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THE NINTH PROTOCOL: Longshot Book 1
A brand-new high-tech thriller by the author of the highly acclaimed STARPATH series. Set in the 24th century, THE NINTH PROTOCOL is the first book in a space colonisation trilogy of truly breathtaking proportions.
A man with no memory must run for his life, barely staying ahead of those who seek to kill him, while simultaneously trying to unravel the mystery of his missing memory. What he discovers will shock him to the core and start him on a journey that will eventually take him to the stars, as he becomes part of an extraordinary mission to colonise a newly discovered planet.
With relentless action and heart pounding suspense, the story unfolds at a breakneck pace, full of twists and turns that you won't see coming. Written with intelligence and wit, this is hard science fiction at its very best.
One reviewer
“I absolutely loved this book! I have been reading science fiction for decades, and this story deserves a place on the very top shelf. Edge of your seat suspense, brilliant characterisation, intelligent narrative, laugh-out-loud humour and a plot that moves at a cracking pace – this story has got everything that I love in a great book. It is very cleverly written by an author who really knows how to tell a fantastic yarn. But be warned – you will have great trouble putting it down! I gobbled it up in two sittings! There is everything to love and nothing to hate in this absolutely gripping hard science fiction story.”
If you enjoyed the movies "The Martian", "Minority Report", "Passengers", "AI" or "Interstellar" you will love this book! Similarly, if you enjoyed the books "Dark Matter", "Children of Time", "Winter World", "The Enceladus Mission" or any of the classic stories by sci fi masters such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, & Arthur C Clarke, then this is the book for you!
A man with no memory must run for his life, barely staying ahead of those who seek to kill him, while simultaneously trying to unravel the mystery of his missing memory. What he discovers will shock him to the core and start him on a journey that will eventually take him to the stars, as he becomes part of an extraordinary mission to colonise a newly discovered planet.
With relentless action and heart pounding suspense, the story unfolds at a breakneck pace, full of twists and turns that you won't see coming. Written with intelligence and wit, this is hard science fiction at its very best.
One reviewer
“I absolutely loved this book! I have been reading science fiction for decades, and this story deserves a place on the very top shelf. Edge of your seat suspense, brilliant characterisation, intelligent narrative, laugh-out-loud humour and a plot that moves at a cracking pace – this story has got everything that I love in a great book. It is very cleverly written by an author who really knows how to tell a fantastic yarn. But be warned – you will have great trouble putting it down! I gobbled it up in two sittings! There is everything to love and nothing to hate in this absolutely gripping hard science fiction story.”
If you enjoyed the movies "The Martian", "Minority Report", "Passengers", "AI" or "Interstellar" you will love this book! Similarly, if you enjoyed the books "Dark Matter", "Children of Time", "Winter World", "The Enceladus Mission" or any of the classic stories by sci fi masters such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, & Arthur C Clarke, then this is the book for you!
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2021
84 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 5, 2022
This is a hard SF adventure story with a genetic engineering MacGuffin. It is well-written, well-plotted, and fast-paced. The main character is reasonably well developed; not so much the rest of the cast, but that’s okay because it is about the adventure, not the inner demons of the people on the adventure. There is a love interest for the (male) protagonist, and the author cleverly keeps us guessing how that will turn out all the way to the end.
The story takes place entirely on Earth, but toward the end . . . well, I won’t spoil it. Suffice to say, there is a sequel that takes place in space. I thought this book was going to get us there early on, but it didn’t, so now I’m going to have to read the next book. I'm okay with that.
I’m a hard SF guy myself and I thought the science was done well. The author did his homework; no jarring mistakes. If you like hard SF adventure, you’ll probably like this book.
The story takes place entirely on Earth, but toward the end . . . well, I won’t spoil it. Suffice to say, there is a sequel that takes place in space. I thought this book was going to get us there early on, but it didn’t, so now I’m going to have to read the next book. I'm okay with that.
I’m a hard SF guy myself and I thought the science was done well. The author did his homework; no jarring mistakes. If you like hard SF adventure, you’ll probably like this book.
September 4, 2022
I stopped reading and tossed this book right here:
“…resulting in a planet that was now continually ravaged by fierce, unpredictable weather events. While human atmospheric emissions had fallen dramatically in that latter half of the 21st century due to the advent of much cleaner energy sources, it was the unchecked deforestation of the planet that had turned out to be the main driver of global warming. During the late 21st century, the planet had reached a tipping point that was now irreversible. Global and local mega storms made food production increasingly problematic, and starvation was a growing problem in many parts of the world….”
About page 25.
Book looked stoopid anyway. Trite characters and — to me — a trite, predictable “story.”
.
.
“…resulting in a planet that was now continually ravaged by fierce, unpredictable weather events. While human atmospheric emissions had fallen dramatically in that latter half of the 21st century due to the advent of much cleaner energy sources, it was the unchecked deforestation of the planet that had turned out to be the main driver of global warming. During the late 21st century, the planet had reached a tipping point that was now irreversible. Global and local mega storms made food production increasingly problematic, and starvation was a growing problem in many parts of the world….”
About page 25.
Book looked stoopid anyway. Trite characters and — to me — a trite, predictable “story.”
.
.
June 10, 2022
Not a series attempt
Grave up on it one third of the way through, right after I read that the villain was a colonel in a consortium whose acronyms spelled R.I.S.C. By use of a convoluted set of words to get it to spell that, right there and from other ridiculous plot hints,that I will not mention in case you still wanted to read this book, I could see this was a dime novel not worth my time.
Grave up on it one third of the way through, right after I read that the villain was a colonel in a consortium whose acronyms spelled R.I.S.C. By use of a convoluted set of words to get it to spell that, right there and from other ridiculous plot hints,that I will not mention in case you still wanted to read this book, I could see this was a dime novel not worth my time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews