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Aeon #1
Aeon Rising: The Apocalypse Begins
An apocalyptic supernova flashes over the South Pole. A mysterious mission sent deep into the Amazon.
The story of one family’s struggle to reunite…
Max Carver, a down-on-his-luck truck driver and Army vet, joins a rescue mission into Brazil. The target is a utopian tech village, the Colony, hidden in the rainforest and run by a charismatic genius. Max’s pregnant wife, Talisha Carver, is the NSA analyst who intercepted encrypted Colony messages signaling a mysterious impending event.
Dr. Xin Rou is a Chinese researcher working at the IceCube neutrino experiment at the South Pole. On lucky days a single flash might signal the passage of a ghostly interstellar particle. Suddenly, IceCube’s entire array lights up. A million detectors at once. Which is impossible. The Antarctic sky is clear and calm—but she is already running for the door.
Because the world is about to end.
But the mystery only just begins...
SELECTED PRAISE & REVIEWS
MATTHEW MATHER
“Terrifying because so plausible.”
—Washington Post bestseller Steven Konkoly
“Apocalyptic sci-fi at its most exciting.”
—New York Times bestseller Nicholas Sansbury Smith
“Mather creates characters you've instantly known your whole life.”
—BOING BOING editor Jason Weisberger
“Relentless pacing…bombshell plot twists.”
—Publishers Weekly on Dreaming Tree
The story of one family’s struggle to reunite…
Max Carver, a down-on-his-luck truck driver and Army vet, joins a rescue mission into Brazil. The target is a utopian tech village, the Colony, hidden in the rainforest and run by a charismatic genius. Max’s pregnant wife, Talisha Carver, is the NSA analyst who intercepted encrypted Colony messages signaling a mysterious impending event.
Dr. Xin Rou is a Chinese researcher working at the IceCube neutrino experiment at the South Pole. On lucky days a single flash might signal the passage of a ghostly interstellar particle. Suddenly, IceCube’s entire array lights up. A million detectors at once. Which is impossible. The Antarctic sky is clear and calm—but she is already running for the door.
Because the world is about to end.
But the mystery only just begins...
SELECTED PRAISE & REVIEWS
MATTHEW MATHER
“Terrifying because so plausible.”
—Washington Post bestseller Steven Konkoly
“Apocalyptic sci-fi at its most exciting.”
—New York Times bestseller Nicholas Sansbury Smith
“Mather creates characters you've instantly known your whole life.”
—BOING BOING editor Jason Weisberger
“Relentless pacing…bombshell plot twists.”
—Publishers Weekly on Dreaming Tree
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 4, 2022
754 people are currently reading
515 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Mather
44 books1,823 followersMatthew is the million-copy bestselling author of CyberStorm and Darknet, and the hit series Nomad and Atopia Chronicles. He started out his career working at the McGill Center for Intelligent Machines, going on to become one of the world's leading members of the cybersecurity community. In between he's worked in a variety of start-ups,everything from computational nanotechnology to electronic health records to weather prediction systems. He spends his time between Montreal and Charlotte, NC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
June 15, 2022
3.5⭐
A gripping apocalyptic event thriller!
I'm guessing everyone would remember exactly what they were doing if a nearby star goes KABOOM turning night to day and the sky red.
In Aeon Rising a supernova appeared over the South Pole. A Chinese scientist Dr. Xin noticed it first on her monitor at Amundsen Station- Antarctica.
Max Carver, an Army vet now trucker is asked by his old Army staff sergeant to aid Stillwater, a private military contractor on a rescue mission. He heads to the Amazon forest where Max's childhood friend, Ben is running a hi-tech Colony in the middle of the jungle. But before they arrive, the night sky turns bright as day, and their Black Hawk spun out of control into a freefall.
This was an exciting read! Two suns? I guess I'll take two suns over a giant meteor strike. I wish I understood all the hard science, I didn't but I enjoyed the adventure! At the heart of it all, it's a survival story. To stay alive and to get back to their loved ones. Dr. Xin to her young son, and Max to his NSA subcontractor pregnant wife.
I'm definitely going to get book two when it comes out as the journey continues. Ray Porter did a wonderful job as always with the narration.
Thank you, RB Media/Recorded Books, and Netgalley for this DRC.
A gripping apocalyptic event thriller!
I'm guessing everyone would remember exactly what they were doing if a nearby star goes KABOOM turning night to day and the sky red.
In Aeon Rising a supernova appeared over the South Pole. A Chinese scientist Dr. Xin noticed it first on her monitor at Amundsen Station- Antarctica.
Max Carver, an Army vet now trucker is asked by his old Army staff sergeant to aid Stillwater, a private military contractor on a rescue mission. He heads to the Amazon forest where Max's childhood friend, Ben is running a hi-tech Colony in the middle of the jungle. But before they arrive, the night sky turns bright as day, and their Black Hawk spun out of control into a freefall.
This was an exciting read! Two suns? I guess I'll take two suns over a giant meteor strike. I wish I understood all the hard science, I didn't but I enjoyed the adventure! At the heart of it all, it's a survival story. To stay alive and to get back to their loved ones. Dr. Xin to her young son, and Max to his NSA subcontractor pregnant wife.
I'm definitely going to get book two when it comes out as the journey continues. Ray Porter did a wonderful job as always with the narration.
Thank you, RB Media/Recorded Books, and Netgalley for this DRC.
June 14, 2022
This one is more of a three and a half, its pretty decent just not quite four stars worthy. This book has me wanting to lower the star rating of the last book I read because it is not as good as this was. But other books I have given four stars to were better. So I am going to declare it 3 1/2 stars. I wish we could do that here!
This is a disaster/alien invasion book and while the story was compelling and the end was pretty good the knowledge of what is going on is all over the place. You get info from one group of characters saying its one thing and info from another group saying its another, one group will tell someone its something then immediately in private declare that its not that but something else all together.
There is some mystery surrounding an AI and at least by the end of the book it seems to be friendly but there are people who think it may be dangerous. This definitely feels like the first section of a longer book that they have split into three sections. This was the first and then it sort of just ends. It does not resolve much of anything and I hate that. I do accept that its the reality of publishing right not. Do not sell a thousand page self contained novel, split it into three 350 page books so we get to charge the customer three times. Just sell it for more and give me the whole story!
This is a disaster/alien invasion book and while the story was compelling and the end was pretty good the knowledge of what is going on is all over the place. You get info from one group of characters saying its one thing and info from another group saying its another, one group will tell someone its something then immediately in private declare that its not that but something else all together.
There is some mystery surrounding an AI and at least by the end of the book it seems to be friendly but there are people who think it may be dangerous. This definitely feels like the first section of a longer book that they have split into three sections. This was the first and then it sort of just ends. It does not resolve much of anything and I hate that. I do accept that its the reality of publishing right not. Do not sell a thousand page self contained novel, split it into three 350 page books so we get to charge the customer three times. Just sell it for more and give me the whole story!
June 18, 2022
4.5*.
An excellent plot and storyline. A bit brusque and with tons of short sentences. I found a weak description of the characters though. All in all, a very intriguing, riddled and full of suspense story that kept me on my toes the whole time, tension is palpable and the story kept me guessing the whole time. And, what a fascinating tech! My goodness! I was really fascinated, the wonders of it.. I’ll definitely read book-2!
An excellent plot and storyline. A bit brusque and with tons of short sentences. I found a weak description of the characters though. All in all, a very intriguing, riddled and full of suspense story that kept me on my toes the whole time, tension is palpable and the story kept me guessing the whole time. And, what a fascinating tech! My goodness! I was really fascinated, the wonders of it.. I’ll definitely read book-2!
June 18, 2022
4.5*.
An excellent plot and storyline. A bit brusque and with tons of short sentences. I found a weak description of the characters though. All in all, a very intriguing, riddled and full of suspense story that kept me on my toes the whole time, tension is palpable and the story kept me guessing the whole time. And, what a fascinating tech! My goodness! I was really fascinated, the wonders of it.. I’ll definitely read book-2!
An excellent plot and storyline. A bit brusque and with tons of short sentences. I found a weak description of the characters though. All in all, a very intriguing, riddled and full of suspense story that kept me on my toes the whole time, tension is palpable and the story kept me guessing the whole time. And, what a fascinating tech! My goodness! I was really fascinated, the wonders of it.. I’ll definitely read book-2!
October 27, 2022
Descent book, not the overwhelming catastrophic apocalyptic sensation it attempts to be. Characters are alright but, not can't wait to see what they do in the next installment. Likely won't even find out as I'm not interested.
June 12, 2022
4.5 stars. There are few things I love as much as a good science thriller. Listen, you don't need to have a Ph.D, but do a little research. Throw around a few polysyllabic words. Add enough hard science to give your thriller some verisimilitude, and I will follow you ANYWHERE. Case in point, there was plenty of stuff in Matthew Mather's latest that strained my credulity--to say the least. But I was willing to go there with him because he gave me enough science for willing suspension of disbelief.
As it happens, Aeon Rising, is a ton of fun. I won't say that a supernova apocalyptic threat is completely unique, but it hasn't been done to death like so many of these plots have. Plus, Mr. Mather brings in any number of other dangers to his story. He creates some engaging characters, very much helped along by Ray Porter's excellent reading of the audiobook. He's got settings ranging from Antarctica to the Brazilian jungle to San Francisco. The novel's action is virtually non-stop.
This first installment comes to a story arc, more than a conclusion. Pretty much everything is unresolved, which can be annoying, but truthfully, just leaves me wanting more.
As it happens, Aeon Rising, is a ton of fun. I won't say that a supernova apocalyptic threat is completely unique, but it hasn't been done to death like so many of these plots have. Plus, Mr. Mather brings in any number of other dangers to his story. He creates some engaging characters, very much helped along by Ray Porter's excellent reading of the audiobook. He's got settings ranging from Antarctica to the Brazilian jungle to San Francisco. The novel's action is virtually non-stop.
This first installment comes to a story arc, more than a conclusion. Pretty much everything is unresolved, which can be annoying, but truthfully, just leaves me wanting more.
June 10, 2022
Aeon is rising from the darkness of interstellar space, brightening and pouring heat onto Earth
Shining brightly above Antarctica, a supernova or hypernova, Aeon was heating the surface of the planet. Melting the ice covering the southernmost continent and raising water levels across the world, the new sun was destroying the world below the equator, and causing floods and wind storms north of the equator. Maximum Carver and his pregnant wife Talisha are at the heart of the efforts to protect the planet. A Colony in the Amazon basin is at the heart of a futuristic conspiracy with deep knowledge of the strange new sun destroying the planet. What do they know and how long have they known it? Are they truly pressing a restart on civilization? Who or what is Nyx, Talisha's guiding AI? Is Nyx part of Aeon's network?
A lot of questions to be answered. A lot of people dying. A global conspiracy? Hopefully the answers will be found in the next book in this amazing storyline. Mysterious and deadly characters trying to save or destroy civilization. Hard to put down, this is an awesome read!
Shining brightly above Antarctica, a supernova or hypernova, Aeon was heating the surface of the planet. Melting the ice covering the southernmost continent and raising water levels across the world, the new sun was destroying the world below the equator, and causing floods and wind storms north of the equator. Maximum Carver and his pregnant wife Talisha are at the heart of the efforts to protect the planet. A Colony in the Amazon basin is at the heart of a futuristic conspiracy with deep knowledge of the strange new sun destroying the planet. What do they know and how long have they known it? Are they truly pressing a restart on civilization? Who or what is Nyx, Talisha's guiding AI? Is Nyx part of Aeon's network?
A lot of questions to be answered. A lot of people dying. A global conspiracy? Hopefully the answers will be found in the next book in this amazing storyline. Mysterious and deadly characters trying to save or destroy civilization. Hard to put down, this is an awesome read!
June 8, 2022
Mather Strikes it out of the Solar System
Aeon Rising: The Apocalypse Begins may just be the best book Matthew Mather has ever written. Fully immersive from word one, this is a gripping narrative you just cannot put down.
Max and Talisha Carver are called to Washington DC to meet with an old colleague and Max ends up sent on a hush hush ops team to Brazil while Talisha is tasked with inserting top secret spyware into her former employer's system.
Just who the heroes are and what is really going on gets very confusing fast as a scientific installation in the Antarctic detects a wave of neutrinos just before a massive extra Solar explosion happens over Earth.
Aeon Rising is not your typical post-apocalyptic story. But who would expect anything less from Matthew Mather? Will the Earth as we know it end?
And what is The Colony all about in Brazil? Why is Max Carver seeing trees with wings flying into and destroying government jets? What a fabulous start to a series, I'm so sorry I have to wait for the next book to be written. Highly, highly recommended.
Aeon Rising: The Apocalypse Begins may just be the best book Matthew Mather has ever written. Fully immersive from word one, this is a gripping narrative you just cannot put down.
Max and Talisha Carver are called to Washington DC to meet with an old colleague and Max ends up sent on a hush hush ops team to Brazil while Talisha is tasked with inserting top secret spyware into her former employer's system.
Just who the heroes are and what is really going on gets very confusing fast as a scientific installation in the Antarctic detects a wave of neutrinos just before a massive extra Solar explosion happens over Earth.
Aeon Rising is not your typical post-apocalyptic story. But who would expect anything less from Matthew Mather? Will the Earth as we know it end?
And what is The Colony all about in Brazil? Why is Max Carver seeing trees with wings flying into and destroying government jets? What a fabulous start to a series, I'm so sorry I have to wait for the next book to be written. Highly, highly recommended.
June 17, 2022
Let me see if I can get this all in. Super nova wrecks havoc. Protagonist, former military husband and Israeli wife that may have connections to Israeli intelligence. Megalomaniac, super smart rich guy who just happens to be husband's best friend from childhood and might have something to do with the super nova. Conspiring politician and military officer scheming to take advantage of a crisis. Oh yeah, alien contact through data networks. Yawn.
Decidedly serial.
Decidedly serial.
December 7, 2022
An Awesome Start…
Just before I began this novel, I got a heartbreaking email. I follow this author and the email was from his wife and kids sharing the tragic premature death of the author. I am praying for his family, and hope he had made enough progress on the next novel to see it in the next few months. Please read this book-well worth your time and money! One thing that shows through the writing-the close knit relationship between brothers in any branch of service and the importance of their family. Like another fav author, Brandon Q Morris, Mather uses actual science and quantum physics coupled with real world “miracles of science & technology” to build upon. His “author notes” remind me of Nick Thacker & Kevin Tumlinson-insight into reality & writing. Hey Conundrum Publishing-contact this authors wife and keep the series alive to completion-you have the skills & once she realizes the quality of your work something great for all
Could happen!
Just before I began this novel, I got a heartbreaking email. I follow this author and the email was from his wife and kids sharing the tragic premature death of the author. I am praying for his family, and hope he had made enough progress on the next novel to see it in the next few months. Please read this book-well worth your time and money! One thing that shows through the writing-the close knit relationship between brothers in any branch of service and the importance of their family. Like another fav author, Brandon Q Morris, Mather uses actual science and quantum physics coupled with real world “miracles of science & technology” to build upon. His “author notes” remind me of Nick Thacker & Kevin Tumlinson-insight into reality & writing. Hey Conundrum Publishing-contact this authors wife and keep the series alive to completion-you have the skills & once she realizes the quality of your work something great for all
Could happen!
June 14, 2022
I loved this book. I think if you like the Joe Ledger series you’ll also like this. This is the first book in a dystopian series & all about how the apocalypse starts.
I’m not a scientist so the science could be wrong but I’m not bothered by that at all since there’s a flood of big fancy science-y words that make it sound spot on especially since they’re being delivered by the amazingly talented Ray Porter.
I enjoyed the politics, the world from the South Pole to Brazil to the US and the main characters are very well defined. There’s the loss of most electronics and the weather is out of control. The author introduces AI, monsters, aliens and an unstoppable contagion!
I have only one complaint … cliff hanger! It feels like the preliminaries are taken care of and then it just stops & now I have to wait for book two. 😫
It was a fun fast paced military action adventure sci-fi. Great start! Can’t wait for book 2!
Thank you NetGalley & McMillan Audio!
I’m not a scientist so the science could be wrong but I’m not bothered by that at all since there’s a flood of big fancy science-y words that make it sound spot on especially since they’re being delivered by the amazingly talented Ray Porter.
I enjoyed the politics, the world from the South Pole to Brazil to the US and the main characters are very well defined. There’s the loss of most electronics and the weather is out of control. The author introduces AI, monsters, aliens and an unstoppable contagion!
I have only one complaint … cliff hanger! It feels like the preliminaries are taken care of and then it just stops & now I have to wait for book two. 😫
It was a fun fast paced military action adventure sci-fi. Great start! Can’t wait for book 2!
Thank you NetGalley & McMillan Audio!
June 12, 2022
Fast and Fantastical
I gobbled up this first book I've read from Matthew Mather's, it was just what I was looking for. A fast, page turning, Sci fi adventure with depth, compelling characters and a twisty plot that has me now scratching for his 2nd book in the series. Well done Matthew!
I gobbled up this first book I've read from Matthew Mather's, it was just what I was looking for. A fast, page turning, Sci fi adventure with depth, compelling characters and a twisty plot that has me now scratching for his 2nd book in the series. Well done Matthew!
June 14, 2022
Hell of an original story!
The ONLY thing I thought that could use a little tweaking was that it took a bit too long to develop the story... As in what was at the heart of the conspiracy, why the colony was there, etc.
The ONLY thing I thought that could use a little tweaking was that it took a bit too long to develop the story... As in what was at the heart of the conspiracy, why the colony was there, etc.
June 13, 2022
uniquely different apocalyptic thriller
Loved this story. Great plot and fabulous characters. Really well written. Congrats - I can’t wait for the next book.
Loved this story. Great plot and fabulous characters. Really well written. Congrats - I can’t wait for the next book.
September 18, 2022
Good prose, good thriller technique. Might even have a good story in there, but too many words for so little story. Rounded down to 3 stars.
Tastes great; less filling.
Yeah, I think that's the problem.
Tastes great; less filling.
Yeah, I think that's the problem.
September 16, 2024
A taut, fast-paced techno thriller about a solar event and its repercussions, from the perspectives of the scientists, politicians, and people on the ground. Interesting A.I., bioengineering, and tech aspects as well as extreme remote conditions from Antarctica to the densest rainforests. In some respects, the geography was more developed than most of the characters who are fairly two-dimensional. Given the pacing, I am OK sacrificing some backstory for keeping the action going at its breakneck speed. I learned that the White House Situation Room is not just one room but a 6,000 sq-ft facility with separate “watching rooms” in addition to the main one depicted on TV shows. And to always pack three ways to start a fire in one’s Go bag. I hope I don’t live through a scenario like the one in this book, and yet I can’t wait to start the next one in the series!
August 17, 2022
Extra star for originality, but otherwise...
Quite the bummer, really. I wanted to love it, but I could barely even like it. This is one of those stories with SUCH an intriguing premise but a cringey execution, where its high points doubled as its low ones. It's hard to believe anything can go wrong writing about an exploding star (Aeon) wreaking havoc on Earth in more ways than one. The science behind such a terrifying possibility was equally fascinating and so damn confusing at the same time. I mean, I'd like to think I'm a smart enough woman for even the most basic of functions, but my gawd, the many ways this book made me feel like a moronic simpleton was quite impressive. And exhausting.
Because that therein eventually became the unexpected problem for me.
Outside of the general star-exploding premise, there were plenty of fantastic parts to read through, a hefty serving of thrills and action that hooked me. It still had the proper apocalyptic feel to it, shared via the various perspectives of the main narrators (of which there are several). All of that was fine and dandy. But alas, once the plot moved into the direction that it did to add an even bigger complication to an already complicated situation, that's when it all went downhill for me. Because then things just went ALLLL over the place. Way too messy. Way too long-winded. Overly detailed to the point of me going, "HUH?"
I stopped being able follow what was happening, couldn't process, couldn't visualize. The multiple perspectives, which often work just fine in stories, started "get in the way" of one another. Either they left me lost or they left me pining. Most things that were happening just stopped making sense to me, and they were barely making sense to begin with. Like I said at the beginning, I give an extra star for originality. There's actually QUITE the unexpected little twist that's laced within the main plot of this story that I could have really loved because I didn't see it coming. But man, the implementation of it just couldn't mesh well in my brain. I literally short-circuited.
At the end of the day, I was getting so pummeled with information overload that I had to resort to skimming a lot of the way, and I HATE having to do that. But I was sapped of all my energy to keep caring about anything after a while, couldn't enjoy this book by the end of it. I guess I'm simply too stupid for the subject matter. I'm not sure if I want to continue with this series. A part of me is still intrigued and wonder if it will all be ironed out now that the foundation of things has been established, but...most of me is officially no longer interested. We shall see what the future holds, but as of now? Omg I need a frickin' REST.
Quite the bummer, really. I wanted to love it, but I could barely even like it. This is one of those stories with SUCH an intriguing premise but a cringey execution, where its high points doubled as its low ones. It's hard to believe anything can go wrong writing about an exploding star (Aeon) wreaking havoc on Earth in more ways than one. The science behind such a terrifying possibility was equally fascinating and so damn confusing at the same time. I mean, I'd like to think I'm a smart enough woman for even the most basic of functions, but my gawd, the many ways this book made me feel like a moronic simpleton was quite impressive. And exhausting.
Because that therein eventually became the unexpected problem for me.
Outside of the general star-exploding premise, there were plenty of fantastic parts to read through, a hefty serving of thrills and action that hooked me. It still had the proper apocalyptic feel to it, shared via the various perspectives of the main narrators (of which there are several). All of that was fine and dandy. But alas, once the plot moved into the direction that it did to add an even bigger complication to an already complicated situation, that's when it all went downhill for me. Because then things just went ALLLL over the place. Way too messy. Way too long-winded. Overly detailed to the point of me going, "HUH?"
I stopped being able follow what was happening, couldn't process, couldn't visualize. The multiple perspectives, which often work just fine in stories, started "get in the way" of one another. Either they left me lost or they left me pining. Most things that were happening just stopped making sense to me, and they were barely making sense to begin with. Like I said at the beginning, I give an extra star for originality. There's actually QUITE the unexpected little twist that's laced within the main plot of this story that I could have really loved because I didn't see it coming. But man, the implementation of it just couldn't mesh well in my brain. I literally short-circuited.
At the end of the day, I was getting so pummeled with information overload that I had to resort to skimming a lot of the way, and I HATE having to do that. But I was sapped of all my energy to keep caring about anything after a while, couldn't enjoy this book by the end of it. I guess I'm simply too stupid for the subject matter. I'm not sure if I want to continue with this series. A part of me is still intrigued and wonder if it will all be ironed out now that the foundation of things has been established, but...most of me is officially no longer interested. We shall see what the future holds, but as of now? Omg I need a frickin' REST.
June 8, 2022
Action Packed Series Starter. This is one hell of an action packed series starter for Mather, and one that despite a few similar general ideas (such as crippled communications due to space activity) with his CyberStorm series never gets quite as dark as that one can. Indeed, the darkest thing here is unfortunately all too common, but to reveal it specifically would be a spoiler (though even here, Mather manages to put a scifi twist to it in furtherance of his ultimate series objectives). The different types of action here are reminiscent of everything from nearly-every-Amazon-based-action-movie-you've-ever-seen such as Predator or Anaconda, just to name a couple, to more urban based ala Daniel Pyne's Sentro Security or a Mission Impossible / Jason Bourne type. Throw in some elements similar to Deep Impact, as well as a few other elements of a few other popular tales that would be a touch spoilery to add here, and you've truly got a promising start to a potentially long series. This book is mostly set-up without ever truly *feeling* like it is mostly set-up - the action is tightly paced, as is the exposition, there is just *so much here* that by the end it is quite clear that this series is intended as a trilogy at minimum. Very much recommended.
August 31, 2022
Sometimes you can make out when authors write a book purely to have it made into a movie/series. This is one of those books. But:
1. The plot was interesting but made dull by the writing.
2. Couldn't have had any more selfish/self-centred and irrational protagonists. I kept head-smacking myself at their lack of reasoning, stupid questions and disregard for anything else but their own interests. Especially, when they know the world is probably going to end in the next few hours.
3. The characters (including the protagonists) are so poorly built that feeling anything for or of them is difficult. Heroes are not inspiring enough, villains are not scary/vile enough, events are not devestating enough, personal moments are not heartfelt enough.
This book has everything that a sci-fi nerd could want in a novel - earth-ending calamities, Cortana type AI, singularity, tense action etc., but none of it was put together to make an interesting, page-turning story.
1. The plot was interesting but made dull by the writing.
2. Couldn't have had any more selfish/self-centred and irrational protagonists. I kept head-smacking myself at their lack of reasoning, stupid questions and disregard for anything else but their own interests. Especially, when they know the world is probably going to end in the next few hours.
3. The characters (including the protagonists) are so poorly built that feeling anything for or of them is difficult. Heroes are not inspiring enough, villains are not scary/vile enough, events are not devestating enough, personal moments are not heartfelt enough.
This book has everything that a sci-fi nerd could want in a novel - earth-ending calamities, Cortana type AI, singularity, tense action etc., but none of it was put together to make an interesting, page-turning story.
April 26, 2024
DNF @ 52%.
Even Ray Porter seemed like he was just going through the motions & did not save it.
The core plot is just bleak. The characters confusing due to needlessly quick jumps in perspective. All the boring details stretched out and driving movie scenes not the plot/story.
The science seems well researched, but if i wanted astrology and physics that has little impact on plot, i'd watch some Neal Tyson's / Michio Kaku's musings or the like.
Even Ray Porter seemed like he was just going through the motions & did not save it.
The core plot is just bleak. The characters confusing due to needlessly quick jumps in perspective. All the boring details stretched out and driving movie scenes not the plot/story.
The science seems well researched, but if i wanted astrology and physics that has little impact on plot, i'd watch some Neal Tyson's / Michio Kaku's musings or the like.
November 26, 2022
Aeon Rising
This book was really good. You don't have to be a science fiction fan to get into it but there's enough to make you think if you are one. Well rounded characters. Cat and mouse espionage. Action, passion, and the best part? This is the first in a series. Jump in. You'll love it!
This book was really good. You don't have to be a science fiction fan to get into it but there's enough to make you think if you are one. Well rounded characters. Cat and mouse espionage. Action, passion, and the best part? This is the first in a series. Jump in. You'll love it!
May 13, 2024
I forgot why I don't read these type of books. They are just boring and hard to follow (due to it jumping from one place to another almost every chapter)! The characters to me were not developed well enough to make me love and root for them. Waist of time for me. Nothing good to say about this book!
November 14, 2022
Really good!
I truly enjoyed this book. A lot of action, good science, and fantasy all mixed in. There are some really great characters, and the story comes together piece by piece, adding so much intrigue. I am excited for the second book to come out in December!
I truly enjoyed this book. A lot of action, good science, and fantasy all mixed in. There are some really great characters, and the story comes together piece by piece, adding so much intrigue. I am excited for the second book to come out in December!
June 19, 2023
I enjoyed this but not as much as a Daniel Suarez or Chrichton novel. 3.5 probably. I will likely read a follow up if there is one. Not sure what diminished my enjoyment but probably a plot spread a little too thin amongst all of the various parties.
July 1, 2022
Not having a run of good books. This one I just couldn't finsh. Tried, really tried
July 1, 2022
DNF. 47%. A confusing mess filled with generic cardboard cut-out characters. Everyone seemed to be lying about what was going on and I had no clue what was real or a desire to find out.
January 19, 2024
This is a very good science fiction thriller. There’s several things going on at the same time involving a husband and wife name Max & Talisha Carver. You’ll also meet Dr. Xin Rhou who is at Antartica when she notices her instruments getting blasted with comic rays in a volume never before encountered. She knows enough about what she’s seeing to know that it signifies the end of the world!
Max & Talisha Carver have been invited to a White House dinner party. They weren’t sure why they got the invite, but they both knew Lieutenant Colonel Oleander Buchannan. This guy is somehow in charge of a lot of things that happen in the book and I can’t figure out why. The book alludes to the fact that Buchannan has his own company called Stillwater which seems to be a privately contracted military organization. I don’t think it’s explained specifically who he works for, but he seems to be a close colleague of Senator Copeland, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Dr. Owen, Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), has just briefed the President of the United States on what appears to have been a supernova that just occurred recently in relatively close proximity to the Earth. This super explosion has ejected a corona of charged particles with some heading directly to Earth. It’s like a shockwave from an explosion, a ball of energy that is thrown in all directions at once. This ball of energy was believed to have been the explosion of several possible stars within the vicinity of Earth. This one was possibly in the “kill zone”, a zone where such an event could trigger a mass extinction event on Earth. It already appeared as a bright object in the sky and, according to Dr. Owen, would only get bigger the closer this shockwave got to Earth. Then name given to this object is “Aeon”.
Ok, so here we have an already catastrophic event getting ready to take place, but Colonel Buchannan is attempting to investigate something else going on in Brazil. It seems that a wealthy eccentric, named Ben Belloc, has established a Colony somewhere deep in the Brazilian rain forest. For what purpose no one knew, but recently this “Colony” had launched a missile that turned out to be a rocket propelling a satellite into orbit. The US government doesn’t like it when someone unannounced launches a missile or rocket of any kind in this hemisphere. So, since Max and Ben had been childhood friends, Colonel Buchannan had asked Max to go visit his friend and bring him back if at all possible. Depending on what he found, the US was ready to wipe out this colony if they found evidence of some kind of wrong doing by the people there. Max agreed to with the guarantee of one hundred thousand dollars as payment for this mission. While Max is ex-military, he’s now a truck driver with a wife, Talisha who is seven months pregnant!
As for Talisha, as pregnant as she is, she’s still working for the National Security Agency (NSA). She’s a hacker and quite good at her job. She is currently getting ready to commit a crime by inserting an illegal program into the NSA network that will hopefully find out what a program Spectrum is all about. Why she is doing this and for whom, I completely can���t figure out. She can get this done because she works or has access to the NSA SOC, Special Operations Center. Once she’s done with this “job”, she hopes to head by home to await the return of her husband Max. Only her “mission” doesn’t turn out the way she expected or desired. And there’s a strong possibility it will have a deadly impact on her and her pregnancy!
As for Max, his mission has also gone off the rails. The cosmic phenomenon called “Aeon” is destroying the Earth’s ozone layer and allowing strong unwanted radiation into to bathe the planet, especially in the souther hemisphere, exactly where Max is located. He finds out what his friend Ben is doing and needs to get back to his home before this part of the world becomes uninhabitable. The heat is already unbearable. Max can only thing of his unborn child and his wife, Talisha. These may be his last thoughts since his mission has turned very, very deadly.
So, a very interesting thriller that hasn’t ended. The second book, “Aeon Burn” is now available on Amazon.
Max & Talisha Carver have been invited to a White House dinner party. They weren’t sure why they got the invite, but they both knew Lieutenant Colonel Oleander Buchannan. This guy is somehow in charge of a lot of things that happen in the book and I can’t figure out why. The book alludes to the fact that Buchannan has his own company called Stillwater which seems to be a privately contracted military organization. I don’t think it’s explained specifically who he works for, but he seems to be a close colleague of Senator Copeland, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Dr. Owen, Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), has just briefed the President of the United States on what appears to have been a supernova that just occurred recently in relatively close proximity to the Earth. This super explosion has ejected a corona of charged particles with some heading directly to Earth. It’s like a shockwave from an explosion, a ball of energy that is thrown in all directions at once. This ball of energy was believed to have been the explosion of several possible stars within the vicinity of Earth. This one was possibly in the “kill zone”, a zone where such an event could trigger a mass extinction event on Earth. It already appeared as a bright object in the sky and, according to Dr. Owen, would only get bigger the closer this shockwave got to Earth. Then name given to this object is “Aeon”.
Ok, so here we have an already catastrophic event getting ready to take place, but Colonel Buchannan is attempting to investigate something else going on in Brazil. It seems that a wealthy eccentric, named Ben Belloc, has established a Colony somewhere deep in the Brazilian rain forest. For what purpose no one knew, but recently this “Colony” had launched a missile that turned out to be a rocket propelling a satellite into orbit. The US government doesn’t like it when someone unannounced launches a missile or rocket of any kind in this hemisphere. So, since Max and Ben had been childhood friends, Colonel Buchannan had asked Max to go visit his friend and bring him back if at all possible. Depending on what he found, the US was ready to wipe out this colony if they found evidence of some kind of wrong doing by the people there. Max agreed to with the guarantee of one hundred thousand dollars as payment for this mission. While Max is ex-military, he’s now a truck driver with a wife, Talisha who is seven months pregnant!
As for Talisha, as pregnant as she is, she’s still working for the National Security Agency (NSA). She’s a hacker and quite good at her job. She is currently getting ready to commit a crime by inserting an illegal program into the NSA network that will hopefully find out what a program Spectrum is all about. Why she is doing this and for whom, I completely can���t figure out. She can get this done because she works or has access to the NSA SOC, Special Operations Center. Once she’s done with this “job”, she hopes to head by home to await the return of her husband Max. Only her “mission” doesn’t turn out the way she expected or desired. And there’s a strong possibility it will have a deadly impact on her and her pregnancy!
As for Max, his mission has also gone off the rails. The cosmic phenomenon called “Aeon” is destroying the Earth’s ozone layer and allowing strong unwanted radiation into to bathe the planet, especially in the souther hemisphere, exactly where Max is located. He finds out what his friend Ben is doing and needs to get back to his home before this part of the world becomes uninhabitable. The heat is already unbearable. Max can only thing of his unborn child and his wife, Talisha. These may be his last thoughts since his mission has turned very, very deadly.
So, a very interesting thriller that hasn’t ended. The second book, “Aeon Burn” is now available on Amazon.
June 23, 2022
Aeon Rising is the tale of a disaster from outer space that threatens to change life on the planet as we know it. I enjoyed the characters and was pleased to see them grow as the story progressed. There is plenty of engaging action taking place and I really didn't want to stop reading when I started. I hurried through my mundane obligations so I could get back to the book.
There is also a great deal of emotional content in this story, and the writing was so good, one could feel what the characters must have been feeling. The emotional spectrum in this tome is mostly on the dark side, but there are also brief glimmers of hope and even a small amount of humor thrown in for good measure.
Another thing I was stirred by was the varied settings and how they were presented in the prose. There were urban settings, the Amazon Jungle, and the frozen tundra of the South Pole. Mather's descriptions were vivid and colorful, complete with the discomforts that come with those environments, as well as a few the author made up to add to the terror, especially in the jungle.
Overall, I love this engaging story.
Opening at a scientific research station on the continent of Antartica, a scientist monitors her equipment to detect neutrino particles as they strike the detectors. During the project, the scientist feels lucky when there is a hit, but one fateful day, her detectors lit up with a brilliance as an astronomical number of neutrinos excites her equipment. The scientist knows what this discovery means, and it isn't good.
What follows is a nearby (a relative term in astronomy) super nova event that has the effect of placing a second sun to heat the already warmed Earth. Climate change is rapid and will prove catastrophic to all life, especially human life.
A man is sent to the Amazon in South America to contact an eccentric billionaire and friend to learn what he is up to in pursuing scientific discovery he would not be allowed to work on in the U.S. The man's pregnant wife is left to fend for herself and finds difficulty, but also finds help from a mysterious source.
The people of the Earth seek relief by moving north as fast as they can while resources are stretched to the limits and services are nonexistent.
The characters in this story are all well written and come alive as the reader gets to know them.
Max Carver is former military, currently a professional over-the-road trucker. He's been tapped to find and contact a friend from his past and learn what he is doing in the Amazon jungle. Max seems to be a gentle, nice guy on the surface, but he has a skill set and very good survival instincts. Mostly, he just wants to finish the job he was sent to do and get back home with his wife. She is seven months pregnant with their first child.
Talisha Carver, Max's wife, is also preoccupied with the idea of Max being home before their baby is born. She also has a special skill set and is trying to survive in the difficult situation brought about by the supernova that has trapped Max in the jungle. When she is accosted by several dangerous people, she has to go on the run to save herself and her unborn child, while trying to learn what happened to Max and getting some place safe. She also finds she has a mysterious companion who claims wanting to help her.
Dr. Xin Rhou is the first person to detect the neutrino burst heralding the coming of the supernova. She is stationed at the South Pole and is a Chinese national. There seems to be more to her than just a simple researcher. She also finds herself involved in a mystery involving murder and other mayhem.
My favorite point of plot for Aeon Rising is all the things hinted at in future installments of the series. There are several questions that come to mind:
1. How will governments deal with a mass migration of people moving north to get away from the effects of the Aeon supernova?
2. What part does Max's friend play in the changes in the Amazon jungle?
3. What is the nature of Talisha's mysterious friend who wants to help, and why has this entity appeared?
4. How is Max going to survive in an environment that is out to do him harm at every turn?
5. What will finally be the fate of Xin and what is her actual role in developing events?
The overarching theme and my takeaway from Aeon Rising is survival for everyone in a situation that happened without warning. There are no contingency plans in place to deal with the mass migration of humanity to the northern parts of the planet to escape a developing situation. On the surface, the people of the planet seem to face certain extinction from something no one understands and can't do anything about, except hold out in hopes the crisis will work itself out.
Mather has set up a seemingly impossible to survive story. It will be interesting to see what roads he will lead us down as the questions are answered. This segment of the series gives the reader an exposition of people, places, and things likely leading to some amazing plot twists. I think Aeon Rising is an uncommonly great example of telling a story to invoke compassion, apprehension, and extraordinary thrills. I give Aeon Rising: The Apocalypse Begins my highest recommendations as a book well worth reading.
There is also a great deal of emotional content in this story, and the writing was so good, one could feel what the characters must have been feeling. The emotional spectrum in this tome is mostly on the dark side, but there are also brief glimmers of hope and even a small amount of humor thrown in for good measure.
Another thing I was stirred by was the varied settings and how they were presented in the prose. There were urban settings, the Amazon Jungle, and the frozen tundra of the South Pole. Mather's descriptions were vivid and colorful, complete with the discomforts that come with those environments, as well as a few the author made up to add to the terror, especially in the jungle.
Overall, I love this engaging story.
Opening at a scientific research station on the continent of Antartica, a scientist monitors her equipment to detect neutrino particles as they strike the detectors. During the project, the scientist feels lucky when there is a hit, but one fateful day, her detectors lit up with a brilliance as an astronomical number of neutrinos excites her equipment. The scientist knows what this discovery means, and it isn't good.
What follows is a nearby (a relative term in astronomy) super nova event that has the effect of placing a second sun to heat the already warmed Earth. Climate change is rapid and will prove catastrophic to all life, especially human life.
A man is sent to the Amazon in South America to contact an eccentric billionaire and friend to learn what he is up to in pursuing scientific discovery he would not be allowed to work on in the U.S. The man's pregnant wife is left to fend for herself and finds difficulty, but also finds help from a mysterious source.
The people of the Earth seek relief by moving north as fast as they can while resources are stretched to the limits and services are nonexistent.
The characters in this story are all well written and come alive as the reader gets to know them.
Max Carver is former military, currently a professional over-the-road trucker. He's been tapped to find and contact a friend from his past and learn what he is doing in the Amazon jungle. Max seems to be a gentle, nice guy on the surface, but he has a skill set and very good survival instincts. Mostly, he just wants to finish the job he was sent to do and get back home with his wife. She is seven months pregnant with their first child.
Talisha Carver, Max's wife, is also preoccupied with the idea of Max being home before their baby is born. She also has a special skill set and is trying to survive in the difficult situation brought about by the supernova that has trapped Max in the jungle. When she is accosted by several dangerous people, she has to go on the run to save herself and her unborn child, while trying to learn what happened to Max and getting some place safe. She also finds she has a mysterious companion who claims wanting to help her.
Dr. Xin Rhou is the first person to detect the neutrino burst heralding the coming of the supernova. She is stationed at the South Pole and is a Chinese national. There seems to be more to her than just a simple researcher. She also finds herself involved in a mystery involving murder and other mayhem.
My favorite point of plot for Aeon Rising is all the things hinted at in future installments of the series. There are several questions that come to mind:
1. How will governments deal with a mass migration of people moving north to get away from the effects of the Aeon supernova?
2. What part does Max's friend play in the changes in the Amazon jungle?
3. What is the nature of Talisha's mysterious friend who wants to help, and why has this entity appeared?
4. How is Max going to survive in an environment that is out to do him harm at every turn?
5. What will finally be the fate of Xin and what is her actual role in developing events?
The overarching theme and my takeaway from Aeon Rising is survival for everyone in a situation that happened without warning. There are no contingency plans in place to deal with the mass migration of humanity to the northern parts of the planet to escape a developing situation. On the surface, the people of the planet seem to face certain extinction from something no one understands and can't do anything about, except hold out in hopes the crisis will work itself out.
Mather has set up a seemingly impossible to survive story. It will be interesting to see what roads he will lead us down as the questions are answered. This segment of the series gives the reader an exposition of people, places, and things likely leading to some amazing plot twists. I think Aeon Rising is an uncommonly great example of telling a story to invoke compassion, apprehension, and extraordinary thrills. I give Aeon Rising: The Apocalypse Begins my highest recommendations as a book well worth reading.
March 24, 2023
NO SPOILERS:
I grabbed AEON RISING because I was looking for an action book that would be light reading and would require little frontal lobe activity. It had a really good rating and it seemed to promise a lot of crazy action, so there I went.
I’ve been trying to steer away from repeating the plotlines of these books, as they're so readily available if that’s all you want, but suffice it to say that it delivers on its subtitle: THE APOCALYPSE BEGINS. And begin it does; this is a monster of a crisis that quite literally involves every person in the world. (I have to admit that the book surprised me in one case where the International Space Station was referred to and never described in any way what happened to ITS occupants – I could guess, but I think author Matthew Mather missed an opportunity.)
I was surprised at how much the book demanded my attention. While I could find fault with this or that, I could not pretend to find the book without a pretty good amount of merit. There was hardly a moment without something dramatic going on, but it had time to develop (to some extent) the four or five major characters it focused upon and made me really feel for them and what they were going through. I understood that there must be more to come, so I wasn’t too picky in this area. There was a certain amount of repetition in describing characters, which I know is hard to avoid when one is fleshing out three volumes.
Yes, I have certain reservations: a character who is a powerful senator’s daughter is prominently placed in the book, and her rescue is given as one of the main reasons our hero Max heads to the Amazon, yet her character is barely developed. The same with other characters – the leader of a cult, the senator himself, certain characters on the rescue team – but I don’t feel very slighted by this. We have two books to go; I’ll save my complaints if I still have them at that time.
Also, I felt that women were given a fair shake here, as far as I’ve seen. They are not waiting for their men to rescue them, but have legitimate skills and can think well on their own. Granted, most prominent roles are played by men, but that’s probably a fair assessment when one looks at global politics and how few women have been able to rise above the glass ceiling.
In addition, I thought Mather did a very commendable job with his science, came up with interesting and original applications of the central disaster, and made me feel compelled to read the remaining books without making me feel that I’d been suckered by an ending to this first novel in order to drag me along. No, he gave me an “ending” and still made me feel like I want to go on.
AGAIN, I WILL NOT GIVE AWAY ANY SPOILERS, but I will say that the author paces himself and I was legitimately impressed by the twist at the end of this first book. I don’t believe I have read any sci-fi book with this particular angle, but I felt the author legitimately kept his characters (and me) from “the truth” because that truth was so unusual that it really would not occur to even those in the know. Many kudos to Mather.
I grabbed AEON RISING because I was looking for an action book that would be light reading and would require little frontal lobe activity. It had a really good rating and it seemed to promise a lot of crazy action, so there I went.
I’ve been trying to steer away from repeating the plotlines of these books, as they're so readily available if that’s all you want, but suffice it to say that it delivers on its subtitle: THE APOCALYPSE BEGINS. And begin it does; this is a monster of a crisis that quite literally involves every person in the world. (I have to admit that the book surprised me in one case where the International Space Station was referred to and never described in any way what happened to ITS occupants – I could guess, but I think author Matthew Mather missed an opportunity.)
I was surprised at how much the book demanded my attention. While I could find fault with this or that, I could not pretend to find the book without a pretty good amount of merit. There was hardly a moment without something dramatic going on, but it had time to develop (to some extent) the four or five major characters it focused upon and made me really feel for them and what they were going through. I understood that there must be more to come, so I wasn’t too picky in this area. There was a certain amount of repetition in describing characters, which I know is hard to avoid when one is fleshing out three volumes.
Yes, I have certain reservations: a character who is a powerful senator’s daughter is prominently placed in the book, and her rescue is given as one of the main reasons our hero Max heads to the Amazon, yet her character is barely developed. The same with other characters – the leader of a cult, the senator himself, certain characters on the rescue team – but I don’t feel very slighted by this. We have two books to go; I’ll save my complaints if I still have them at that time.
Also, I felt that women were given a fair shake here, as far as I’ve seen. They are not waiting for their men to rescue them, but have legitimate skills and can think well on their own. Granted, most prominent roles are played by men, but that’s probably a fair assessment when one looks at global politics and how few women have been able to rise above the glass ceiling.
In addition, I thought Mather did a very commendable job with his science, came up with interesting and original applications of the central disaster, and made me feel compelled to read the remaining books without making me feel that I’d been suckered by an ending to this first novel in order to drag me along. No, he gave me an “ending” and still made me feel like I want to go on.
AGAIN, I WILL NOT GIVE AWAY ANY SPOILERS, but I will say that the author paces himself and I was legitimately impressed by the twist at the end of this first book. I don’t believe I have read any sci-fi book with this particular angle, but I felt the author legitimately kept his characters (and me) from “the truth” because that truth was so unusual that it really would not occur to even those in the know. Many kudos to Mather.
June 18, 2022
I was pulled right into this apocalyptic techno-thriller.
Max was reluctant to leave his pregnant wife, but the fee offered by Colonel Buchannan to retrieve his daughter, Iona, was too attractive to resist. No one planned on an unexpected supernova incident that wiped out technology around the globe and set off drastic climate disasters.
Max is miles away trying to survive in the jungles of Brazil after the helicopter crashes. A handful of the retrieval team, including their guide, a fierce Afrikaner mercenary, are taken in by the Colony whose leader, Ben, is an old friend of Max. The Colony is a utopian tech village that was initially assisted by government agencies who now fear Ben and the Colony have gotten out of control.
Max doesn’t even know if Iona, a doctor working with Ben, wants to be rescued. Then he discovers that the Colony nanotechnology is creating monster creatures set on stopping Max and his escape. Max just wants to get back home, not knowing that Talisha is caught up in secrecy between Colonel Buchannan and a rogue revolutionary group that wants to eliminate AI.
Meanwhile, the only scientist who tried to give a short warning of the solar event, Dr. Xin, is trying to save the data from the IceCube neutrino lab at the South Pole. Americans are desperate to get the data, but Xin wants to deliver it to her agent handlers in China. Xin and the IT expert, Dag, get left behind as the lab begins to flood and unknown assailants shoot at them. The
Back in Washington, DC, Colonel Buchannan and the authorities are scrambling to protect the president (and themselves) while trying to make sure that the mission to stop the Colony will be successful. They need to get their hands on Tal to keep some leverage and make sure she doesn’t get into the wrong hands. They would be even more desperate if they knew that Tal was getting guidance from a mysterious AI, Nyx.
There is a lot of action going on in this novel with four character groups/locations being tracked. The reader/listener is busy trying to sort out the good guys, the bad guys, and how the evolving technology is going to help or hurt. As a backdrop to the plot conspiracies, the solar event has thrown everyone into chaos anticipating worldwide devastation.
I enjoyed the fast-paced action, even though I struggled to sort out where the author was going. The Colony technology reminded me of scenes from the Matrix, crossing boundaries between reality and simulation. Even as the story closed out, it wasn’t totally clear who the good guys are and how the characters were going to survive. I will be looking to read the continuation in the next book set to release in December. I recommend this to readers who enjoy techno-thrillers and apocalyptic sci-fi.
Audio Notes: Ray Porter is a wonderful narrator. I can always rely on him to deliver distinct voices and energy that enhance the story. I will always be glad to listen to books he narrates.
Source: NetGalley 2022. My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.75; Narration 4.75.
Max was reluctant to leave his pregnant wife, but the fee offered by Colonel Buchannan to retrieve his daughter, Iona, was too attractive to resist. No one planned on an unexpected supernova incident that wiped out technology around the globe and set off drastic climate disasters.
Max is miles away trying to survive in the jungles of Brazil after the helicopter crashes. A handful of the retrieval team, including their guide, a fierce Afrikaner mercenary, are taken in by the Colony whose leader, Ben, is an old friend of Max. The Colony is a utopian tech village that was initially assisted by government agencies who now fear Ben and the Colony have gotten out of control.
Max doesn’t even know if Iona, a doctor working with Ben, wants to be rescued. Then he discovers that the Colony nanotechnology is creating monster creatures set on stopping Max and his escape. Max just wants to get back home, not knowing that Talisha is caught up in secrecy between Colonel Buchannan and a rogue revolutionary group that wants to eliminate AI.
Meanwhile, the only scientist who tried to give a short warning of the solar event, Dr. Xin, is trying to save the data from the IceCube neutrino lab at the South Pole. Americans are desperate to get the data, but Xin wants to deliver it to her agent handlers in China. Xin and the IT expert, Dag, get left behind as the lab begins to flood and unknown assailants shoot at them. The
Back in Washington, DC, Colonel Buchannan and the authorities are scrambling to protect the president (and themselves) while trying to make sure that the mission to stop the Colony will be successful. They need to get their hands on Tal to keep some leverage and make sure she doesn’t get into the wrong hands. They would be even more desperate if they knew that Tal was getting guidance from a mysterious AI, Nyx.
There is a lot of action going on in this novel with four character groups/locations being tracked. The reader/listener is busy trying to sort out the good guys, the bad guys, and how the evolving technology is going to help or hurt. As a backdrop to the plot conspiracies, the solar event has thrown everyone into chaos anticipating worldwide devastation.
I enjoyed the fast-paced action, even though I struggled to sort out where the author was going. The Colony technology reminded me of scenes from the Matrix, crossing boundaries between reality and simulation. Even as the story closed out, it wasn’t totally clear who the good guys are and how the characters were going to survive. I will be looking to read the continuation in the next book set to release in December. I recommend this to readers who enjoy techno-thrillers and apocalyptic sci-fi.
Audio Notes: Ray Porter is a wonderful narrator. I can always rely on him to deliver distinct voices and energy that enhance the story. I will always be glad to listen to books he narrates.
Source: NetGalley 2022. My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.75; Narration 4.75.
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