Helix

by J.L. Bryan

In the 28th century, humans inhabit more than a thousand self-contained orbital colonies in the near reaches of the solar system. Billions of colonists follow the religious teachings of the Aescelan, priests who promote managed evolution and control their followers' reproduction through genetic engineering.Nicholas Vermeer is the perfect citizen of prosperous New Amsterdam junior police officer, devoted Temple member, soon to be a father. But when he and his wife visit the priests to design their first child, his wife dies in a shocking attack on the Temple, carried out by half-human monsters. His unauthorized investigation draws him into the shadows of a brewing war among the Aescelan priesthood, the United Nations government of Earth, and the cyber-industrial corporate giant Triod Industries, all of them vying for dominance of the unruly colonies.The Aescelan priests have secretly and illegally spawned experimental new forms of humanity, and the creations are rebelling against their masters. Nicholas finds among these monstrous "chimeras" the truth about his wife's death, the priesthood's centuries-long manipulation of the human genome, and their dark designs for the future of the human species. BONUS This book contains an excerpt of Forbidden the Stars by Valmore Daniels.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 20, 2009

About the author

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on English Renaissance and Romantic literature. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He lives in the metro Atlanta sprawl with his wife and son. He is the author of the Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper books and some other assorted novels like Inferno Park, The Unseen, Jenny Pox, and basically a lot of supernatural stories, some of it dark, some of it very dark, some of it less dark than that.

Reviews

[Gyula · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the future, the Earth is the old stepmother of its colonies established in the Solar system. While the Earth is suffering from pollution, and the nations are more interested in regional and political battles, the colonies run different paths. Some of them have balanced ecological environment, where citizens enjoy pleasant life guided by religion. Others are stuffed with suffering crowds oppressed by profit oriented owners. Some of them don't have future anymore. They have one in common: they pay taxes to Mother Earth - an obligation, which colonies more and more reluctant to obey. Many science fiction books predict that the humanity will spread to far galaxies, but the scenario of the Helix is much more probable, thus believable.

Nicholas Vermeer policeman's life turns into nightmare when his wife dies. He has nothing left but finding the killer, and he is willing to go as far as it takes. Though, he is not prepared for the truth behind the religion he was born to follow, and he is not prepared for the hidden forces aiming at power over the colonies. He has no choice but fight his own battle, being part of the bigger war.

While it can be considered a long book, it's entertaining all long. The fast paced action moves forward the story, and through the characters we see an amazing new world. It is fascinating how the human evolution goes in different ways in the space colonies, and how their conflicting interests collide.

Whether you enjoy action, or you like to read about amazing - and sometimes strange - worlds, I can recommend the Helix.

[Juanita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helix
There was a great deal of grammatical errors throughout the book that truly took away from the fluidity of Bryan's prose. In fact, there were so many editing errors that I entertained the idea to abort my reading! However, I'm glad that I continued because the soryline was suspenseful and well-paced. Everything wrapped up nicely at the end. The characters were interesting and I rooted for the main character. However, the book was litered with anti-God retoric. This was also a distraction as well. It was often difficult to embrace for me, a person who knows and believes in God. But it was fun! Not the best, but fun.

[Sanjiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this was a badly written 'Dune (which is a good thing, if not a great thing).' Great concepts and characters, good pacing, fun overall, and still sufficiently deep (and let me re-emphasize fun). I would give it five stars if not for the initial poor impression, and the numerous spelling errors in the Kindle version. However, I didn't think the writing style lacked anything by the time I got to end. In fact, I think the book was perfectly balanced, and I appreciate the trade offs the author made. The ending was perfect, but left me wanting more, and certainly the book is well placed for a sequel. The current ending already got my mind spiraling at the possibilities.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Helix. The author developed a realistic yet complex world, where religion, genetic engineering, and advanced mechanical technology all combine and interact. The book was a good length and moved along at a good pace, I never got bored or bogged down. The main characters were interesting and I liked seeing their development as the plot progressed. Some thought provoking issues were raised and the author did a good job of answering them through the constructs of the world. I enjoyed following Nicholas, Bast, and Ariel throughout the book. Overall a well developed fun to read sci-fi book.

[Releanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very captivated by this book! It is a very complex world, rather disturbing sometimes, a mix of dystopia and utopia. Lots of terrible things happen but in the end there is also hope. Many themes are addressed, such as religion, gene manipulation, how people cope with differentness, ecology, overpopulation, cyborgs etc. etc.
Ariel, Bast and Nicholas are very interesting persons who all develop and learn and grow through the story and I hope to hear more about them!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

So different but an excellent read.

This was a really thought provoking story with the usual compelling story telling that makes you want to just keep reading about the characters adventure. It is really deep.. and in some respects holds the truth of humanity.
To be honest I'm lost for words.
But all I will say is you should definitely give this one a read the story is excellent and highly enjoyable.

I hope to read more in the future about what happens to the honourable Nicholas, bast and the other chimeras. And if Ariel does end up getting corrupt by the power she now holds.

[Missy Kirtley]

I loved this book. I wished there was more of it while I was reading, but when I finished, I wasn't sure where the story could go! As much as I longed for a sequel, I really couldn't imagine one. It was a page turner, and the creativity involved with creating that futuristic world is just... amazing. Amazing! :)

It helped to restore my interest in Sci-Fi.

[Lauralynn Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great science fiction novel. It was fast paced, never boring, and very imaginative. I felt that the plot was original and well thought out. And the writing, as always with this author, is fantastic.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic dystopic novel! I would love to see this made into a sci-fi movie.

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very hard core sci fi. It was an interesting concept and the plot moved quite quickly and held my attention.