7th Son: Descent by J.C. Hutchins

From the Publisher

As America reels from the bizarre presidential assassination committed by a child, seven men are abducted from their normal lives and delivered to a secret government facility. Each man has his own career, his own specialty. All are identical in appearance. The seven strangers were grown--- unwitting human clones---as part of a project called 7th Son.

The government now wants something from these “John Michael Smiths.” They share the flesh as well as the implanted memories of the psychopath responsible for the president's murder. The killer has bigger plans, and only these seven have the unique qualifications to track and stop him. But when their progenitor makes the battle personal, it becomes clear he may know the seven better than they know themselves.

Publishers Weekly

Hutchins's debut SF thriller, the first in a trilogy, has the unusual distinction of starting life as a popular podcast. The fast pace set from the beginning serves the story well in audio or print, especially considering that most of the characters are clones of the same man. They're sent to find their “Alpha” after he rigs a proxy assassination of the president of the United States through stolen government technology capable of unleashing chaos everywhere. Hutchins successfully fleshes out each clone as a separate personality, from happy everyman John Smith to the priest who fears that, as a clone, he has no soul. Though there's not a lot for the hard SF crowd, thriller readers seeking edge-of-your-seat action flavored with conspiracy and futuristic tech will love every page. (Nov.)

Library Journal

The assassination of the President by a child is quickly followed by the abduction of seven very different men—all unknown to one another and all identical clones. Tapped by a secret government organization to find the man behind the assassination, the seven clones embark on a journey into the mind of a criminal and into their own past. VERDICT Initially released as a downloadable podcast and in print for the first time, this opener launches an action-packed trilogy that combines political conspiracy and tomorrow's bioengineering to create an accessible package for fans of conspiracy theories and high-tech speculative fiction. Backed by major online publisher promotion, including original songs recorded under the name of one of the characters, this should also appeal to fans of multimedia fiction.

Kirkus Reviews

Seven clones created by a top-secret government program attempt to stop their evil progenitor's insane plans-first of a trilogy developed from a popular podcast. Following the inexplicable assassination of the U.S. president by a four-year-old boy, shadowy government agents round up seven men. They find that they have many things in common: appearance, memories up to age 14, names (all some variation on "John Michael Smith"). At first incredulous and outraged, the seven eventually get the idea and begin to cooperate with one another and with the project's sponsors, Dr. Kenneth Kleinman and Brigadier General Orlando Hill. Alpha, their progenitor, they learn, has gone rogue; what's worse, Alpha stole technology enabling him to copy and download minds into another's brain, either replacing the original personality entirely or dominating it so that the original's memories are still available. Eventually it becomes clear that the child assassin was actually carrying a copy of Alpha's mind. But what did Alpha hope to gain by slaying the president? And why does he keep leaving cryptic messages challenging the seven, in effect, to stop him?For the teenager/conspiracy-theory audience, some good ideas and plenty of action. For more wary, reflective readers, preposterous twaddle.

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