. Travis has spent many years in bands touring North America and has merged his passion for music with his newfound love of story telling.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very difficult book to attach a genre to. I don’t think I’d call it a romance, but it does have a loving, caring sentiment merely because of a loving family. It's a thriller and futuristic in some ways and while the story itself makes it fiction, it’s almost non-fiction just because of the author’s knowledge of technology. It’s also not necessarily unrealistic concerning the music world. While this seems like a mish-mash of genres, it doesn’t turn out that way at all. It’s a good storyline. One with interesting characters.

I did have some trouble with the flow of the book, and this is no different than any other book I have read that is filled with song lyrics here and there. I am a musician myself. Nonetheless, the interruption of song lyrics tends to break my rhythm in reading and makes the story feel disjunct. I know the musical bits make this very interactive and I know this is great for some people. I listened to the after I read the book. It’s just me, I don’t like the storyline to stop flowing.

It’s a well-written and unique story. Well worth my reading time.

[Gina Rae Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the basic storyline of a loving family. I especially loved the mother-daughter connection. The pace was a little uneven for me. Perhaps this was from the song lyrics, yet they are an integral part of the story.

The story weaves between the past, present, and future reasonably smoothly. The mystery was almost secondary as the characters and their interactions stole the show.

I believe this story will appeal to a large variety of readers, from music fans to mystery lovers.