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    Anthem's Fall
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    Anthem's Fall
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    Anthem's Fall
    Ebook562 pages5 hours

    Anthem's Fall

    By S.L. Dunn

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Set both in modern New York City and in the technologically sophisticated yet politically savage world of Anthem, Anthem's Fall unfurls into a plot where larger than life characters born with the prowess of gods are pitted against the shrewd brilliance of a familiar and unlikely heroine.

    The young emperor Vengelis Epsilon narrowly escapes the reckoning of his empire at the hands of strange machines known as Felixes. The Felixes are identical in every respect to the godlike men of Vengelis's world save for their mechanical blue eyes. Feared to be indestructible, the wanton holocaust of the Felix appears inescapable. His family murdered and his empire maimed under a shadow of destruction, Vengelis pursues the pained final words of his dying mentor, and sets course for a remote and unchartered world--our world.

    The son of the man who created the Felixes, Gravitas Nerol has spent four years in lonely exile. His crime? When the Lord General of the Epsilon Army ordered the genocide of a vastly inferior race, Gravitas refused him. A warrior to his marrow, Gravitas has cast aside his former life and committed himself to the pursuit of knowledge.

    Kristen Jordan is a young and talented graduate student working on a cutting edge research team. Their wildly inventive new biotechnology, the Vatruvian cell, is the celebrated milestone of modern science. Yet Kristen remains uneasy about the capabilities of the inexplicable Vatruvian cell, and as their project develops, it begins to ring oddly familiar to the perilous technology of Vengelis's home.

    ANTHEM'S FALL is a thought-provoking technothriller and high-flying action adventure about genetic engineering, a world of gods who have superpowers, and the collision of two worlds. What begins as a mysterious technology and an android apocalypse will evolve into a battle of perspectives and ethical points of view played out across a dramatic new space opera and a recognizable New York City. Anthem's Fall draws on unique superhero themes, science fiction and grand fantasy. Its complex characters, moral themes and thundering action will keep you thinking long after you finish.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherS.L. Dunn
    Release dateFeb 23, 2016
    ISBN9780991622412
    Unavailable
    Anthem's Fall
    Author

    S.L. Dunn

    S.L. Dunn is the bestselling debut author of Anthem's Fall, a novel he wrote amid the wanderings of his mid twenties. He has written while living intermittently in St. John USVI, Boston, Maine and Seattle. Raised on big screen superheroes and pop science fiction, he sought to create a novel that bridged a near-sci-fi thriller with a grand new fantasy. He currently resides in Seattle with his girlfriend Liz and their dogs Lucy and Emma. He is hard at work completing the next book of the Anthem's Fall series. Get in touch at www.sldunn.com.

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    Reviews for Anthem's Fall

    3.5/5

    61 ratings27 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Between life and work, the wording in places and the setup of this book it took me longer to finish than it should have. Overall, a unique story with very detailed characters. There were some places in the story where I felt bored. The fight scenes were a little dragged out or the explanation of powers and abilities were repetitive. Some of the wording in places had me wondering, why? It felt like I was stopping to reread some of these phrases because they just made no sense where they were. It really threw me off and I had to put the book down a couple of times because of this. All that being said I was ANGRY when this book ended (minor spoiler). I waited all book for one thing to happen, then it hits and all of a sudden "till next time". I'm hooked for the next one that's for sure and the ending made that happen! I'm fond of the main characters and it seems like a good amount of detail, time and thought went in to each one. The only other thing to note would be that I did have to look up some of the words at the beginning of the book. They all pertained to the science that is referenced in the book. I honestly think that if you can be patient with this book and want a unique story, that you'll be happy with this. Stick it out and endure some of the rough spots and you'll be hooked for the next one!
    • 3/5
      Vengelis did not hesitate. The moment Gravitas's body slipped unintentionally forward, Vengelis raised a left fist, sending it barrelling into Gravitas's chin. Gravitas's head rocked back from the blow, and as it came forward again, stunned and discombolulated, Vengelis's right fist came up and caught Gravitas on the cheek. He could feel the bone break against his knuckles.To start with I was enjoying the scenes set on the planet of Anthem concerning the political infighting of human scientists as their behaviour seemed more realistic, but once the Primus Emperor and his two warriors arrived on Earth, it all got a bit silly. I like science fiction to be plausible enough to allow me to suspend my disbelief, but unfortunately this book kept dragging my disbelief down and stomping it into the ground so that I couldn't ignore the implausibilities in the plot.The plot consists of far-fetched coincidence after far-fetched coincidence, The Primus warriors just happen to arrive on earth as Kirsten finds out about the Vatruvian mice, and just happen to decide to gatecrash the one scientific conference in the whole world where Vatruvian cells are being discussed, which just happens to be in the one city on earth where the Vatruvian cells were created, and the research scientist giving the presentation just happens to be the girlfriend of an exiled Primus who is living on earth incognito, who just happens to be the son of the Primus scientist who developed the Felix cell (the Primus version of the Vatruvian cell). I was expecting to discover that some of these coincidences were not coincidences after all, and that Pral Nerol who put Professor Vatruvius on the path of developing the Vaetruvian cells when he visited Earth a few years earlier, but it seems not. However the story is not complete by the time the book ends and, so maybe some of these coincidences will be cleared up in the sequel.Other unlikely things: The US government ordering the evacuation of all major cities after Chicago is attacked. Knowing how much chaos there was when New Orleans was evacuated after Hurricane Katrina, I do not think this would happen. Also, the planet of Anthem being populated by powerful warriors who are impervious to all weapons, crashing through from one side of a skyscraper to another, and falling thousands of feet to the ground, but who can kill each other in fist fights. How could this possibly be due to genetic traits as Vengelis claims? Superheroes are one thing, but this is science fiction and the Primus species seems to have started off very similar to homo sapiens, before the Sejero genetic traits changed them into superhuman wariors. Towards the end of the book, I found myself skim-reading the fight scenes between the Primus warriors as I have never been a huge fan of fight scenes and these were boringly repetitive. Primus are able to take so much physical punishment that I couldn't believe Vengelis being surprised that his opponent was able to fight on after getting a broken cheekbone. The main characters were around 20 or 21 and both Vengelis Epsilon and Kirsten Jordan seemed staggeringly immature at times, so I checked to see if this is a YA book, but it doesn't seem to be.
    • 5/5
      One of the better superhero novels I've read in a while, though it never explicitly comes outright and says it's a superhero novel. A big budget movie on paper, I liked it a lot. In particular I liked the interplay between Vengelis, Gravitas and Kristen. They were all characters unique enough to add to the genre.
    • 2/5
      I wanted to like this book. The synopsis made it sound like an interesting mash-up of genetics, ethics, superheroes and aliens. The author seemed earnest and devoted to the book. So I picked up an advance review copy from the publisher.BUT.The book is not good. The characters are either one-dimensional or cliches (or both). The dialogue is typically wooden. The plot has huge holes and ridiculous coincidences.
    • 5/5
      I received this book in a early giveaway on The Library Thing.Reading a book by an author you have not read before is like going on vacation to somewhere you have not yet been. It might be fabulous or a big disappointment but you don’t know until you get there. For me, this novel fit into the first category and I can recommend it without any reservation.S.L. Dunn weaves a tale that on the surface is just a fun an enjoyable read, lots of action, enjoyable characters and a great story flow. He also ties in quite a few social issues for those who want more meat in their reading. Either way you like a novel to progress, this one should fit the bill.5 stars for a great read. Fully recommended for any fan of sci-fi, space operas or superheros.
    • 5/5
      A good quick read with some interesting concepts. I thought Anthem's Fall juggled the various storylines well, and I didn't get confused when it jumped between worlds. Once the plot settles into New York, the action comes quick, and is quite exciting. I especially liked the opposing viewpoints, which I thought elevated the novel. I look forward to the sequel
    • 1/5
      I really didn't like this. I thought the characters were juvenile and the plot was ridiculous. Even that would have been tolerable in a pulpy kind of way if the science idea had been strong enough or if there had been some kind of voice or charm to the work, but the science was unbelievable and the prose was the worst part of the experience of reading the book. If you really feel the need to detail every minute movement a character makes turning a doorknob, walking up the stairs and down a hallway then it needs to be written in a way that provides information or atmosphere. What I got instead was a scene that read like a manual for the procedure of how to call on someone at their apartment, if you were a robot and could only parse specific instructions. The whole book read that way.I initially picked this up because I am fond of science fiction, biology and books set in my home locale. Maybe it's because I actually have immediate family who earned their PHDs in molecular and cell biology from Columbia that everything rang false, but I don't think that was it. I think it was just a weak story written in weaker prose.
    • 4/5
      Anthem's Fall by S.L. Dunn is a fast-paced, high-action, quick read about the biological/genetic engineering of an artificial life form on Earth and an alien planet of super heroes struggling to survive the consequences of that very technology. I found it very easy to follow both in terms of the story and the various characters.Overall this was an enjoyable read. I like the characters and the changes in point of view are very well done with each character bringing an interesting perspective. Even the villain Vengelis is rather likeable for a villain. He is a multifaceted individual who is intelligent enough to consider other points of view and is pained by the role he plays. There are moments when I dislike him and his very culture is deplorable, but he himself does have some redeeming qualities.I did feel like the plot development was lacking; the story was a bit predictable, particularly in terms of the evolution of the artificial life technology. I also felt like the exact parallel of the two worlds creating the same AI technology was a little too blatant. Dunn was a bit heavy handed with the ethics dilemma parts of the novel; I prefer to draw my own conclusions in that department.
    • 2/5
      Sent an Arc by Netgalley for an honest review

      Thanks you so much Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book I wish I had better things to say about it. After recently reading the Martian by Andy Weir I was completely unable to deal with a story that seemed to have no basis in the realities of science. I felt smarter than the people making the decisions thought the entire first third of this book and I found it incredibly frustrating. I am probably not smarter than these people, or the author, but the character choices felt very odd.

      There are definitely people that will love this book and will find themselves drawn into the world, no, Universe Dunn has crafted here. Maybe I came at it at a bad time, maybe I was a bit distracted by the World Cup, but I found it hard to get sucked into the story the way I liked to be.

      I would be open to trying this book again in the future but on the first read it just wasn't me sort of book.
    • 4/5
      All in all, this was one of the best debut books from an indie author I have ever read. The only indie book I've really liked more than this was Wool by Hugh Howey. There were a couple copy editing errors, but nothing compared to what you see in most other self-published works. I was pleasantly surprised. It tended to be a little slow in the middle, but had plenty of action at the end. It has a lot of familiar concepts, but I think it differentiates itself enough to be a worthwhile read.The book is about alien "superheros" even though they are really never called that. Think along the lines of a Superman; human looking aliens called Primus. They have superhuman strength and abilities coded into their genetic makeup. Vengilis Epsilon is the prince of the royal family of Anthem, and heir to the throne. He watches the destruction of his world due to artificial beings called "Felixes". He barely escapes the destruction of the capitol, and is sent to earth by his dying mentor.Gravitas is from Anthem, and has been living in secret on Earth since he was exiled from Anthem. When Vengilis arrives, he sees the people of earth as inferior beings. He and the two compatriots that came with him start to destroy cities to compel our scientists to help him understand and destroy the Felixes. Gravitas then comes to fight Vengilis in the classic Good vs. Evil. While Vengilis tries to rationalize his actions as him trying to save his people, Gravitas will not let him continue with the destruction he has caused on Earth.
    • 5/5
      Frankenstein, Superman, War of the Worlds, reckless scientists, a beautiful young genius, action, and suspense, all wrapped up in a covering of philosophical angst. This is a tall order to attempt to fill in a first novel, yet Dunn seems to have pulled it off. The shifting scenes, and differences in temperament offer us a story that's switches back and forth between slow and thoughtful, and fast and action packed. Our heroine and hero are likable and we want to hope they come out on top. Our villain (bad word) is simply an individual trying to save his own people, no matter how we hate his methods. I can't bring myself to hate the villain, even while hoping he gets his tail handed to him. I certainly look forward to the second book in this series.
    • 3/5
      My biggest problem with this book really isn't it's fault, but it hit some issues I have with 9/11 pretty hard. The worst of these were a couple of scenes, one from the POV of a office worker, the other from the POV of person stuck in traffic, but the descriptions of falling buildings was also a problem for me.However, those aren't my only problems. The first issue is pacing. It seems take a long time to introduce us to the aliens and their home world, Anthem. When we do get there, the introduction seems a bit rushed so we can get to the action. The humans, on the other hand, get a decent setup.The first chapter seems like the author didn't reread it. As well as giving us the background for one of the main characters, we also have her interact with a couple of other people who show up again later. However, those later scenes treat the conversations in the first chapter as if they never happened.I also had some issues with the aliens, not seeming quite alien enough in some areas. I understand that its impossible to really invent a completely new alien language, but there seemed to be too many Earth specific terms. The only ones that stand out in my memory are a planet called Orion, especially since the author went to the effort of renaming Earth (Though the new name ends in "gaia", so he could have done better there too.), and a character named Gravitas*. In case you didn't guess, he's the good guy.There's also a revelation that I suspect was suppose to be a surprise, but if you read comics, or are just kind of familiar with them, it probably won't be.Also, while I under that this is the first book in a series, but the ending still felt rather abrupt. Nothing really seems to have been resolved, or even heading towards being resolved.Some of my problems with this book might be fixed between the ARC and the published version, but others probably won't be. It has potential, so I may see if I can find the second book, if I still remember it.*This name isn't helped by the fact I'm currently reading through Iain Bank's Culture series, which has a running gag of ship names with Gravitas in them.
    • 3/5
      (Minor Spoilers)S.L. Dunn’s debut novel, Anthem’s Fall, while well-written, is, unfortunately, derivative of most science fiction films of the past decade. The plot juxtaposes two stories that eventually converge. One follows brilliant geneticist Kristen Jordan as she works on a team developing artificial cells and struggles with her own sense of scientific ethics. The other follows Vengelis Episilon and his world of Anthem, where similar technology has replicated the superpowered Primus race, creating unstoppable killing machines that have laid waste to their civilization. Many of the basic details all-too-closely resemble familiar archetypes: Vengelis, and his counterpart, the exiled Gravitas Nerol on Earth, closely resemble Vegeta and Goku from Dragon Ball Z (or Zod and Superman from Man of Steel); the Primus race’s advanced Sejero genetics is analogous to the Super Saiyan powers in Dragon Ball Z; the battle between Vengelis and Gravitas echoes the final action sequence in Man of Steel; and the siege of New York City evokes the siege of Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises. Dunn continually returns to Kristen’s ethical dilemma as she develops the artificial cell technology and learns that it creates organisms far superior to the template cells, but then she decides at the novel’s end to use Primus blood to manufacture an artificial Primus to fight the unstoppable aliens, despite learning that her misgivings were well-founded since it was exactly that technology that destroyed Anthem. Overall, the novel is intriguing, well-written, and will entertain those who have enjoyed the recent slew of effect-driven science fiction films, though it does not contribute anything new to the genre.
    • 5/5
      I received a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.I am incredibly impressed with this book and it's scope, especially considering it is a debut novel. The writing is well-crafted and drew me in from the very first sentence. This is a superhero book, but very different from other superhero books I've read. The plot was well thought out and very exciting with a ton of action. I loved all the science details included, and I even enjoyed reading the fight scenes (something I usually skim). The book is told from multiple points of view, but it is easy to keep them straight and all POVs were warranted. The characters were multidimensional and I came to care about and understand all of them, including the supposed villains. Kristen was very admirable and I was completely blown away by her character's strength and courage.I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to read the next book!
    • 3/5
      Anthem's Fall begins as a science fiction thriller-type story featuring Kristen Jordan, a grad student at a New York university. She is one of those smart kids who skipped every couple of grades, graduated high school and college very early and is recruited to work on a ground-breaking cell research project by a prestigious scientist at Columbia, based on her senior thesis on the DNA double helix. Three years into the project, she is more of a colleague to Dr.Vatruvia than a research assistant.But as the story opens, she is sensing that Dr.Vatruvia is not sharing all that he has learned about the synthetic cell the team has produced. The researchers are careful to emphasize that the cells they have produced are synthetic; not living, as categorizing them as living would mean dealing with regulatory governance and oversight. Kristen's ethical sensibilities are raised as she considers what consequences might result from further experimentation. Her fears are confirmed when Vatruvia insists that she sign a non-disclosure form before he tells her of the progress that has been made with the synthetic cells.Tension mounts in the Research Center, but unexpectedly the author introduces a new set of characters and a seemingly different plot line, taking place on another planet in a galaxy far, far away, one might say. This is the planet Anthem, and be prepared because it's civilization is about to fall. This society is built on the assumption of the supremacy of raw power and strength. Battles and all out war are a way of life for these beings, who are similar to humans (except that they are able to fly and have super powers that make them virtually invincible). Will these two stories ever come together? As a matter of fact they do. Genetic manipulation has contributed to their downfall, but can it be that their redemption might be found on Planet Earth? That is what the last survivors think, as they board a space ship headed there. They have no idea that one of their own has come to Earth several years earlier, but with a plan to assimilate and help, not conquer and subdue. Expect some mighty stunning battles in the skies filled with the skyscrapers of New York.Surely there will be movie talks before long! Lots of action; lots of buildings destroyed and planes crashing, not to mention the battle of world views: Whose morality will prevail? Is it too late to save Earth? Too late to rebuild Anthem?Look for a sequel to answer some of these questions.I received my copy from LibraryThing, and am glad I got a chance to review it.
    • 3/5
      For a debut novel the author has taken a large task by introducing us to a vast universe of two worlds and a multitude of characters. Now that has impressed me but has also distracted me at the same time. I think more time should have been spent on the world of Anthem and it's characters because compared to the Ones on Earth I felt they came off bland and not too interesting. As the story progressed events became more involved but the lack of interest on some of the main characters kept me from really turning tis into a big page turner. Perhaps with the world set future sequels could slow things down and develop better. I'll future works here in hope that this holds some treasure down the road.
    • 5/5
      This was a review book, eBook copy, I received. It was excellent and a great read. The individual characters were well developed with specific details. The first transition surprised me, but I got right back into the storyline within a couple of pages. This was a real page turner and hard to put down. I would highly recommend it and can't wait for the next in this series. Well done.
    • 4/5
      Anthem's Fall... what can I say?... From the very beginning I was stoked to read this book, the synopsis sounds great and who doesn't need a little more sci-fi in their lives? So I got this book in the mail from the author for the tour and he wrote me a wonderful note about loving the green mountain state (where I live/ Vermont) and I was even more excited to read the book. I love when author take notice of things! (Thank you Mr. Dunn!). I finally dig into it while on my vacation and I have to admit, in the beginning I was SUPER confused about how this story would form.We start the book on Earth with science and genetics and within those few chapters I came to really like the POV of Kristen, whom is one of the main characters; then we read from another Earthly POV and then are whisked away to another world entirely and they are at war. I felt like my head was spinning, but then the book got interesting -- worlds colliding, characters every which way, and I really liked reading from all of the views and normally that doesn't happen. I normally like one and sigh or 'arg' when another person came up, but not with this book, everyone had an interesting story to tell in the grand scheme of the book. Dunn did a wonderful job linking all these people and what was happening to them.I am so glad that this book lived up to my expectations for it, but I forewarn, it can be a bit confusing with the amount of characters involved and the plot is action-packed and you will get sucked in. The number of pages may be a bit intimidating and the font on the smaller side, but I think many people will enjoy this book.
    • 5/5
      Pretty good book.It's about artificial lifeform that was being developed in lab. Lead character was worried about ethics and risk of developing artificial lifeform.Meanwhile, on other world, beings extremely powerful is being wiped out by other beings almost like themselves, but much more powerful. Few survivors go to earth to find some facts. Think around superman strength and some powers like flying. Earth can't do anything to them.
    • 5/5
      This book surprised the hell out of me! Won it in a giveaway and didn't expect much. Pleasant surprise. Definitely a book to keep an eye on, and Dunn.
    • 3/5
      First novel by a new author that holds you in its grip. Starting the story with a strong (young) female figure working as a scientist gets your attention and you are off in Kristen’s world. The juxtaposition of the “second” story line might be startling. Knowing there has to be a connection between the two stories and looking for it in that first chapter about Anthem has the potential to distract the reader. Were the names anagrams or code to be deciphered? Don’t work so hard on making the connections that you become impatient. Let yourself be drawn in and connections will emerge. The story line is intriguing (both of them). It might cause you to wonder “what if.” Anthem’s Fall definitely holds your attention and leaves you wanting to know “What next?”.
    • 5/5
      An interesting, genre bending debut novel. The themes Dunn presents are clear, and the dialogue around them does well. I found Anthem's Fall readable and exciting. The tension of the plot rises remarkably well, starting low key with Kristen and Ryan in New York and then going to Anthem, then, inevitably back to New York. Highly recommend.
    • 2/5
      I received this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review. I found this book to be very slow to get into. I found myself skipping ahead paragraphs because I just did not find it interesting. The book skips back and forth between two stories, and I had a really hard time following it. Pros- I liked the way the story was written in a sense that there were parts that I could get into. For example, I would begin to get into the story of Ryan and Kristen. I'm like ok this is interesting. I care about where this is going. Then, everything would change with no explanation, and I was lost again. Halfway through the book was the tie-in, but I think it just happened too late for me.If I had purchased this book, I would ask for my money back. It just wasn't for me.
    • 4/5
      Although this book felt like it correlates with the superman movies, it had its own spin on the superhero aspect of the story. The main characters are well developed and you feel like you know them. While reading the story, I kept thinking how diplomacy would have helped in so many of the disputes. I can't wait for the sequel to find out what choices the characters make.
    • 1/5
      I really wanted to like this book, from a first time author with great intentions and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, there just isn't much to like.The basic plot is extremely similar to that of the last Superman movie - the main difference is that Zod is trying to save Krypton at Earth's expense, rather than make Earth the new Krypton. Which really isn't much of a difference. Also, Lois Lane is a naive young scientist instead of a jaded journalist.The prose is purple and often awkward. The third-person omniscient narrator is FAR too excitable. I think I might have actually enjoyed the story if every single adverb and 75% of the adjectives were removed from this work.
    • 5/5
      I received an ARC of Anthem's Fall in exchange for an honest review. Warning spoilers, well not really, sort of, read at your own risk.Do you like super hero clichés? Anthem's Fall has 'em all.Lost son from an alien planet? Check.Over-sized hulk like supers? Check.Genetically enhanced powers? Check.Robot apocalypse? Check.Strange coincidences that make you groan at times? Check.Godlike beings from an Asgard type world? Check.A nerdy but adventurous scientist locked in a continuous debate about morality? Check.A Yoda type mentor? Check.A battle over New York City? Check. I could go on. This book is loaded with just about every Super Hero/SciFi scene that you've come to expect. But here's the thing. By putting all of this together Dunn somehow makes it feel fresh. The book is great. Once it gets rolling it never bogs down. It's ridiculously fun, smart, and at times you'll be reading on the edge of your seat. I could hardly put it down. When life got in the way and I had to set the book down I found myself hours later still thinking of what would happen next. The action is top notch. The story line will keep you turning pages. I can't wait for the next one. This series is one to grab up quick and tell your friends about.
    • 3/5
      Clunky, ham fisted plotting and contrived scenario's mark this out as a debuet novel in need of significant work. But if you like super hero tales you might be ale to overlook the worst bits to find some gems. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and so the author proves the truth of this cliche again. Very poorly science, and complete failing of the process of science is attempted to explain things that are just not possible. Don't bother. If you're writing a superhero book, we the readers are all fine with the concept of superheroes, attempting to justify their existence by 'replacing all the proteins in their cells with advanced analogues that are templated on those proteins but made of something (unspecified throughout) that is massively stronger than normal and grants all sorts of other abilities too (flying by thought alone, really? really?!)" is just daft. I had already almost given up in disgust even before I got to this 'explanation' though. Professors just don't have time, inclination, money or motivation to do 'secret' research away from the rest of their group. That's why they have a research group, to do all the grunt work for them so they can claim the credit. I would rather the author just let the superheroes exist and keep continuity with their abilities, trying not to break the laws of physics too much, chuck out all the exposition and "science".Anyway. A professor's chief research assistant the totally Mary Sue, Kristin - young, gifted, beautiful, intelligent and athletic, able to cope with any shock - aids her professor in developing an artificial cell (much like Craig Venter has already done) but this is of completely novel proteins apparently. She is shocked when her prof reveals he's gone much further and used the same technology to develop artificial 'mice' with glowing blue eyes. Meanwhile on anther planet far far away a race of humanoids with mighty genes has discovered that their dynastic empire is not safe after all. One of their research scientists has just created four 'machines' made of replicated cells when they awake for the first time they have glowing blue eyes and wreck havoc. The emperor's son flees the one-sided battle and arrives at earth desperate for help, and coincidently stumbles across Kristin's research presentation. The Kristin and Ryan segments aren't too bad, although there's no need for Kristin to be significantly younger than all her peers. The genetically superior superheroes sort of works, although much better if you don't try and picture the details of how the genetics makes a difference. That they can be used as a basis for a moral argument about the superiority or power and the difficulties and rights of indigenous tribes around the world is perhaps the biggest redeeming feature of the book. I don't know how the author will continue to add relevant social comment into the sequels, but it is an important part of SF, and although at times very heavily delineated, worthy of note.readable - although in places only just - there are some glimmers of talent, but it probably will only appeal to super hero fans, who won't understand the morals, or be annoyed by the 'science'.