THE FIRST: Read Chapter One Now!

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.

Henry

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.

THE FIRST section one