A geneticist uncovers a universal, hardwired gene that determines the moment of one’s death in Thomas’ SF novel.

In the high-tech hub of Boston, Helix Innovations is a cutting-edge biomedical giant researching the predictive genetic foundations of dire maladies. One of their young shining-star scientists, Dr. Emily Harper (who has a background in computer hacking), makes a shocking discovery: the “terminal gene,” sometimes called a “kill switch.” It seems every living organism possesses this, a predetermined biological timer that unerringly forecasts exactly when that living thing will die. Such powerful knowledge applied by unscrupulous business interests and authorities is a frightening prospect: “The terminal gene had the potential to redefine medicine, providing insights into deadly diseases, or it might disrupt society, giving governments and corporations the power to exploit mortality...Would the government weaponize it, sorting citizens by their expiration dates?” Straightaway, Emily begins to receive threatening messages warning her to keep quiet and cooperate, or else. The danger seems to originate from a secret group called Chronos, which is already setting itself up to control the terminal gene and actively scheming to find a way to “reset” it. A mysterious person (or persons) known only as “Q” is also involved, though whether they are friend or foe is unknown. Emily’s apartment is ransacked, and the young scientist finds herself locked out of security protocols. This is too much for Emily’s live-in fiancé, Tyler, an ex-soldier with dormant-but-deadly combat skills. He and Emily zero in on unfriendly Helix CEO James Kessler as a likely source of harassment. But as paranoia escalates, it seems nobody can be trusted—not cherished academic mentors, Tyler’s former military associates, or a mysteriously reappearing Boston beat cop. Even worse, carefully concealed terminal-gene data indicates the approach of a mass-extinction event.

Some readers may find the terminal-gene concept to be less like a plot device from one of Michael Crichton’s just-on-the-edge-of-plausible thrillers and more like something bubbled up from the surrealistic imagination of Jorge Luis Borges (or early-1950s horror comic books). The concept is rather akin to a pin-cushioned Voodoo doll or a monkey’s paw that dictates one’s fate paranormally (death will come, no matter what ones does to prepare for or prevent it) rather than scientifically, though quite late in the action is there is some doubletalk about retroviruses and the like. Curiously, the story remains Boston-centric, even as news spreads of the doomsday discovery—the reactions from Washington, D.C., Wall Street, and the world in general feel curiously marginal. Readers able to suspend their disbelief will be left with an agreeable beach (or possibly hospital ward) read. It is only in the home stretch that the author addresses the philosophical conundrum, “Is it possible to reconcile human free will with a universe ruled by deterministic laws of nature?” before getting back to the action-heavy business of skulking through intranet firewalls and sneaking into besieged CRISPR labs (it is amusing how Emily, a celebrity whistleblower, can go unnoticed in a Beantown roiled by anti-Helix protests). One need not be a geneticist to diagnose the likelihood of sequels germinating.

A far-fetched but often fun SF thriller.

Thomas’ SF novel follows a disabled soldier operating a humanoid fighting drone in a future war.

The story begins in the present day, hunkered down in the forests of war-torn Ukraine. Lt. Audie Hunter commands a small regiment of soldiers “built for speed” as they move through the Ukrainian countryside fighting off the advancing Russian forces conducting the ongoing invasion begun in 2021. The men notice encroaching tanks, and, after several minutes of indecision—Audie wants to retreat to safety, but his men insist on staying to help the civilians being killed by the Russians—one of the soldiers opens fire. This decision changes things forever: Several of the men are killed, and Audie is paralyzed from the waist down. As the regiment is gunned down by the better-armed Russian forces, their tactical command abandons them, only furthering Audie’s suspicion that they’ve been set up by someone higher up the chain of command. The narrative then jumps nearly 30 years to 2054, when readers find Audie in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He uses a wheelchair and is still engaged in what has come to be known as the “Thirty-Year War,” a seemingly endless clash that’s included a series of geopolitical disasters that have drawn many of the world’s powers into violent conflict. No longer fit for “boots on the ground” action, Audie now pilots a “mech,” a bipedal armed robot with whom he and his team are fully synced from overseas. Audie has settled admirably into his post-injury life; he’s still married to his wife, Angela, and caring for a German shepherd named Claymore, named after his friend killed in action in Ukraine. But Audie is plagued by the friction between the remote mech operators and those who are physically on the front lines in the “mud and blood.” This war has also cost Audie his son, and yet he receives vitriol from civilians who consider the relative safety enjoyed by remote soldiers as tantamount to cowardice. This tension is only amplified by his sense that, just like back in Ukraine, the powerful forces on top who are responsible for his safety—and the safety of the men and women in his command—have other agendas in mind.

Thomas’ novel showcases a refreshing, sharp prose style: “The weak gray light, filtered through the canopy and mist, turned pine trees into twisted shapes flickering at the edge of his vision. Command’s silence and the empty sky felt like two pieces of the same lie.” Readers may find the descriptions of futuristic military technology a bit turgid in the novel’s early portions, but the time spent on this material pays dividends in the long run as the reader picks up the rhythm and specialized vocabulary that enhance the fictional near future the author has rendered. Some of the themes at play may be familiar, like the challenges of survivor’s guilt or the Everyman soldier who grows disillusioned with the violent, rapacious tendencies of the military-industrial complex, but the depth of pathos Thomas grants Audie helps to elevate this novel above a simple retread of well-worn tropes into something much more effective.

A taut military-SF yarn memorable for its well-crafted prose and character development.

Soldiers and scientists fight to prevent an alien invasion of Earth in Thomas’ SF thriller, the conclusion of a trilogy.

Picking up where the author’s Masters of War (2024) left off, injured Homeland Security consultant Maxx King reunites with Green Berets in Afghanistan. With Operation Anaconda underway, the American soldiers aim to capture or kill a rogue Dense Advanced Research Projects Agency scientist. They’re also battling the Taliban, as this story unfolds just six months after the 9/11 attacks. But there’s more to Operation Anaconda, which Maxx eventually reveals: The mission includes securing “the cube,” a smooth-surfaced, metallic device used for communicating with an alien species dubbed the Others. Said aliens are plotting to invade Earth, so blocking any communication is essential. Amazingly, some humans (like that DARPA scientist, alongside a CIA traitor) side with the extraterrestrials. Those who resist the potential invasion seek a virus that may be used as a weapon against the Others, but it is currently missing. Physicist Dr. Xi, along with the mysterious Mr. Green, are in Washington state to get encrypted information (to which only Mr. Green has the encryption key) about the virus. Meanwhile, Maxx sends a couple of his old pals from his days in the military to keep an eye on his girlfriend, Gabby Fisher, in the U.S. Freelance operative Torashi Kage, whom a senator has assigned to track down the virus, embarks on a personal vendetta against Maxx—and because Kage doesn’t know where Maxx is, he first goes after Gabby.

Thomas caters this finale to readers familiar with the previous series installments. Exhilarating action opens the narrative, with multiple groups of people engaged in combat, rushing somewhere, or scheming to take someone out. Despite the series title featuring Maxx’s name, this is definitely an ensemble cast—the spotlight is shared among many characters, from Dr. Xi and Mr. Green to Maxx’s ever-reliable military friends Andres Sandoval and Glen Piper. An unexpected standout is one particular villain who struggles with an all-too-relatable emotional issue; she’s involved in a sinister plan on a global scale but has difficulty overcoming her jealousy, feeling “second best” to the scientist who’s aligned with the man she loves. Maxx makes for a terrific hero and helps to protect Earth, but so do many other characters. The Others, at least in this installment, are mostly an ominous presence—they’re often voiced via the cube, and there’s not much beyond a hint of their specific biology. This doesn’t make them any less daunting, as there seems to be no question that they have the power to devastate the entire planet. The dialogue throughout is rife with cliches (“We’re playing with fire”; “he’s already got one foot in the grave”), but it’s action that truly drives this story, and the author dishes it out in spades.

Unforgettable characters boost this energetic SF yarn.

An action-packed SF thriller-series installment concerning international relations on Earth and extraterrestrial contact.

In this follow-up to Thunderbird Rising (2024), Maxx King and his girlfriend Gabby Fisher are having coffee in Seattle. The year is 2002 and the United States is still reeling from the attacks of September 11, 2001. Gabby and Maxx are set to meet with Connie Xi, the daughter of a high-level Chinese scientist. Their goal is to get the elder Dr. Xi to cooperate with the U.S. government on a secret project, but before anything can be arranged, assassins shoot Connie in broad daylight. As it turns out, the project, known as Thunderbird, is named after an alien communication device, and the events of 9/11, during which Maxx was injured, were connected to a conflict between China and the U.S. over who would activate the device first. Afghanistan was invaded, according to this novel’s version of historical events, due to its proximity to China’s western border, and the American government bulked up its military based on instructions from the aliens. Ideally, the two Earth superpowers would find a way to work together in common cause because, as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney points out, “Our national security and possibly the fate of the planet are dangling by a thin thread.” However, even this dire state of affairs does not make cooperation easy, as the different players in this game have very different goals—with some of them more ill-intentioned than others.  

This sequel’s intricate setup throws a lot of information at readers very quickly. Indeed, the historical background and the intricacies of alien communication make for dense exposition as the novel recaps events of the first book. Nevertheless, the combination of alien-SF with more conventional thriller material is intriguing. Likewise, the aliens are an interesting lot who don’t put much trust in humanity, for reasons that readers will find understandable: “It is your nature to deceive.” A revelation about midway through the story also indicates that the Earth-alien relationship is far more complex than one might initially expect. It’s clear that these advanced creatures are incredibly powerful—especially compared to humanity—and much of the excitement comes from suspense over what they’ll do next, especially after their plans to come to Earth are revealed. After all, the aliens “have been building worlds for millennia” and humankind’s “attempts at duplicity are well known” to them. The dialogue can be awkward at times, as when someone rather obviously says of Dr. Xi early on, after Connie is killed: “He is going to be emotionally distraught from the loss of his daughter yesterday, but you need to convince him that we must work together, or all is lost.” The book also sometimes relies on stock genre lines, such as “This is a dangerous game you are playing.” However, as the story progresses with locations ranging from Seattle to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, to Kabul, it offers a welcome mix of alien and earthling hostilities.

A lively international, and otherworldly, adventure.