Review of Pulse: Book One

[Timothy Rucinski]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Pulse: Book One" by B.A. Bellec.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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If you choose to read B. A. Bellec’s Pulse: Book One, and I hope you do, you might want to brew a pot of tea, put your feet up, and settle in for a few hours. Once you start reading this fantastic book, you will be hard-pressed to hop out of your comfy chair and go about your day. Pulse is one of the best science fiction/horror books I have ever read. That's no small praise from someone who has digested this type of fiction for over sixty years. It’s a nail-biter of the highest caliber.

Set in the not-too-distant future, Pulse features a world in which corporations have taken over the population's mindset and infiltrated the government. The principal corporate player is Pulse, an organization dedicated to pioneering technological advances, including manufacturing replacement body parts. However, because of Pulse’s callous research and development practices, pollution has decimated the environment. As a result, climate change has spiraled out of control. Wildfires, for example, have destroyed the west coast of the United States. In Bellec's dystopian nightmare, civilization is poised for toxic destruction, a fate Pulse and the government keep secret from the general population.

Anti-Pulse activists are prophesying the impending doom, but their warnings are no match for Pulse's marketing monolith. Reminiscent of today’s political climate, people's beliefs are tethered to their desires, despite facts and the truth staring them in the face. To paraphrase Paul Simon, people hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest. Pulse's products meet everyone's needs, so everyone is happy, while the company’s deep, dark secrets are kept from consumers. As the author writes early in the book describing Pietro, one of the Anti-P(ulse) activists determined to bring down the corporate giant, “It’s just the way the system is rigged, and Pietro hates that power, control, and greed are more important than truth.”

Pulse is chockful of marvelous characters, some good, some evil, and many simply oblivious to what's happening around them. Alan Sharpe and his son Mark run the Pulse company, each committed, in their own way, to worldwide corporate dominance. The Sharpes weave a web of collusion with other sub-contractors and politicians extending to the White House. But are they the ones in control? Who is the Man in Black? Who is Magnus? And what is so special about the young woman, Amber?

Many more characters grace the book's pages, several who make it to the final chapter, many who do not. E and Fasp are police officers determined to uncover sudden, tragic deaths around the city, assisted by mega-nerds Fytchy and Trezor. Steven, a traditional journalist, assigned to cover PulseFest, the most awaited music festival of the decade, becomes caught up in the horrific outbreak of events wrought by Pulse. Eric, a one-time partner of Mark Sharpe, finds himself in a situation to potentially rectify many of the evils that resulted from his early work on Pulse's omnipresent operating system.

Bellec creates a scenario that gripped me from page one and dragged me by the scruff of the neck at a pace so fast that I thought I would collapse before I got to the end. He bounces back and forth between past and present, successfully establishing the premise of the story and character backgrounds. What I liked most about the book was the author’s ability to scare the snot out of me. This type of fright doesn't happen very often. The story is terrifying because every instance is plausible and highly possible. For example, the author takes the power of social media several steps forward and demonstrates, quite realistically, how it can destroy the lives of people who cannot live without it once human connections to technology are severed. The novel is an excellent commentary on today’s civilization with its corruption, misguided power, and unchecked avarice. There wasn’t a thing about Pulse that I disliked.

Anyone apprehensive about climate change, government ineffectiveness, corporate greed, the ill effects of social media, and technological innovation will enjoy Pulse. Sci-fi fans will like Bellec's portrayal of an apocalyptic future, and horror fans, especially devotees of authors such as Justin Cronin, will appreciate what happens when human DNA is jeopardized by human misconduct. Pulse has its portion of violence and gore, so it may not be for the weak-hearted. However, the novel is professionally edited with only a few minor errors.

Mr. Bellec deserves a perfect 4 out of 4 stars for this remarkable novel. Pulse: Book One, as the title suggests, is the first book in the series, and I will be first in line to purchase the second book as soon as it hits the Kindle world.

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Pulse: Book One
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[Kenesha Latoya Fowler]

I don't read horror, at all. But gosh if I wasn't tempted after that opening paragraph! But then you go and say this...:

Bellec creates a scenario that gripped me from page one and dragged me by the scruff of the neck at a pace so fast that I thought I would collapse before I got to the end. He bounces back and forth between past and present, successfully establishing the premise of the story and character backgrounds. What I liked most about the book was the author’s ability to scare the snot out of me. This type of fright doesn't happen very often. The story is terrifying because every instance is plausible and highly possible.

...and I don't know if I'm brave enough. I can't say that I will check this book out, but I thoroughly enjoyed your review. Great job!

[Timothy Rucinski]

Hey thanks so much!!