122 Rules by Deek Rhew

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

The Transhuman Project Review

I've had the great privilege of reading Erin Rhew's new Sci-Fi adventure, The Transhuman Project.


The Transhuman Project back blurb
When a video of Molly Richards is taken out of context and goes viral, she’s thrust into the upper echelons of social media stardom and becomes an overnight success in a country where Life Channel ratings reign supreme. As Kadar’s fastest-rising celebrity, her life becomes a media circus, a show put on for the shallow national audience salivating for the next new thing.

But in a world where image is king, danger and death hide among the shadows. In the nearby country of Pacifica, the brutal Caezar turns his citizens into robotic weapons who infiltrate Kadar as sleeper transhumans. They walk among the populace, unaware they are pawns in the madman’s personal arsenal.

Only Molly, her friends, and an elite group of Kadarian fighters known as the Cyber Knights fully understand the transhuman threat, and only they can break the Caezar's terrorist grip on both Pacifica and Kadar. Battling Fire Bots and humanoid agents, they seek to put a stop to the Caezar's tyranny by unraveling the secrets buried between layers of deception.

And they have to do it all while smiling and waving for the cameras.

As Molly and her friends peer behind the glitz and glamour, they discover something more frightening and more sinister than anything they’ve encountered yet...the truth.


Deek's Review
One of the things I love about this book is that it's so incredibly relevant. Over the last decade social media has become a huge driving force in our society. Now everyone with a Facebook page, blog, You Tube account, Twitter, or Instagram page has a voice.


And in each case, they are vying for your attention and your "likes."


Right now, social media is still somewhat passive, though, that is gradually changing. With the #MeToo and other such movements, these platforms are having more and more societal influence. So, what if we jumped ahead a hundred years in the evolution of social media? What kind of power will it hold?

That's exactly the question that Erin's book explores.

Molly Richards and crew, affectionately known as the Pentad, flee the oppressive, warmongering nation of Pacifica into the bordering country of Kadar. Kadar is an advanced, free society that is ruled by social media popularity. The Pentad had stolen the plans to Pacifica's most powerful weapon, The Transhuman Project, and given it to the Kadarians, hoping that they will be able to neutralize the threat.

Unfortunately, Kadar was not as welcoming as they'd hoped.

Not only do they hold the Pentad in captivity, but a video of Molly goes viral and suddenly she finds herself at the top of the social media ratings. She has no desire for her fandom or the attention it garners, but the unstoppable machine has been put into motion. The media specialists descend and help perpetuate their false story, in hopes of keeping her in the top spot. All the while this is happening, she and the rest of the Pentad are fighting to save Kadar from the evil leader of Pacifica, the Caezar, as he develops more sophisticated weapons in a grab for power.

What's especially intriguing about this book is that the government of Kadar is more puppet that leader. That the true power in this nation is whomever has the highest ranking spot in the Life Channel program.

Imagine if you will, the loudest, most obnoxious blowhard on Facebook, having any sort of power over the government.



Yet, this is exactly what has happened.

Filled with intrigue, mystery, self-sacrifice, unlikely heroes, action, and even a smattering of romance, Erin's new book, The Transhuman Project, will have you flipping the pages until the very end!

On a personal note, I'm incredibly proud of Erin and her amazing accomplishment. What no one knows is that this is actually the second Molly book she's written. But after years of working on it, she realized that the first one is just backstory, that the real story is in The Transhuman Project. As an author, it takes barrels and barrels of courage and gumption to throw away so much work. But that's what Erin did. She, as she always does, persevered and made the tough call. Working her behind off to deliver to you, what I think you will find to be a fascinating and exhilarating story.


The Transhuman Project releases TODAY, January 15, 2019! 

2 comments:

  1. My love, thank you for the wonderful review! And thank you for all your help and encouragement as I struggled to figure this book out. You're truly the best! I love you like crazy! <3

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    1. Your work is brilliant as are you, my love! I adore you to the moon and back!

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