- Title:
- The Breakthrough Effect: A Science-Fiction Thriller
- By:
- Douglas E. Richards
- Pages:
- 420
- Rating:
- 4
The gripping near-future thriller by the author whose books have sold more than three million copies.
Oliver Scott’s technology breakthroughs are revolutionary. But he’s hiding a devastating truth . . .
Oliver Scott is the reclusive genius and trillionaire behind countless world-changing breakthroughs. But how does he innovate at such a furious pace? And while most hail him as a savior, what if he’s actually the most dangerous tyrant humanity has ever seen? A man who will stop at nothing to gain absolute power.
Liam Dunne is an elite American operative enhanced with next-level technology, including a prototype supercomputer implanted in his brain. When an encrypted data file is transmitted into this implant, Liam is thrust into a battle for the very soul of humanity. Because the file holds the key to unlocking the mystery of Oliver Scott—and stopping a nightmarish future.
As Liam and the woman he loves race to unravel the truth, they become the targets of a lethal manhunt initiated by the ruthless trillionaire. If they can survive long enough to access the enigmatic file, they can lift humanity to unimaginable heights.
But they’re facing impossible odds. And time is running out . . .
The Breakthrough Effect is a propulsive, action-packed thriller with big ideas, mind-blowing technologies, and twists and turns you won’t see coming. The novel explores such profound concepts as immortality, supercomputer implants, whole brain emulation, and virtual reality, along with nothing less than the nature of the universe—and the meaning of existence.
EHO’s become a staple of Doug’s latter work and I really enjoyed the recruitment here. Things got a bit higgledy-piggledy when we started going all uber fast mental time and optical computers hosting people rather than AIs. The Genesis of these ideas has been present in other works and it’s quite strong here.
The final reveal is masterfully done, if a touch obvious to a long-time Doug fan, and this is another fabulous entry in his chronicles.