I
have been Facebook friends with this author for quite some time. Recently, I
realized I have never read his work, so I decided it is high time I rectify
that oversight. Looking through his catalog of 15 books, I chose Progenitor as
a science-fiction story set during World War II. In my twenties, I read a lot
of stories from that era and saw this book as an opportunity to revisit that
time-period with a sci-fi bent.
Overall,
I enjoyed this story and appreciated the characters. It's suspenseful,
frightening, and moves at warp-speed, there's never a dull moment.
August
14, 1942: Army Chief of Staff, General William Marshall (not to be confused
with the actual soldier, George C. Marshall) and his aid, Captain John Keeney
arrive in Washington D.C. to find utter devastation. Everything has been laid
waste. But the destruction wasn't caused by the war. It resulted from an attack
by giant creatures right out of some horror movie. No one knows what they are.
Are the destructive titans aliens, mutations, or maybe demons straight from
hell? All Marshall and Keenley know is they have to escape and find shelter so
they can figure out what to do. As they try to escape the devastation and the
continuing attack, they are joined by Colonel Charles Bradley, a British officer
who can keep his wits about him.
Barely
escaping the devastated nation's capital, they head for Camp Detrick, a secure
facility with underground labs where research is being done under a
presidential mandate. While it may be secure, it is anything but safe. Even
though they escaped the threat from above monsters above, there are also plenty
of human monsters in the facility and their secrets are exposed one-by-one.
By
far, my favorite character in the story is Colonel Bradley. This guy makes
James Bond look like a Red Cross volunteer. He is a dynamic and complex
character who is gentle and generous to his friends, and deadly to his enemies.
Braders, as he is affectionately called by Marshall, Changes from ruthless
killer to a kind soul in a heartbeat as the need arises. Mostly what he is
searching for is the truth, and one way or another, he will get it, sometimes
just through conversation, and sometimes at the point of a gun.
General
Marshall is a soldier with a heart. He honestly cares about people and will go
out of his way to help when he can. Bill, as he is known by his friends, has no
problem issuing and enforcing orders, but one of his greatest assets is his
willingness to listen to those advising him before he decides. He can assess a
situation and come up with ideas to resolve them. He reminds me much of the
description of the actual person (George C. Marshall) as I have read about him
in the past.
There
are numerous other characters who standout in Progenitor, and they all read as
very human; everyone has flaws - some more than others - which helps them read
as authentic. The cast of the book is very diverse, including people of all
types; straight, gay, deviant, evil, mean, and amicable. Abbott does a great
job keeping everyone consistent with their behavior and the characters’ voices
are distinct.
My
main takeaway from Progenitor is how many of the characters and situations are
what they at first seem. The character development continues through the entire
story and it isn't until one is quite a way through the book that the reader
gets a complete picture of many in the cast.
Progenitor
unfolds at an expeditious pace culminating in a surprise ending that I didn't
expect. It was quite satisfying for me.
Having
read none of Abbott's work before, I was thrilled with this story despite some
moments of extreme suspense and some bloody scenes. I didn't think the violent
scenes were too over the top for the average reader, but those easily put off
might want to avoid this story.
I
gave this book a five-star rating on Goodreads and Amazon and recommend it for
those that like a bizarre sci-fi, horror thriller.
Christopher
is a writer of crime, fantasy, science-fiction, and horror.
His
Sherlock Holmes stories, published in the Watson Chronicles, have been
recognised by readers and peers alike as faithfully authentic to the original
Conan Doyle.
Described
by New York Times Bestseller Michael Jan Friedman as "an up-and-coming
fantasy voice," and compared to Roger Zelazny's best work, Abbott's Songs
of the Osirian series of works brings a bold re-telling of ancient Egyptian
mythology. Abbott presents a fresh view of deities we know, such as Horus,
Osiris, and Anubis. He weaves the godlike magic through musical poetry, giving
these wonderfully tragic and deeply flawed "gods" different
perspective, all the while increasing their mysteriousness.
Christopher
has published with Crazy8 Press, and has written for major media outlets,
including Screen Rant.
Visit his webpage at https://cdanabbott.com/
Well,
there it is...
Qapla!
Thank you, Jim. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteCDA
My pleasure!
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