First of all, here’s the GOOD NEWS: At the bottom of this page you will find the first chapters of a brand new Thriller entitled: THE FIRST
THE FIRST leaps out of the starting gate, then accelerates like a Tesla that’s just been juiced. You quickly get to know the small cadre of characters as intimately as it’s possible to know a person. I can promise that you will care about these people. They’re the opposite of cardboard. They are us… The plot is utterly original and see for yourself, whether you can put it down. Best of all, IT’S FREE! What exactly are you gambling? Nothing.
Okay now…so what’s the BAD NEWS? Well…there isn’t any. If you’re frugal, you can read the entire book on this website, completely free of charge, much in the same way Andy Weir kicked off his blockbuster: The Martian. The genesis of his book taking off is fascinating in itself:
Andy Weir started out with a small website and published a couple of chapters each week for his readers. (He didn’t charge anything either.) His readers followed the serialization of his story, chapter by chapter and stayed with it. It’s a great read by the way and they wanted to read more and then more.
I’m gambling that at some point in your reading you just might want your own personally autographed copy. Still, that’s entirely your decision. Have you ever been a part of something big that goes viral? It’s exciting and it has its advantages. More about that later. First off, what’s the premise of THE FIRST? It’s not sci-fi or about some distant future. It’s about tomorrow.
Christopher Knowles is a landscaper, towing his backhoe to the next work site. A garbage truck pulls out on Route 413 and there’s an accident. It’s a bad one. In chapter one, page one, Chris is just waking up in Doylestown Hospital in Bucks County, PA . The first line of the book is: “Do you know your name?” which is asked by his surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Mannstein. It’s not an idle question. Chris’s injuries are extreme and he is on total life support with the left side of his body having been crushed in the accident.
A brief sidebar: Today’s technology is accelerating ten times faster than even a generation ago. As of right now…today, if you’re a soldier returning from war with an arm or leg missing, for the first time in the history, you can be fitted with a prosthetic leg or arm…which instantly responds to the commands given by your brain. This is science fact, not fiction.
THE FIRST takes one small, logical step forward with a Graphene-based device called the Gertz Router. This router allows a surgeon to perform just one function. A surgeon can now sever and then quickly reattach the spinal cord back to the brain…or any brain. It’s a simple enough sentence but the ramifications of this one technological breakthrough are massive…and potentially monstrous: philosophy, human identity, religion, ethics, right down to the very concept of what makes you…….you. Not even the concept of your immortal soul is exempt from scrutiny and nation-wide debate.
Under the very best of circumstances, Christopher’s surgery would be a long-shot and a cliff-hanger. But if Chris and his wife, Jenny, don’t decide immediately, the only choice will be when to pull the plug and terminate his life. That would seem to be an easy-enough question, but at that moment, the number of candidates that meet his requirements boils down to one, a brain-dead teenage girl. This is something that not only Chris must weigh out, but also something his wife, Jennifer and daughter, Meredith must grapple with. Imagine your spouse suddenly becoming the same sex that you are.
For one moment, grapple with the concept as if it were your own. What if your spouse had only two options: Pull the plug OR Realize that your big beefy husband will now reside in the body of a teenage girl. OR If the tables were turned, what if your wife, the love of your life suddenly was hairy, had a beer gut, and much different plumbing. It’s something very fundamental to grapple with.
Much Worse than that: a right-wing terrorist group, which calls itself The Lambs of God, has declared the operation to be an abomination against God. Their intent is to force Chris to commit suicide… as well as kill anyone who gets in their way. If you appreciate really interesting bad guys, you will find these guys fascinating, original and horrifying.
Very much like Andy Weir’s The Martian, The First has been test read by a large number of people taken at random, people with zero reason to bend the truth either way. The result? Unanimous on its being a page turner. Unanimous as its being a good read. One reader said, “It takes off like Silence of the Lambs...it’s that fast.”Lastly? Fascination with the concept and the nuanced handling of a very sensitive topic.
Read as many chapters as you like…for free in the coming weeks and at some point, if you really do like it, let me know below. Pre-order the book and I’ll send you an autographed copy…with a message to you personally if you like. Is the book free? Of course not. It’ll set you back a whopping $16.95, plus $2.50 S&H. It would make one heck of a stocking-stuffer for a whole family. And the premise is worthy of a senior-level philo seminar…just a heck of a lot grittier.
I hope you all have a TERRIFIC Thanksgiving! As usual, Pam’s cooking and I’m her helper/gopher. In between wolfing down great quantities of turkey, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to sample this new thriller. Thanks
Here are the first chapters: Click the link below to open. A small window should appear at the bottom of your screen. Click that window and the chapters will appear.
Henry – LOVE THE CONCEPT! May readers spin happily toward your hard copies. So glad you’ve been placed in my life.
Thanks much.
Annette
Hey Annette!
I feel the same way. It’s nice to hear from someone who is a pro in the people business. I hope you enjoy it. Input is always appreciated.
And…if I don’t hear, I hope you have a fun and memorable Thanksgiving. After cooking 37 zillion Butterballs, Pam decided to take a path less traveled. We’re having a good ole Spanish paella this year, with homemade Sangria, martinis and pumpkin pie. When I contact the people who are coming over they actually cheered over the phone. It’s hard to fake it every year saying, “My, my this is the BEST turkey I’ve ever tasted!!”
Big hug.
Henry
Henry:
Wow… You weren’t kidding. I haven’t run into a true page-turner in years. Your Silence of the Lambs example comes to mind. If the rest of the book is like this, you just may have your blockbuster!
Thanks, and expect an order from me this week.
Jay Stein
Hey Jay!
Thanks for the kind words. I’m pretty proud of this one and yeah…see for yourself but this is a book that never stops accelerating. I’m in the process of re-reading it myself (I’m on page 178) and that’s something I’ve never done before.
Have a happy Thanksgiving, Jay!
Henry
Okay, Henry.
How do I order???
Donna R.
We’re just waiting for the very first batch of copies to arrive. Believe it or not, this part of the process is really exciting for us as well. Not sure what I could compare it to. Metaphors escape me at the moment. I’ll set one aside. You’ll have literally a first edition. Just verify that you want one and I’ll put you on the list.
Thanks!
Henry
AWESOMENESS!
Bruce H.
Now that’s what I like to see….highly nuanced understatement…. Glad you’re excited, too!!! In a small handful of books I’ve read, there have been scenes that came up out of nowhere and blew me away. Silence of the Lambs had two or three. The First, even though I wrote the damned thing, takes me to some weird and sometimes gut-wrenching places.
Henry