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Fourth Trait
It’s 2095. A cataclysmic event known as the Great Catastrophe has killed ninety-five percent of the world’s population. The survivors share a common thread: genetic traits that enable perception of the physical and emotional experience of others, both living and dead. Turns out death is an empty persistence in limbo, and the dead, or unattached as they’re now known, plague the living. But scientists have developed a genetically flawless replacement body. Death is cured. And the unattached have teamed up with an army of living sympathizers plotting revolution. Raile Alton is a military scientist, and he’s tasked with developing technology to destroy the unattached—but he’s failing. When a mysterious entity crashes a government raid, Raile encounters the only survivor, Eethena Twenton, a prolific scientist turned revolutionary. Could she be the solution to his failing mission? He offers her freedom for information. But who’s helping whom? Soon Raile finds himself on a journey of discovery that could unravel what he believes about his past, and the edge of a dark conspiracy that leaves him in a fight for his life—and death.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
384 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2019
6 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin A. Bryan
2 books35 followersI spend my days taking in as much of the crazy world around me as I can--travel, nature, photography, yoga, hiking, books, cycling, math, cooking. There may be a day job in there somewhere too...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 21, 2019
For me the difference between a four-star read and a five-star read consists of two things: did the book challenge my way of thinking, and what were the feelings I was left with when done.
I liked that the author posed many questions about life, death, and love. It definitely made me pause and think. Also, it isn’t often that you find poetic prose in this genre, so I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon these nuggets.
Bryan creates a world so real that I was easily absorbed in it. I often found myself inert as I left Bryan’s world and rejoined reality. When I closed the book for the last time, I felt sad. I felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends. The characters felt that real to me. I thought they were well developed. Even though I started out not liking the main character, by the end not only did I like him, but I empathized with him.
Fourth Trait is a postapocalyptic paranormal story about deception, love, and revenge. Overall, a great read and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes the postapocalyptic or paranormal genres. I’d also recommend it to anyone just looking for a good read.
I liked that the author posed many questions about life, death, and love. It definitely made me pause and think. Also, it isn’t often that you find poetic prose in this genre, so I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon these nuggets.
Bryan creates a world so real that I was easily absorbed in it. I often found myself inert as I left Bryan’s world and rejoined reality. When I closed the book for the last time, I felt sad. I felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends. The characters felt that real to me. I thought they were well developed. Even though I started out not liking the main character, by the end not only did I like him, but I empathized with him.
Fourth Trait is a postapocalyptic paranormal story about deception, love, and revenge. Overall, a great read and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes the postapocalyptic or paranormal genres. I’d also recommend it to anyone just looking for a good read.
October 11, 2019
I've really gotten into sci-fi lately and this book was definitely an intriguing premise. It's science fiction with a supernatural flair to it. Lots of strong dialogue in the book which showcases the strong character development. You have multiple points of view (various characters you follow) which add to the pace of the story and also reveal the interesting worldbuilding that drives this story forward. Some romance is within the book as well. An interesting blend of genres for sure!
October 11, 2019
This book is a really entertaining blend of post apocalyptic paranormal Sci-fi, which I can't say I've ever ever read before. The story is extremely unique even though there are some common sci-fi themes, but since there are so many different blended genres, it feels completely original. There are some parts that feel a little rough and some characters are a bit underdeveloped, but overall I really enjoyed the story. Bryan does a good job of building a really intense gritty world, and it's a page turner for sure.
October 11, 2019
The Fourth Trait is an outstanding sci-fi mystery set in the future, post end of the world. Instead of zombies, we get a long adventure filled with mystery, death, alternate realities, ghosts, ghost killing bacteria, telepathy, demons, romance, and more. Reading it was a fun time, and I loved the characters of Raile and Eethena.
The Fourth Trait is a new story I've never heard, and almost all elements of it are entirely original.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story that they haven't already heard a thousand times.
The Fourth Trait is a new story I've never heard, and almost all elements of it are entirely original.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story that they haven't already heard a thousand times.
November 29, 2019
Interesting Premise
The Fourth Trait attempts to tackle one of the greatest mysteries of the human existence: what happens to us when we die. Mixing science, fantasy, and myth, the book presents a world in the distant future that is recovering from a non-defined Great Catastrophe, and struggling to deal with “unattached”, or the essences of people whose physical bodies have died. Amidst the attempt to achieve transference, or the ability to put an unattached into a new body, there are political, socio-economic, and personal storylines at play.
It’s an interesting concept, and it’s definitely the reason I was drawn to this book. If there is something out there quite like The Fourth Trait, I haven’t come across it. I think the author dove in with both feet and really tried to deliver something that was going to break the mold. And in my opinion, he almost did.
There were three elements in this book that really dragged down what I think has incredible potential. The first is that, from the moment you start reading, you are inundated with words that are meant to be scientific. These words have been invented for the purpose of the story and the world in which the story takes place, and that’s absolutely fine. I love when authors create language when the one we have just won’t do. But here’s the problem. It’s too much too quickly, and there is very little explanation or context that would help the reader figure out what’s going on. For me it was overwhelming. As I got further into the book I was more or less able to figure out what each means in a broad sense, but it took a lot of getting used to and I found it distracted from the story.
The second element is that I think the story began to collapse a little beneath its own weight. There is so much going on here, I think this book could have been split in two. Since it hasn’t, I don’t believe that any of the story lines were really given the attention they deserved. I think the first book could have focused solely on Raile and what he was meant to do with the specific inciting event in the book, and then the second book could have expanded on the larger themes and brought the story into a bigger world. I think this would also have mitigated some overwhelming nature of adjusting to this world that I described in the previous paragraph.
The final element was the use of sexual assault as a means to both make female characters more compelling, and to relate an undercurrent of abuse of power by those with any modicum of authority. I’m spoiling two very small parts of the story, so skip the next few sentences if you don’t want to know anything. Raile’s wife is dead, she committed suicide. Throughout the story we see memories that he has of her, and one of those memories is of their first meeting, wherein she relates a story about how her mother was sexually assaulted by a person of authority, and how that has affected her. In another instance, Raile is about to detain a suspect and must frisk her, which he does professionally and respectfully. But the suspect then makes a comment that normally, when she is frisked, it involves heavy groping (I’m paraphrasing).
I’m simply not convinced that either of instances were necessary to describe the nature of the characters or to develop a sense that they are living in an unjust world. I think these things could have been achieved with clever writing and brainstorming. This just felt like a battering ram, and I found it to be completely unsavory.
The Fourth Trait is not without its merits, though. The writing is superb, and the book is edited to perfection. The scenes where Raile is using his abilities to fight the villain, and how that villain affects him directly, are absolutely gripping. And I do believe that the fact that every relationship in this story, except for maybe the relationship between Raile and Hugo, has this undercurrent of subtext and personal agenda is absolutely artful. Raile can’t trust anyone, and neither can the reader.
All in all, the book is a fine read. I think my personal preferences prevented me from developing a real connection with the book. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there.
The Fourth Trait attempts to tackle one of the greatest mysteries of the human existence: what happens to us when we die. Mixing science, fantasy, and myth, the book presents a world in the distant future that is recovering from a non-defined Great Catastrophe, and struggling to deal with “unattached”, or the essences of people whose physical bodies have died. Amidst the attempt to achieve transference, or the ability to put an unattached into a new body, there are political, socio-economic, and personal storylines at play.
It’s an interesting concept, and it’s definitely the reason I was drawn to this book. If there is something out there quite like The Fourth Trait, I haven’t come across it. I think the author dove in with both feet and really tried to deliver something that was going to break the mold. And in my opinion, he almost did.
There were three elements in this book that really dragged down what I think has incredible potential. The first is that, from the moment you start reading, you are inundated with words that are meant to be scientific. These words have been invented for the purpose of the story and the world in which the story takes place, and that’s absolutely fine. I love when authors create language when the one we have just won’t do. But here’s the problem. It’s too much too quickly, and there is very little explanation or context that would help the reader figure out what’s going on. For me it was overwhelming. As I got further into the book I was more or less able to figure out what each means in a broad sense, but it took a lot of getting used to and I found it distracted from the story.
The second element is that I think the story began to collapse a little beneath its own weight. There is so much going on here, I think this book could have been split in two. Since it hasn’t, I don’t believe that any of the story lines were really given the attention they deserved. I think the first book could have focused solely on Raile and what he was meant to do with the specific inciting event in the book, and then the second book could have expanded on the larger themes and brought the story into a bigger world. I think this would also have mitigated some overwhelming nature of adjusting to this world that I described in the previous paragraph.
The final element was the use of sexual assault as a means to both make female characters more compelling, and to relate an undercurrent of abuse of power by those with any modicum of authority. I’m spoiling two very small parts of the story, so skip the next few sentences if you don’t want to know anything. Raile’s wife is dead, she committed suicide. Throughout the story we see memories that he has of her, and one of those memories is of their first meeting, wherein she relates a story about how her mother was sexually assaulted by a person of authority, and how that has affected her. In another instance, Raile is about to detain a suspect and must frisk her, which he does professionally and respectfully. But the suspect then makes a comment that normally, when she is frisked, it involves heavy groping (I’m paraphrasing).
I’m simply not convinced that either of instances were necessary to describe the nature of the characters or to develop a sense that they are living in an unjust world. I think these things could have been achieved with clever writing and brainstorming. This just felt like a battering ram, and I found it to be completely unsavory.
The Fourth Trait is not without its merits, though. The writing is superb, and the book is edited to perfection. The scenes where Raile is using his abilities to fight the villain, and how that villain affects him directly, are absolutely gripping. And I do believe that the fact that every relationship in this story, except for maybe the relationship between Raile and Hugo, has this undercurrent of subtext and personal agenda is absolutely artful. Raile can’t trust anyone, and neither can the reader.
All in all, the book is a fine read. I think my personal preferences prevented me from developing a real connection with the book. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there.
January 21, 2020
Readers will immediately be drawn into this well-written, engaging book from the first sentence. Bryan writes with an incredible clarity which allows readers to easily visualize each important detail. The year 2095 is as real as 2020 in Bryan's universe, and with subtle hints of things to come, readers won't be able to put this novel down! Packed with fascinating story lines Fourth Trait is a book readers will pick up again and again.
October 18, 2019
Fourth Trait’s ghostly apocalypse was a combination I’d not seen before. This was my main motivation for picking it up, and on that front I was not disappointed. The world was expanded, layered, and mostly consistent. I still had a few questions, but I was willing to go along with it. The prose was to the point, sharp, with occasional gems rich with meaning. The plot had plenty of twists, and was easy to follow.
The opening was strong, immediately launching me into the world and introducing me to the status quo for the characters. I appreciated the immediacy, attention to forward momentum, and commitment to revealing information without over-explaining.
Many of those traits became negatives as the book progressed, though, or else faded as other aspects took over. Characters were unlikeable at the start, and so I struggled to want to continue and was not won over by any improvements they made. I didn’t know who I was supposed to care about, as there were more narrators than parts to the book spread out across all sides. When they came together, their relationships felt forced, fast, or more archetypal than real.
I knew the “what” of the supernatural and sci-fi elements, but I didn’t really know how the pieces fit together other than they existed in the same world. We didn’t know enough to put together the pieces on our own, and so had none of the thrill of discovery that makes one keep reading.
The momentum grew distracted, backtracking and caught up in dialogue. Characters repeated themselves, explained the action we had just seen or could have inferred, and were generally blunt in a way that felt unnatural. A typical scene contained two to five people standing in a room, talking, explaining the action that they were going to take and their motivations, and then briefly describing that action again. “Show don’t tell,” is the cliched complaint.
Consequently, I never felt grounded enough to let the book play with my emotions. The pacing felt off, bobbing along between scenes without much tension. In general, the lack of tension meant I hardly noticed when the plot did twist, except when I could tell I didn’t really believe them.
I’d hoped a satisfying ending would redeem the story, but all I felt upon reaching the last page was that the characters were kicked down, and hadn’t achieved anything they’d set out to do.
My thoughts on Fourth Trait can be summed up by the simple fact that the novel never made clear exactly what the fourth trait was. I was intrigued by it, curious, ready and willing to step into whatever it may be, but was left disappointed and burnt out waiting for something to happen.
I suppose that those more interested in politics with a supernatural twist, intrigue, and slow burn redemption arcs might want to give this book a shot. But for me, it just left me feeling unattached.
The opening was strong, immediately launching me into the world and introducing me to the status quo for the characters. I appreciated the immediacy, attention to forward momentum, and commitment to revealing information without over-explaining.
Many of those traits became negatives as the book progressed, though, or else faded as other aspects took over. Characters were unlikeable at the start, and so I struggled to want to continue and was not won over by any improvements they made. I didn’t know who I was supposed to care about, as there were more narrators than parts to the book spread out across all sides. When they came together, their relationships felt forced, fast, or more archetypal than real.
I knew the “what” of the supernatural and sci-fi elements, but I didn’t really know how the pieces fit together other than they existed in the same world. We didn’t know enough to put together the pieces on our own, and so had none of the thrill of discovery that makes one keep reading.
The momentum grew distracted, backtracking and caught up in dialogue. Characters repeated themselves, explained the action we had just seen or could have inferred, and were generally blunt in a way that felt unnatural. A typical scene contained two to five people standing in a room, talking, explaining the action that they were going to take and their motivations, and then briefly describing that action again. “Show don’t tell,” is the cliched complaint.
Consequently, I never felt grounded enough to let the book play with my emotions. The pacing felt off, bobbing along between scenes without much tension. In general, the lack of tension meant I hardly noticed when the plot did twist, except when I could tell I didn’t really believe them.
I’d hoped a satisfying ending would redeem the story, but all I felt upon reaching the last page was that the characters were kicked down, and hadn’t achieved anything they’d set out to do.
My thoughts on Fourth Trait can be summed up by the simple fact that the novel never made clear exactly what the fourth trait was. I was intrigued by it, curious, ready and willing to step into whatever it may be, but was left disappointed and burnt out waiting for something to happen.
I suppose that those more interested in politics with a supernatural twist, intrigue, and slow burn redemption arcs might want to give this book a shot. But for me, it just left me feeling unattached.
October 28, 2019
Not long into the future, a cataclysm has dramatically lowered the earth's population. Dissatisfied spirits roam the earth as the "unattached" while special forces with extrasensory perception are tasked with dispatching their ranks. Along comes a game-changing development: the invention of technology that can effectively end death, preserving human survivors' consciousness into new bodies so they can live forever.
FOURTH TRAIT throws much of this set-dressing at the reader in the very first chapters. Even with a story that begins in medias res and that doesn't rely too much on exposition, the reader needs a lot of backstory to comprehend the plot when it gets underway.
That plot begins with the grim, gruff Raile, whose vendetta against the unattached drives him to hunt them down without mercy. He's on a mission to wipe them out entirely. But between a militant government that may not have the surviving world's best interests at heart and a revolutionary sect working to overthrow their goals, that quickly becomes more complicated.
FOURTH TRAIT turns out to be a well-crafted, deeply realized story, but one that might prove difficult to enter. The writing itself isn't a problem (although there are neologisms peppered throughout that I found hard to grasp without more context). Instead, I found that the plot's many moving parts, the futuristic setting, and the curt, short-tempered protagonist all hampered my progress through the book.
That doesn't mean that FOURTH TRAIT isn't rewarding for lovers of sci-fi with a paranormal flavor, especially if you also like stories about man-vs-government conflict. It's just tough to swallow all it has to offer - so make sure to set aside a good amount of time and go prepared.
FOURTH TRAIT throws much of this set-dressing at the reader in the very first chapters. Even with a story that begins in medias res and that doesn't rely too much on exposition, the reader needs a lot of backstory to comprehend the plot when it gets underway.
That plot begins with the grim, gruff Raile, whose vendetta against the unattached drives him to hunt them down without mercy. He's on a mission to wipe them out entirely. But between a militant government that may not have the surviving world's best interests at heart and a revolutionary sect working to overthrow their goals, that quickly becomes more complicated.
FOURTH TRAIT turns out to be a well-crafted, deeply realized story, but one that might prove difficult to enter. The writing itself isn't a problem (although there are neologisms peppered throughout that I found hard to grasp without more context). Instead, I found that the plot's many moving parts, the futuristic setting, and the curt, short-tempered protagonist all hampered my progress through the book.
That doesn't mean that FOURTH TRAIT isn't rewarding for lovers of sci-fi with a paranormal flavor, especially if you also like stories about man-vs-government conflict. It's just tough to swallow all it has to offer - so make sure to set aside a good amount of time and go prepared.
October 16, 2019
Science Fantasy is a blending of genres I absolutely love. I have read some amazing books. The plot really kept me interested and the voice was amazing and the author did a great job at building the world so I understood what was going on. However, there are some areas of weakness that distracted me from the story. First, the author tells too much instead of shows. It distracts me from the characters I am rooting for. For example, writing "this pissed him off" is telling especially for a strong character whom I want to know how he shows his anger. Is he in control of it so he clenches his jaw so hard his teeth might shatter, or does he lose his temper quickly and punch a wall or curse. The character development isn't fully there though the bones are great. The author does a great job with blocking too. I understood where characters were within a space, moving through a scene. Another distraction from the story besides the telling is that the author tries to encompass too much that it does become a bit distracting. The premise is great and I can deal with a romantic subplot, but at times there was just too much going on it felt chaotic.Overall, it was a great premise with lots of potential. Craft aspects just need to be strengthened to keep me engaged as a reader.
November 1, 2019
So firstly, I thought the premise of Fourth Trait was a really innovative idea. I haven’t come across a novel like it before, which is really refreshing when so many novels in this genre seem to be repetitions or slight variations on the same overdone concepts. In contrast, the idea of the dead being present but nonphysical, or ‘unattached’, was really interesting. Warping such a fundamental aspect of life in this way paved the way for an original novel based on how society would respond if the concept of death itself could be seen from a new perspective.
The book overall is full of surprises, and much of the novel made for some quite tense reading! I did feel that the characterisation didn’t always necessarily live up to the brilliance of the concept and plot of the novel, but this was a minor issue in the end, and certainly wouldn’t put me off recommending it.
The book overall is full of surprises, and much of the novel made for some quite tense reading! I did feel that the characterisation didn’t always necessarily live up to the brilliance of the concept and plot of the novel, but this was a minor issue in the end, and certainly wouldn’t put me off recommending it.
October 25, 2019
I liked the idea, and the blend of sci fi with elements of paranormal definitely drew me in.
However, it takes awhile before the scientific terms used frequently in this futuristic landscape are explained. (I believe that it wasn't until part two that the term "anmatter" is thoroughly defined.)
For a good part of the book, these terms are basically word mashups that have few context clues in the beginning. The reader can piece the basics together, but it does take away from the initial excitement at the prospect of exploring a haunted house with one of the main characters.
I went into this book excited and then lost a bit of that feeling while trying to put together what was going on with all of the classifications and subplots.
However, it takes awhile before the scientific terms used frequently in this futuristic landscape are explained. (I believe that it wasn't until part two that the term "anmatter" is thoroughly defined.)
For a good part of the book, these terms are basically word mashups that have few context clues in the beginning. The reader can piece the basics together, but it does take away from the initial excitement at the prospect of exploring a haunted house with one of the main characters.
I went into this book excited and then lost a bit of that feeling while trying to put together what was going on with all of the classifications and subplots.
October 31, 2019
It takes a strong writer to tackle the fantasy-Sci Fi genre. The merging of the two is not an easy task. Benjamin A. Bryan tried and failed terribly. His plots, and subplots for that matter, weren’t defined and actually seemed chaotic to the reader. There were more than one outer journey and conflict. To be honest, it read like two books crammed into one work. The saving grace is Bryan’s premise and characters. The characters were three-dimensional and well-developed, and the premise shows the start of a great novel. Bryan may benefit from reviewing the Hero’s Journey and Three Act Structure commonly used in movies. These two formats may help him focus his ideas into a workable story.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews