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Tech Ghost #3
The Ghost Plague: A Sci-Fi Horror Thriller
An all-consuming weapon unleashed…
…a colonist ship at risk of infection…
…an entire world on the brink of annihilation.
In the aftermath of the release of Dr. Hallie Hayes’s weapon aboard the Nidus, Justin Barclay and his fellow survivors are forced to flee for their lives, but they soon realize they can’t run forever.
The weapon is multiplying like a sentient plague…
…and it will consume everything and everyone in its path.
As Justin and Hallie form new alliances with old rivals, facing down monstrous foes and treacherous enemies, they work to destroy the weapon and escape the infected ship.
But the plague has other intentions—and it will not be stopped.
Faced with the decision to save themselves or save millions, Justin and Hallie risk it all to ensure the plague never gets off the ship. Will they succeed in preventing a world-ending catastrophe, or will the necessary sacrifices come at too high a cost?
The Ghost Plague is the third book in the riveting Tech Ghost series of sci-fi thrillers set in the far-flung future, perfect for fans of the Alien film franchise, Dead Space video games, and Nemesis board games.
You’ll love this action-packed thriller for its fast pace, its colorful characters, and its electrifying ending.
…a colonist ship at risk of infection…
…an entire world on the brink of annihilation.
In the aftermath of the release of Dr. Hallie Hayes’s weapon aboard the Nidus, Justin Barclay and his fellow survivors are forced to flee for their lives, but they soon realize they can’t run forever.
The weapon is multiplying like a sentient plague…
…and it will consume everything and everyone in its path.
As Justin and Hallie form new alliances with old rivals, facing down monstrous foes and treacherous enemies, they work to destroy the weapon and escape the infected ship.
But the plague has other intentions—and it will not be stopped.
Faced with the decision to save themselves or save millions, Justin and Hallie risk it all to ensure the plague never gets off the ship. Will they succeed in preventing a world-ending catastrophe, or will the necessary sacrifices come at too high a cost?
The Ghost Plague is the third book in the riveting Tech Ghost series of sci-fi thrillers set in the far-flung future, perfect for fans of the Alien film franchise, Dead Space video games, and Nemesis board games.
You’ll love this action-packed thriller for its fast pace, its colorful characters, and its electrifying ending.
Paperback
Published June 10, 2021
3 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Ben Wolf
99 books129 followersAt the age of nine, Ben Wolf slayed his first dragon.
As the dragon perished, it bequeathed a measure of its power to Ben.
It told him, "You now have the ability to lie more creatively than any other being on this planet--except for politicians. Use this power wisely."
The dragon died with one final puff of smoke from its lungs, but Ben Wolf lived on.
For years, Ben honed his craft. At the age of twelve, he lied to his sister about having thrown darts at a poster of her favorite boy band.
At the age of sixteen, he lied to a policeman who'd pulled him over for speeding, and it got him out of a ticket.
At the age of eighteen, he lied to himself about what a good decision it was to go to Bible college and major in Pastoral Studies (that one has come back to haunt him several times).
Given the unique power he'd inherited from the dying dragon, Ben Wolf had expected his life to look very different from how it did when he turned twenty-three.
Then the dragon's words regarding his power returned to him: "Use this power wisely."
The truth was, Ben hadn't been using the magnificent power wisely. He'd been using it for personal gain, and to dig himself out of bad situations (or, in the case of Bible college, to get himself into them).
So he asked himself, "What would be a wise way to use this power?"
At that very moment, a bus drove past the street in front of him. On its side was emblazoned the phrase, "You should write a novel!"
Having graduated from Bible college a year earlier, Ben took it as a divine message. What's more, he'd already written one novel at that point, and he'd enjoyed it, so he figured he might as well write a few more.
That was 2009. Now, more than ten years later, Ben has written north of ten books, including an award-winning children's book and an award-winning novel.
Awards are great, but what Ben has found even more reassuring is the consistently great feedback he's gotten from readers. They've raved about his work and told him he was the best, most creative liar they'd ever heard of.
So now Ben is on the cusp of making serious headway with his lying skills. His debut fantasy saga, the Blood Mercenaries series of dark/epic/sword & sorcery novels, is raking in tons of stellar reviews from readers everywhere.
And now you can be a part of his creative lying journey. If you've read Ben Wolf's work, love him as a person, or plain old just think he's a handsome guy (he is, and he is now making it known that it wasn't him who wrote this (but it was actually him)), then please review his books here and on Amazon.com.
Ben, who we swear didn't write this, thanks you.
As the dragon perished, it bequeathed a measure of its power to Ben.
It told him, "You now have the ability to lie more creatively than any other being on this planet--except for politicians. Use this power wisely."
The dragon died with one final puff of smoke from its lungs, but Ben Wolf lived on.
For years, Ben honed his craft. At the age of twelve, he lied to his sister about having thrown darts at a poster of her favorite boy band.
At the age of sixteen, he lied to a policeman who'd pulled him over for speeding, and it got him out of a ticket.
At the age of eighteen, he lied to himself about what a good decision it was to go to Bible college and major in Pastoral Studies (that one has come back to haunt him several times).
Given the unique power he'd inherited from the dying dragon, Ben Wolf had expected his life to look very different from how it did when he turned twenty-three.
Then the dragon's words regarding his power returned to him: "Use this power wisely."
The truth was, Ben hadn't been using the magnificent power wisely. He'd been using it for personal gain, and to dig himself out of bad situations (or, in the case of Bible college, to get himself into them).
So he asked himself, "What would be a wise way to use this power?"
At that very moment, a bus drove past the street in front of him. On its side was emblazoned the phrase, "You should write a novel!"
Having graduated from Bible college a year earlier, Ben took it as a divine message. What's more, he'd already written one novel at that point, and he'd enjoyed it, so he figured he might as well write a few more.
That was 2009. Now, more than ten years later, Ben has written north of ten books, including an award-winning children's book and an award-winning novel.
Awards are great, but what Ben has found even more reassuring is the consistently great feedback he's gotten from readers. They've raved about his work and told him he was the best, most creative liar they'd ever heard of.
So now Ben is on the cusp of making serious headway with his lying skills. His debut fantasy saga, the Blood Mercenaries series of dark/epic/sword & sorcery novels, is raking in tons of stellar reviews from readers everywhere.
And now you can be a part of his creative lying journey. If you've read Ben Wolf's work, love him as a person, or plain old just think he's a handsome guy (he is, and he is now making it known that it wasn't him who wrote this (but it was actually him)), then please review his books here and on Amazon.com.
Ben, who we swear didn't write this, thanks you.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 7, 2022
This was a bit disappointing given the strong start in the first book of the series. My issues with the series began in the latter half of Book 2 when the plot descended into bouts of fight and flight, punctuated with lots of dispassionate gore and reminders that the protagonist, Justin, had fallen for the lady scientist who created the menace they're fighting. (This was a nanite plague that turned people into zombies and was apparently coded without a failsafe or a kill switch, but that's a different issue.)
The third book was entirely made up of cycles of fighting and fleeing and zombies and fighting and fleeing and zombies and ... that was pretty much it. The very nifty weapons that Justin was equipped with (read Book 1, it's a good read) were upgraded to make one of them über-powerful--so powerful the author had to pretend it wasn't there through a good part of the climactic last battle which went on for pages and pages. Poe was right: if you sustain action or tension at the same high level--especially if it's repetitive--the reader gets inured to it and it ceases to create tension.
The most interesting thing in Book 3 (besides the cool relationship between Justin and the "tech ghost", Keontae) was the way Wolf used an ex-person named Rowley as the sentient "human" avatar of the nanites. While it posed some suspension of disbelief issues at the logistical level, experiencing the zombification of a person from that person's point of view was some of Wolf's strongest writing. I also liked Vesh as a character and appreciated his character arc--well done.
Also a high point, Wolf's inclusion of a motley group of rogues Justin and Keontae meet in Book 2. They felt like the right "setting" for Justin and Key, but in some ways they were underutilized in The Ghost Plague. In part because there were so many viewpoint characters. My reaction to the story would have been markedly more positive if Wolf had condensed the fight and flight episodes in Books 2 & 3 and ended a slightly longer Book 2 with the resolution of the zombie apocalypse plot line, then written Book 3 around a fresh adventure with Justin and Key's new Guardians of the Galaxy style gang of misfits (I love them to pieces, especially Val).
As it is, there are other issues with the plot besides the tedious action and the convenient inconsistency of abilities and weaponry. For example, I lost track, repeatedly, of the fact that there were thousands of people aboard the colony ship who just conveniently vanished until they were needed to join the zombie hoard. There was little emotion directed their way. Also, the nanites vaulted from being able to infect victims then reproduce, to a level of sentience that enabled them to hijack a ship and plot a flight path to a planet that would afford them more victims. Along the way they created a zombie avatar who spoke a human language better than he'd ever done as a human. Programming doesn't work that way. IOW, a graphics app cannot function as a word processor nor can a plague programmed to infect and reproduce gain expertise in astronavigation while learning high level language skills.
Now, you might think that being this disappointed with the third book in this series, I'd not be looking forward to a Book 4. You'd be wrong. I really like the characters and that, to me, is my primary source of engagement when I read. What I didn't like about The Ghost Plague is that it interfered with my enjoyment of the characters by throwing so much at them that they were reduced to reacting to it and were ultimately subsumed by it. But along the way Wolf created a very cool team of companions for his two leads that I am looking forward to reading about.
The third book was entirely made up of cycles of fighting and fleeing and zombies and fighting and fleeing and zombies and ... that was pretty much it. The very nifty weapons that Justin was equipped with (read Book 1, it's a good read) were upgraded to make one of them über-powerful--so powerful the author had to pretend it wasn't there through a good part of the climactic last battle which went on for pages and pages. Poe was right: if you sustain action or tension at the same high level--especially if it's repetitive--the reader gets inured to it and it ceases to create tension.
The most interesting thing in Book 3 (besides the cool relationship between Justin and the "tech ghost", Keontae) was the way Wolf used an ex-person named Rowley as the sentient "human" avatar of the nanites. While it posed some suspension of disbelief issues at the logistical level, experiencing the zombification of a person from that person's point of view was some of Wolf's strongest writing. I also liked Vesh as a character and appreciated his character arc--well done.
Also a high point, Wolf's inclusion of a motley group of rogues Justin and Keontae meet in Book 2. They felt like the right "setting" for Justin and Key, but in some ways they were underutilized in The Ghost Plague. In part because there were so many viewpoint characters. My reaction to the story would have been markedly more positive if Wolf had condensed the fight and flight episodes in Books 2 & 3 and ended a slightly longer Book 2 with the resolution of the zombie apocalypse plot line, then written Book 3 around a fresh adventure with Justin and Key's new Guardians of the Galaxy style gang of misfits (I love them to pieces, especially Val).
As it is, there are other issues with the plot besides the tedious action and the convenient inconsistency of abilities and weaponry. For example, I lost track, repeatedly, of the fact that there were thousands of people aboard the colony ship who just conveniently vanished until they were needed to join the zombie hoard. There was little emotion directed their way. Also, the nanites vaulted from being able to infect victims then reproduce, to a level of sentience that enabled them to hijack a ship and plot a flight path to a planet that would afford them more victims. Along the way they created a zombie avatar who spoke a human language better than he'd ever done as a human. Programming doesn't work that way. IOW, a graphics app cannot function as a word processor nor can a plague programmed to infect and reproduce gain expertise in astronavigation while learning high level language skills.
Now, you might think that being this disappointed with the third book in this series, I'd not be looking forward to a Book 4. You'd be wrong. I really like the characters and that, to me, is my primary source of engagement when I read. What I didn't like about The Ghost Plague is that it interfered with my enjoyment of the characters by throwing so much at them that they were reduced to reacting to it and were ultimately subsumed by it. But along the way Wolf created a very cool team of companions for his two leads that I am looking forward to reading about.
April 22, 2022
Brilliant series!
Wow!! Fantastic ending to a great series. Best epilogue ever!! 🥰🥰
Plenty of action, nano bot thingy’s and humor. Hands down Justin’s best friend is my favorite character. He literally makes me laugh out loud. 😂😂
This book has more action than I usually prefer, however, the camaraderie, love interest, humor and heartwarming moments between all the characters, makes it all worthwhile. I wanted so many characters to survive for various reasons, however, as in all thrillers sometimes people die.
The narration performance was absolutely amazing. Joe Hempel is a fantastic voice actor and I’m looking forward to finding more of his narration.
This is book 3, the final book in this series and I highly recommend it!
Sisters Spotlight 💜
Wow!! Fantastic ending to a great series. Best epilogue ever!! 🥰🥰
Plenty of action, nano bot thingy’s and humor. Hands down Justin’s best friend is my favorite character. He literally makes me laugh out loud. 😂😂
This book has more action than I usually prefer, however, the camaraderie, love interest, humor and heartwarming moments between all the characters, makes it all worthwhile. I wanted so many characters to survive for various reasons, however, as in all thrillers sometimes people die.
The narration performance was absolutely amazing. Joe Hempel is a fantastic voice actor and I’m looking forward to finding more of his narration.
This is book 3, the final book in this series and I highly recommend it!
Sisters Spotlight 💜
September 17, 2024
I feel like I can't give away much on book 3 without spoilers from book 2. However, it was amazing. This book regained the thrill that I saw in book 1. I was kept on my toes, never knowing what was going to happen next. Every time I thought the crew was safe, something new would happen. I really enjoy books like this that keep me on my toes and I can't predict the ending.
August 12, 2021
A bittersweet ending
I loved this series as I love sci to and horror mixed together. I didn't want this series to end I hope someday Ben makes more in a future series. This ending I didn't want but it was the right call for all the characters involved.
I loved this series as I love sci to and horror mixed together. I didn't want this series to end I hope someday Ben makes more in a future series. This ending I didn't want but it was the right call for all the characters involved.
August 31, 2021
Excellent Action!
This one had so much action that I couldn't put it down. I did sleep. It has good guys that you hope don't get killed off, bad guys that you definitely want to get killed off and some others that could go either way. It was fun.
This one had so much action that I couldn't put it down. I did sleep. It has good guys that you hope don't get killed off, bad guys that you definitely want to get killed off and some others that could go either way. It was fun.
March 4, 2023
Justin Barclay and his friends are stuck on the flying city, as the nano bots look to take over. Forced into uneasy alliances they struggle to destroy the nano bots and stop them redirecting to a populated planet. Good story that moves at a nice pace.
March 11, 2023
Cracking ending to the trilogy. Emotion, comedy, drama betrayal. Really couldn't ask for more.
October 10, 2023
Good ending to a fun series.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews