Official Review: Dawn of Methuselah by SC Turner
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Courtney Whittamore
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Official Review: Dawn of Methuselah by SC Turner
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dawn of Methuselah" by SC Turner.]
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Imagine a world in which the pursuit of immortality ironically brings about the deconstruction of an entire nation. Picture a world where, the persistence of scientific discovery to prolong life only deteriorates it. In this future world, the efforts to perpetuate new societies only revert our social structure to its darkest days, bringing to light the oldest and most salacious of skeletons that humanity has died trying to keep in the closet. It also beings about the presence of paranormal beings, whose sole purpose is to seek the demise of the human race, when the goal that was sought was to elevate the human race to that of eternal existence, therefore making themselves the superior being. But as these paranormal entities arrive, whether created or summoned, it is realized among the mortal is the truth that this is what they shall forever remain, simply mortal, and that is if their lives are spared.
In SC Turner’s debut novel, she creates this world: a dystopian future full of irony. Turner blends the genre of dystopia and paranormal, setting the story in a future that is in the process of imploding worldwide and developing characters that contain supernatural qualities, each distinctly their own. As each character is developed and discovers truths and actualizations about the society in which they live and the ways in which it is attempting to be bent, those truths are challenged and ultimately changed, but never as the outcome in which they had predicted. This book is incredibly in depth, creating multiple characters that are delved into with great detail and arc, allowing for the story to take multiple twists and turns that create and entire universe that would have been impossible with the absence of even one of her characters.
Turner’s book is deconstructed into several parts, each focusing on a specific character at a time, but intertwining the stories so that you are aware of the time in which these character’s space is relevant, and developing a very thrilling thread in which you are curious to watch unravel. Each character begins as a very likely sort; each person is someone whom you could very easily run into on the street or even be able to draw comparison to someone residing in your actual world. These characters are full of humanity and real problems that make them identifiable to the reader, which is very important as eventually, each character is chipped away at by the extraordinary circumstances around them, leaving only remnants behind of what they once were. However, even in these troubling and terrifying transformations, you are still left able to identify with each character, because even though what remains lacks the kind of humanity we all wish we could say was the only kind that exists, it highlights the kind of humanity we all know we are capable of, which to simply say is the need to defend our existence, and make it worth something monumental to someone outside of ourselves.
The story revolves around the idea and search for immortality as sponsored by and incorporation called Arlington International. Throughout the story, modern government has fallen world-wide, new and heinous laws are placed into effect, and large incorporations have in their pocket and on their payroll anyone of importance, which of course includes all forms of law enforcement, all the way to the White House. Arlington International’s CEO, Robin Alexander, has commissioned a private and very illegal excavation of a Turkish dig, in search of some mysterious tablets that are rumored to exist at this location. At the discovery of these tablets, it is soon discovered that they hold what is presumed to be the key to an elixir for immortality, explaining the longevity of lives like that of the biblical figure Methuselah. Alexander uses the cover of his monopolizing incorporation to hire a team of experts to decipher and deliberate over these tablets, and begin scientific experiments in order to recreate the elixir that holds the power of immortality.
Aptly named the Methuselah Project, it is rapidly discovered upon experimentation on many different species of animals, that this potion was not working correctly, and surmised that perhaps the effects were failing because it was only meant for human DNA. It was then decided that they must use human test subjects in order to definitively discover the true ramifications of this ancient information. Just as a large incorporation would do in the name of saving time and cutting corners and costs, they decided to test this potion in the form of a gas on none other than the employees of Arlington International. Further, it was to be done without their knowledge. During the exposure period, gas was released into a specific elevator located in Arlington International’s headquarters, to what they observed was thirty four different individuals. However what they did not notice was that two of the subjects, John, an employee of the company and Amy, his adolescent daughter, re-entered the elevator only moments after their first trip, receiving twice the dose everyone else received. Of the test subjects, all but two died. Those two were John and Amy. But as they only presented as individuals who were highly resilient to a deadly disease and were deemed ineffectual due to their severe illness, they were not kept under surveillance. John was even released from his station because his illness progressed to the point where he was no longer able to perform his duties and was relegated to a menial job in which he could barely hold.
The events that take place from here take on the form of the supernatural. These events set into motion such catastrophic and unimaginable scenarios that you are left on the edge of your seat in wonderment. Each portion of the book takes on its own feel. It’s as if Dracula, The Birds, Frankenstein the Omen and The Exorcism were all blended together to make one cohesive story line, and it all makes perfect sense. Each portion contributes to a different facet of the story, and yet the common theme is always served. There characters are so beautifully developed and complete, yet there are still so many questions left to be answered in the books to come. There were many instances in which I gasped at the outcome these characters arrived to. Turner is a bold writer who isn't afraid to make even the most garish of choices where her characters are concerned. In her writing she addresses many a social taboo and pulls each off perfectly, often leaving you with a chill down your spine, a lump in your throat an need to sleep with the lights on, all of which are the signs of a well executed thriller.
The imagination demonstrated in this work is genius. The ideas and creativity are so well represented, and it is very refreshing to see an original work being presented as opposed to just another dystopian or paranormal YA book about a strong female lead. This book has such amazing potential that should be paid attention to and respected. However the beginning of the story started out a little clunky, and was difficult to follow at times. As the book progressed it seemed as though Turner found her stride and confidence and the ideas were flowing at a more fluid rate. If the beginning of the book were slightly reworked and had the smoothness that the majority of the book did, it would greatly improve its strength as solid piece of work. Also Turner had many, many grammatical issues, mostly with deviation of tense. In the same sentence were verbs of past and present tense, and this continued throughout the entire book. I personally found that when the author was continuously writing in the past tense, I was able to lose myself in the realm of the world that she created, but when it was abruptly and often changed to be written in the present tense, I was yanked from my role as a spectator inside her world and was now aware that I was an outsider trying to keep up with the events that were taking place. There were also several sentence clauses that I felt should have been reversed and more than a dozen spelling mistakes. If you are sending your book out for reviews, then you are undoubtedly sending it out for publication, and there is no excuse for such easy grammatical fixes. The story is so wonderful that I was frustrated over these issues. This story has the potential to be a best seller, but with these issues it will be relegated to the bargain bin.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. It would have been 4 out of 4 were it not for the perpetual tense discrepancy. When you are a writer there is no excuse for simple mistakes like this, especially when the story is as original and page turning as this is. I read this book in one day and shirked all of my real life responsibilities simply to read this book, even with the errors. Imagine how great it would be without these issues. There is always value in having and excellent editor, and I feel as if that is exactly what this book needs. After that is addressed, I feel that this book will be unstoppable.
***
Buy "Dawn of Methuselah" on Amazon
Share This Review
In SC Turner’s debut novel, she creates this world: a dystopian future full of irony. Turner blends the genre of dystopia and paranormal, setting the story in a future that is in the process of imploding worldwide and developing characters that contain supernatural qualities, each distinctly their own. As each character is developed and discovers truths and actualizations about the society in which they live and the ways in which it is attempting to be bent, those truths are challenged and ultimately changed, but never as the outcome in which they had predicted. This book is incredibly in depth, creating multiple characters that are delved into with great detail and arc, allowing for the story to take multiple twists and turns that create and entire universe that would have been impossible with the absence of even one of her characters.
Turner’s book is deconstructed into several parts, each focusing on a specific character at a time, but intertwining the stories so that you are aware of the time in which these character’s space is relevant, and developing a very thrilling thread in which you are curious to watch unravel. Each character begins as a very likely sort; each person is someone whom you could very easily run into on the street or even be able to draw comparison to someone residing in your actual world. These characters are full of humanity and real problems that make them identifiable to the reader, which is very important as eventually, each character is chipped away at by the extraordinary circumstances around them, leaving only remnants behind of what they once were. However, even in these troubling and terrifying transformations, you are still left able to identify with each character, because even though what remains lacks the kind of humanity we all wish we could say was the only kind that exists, it highlights the kind of humanity we all know we are capable of, which to simply say is the need to defend our existence, and make it worth something monumental to someone outside of ourselves.
The story revolves around the idea and search for immortality as sponsored by and incorporation called Arlington International. Throughout the story, modern government has fallen world-wide, new and heinous laws are placed into effect, and large incorporations have in their pocket and on their payroll anyone of importance, which of course includes all forms of law enforcement, all the way to the White House. Arlington International’s CEO, Robin Alexander, has commissioned a private and very illegal excavation of a Turkish dig, in search of some mysterious tablets that are rumored to exist at this location. At the discovery of these tablets, it is soon discovered that they hold what is presumed to be the key to an elixir for immortality, explaining the longevity of lives like that of the biblical figure Methuselah. Alexander uses the cover of his monopolizing incorporation to hire a team of experts to decipher and deliberate over these tablets, and begin scientific experiments in order to recreate the elixir that holds the power of immortality.
Aptly named the Methuselah Project, it is rapidly discovered upon experimentation on many different species of animals, that this potion was not working correctly, and surmised that perhaps the effects were failing because it was only meant for human DNA. It was then decided that they must use human test subjects in order to definitively discover the true ramifications of this ancient information. Just as a large incorporation would do in the name of saving time and cutting corners and costs, they decided to test this potion in the form of a gas on none other than the employees of Arlington International. Further, it was to be done without their knowledge. During the exposure period, gas was released into a specific elevator located in Arlington International’s headquarters, to what they observed was thirty four different individuals. However what they did not notice was that two of the subjects, John, an employee of the company and Amy, his adolescent daughter, re-entered the elevator only moments after their first trip, receiving twice the dose everyone else received. Of the test subjects, all but two died. Those two were John and Amy. But as they only presented as individuals who were highly resilient to a deadly disease and were deemed ineffectual due to their severe illness, they were not kept under surveillance. John was even released from his station because his illness progressed to the point where he was no longer able to perform his duties and was relegated to a menial job in which he could barely hold.
The events that take place from here take on the form of the supernatural. These events set into motion such catastrophic and unimaginable scenarios that you are left on the edge of your seat in wonderment. Each portion of the book takes on its own feel. It’s as if Dracula, The Birds, Frankenstein the Omen and The Exorcism were all blended together to make one cohesive story line, and it all makes perfect sense. Each portion contributes to a different facet of the story, and yet the common theme is always served. There characters are so beautifully developed and complete, yet there are still so many questions left to be answered in the books to come. There were many instances in which I gasped at the outcome these characters arrived to. Turner is a bold writer who isn't afraid to make even the most garish of choices where her characters are concerned. In her writing she addresses many a social taboo and pulls each off perfectly, often leaving you with a chill down your spine, a lump in your throat an need to sleep with the lights on, all of which are the signs of a well executed thriller.
The imagination demonstrated in this work is genius. The ideas and creativity are so well represented, and it is very refreshing to see an original work being presented as opposed to just another dystopian or paranormal YA book about a strong female lead. This book has such amazing potential that should be paid attention to and respected. However the beginning of the story started out a little clunky, and was difficult to follow at times. As the book progressed it seemed as though Turner found her stride and confidence and the ideas were flowing at a more fluid rate. If the beginning of the book were slightly reworked and had the smoothness that the majority of the book did, it would greatly improve its strength as solid piece of work. Also Turner had many, many grammatical issues, mostly with deviation of tense. In the same sentence were verbs of past and present tense, and this continued throughout the entire book. I personally found that when the author was continuously writing in the past tense, I was able to lose myself in the realm of the world that she created, but when it was abruptly and often changed to be written in the present tense, I was yanked from my role as a spectator inside her world and was now aware that I was an outsider trying to keep up with the events that were taking place. There were also several sentence clauses that I felt should have been reversed and more than a dozen spelling mistakes. If you are sending your book out for reviews, then you are undoubtedly sending it out for publication, and there is no excuse for such easy grammatical fixes. The story is so wonderful that I was frustrated over these issues. This story has the potential to be a best seller, but with these issues it will be relegated to the bargain bin.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. It would have been 4 out of 4 were it not for the perpetual tense discrepancy. When you are a writer there is no excuse for simple mistakes like this, especially when the story is as original and page turning as this is. I read this book in one day and shirked all of my real life responsibilities simply to read this book, even with the errors. Imagine how great it would be without these issues. There is always value in having and excellent editor, and I feel as if that is exactly what this book needs. After that is addressed, I feel that this book will be unstoppable.
***
Buy "Dawn of Methuselah" on Amazon
Latest Review: "The Farewell Season" by Ann Herrick
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SCTurner
- Posts: 9
- Joined: 18 Sep 2014, 14:12
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Thank you so much! This is what I was looking for, honest and constructive criticism. Sharing this with friends and family wasn't enough as they were more surprised that I was able to write in the first place and gave me accolades for that alone.
Rookie mistake, as it was more important for me to get this out there and be satisfied that it is published. I failed to proof-read enough, something that I will not allow to happen again.
Once again thank you so much!
Rookie mistake, as it was more important for me to get this out there and be satisfied that it is published. I failed to proof-read enough, something that I will not allow to happen again.
Once again thank you so much!
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SCTurner
- Posts: 9
- Joined: 18 Sep 2014, 14:12
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Oh, by the way, I am a man, lol. Yes, my friends are picking on me now 
