The Epoch Index

by Christian Cantrell

Quinn Mitchell is a nine-to-five spy. She's a data analyst for the CIA during the day, and a suburban wife and mother on evenings and weekends. After a series of personal struggles and professional failures, Quinn hopes to find redemption in her newest a series of bizarre assassinations where victims are found with three-digit numbers tattooed, burned, or carved into their flesh. As Quinn pursues the killer across the globe -- always one body behind -- their lives become entangled in ways neither of them can predict.This novella by Christian Cantrell (about 13,000 words) takes place in a world bordering on unprecedented as oil-based economies shift to hydrogen, the majority of wealth is redistributed across the globe; as aging nuclear arsenals are replaced with even more menacing threats, terrorists try to seize opportunities to tip the balance of power; and as humans become increasingly dependent on machines, massive indexes of information accumulate which can reveal almost anything about anyone to those who know how to use them.THE EPOCH INDEX is a story about a world changing faster than humanity can adapt to it -- a world which may require us to redefine what it means to be a hero.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Thriller

38 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 28, 2010

About the author

Christian Cantrell is a writer and software developer living in Northern Virginia.

Reviews

[Lynxie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opening chapters give little away to the rather novel ideas that flow through this novella.

Our protagonist, Quinn, is a suitably damaged but brilliant CIA worker. She plays into well-worn and expected tropes.

Our antagonist, Ranveer, is again pigeon-holed into some tried and true tropes. Given the length of this story that works well to allow the most information for the reader in as small amount of words as possible.

Where this diverges from those tropes is the last 20% of the story. The twists and surprises drip fed into the story, at a quick pace, but not too fast.

I definitely would read a much more in depth version of this. A novel-length version would give the story time to develop and get the reader even more invested in the characters.

4 stars because it deserves to be much longer. If you haven’t read anything by Christian, try this one!

Things I noticed:

70% - …pulled away at the waste (waist)…

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sci-fi short story.

Epoch Index is a crime story, or at least an investigating crime story
about a very successful hitman that suddenly turns into a different
story about the cop pursuing him and the impact of her
discoveries on the world.

It's fun, unexpected and a little twist on the whole
"would you kill someone if you knew what they would become"...

Can't say more without spoilers!

Cantrell does a very good job of describing the characters and filling
them with life. Nicely done!

Wish he would develop some of his ideas into full blown novels...

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Christian Cantrell read and I must say I the timing was awesome. It was almost as if it was written in guitar tab for me to play on my Axe.

(pan camera) eyes to eyes motion

Well done Mr Cantrell, you've made a new fan.

[Marc Mattson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've generally liked everything by Christian Cantrell, and this is no exception. It's the story of an assassin called back to meet his boss. The meeting goes exactly as he planned, though not quite as his boss had expected. It's a very quick and efficient read.

[Danzaiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems too short to be called a book.
Nice writing and story progression; made me think of a storyboard that could have been developed into a full length feature.

[Karen Corcoran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This reminded me of a Ray Bradbury short Story. Short, sweet, and flips your world unto its head. If art is stimulating thoughts and emotions, then this is a lovely little piece of art.

[Preston Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tasty. Wish it was longer.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great story, but the ending was rather abrupt.

[Pavlina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Short story, full of action. You won't regret reading this one.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story set in the near future.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a novella (or longish short story), not a full-length novel. Interesting.

[Lars Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting short story. Could have been a lot longer, and still maintained its appeal.

Big Data analysis takes down serial killer.

Hopefully, there'll be a sequel...

[Pat Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Christian's work, really wish he'd write a full novel. Containment was his best work, with Farmer 1 coming in 2nd.

[Pricer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short story.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. It did not let me down