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Progenitor
More To Fear Than Fear Itself
When a horde of towering creatures wreaks havoc on FDR’s Washington D.C., no one--including the president--knows where they came from. A desperate group of survivors make it to Fort Detrick, where they seek refuge from the devastation. They think they're safe there. After all, It’s FDR’s state-of-the-art maximum-security facility. But relief turns to horror, as they find they've locked themselves in with a more hideous threat than the one they left behind.
When a horde of towering creatures wreaks havoc on FDR’s Washington D.C., no one--including the president--knows where they came from. A desperate group of survivors make it to Fort Detrick, where they seek refuge from the devastation. They think they're safe there. After all, It’s FDR’s state-of-the-art maximum-security facility. But relief turns to horror, as they find they've locked themselves in with a more hideous threat than the one they left behind.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2020
4 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Christopher D. Abbott
36 books42 followersChristopher is a Reader's Favorite award winning author and Star Trek Feature Writer.
Described by New York Times Bestseller Michael Jan Friedman as "an up-and-coming fantasy voice", and compared to Roger Zelazny's best work, Abbott's Songs of the Osirian series of works brings a bold re-telling of Ancient Egyptian mythology. Abbott presents a fresh view of deities we know, such as Horus, Osiris, and Anubis. He weaves the godlike magic through musical poetry, giving these wonderfully tragic and deeply flawed "gods" different perspective, all the while increasing their mysteriousness.
His Sherlock Holmes stories, published in the Watson Chronicles Series, have been recognised by readers and peers alike as faithfully authentic to the original Conan Doyle. In 2022, after publishing seven individual Watson Chronicle stories, Christopher teamed up with prolific authors Michael Jan Friedman and Aaron Rosenberg to add a collection of Holmes short stories to the series.
Christopher has published with Crazy8Press and written for major media outlets, including ScreenRant.
Described by New York Times Bestseller Michael Jan Friedman as "an up-and-coming fantasy voice", and compared to Roger Zelazny's best work, Abbott's Songs of the Osirian series of works brings a bold re-telling of Ancient Egyptian mythology. Abbott presents a fresh view of deities we know, such as Horus, Osiris, and Anubis. He weaves the godlike magic through musical poetry, giving these wonderfully tragic and deeply flawed "gods" different perspective, all the while increasing their mysteriousness.
His Sherlock Holmes stories, published in the Watson Chronicles Series, have been recognised by readers and peers alike as faithfully authentic to the original Conan Doyle. In 2022, after publishing seven individual Watson Chronicle stories, Christopher teamed up with prolific authors Michael Jan Friedman and Aaron Rosenberg to add a collection of Holmes short stories to the series.
Christopher has published with Crazy8Press and written for major media outlets, including ScreenRant.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 24, 2021
Overall, I enjoyed this story and appreciated the characters. It's suspenseful, frightening, and moves at warp-speed, there's never a dull moment.
August 14, 1942: Army Chief of Staff, General William Marshall (not to be confused with the actual soldier, George C. Marshall) and his aid, Captain John Keeney arrive in Washington D.C. to find utter devastation. Everything has been laid waste. But the destruction wasn't caused by the war. It resulted from an attack by giant creatures right out of some horror movie. No one knows what they are. Are the destructive titans aliens, mutations, or maybe demons straight from hell? All Marshall and Keenley know is they have to escape and find shelter so they can figure out what to do. As they try to escape the devastation and the continuing attack, they are joined by Colonel Charles Bradley, a British officer who can keep his wits about him.
Barely escaping the devastated nation's capital, they head for Camp Detrick, a secure facility with underground labs where research is being done under a presidential mandate. While it may be secure, it is anything but safe. Even though they escaped the threat from above monsters above, there are also plenty of human monsters in the facility and their secrets are exposed one-by-one.
By far, my favorite character in the story is Colonel Bradley. This guy makes James Bond look like a Red Cross volunteer. He is a dynamic and complex character who is gentle and generous to his friends, and deadly to his enemies. Braders, as he is affectionately called by Marshall, Changes from ruthless killer to a kind soul in a heartbeat as the need arises. Mostly what he is searching for is the truth, and one way or another, he will get it, sometimes just through conversation, and sometimes at the point of a gun.
General Marshall is a soldier with a heart. He honestly cares about people and will go out of his way to help when he can. Bill, as he is known by his friends, has no problem issuing and enforcing orders, but one of his greatest assets is his willingness to listen to those advising him before he decides. He can assess a situation and come up with ideas to resolve them. He reminds me much of the description of the actual person (George C. Marshall) as I have read about him in the past.
There are numerous other characters who standout in Progenitor, and they all read as very human; everyone has flaws - some more than others - which helps them read as authentic. The cast of the book is very diverse, including people of all types; straight, gay, deviant, evil, mean, and amicable. Abbott does a great job keeping everyone consistent with their behavior and the characters’ voices are distinct.
My main takeaway from Progenitor is how many of the characters and situations are what they at first seem. The character development continues through the entire story and it isn't until one is quite a way through the book that the reader gets a complete picture of many in the cast.
Progenitor unfolds at an expeditious pace culminating in a surprise ending that I didn't expect. It was quite satisfying for me.
Having read none of Abbott's work before, I was thrilled with this story despite some moments of extreme suspense and some bloody scenes. I didn't think the violent scenes were too over the top for the average reader, but those easily put off might want to avoid this story.
August 14, 1942: Army Chief of Staff, General William Marshall (not to be confused with the actual soldier, George C. Marshall) and his aid, Captain John Keeney arrive in Washington D.C. to find utter devastation. Everything has been laid waste. But the destruction wasn't caused by the war. It resulted from an attack by giant creatures right out of some horror movie. No one knows what they are. Are the destructive titans aliens, mutations, or maybe demons straight from hell? All Marshall and Keenley know is they have to escape and find shelter so they can figure out what to do. As they try to escape the devastation and the continuing attack, they are joined by Colonel Charles Bradley, a British officer who can keep his wits about him.
Barely escaping the devastated nation's capital, they head for Camp Detrick, a secure facility with underground labs where research is being done under a presidential mandate. While it may be secure, it is anything but safe. Even though they escaped the threat from above monsters above, there are also plenty of human monsters in the facility and their secrets are exposed one-by-one.
By far, my favorite character in the story is Colonel Bradley. This guy makes James Bond look like a Red Cross volunteer. He is a dynamic and complex character who is gentle and generous to his friends, and deadly to his enemies. Braders, as he is affectionately called by Marshall, Changes from ruthless killer to a kind soul in a heartbeat as the need arises. Mostly what he is searching for is the truth, and one way or another, he will get it, sometimes just through conversation, and sometimes at the point of a gun.
General Marshall is a soldier with a heart. He honestly cares about people and will go out of his way to help when he can. Bill, as he is known by his friends, has no problem issuing and enforcing orders, but one of his greatest assets is his willingness to listen to those advising him before he decides. He can assess a situation and come up with ideas to resolve them. He reminds me much of the description of the actual person (George C. Marshall) as I have read about him in the past.
There are numerous other characters who standout in Progenitor, and they all read as very human; everyone has flaws - some more than others - which helps them read as authentic. The cast of the book is very diverse, including people of all types; straight, gay, deviant, evil, mean, and amicable. Abbott does a great job keeping everyone consistent with their behavior and the characters’ voices are distinct.
My main takeaway from Progenitor is how many of the characters and situations are what they at first seem. The character development continues through the entire story and it isn't until one is quite a way through the book that the reader gets a complete picture of many in the cast.
Progenitor unfolds at an expeditious pace culminating in a surprise ending that I didn't expect. It was quite satisfying for me.
Having read none of Abbott's work before, I was thrilled with this story despite some moments of extreme suspense and some bloody scenes. I didn't think the violent scenes were too over the top for the average reader, but those easily put off might want to avoid this story.
May 16, 2021
What I liked most about Christopher D. Abbott's Progenitor is that it wasn't what I expected. What I expected was an alien invasion story, what I got was a humans-quarantined-with-monsters story, where, more often than not, the humans are the real monsters. I was pleasantly surprised.
When WWII-era Washington is attacked by monsters-a seasoned General, along with his aid and a group of survivors, take refuge in a top secret military facility called Fort Detrick. This facility turns out to be one of nine created by FDR for biochemical research.
As it turns out, theres much more going on in this facility than appears on the surface. From human experimentation, to ex-cop's turned gangsters, to lab-made monsters; it becomes very apparent that this bunker is a chamber of horrors!
As the story unfolds we learn more about the monsters, both on the surface and in the bunker. With each chapter the scenario gets creepier and creepier and a shadow of dread looms over the base. Claustrophobic, quarantine tension ensues.
Abbott's assemblage of characters are very well developed for a Sci-Fi horror novel. Theres the heroically craggy General Marshall, his aid-Captain Keeney, the dedicated Dr. Husk, and British Intelligence Officer Colonel Bradley-who makes James Bond look like Barney Fife.
Then theres the nasties- ex-police chief Stevens, the not-so-holy preacher-Doyle, and about the nastiest Nazi scientist you'll ever see in print- Dr. Grunner.
There's a lot going on with these characters other than surviving the threats of their environment. This gives the narrative more weight and puts more at stake. The relationships often take your mind off the monsters and remind you that these are people with people problems as well.
The more I read the more it felt like I was reading a script to a lost John Carpenter film. The snappy dialogue, mounting tension, and overall feeling of being pulled towards something sinister, made for a thrilling ride!
Progenitor has all the trappings of an Outer Limits or X-Files episode but with R-rated horror, gore, sex, profanity, and violence; giving the reader a refreshing slap in the face!
I don't think the author knew of the impending pandemic when he wrote this book, but Progenitor should be even more relevant and relatable for anyone who reads it.
It's definitely a quarantine-ish book for our times, and a very good one at that!
When WWII-era Washington is attacked by monsters-a seasoned General, along with his aid and a group of survivors, take refuge in a top secret military facility called Fort Detrick. This facility turns out to be one of nine created by FDR for biochemical research.
As it turns out, theres much more going on in this facility than appears on the surface. From human experimentation, to ex-cop's turned gangsters, to lab-made monsters; it becomes very apparent that this bunker is a chamber of horrors!
As the story unfolds we learn more about the monsters, both on the surface and in the bunker. With each chapter the scenario gets creepier and creepier and a shadow of dread looms over the base. Claustrophobic, quarantine tension ensues.
Abbott's assemblage of characters are very well developed for a Sci-Fi horror novel. Theres the heroically craggy General Marshall, his aid-Captain Keeney, the dedicated Dr. Husk, and British Intelligence Officer Colonel Bradley-who makes James Bond look like Barney Fife.
Then theres the nasties- ex-police chief Stevens, the not-so-holy preacher-Doyle, and about the nastiest Nazi scientist you'll ever see in print- Dr. Grunner.
There's a lot going on with these characters other than surviving the threats of their environment. This gives the narrative more weight and puts more at stake. The relationships often take your mind off the monsters and remind you that these are people with people problems as well.
The more I read the more it felt like I was reading a script to a lost John Carpenter film. The snappy dialogue, mounting tension, and overall feeling of being pulled towards something sinister, made for a thrilling ride!
Progenitor has all the trappings of an Outer Limits or X-Files episode but with R-rated horror, gore, sex, profanity, and violence; giving the reader a refreshing slap in the face!
I don't think the author knew of the impending pandemic when he wrote this book, but Progenitor should be even more relevant and relatable for anyone who reads it.
It's definitely a quarantine-ish book for our times, and a very good one at that!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2022
great story
This was a very interesting concept; as I read it, I had to remind myself that this was set in the post WW2 era. The author wove the personalities of the characters well.
This was a very interesting concept; as I read it, I had to remind myself that this was set in the post WW2 era. The author wove the personalities of the characters well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews