The Altered - Followup to Them - By MG Hardie... WOW!

Now Devon knew that something much deeper,
 much darker lurked underneath it all.
~~~

Nine months ago, Devon discovered that humans were not alone in the universe and his family was killed for it. He mourned for his family alone. Devon had been altered but faced impossible odds as he was chased around the world by other world forces. Devon’s growing abilities were no match for these unseen creatures and he did the only sensible thing he could do, run. Devon ran from Them. He hid from Them, but he would never escape. 

He returned returned home. In the debris and rain soaked rubble that was once his home, he found a half burnt stuffed butterfly. It had belonged to his one year old daughter Brianna, it was all that remained. Devon attached the butterfly to his backpack.


The Altered

By MG Hardie

Nearly 1100 readers checked out my review of Them when it was published. Now, the second book in the series (predicted because this book was left hanging...), The Altered, presents more extraordinary and unique science fiction with a concept that, simply, blows your mind!

The System, which, generally, refers to the governments across the world, is to blame...for...Them! And everything that happened thereafter! Coming from a second, more advanced earth, Them came to attack and destroy through any, seemingly, natural catastrophe that ultimately will end this earth. Why? Because The System had already done it to most of theirs by using nuclear bombs that blasted beyond and into another dimension where the majority of people were killed instantly and the radiation slowly destroying the rest, as well as animals and vegetation.

Devon has been murdered, altered by Them and has even met with Prime the leader of Them. Devon had lost his family...Prime, more or less, responded, now you know how we feel...

With a mixture of vengeance, empathy and sympathy, Devon began to follow after them, wherever there was a crisis, to try to save, as well as work to rid the earth of Them. Soon he realized, though altered, he still was not enough to fight back. He went to two of his old friends, one a lover, and shared what had happened, provided the means by which they, too, would be altered, and began their training...

Joshua had been saved from Them by Devon. "Will Power" had been coming into his mind at night... motivating him with what they wanted him to do...
Devon could see...Them...and he talked to them to free his mind of what they'd planted. 

Joshua is an interesting character that hooked into the stories and adventure of what Devon was doing...but he wanted to use violence in the process...Devon slowly was weaning his thoughts into more productive thinking. Later, he did the same activities with Gina. 

This is a more slow-paced novel, where training and learning to deal with the future was uppermost in Devon's mind...While, he also was moving across the world helping wherever a tornado or a hurricane had visited. Later, both of his friends did the same in local areas.

Devon had also been seeking out "rifts" that connected the two earths. He was slowly acclimating himself, and later, the others, to move from one earth to another... What he saw was devastating and yet wondrous and beautiful in so many ways.

Hardie presents many conceptual electronic and scientific issues that are amazing or beyond the norm for those who aren't inventive... Either way, many are cool ideas and with the three together, they come up with exciting ways to keep working to fight Them... At the same time, Devon has never given up hoping to convince Prime that they are serious about working together...

Until, he is proven wrong... 

“Coated in Hypernium, I should have known,” Joshua said. He quietly hummed a few bars from ‘I Feel the Earth Move’. His eyes narrowed as the floating percentages of success decreased before him.
~~~

Hardie pulls a shocker at the ending! Wow! NOT expected and even you won't be able to guess while you're reading--right up to the climax! There is a moral to this story...but I'll have to think about it--or maybe you'll be able to discuss after your read! Hate to say it but lots of little errors...But, on the other hand, Hardie knows how to write a story and keep people trying to figure out...What Is Going On?!" 5 for story; 3 for editing...You decide... But I'm already wondering what happened to Devon...

GABixlerReviews

Social Commentary, Historical Mythology Merges into Extraordinary Vampire Novel...

I saw little difference between my human classmates and myself. I was a little faster, a little stronger, but that seemed pretty normal to me. I was a fifteen-year-old Black girl, and I didn't have my vampire abilities yet. I live with my father in Beverly Hills, California. I was insulated from the outside world, from the breezes, the scents, the sounds. My father was a hard man with few regrets, and I adored him.
In less civilized times, he would be in charge of our coven, the alpha vampire. In those days, vampires allowed what was known as The Thirst to rule them. It was simple arrogance that prevented the vampire from living longer than forty years. In that time, vampires had no desire to fit in; they wanted to run things. The word 'Integration' for the vampire, for my father, had the same meaning as suppression. He didn't believe in killing humans, only because that could start a war.
I was born in deep vampire country, Savannah, Georgia to be exact. I was born in a simple house that my parents shared. They separated five years before we all moved west to Southern California. I had no reaction to the shake-up; I guess I was too young to even notice. My father and I moved into a plush Beverly Hills condominium. My mother moved to a modest three-room, one-story home in Angel Beach, California. I hadn't spoken to my mother in years because it was agreed that my father would provide all of my needs. Big cities and vampires didn't mix, so my father spent half a decade hovering over me...
The repeated clicking of the turn signal pulled me from the isolated region of my mind. Here I am in the passenger seat of a chrome black-walled Porsche Panamera. It sped along at seventy miles per hour; its soft leather seats swallowed my small body.
As I eyed my father from the corner for my eye; the corners of my mind neatly hid the bad dream. It was my nightly screams that alerted him. The only thing I was sure of was that something had gone wrong,
"You're going to love your new school," the volume of my dad's voice slowly increased. I was lost in thought the whole time he had been talking. We slowed as the traffic congested the freeway. I could tell that the weight of the occasion unnerved him.
The plan was for me to stay with dad until a certain age. As I stared out the window into the deep blackness, I realize that certain age was about three nights ago. "Dad, you sound just like a TV commercial," I retorted.
"What's wrong with a father wanting his daughter to love her new school?"
"How do you know I am going to love it? I just don't understand why I have to move, and here of all places. I mean, why can't I just stay in Beverly Hills with you, like I've been doing? Why can't I just keep going to the same school?" "Because... it's just that your mother is more..." "More what?" I interrupted. "She's more stable than I am. Look, I have my own issues, and now you're having these nightmares... so your mom and I..." "...decided that I should move without asking for my opinion. Well, it's my life. Isn't it? I'm fifteen years old. I'm practically an adult. I already know what's best for me." I could tell that my father read my thoughts and had saw remnants of what I had hidden.
"And what, may I ask, is best for you?" he looked over at me through his jet-black sunglasses.
I paused as I looked away from my father to gaze out the window. We passed thousands of lighted billboards and dozens of car dealerships as we speed south on the 405 freeway. My father effortlessly moved the steering wheel, gently coaxing the vehicle from lane to lane. My dad's familiar scent of red grapefruit, saffron, and wood filled the vehicle. We were insulated from the night. Angel Beach was a large city along the California coastline. Its port was the accompaniment to Los Angeles.
By accompaniment, Angel Beach was one of the busiest port centers in the world. Angel Beach High School had five thousand students, and there would be fifteen hundred students in my sophomore class. That's a lot of humans. The thought of it was nauseating. If I were hardly noticed before, I really wouldn't be noticed there.
"I just wish you and Mom had talked to me before making a life altering decision that will ruin my social life," I let that linger for a minute. I didn't remember much about my mother. My father said when they met she needed him; she made him want to be a better vampire. "How can living with your mother ruin your social life? You're not being reasonable. There are more things in life, more things to your life, than being social..." he said, looking at his diamond-encrusted watch.
It was exactly 11 p.m.

~~~

Amber had been living with her father in California for most of her life and had a good life. But at 15, she was informed that she would be now moving to live with her mother--that it was time for her to begin to learn new things and be taught how to handle what would be happening to her.  It all ways, Amber looked like a typical African-American teen, but she was more than that. She was only half human and her body would be accommodating to changes brought forth as her non-human side blossomed...

"Ambrosia Wharton!" he said. He quickly pulled the car over to the freeway's shoulder. "How dare you raise your voice to me?" His fangs bared, a faint yellow glow circled his pupils as the sound of his voice rattled the rear view mirror. "You may be a young woman, but I am still your father. You won't be just another girl on the beach. You must always remember your legacy. You were born where you were born, and you face the future that you face because you are what you are and for no other reason. "

"The limits of your ambition are set. You were born into a world that has spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, what you are. You are not expected to aspire, to excel. You are expected to make peace with being invisible. Never forget who you are and what we are. We are the Uhura coven. We are the elite. We are vampires!" 

"I know." 

"Then, act like it! As a female vampire, it's crucial for you to be around..." "Another female vampire," I interrupted my father's lecture. "You've told me this a half a dozen times. I get it; I don't have to like it." I sat uncomfortably silent in my seat. The car's chassis subtlety vibrated from the still running engine. "Dad...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice."

~~~

Amber didn't care and she was upset nobody had discussed with her the need to move away from her home and friends... Besides, she hadn't seen her mother for years, would have to go to a new school and would again have no friends...

Still, she knew why the change had to be made and she really was happy to be with her mother again... And, once she saw...him...at her new school, she was quite willing to wait and see how things would go... But there was already a problem... He was human; he was a Christian. Both were trouble.

She didn't care... He was a star basketball player and she was going to try out for the team and was soon accepted and leading the team with her skill. Adrian and Amber soon became friends and Amber also developed a small group of additional friends...Things at the school seemed to be doing well...only disrupted when Adrian had pulled Amber close in a hug and Amber sharply pulled away--Adrian's cross around his neck had burned her... Quickly making an excuse to leave, she left him standing, confused...

The school activities are somewhat typical for the most part, except that Amber spends most nights out on the roofs of buildings in town... preparing her body for the future...

I talked to the author about the number of small typographical errors and discovered that he'd paid three different editors to work on his book. You, the potential buyer will have to decide about this issue. Given what I learned, I decided to point the problem out via a downgrade of ranking, but am quite willing to also recommend it highly for many of you who have the desire to read it based upon the cover and book description. 

There are also a couple of other issues to be spotlighted...The book contains a number of picture collages of the events happening in the book. They were exceptionally well done, but needed to be bigger for me to totally enjoy them and would have made perfect whole-page additions to the novel. Nevertheless the idea is very cool and the author should be commended... Also the author has used another method for helping to teach reading and color identification...Great idea... I read the book in a non-color application and didn't see the effect until I checked it out online... Nice...

Throughout the book, Hardie has presented considerable social commentary about the life of Blacks interacting in today's world, and with other races. It is definitely a learning experience, including the use of historical mythology to explain the heritage of the vampire. I was impressed... with the continuity and integration of this broader scope of the book beyond the typical vampire life...

And yet, the ending felt like it could also be the beginning...perhaps a sequel or a series? I've been reading Hardie since his first book and have seen continued improvement in his writing... In this book, which I would place in the literary drama genre rather than horror, which is normally expected for vampires, there is a element of  life participation that pulls individuals into what the author wishes to share with his readers. In fact, I was so involved that with the ending, I was totally shocked... Do Check it out!

GABixlerReviews

An average guy making his way in the world. Speaking and writing are my contribution to make the world a better place.
What are the names of your titles?
My works include Every Day Life, It Ain't Just The Size, Midnight: Rise of the Black Vampires and the science fiction THEM title.
Each time I am told not to do something...it motivates me to break the rules and to push limits...

MG Hardie Presents Spooky Suspenseful Spectacular Science Fiction - THEM

Rugged leather boots splashed, then trudged, through the reed torn, murky waters of the Florida swamp. He trudged through the firefly scattered darkness with Commotion closing in behind him. The moonlight that was once carried on the undisturbed surface now revealed undulating troubles. Now, barely panting and at full gallop, Devon Heathrow wondered how things could have gone so wrong so fast. How could a mistakenly delivered device lead to him being strapped down on an operating table in a remote, secret military base in Montana, and now running through a swamp that went God knows where with his clothes ripped and singed. No longer able to feel his heartbeat, he bit down on his lip to see if he still existed. He glided from tree to tree, lightly touching each branch— this kind of thing could go on forever.

~~~

THEM:

The Awakening

By MG Hardie

It's been awhile since I read MG Hardie, and his latest, a science fiction series debut, entitled THEM, was a pleasant surprise for this reader. It's unique, suspenseful and leaves you wondering... 

Devon Heathrow (played by Idris Elba) was a solid financial professional who was doing well with his work and personal life. He was even thinking about applying for a promotion; however, everything stopped for him when he received the package. 

The package had a note that included only Nwhitman...Not him, but he wasn't going to worry about that now...

Inside the box was a note that only read Nwhitman next to stylish glasses. He could tell by the sliders and buttons inside of the frame they were some kind of tech. He could see the translucent graphene that covered the lenses. The graphene was thin, hardly noticeable. The wearable computer optics was small and cyborg blue. Holding it in his hand, he could tell that the device was state of the art. He gently put it back into the box, fired up his car engine, and started on his way to work...

~~~

This debut is a perfect set up for a continuing series... At 46 pages he sets the reader up with enough information to establish suspense, put out some intriguing and unique scientific concepts--and then leaves you hanging, ready to go on to the next additional part. More importantly he shares basic, beginning information so that we can begin to understand the main character and sympathize with what is happening! The intrigue starts when he places the glasses on his face... As he tried different things, it started flashing "Not Them." He was having fun, but it was almost taking him over in a strange response. As he spoke to his wife, he saw her there in a lotus position and could even seem to smell her jasmine scent. But as he finished his conversation with his wife, and pushed end...

After finishing the conversation with his wife, he pressed the floating end button and, simultaneously, two large, well-dressed men who were casual observers in the courtyard faded from view in a visual ripple. The peculiar occurrence was only worthy of a double-take. Devon's mind briefly lingered on being followed by the F.B.I., or worse the S.E.C....

Later that evening while driving home, Devon put the device on so that he could call his wife again. He uttered the phrase, "Call Sweetheart," and the rural landscape slowly began to change, the sky darkened. Shrubs began whipping around the road. Devon's eyes lightened as he and his wife spoke.
The tall trees begin to sway and from those trees, two dark tall, well-dressed men descended from funnel clouds into his path. Devon swerved into the adjacent lane, barely missing the two gentlemen swiveling his his, to yell... Two miles down the same road, again two men leaped into his path...approached Devon. At lunchtime, in the courtyard, he didn't notice the faint halo around them; this time, he did. Devon couldn't make out the red symbols that moved along their clothing. The device's facial recognition gave him nothing. Devon quickly said, "End Call," as the call ended the men faded away, in a visual ripple. The running engine kept pace with his heart...He placed the device on the backseat...

~~~

That was just the beginning and when he next sat in his car, the device in the back seat rang and Devon grabbed for it and put it on, saying Hello.

"Them are more than you'd imagine..."

If I could, I'd continue to tell you the story! The imagination and creativity

exhibited by the author is exhilarating...and, of course, I was trying to visualize what actually came next, but...that wouldn't be fair, so I'll just give you a hint, LOL! Devon Heathrow is running... away...

All because a package was misdelivered...

Yikes!  Frankly I have no idea where this book is headed, but with what I've read thus far, I highly recommended you start, right now, with this debut story. It will grab you from the beginning, set you thinking and visualizing the potential of what that package contained, and wonder, is this how it will all end? But it's so much fun to explore the technology being proposed that I got caught up with all of it. SciFi fans, you really don't want to miss this one!

GABixlerReviews

An average guy making his way in the world. Speaking and writing are my contributions to make the world a better place.
My works include Every Day Life, It Ain't Just The Size, Midnight: Rise of the Black Vampires and the science fiction Them Series.
I once was asked what made my work unique...
Each time I am told not to do something...it motivates me to break the rules and to push limits.