Title: The Amherst Protocol
Author: Richard Whitney
Publisher: PageTurner, Press and Media
ISBN: 978-1643765020
Genre: Science & Technology Teaching Materials
Pages: 320
Reviewed by: Anthony Avina
Hollywood Book Reviews
Something that has started to take over the Internet in recent years, or at least grow exponentially thanks to the Internet, is the concept of conspiracies. From large government and business conspiracies to grand universal conspiracies and everything in between, conspiracies keep the mind focused and forces us to question everything we thought we knew. As Frederick Douglass once said, “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”
In author Richard Whitney’s The Amherst Protocol, Clayton Tucker and Brian Singh find themselves pushed further and further into a conspiracy neither of them could have seen coming. After seeking to cover the anniversary of the first successful human heart transplant using a cloned heart in 1967, Tucker discovers that Pontiac Pharmaceuticals has begun development of immunological research to find the cause of rejection during the original transplant phase. However, their research into the company soon unveils a military connection, and the threat of a possible biological weapon puts the two men on the radar of some dangerous individuals.
The author drives readers headfirst into the action immediately from the novel’s beginning. With the secondary characters scrambling to understand what has happened to Tucker and Singh and the events that led them there to begin with, the novel showcases what happens when two men fight to uncover the truth and what those who hide in the shadows are willing to do to maintain their secrecy. The novel’s core strength comes in the author’s character growth however, as early on the author introduces a vast cast of characters, each getting time to evolve and grow as the dangers pile on throughout the narrative.
This is the perfect read for those who enjoy scientific research and experimentation, science-fiction and complex webs of conspiracy which leave the reader desperate to untangle the mystery for themselves. As a fan of thrillers and mysteries, (as well as sci-fi), the novel really jumped out at me. The way the author started the narrative ahead of the main plot’s timeline and then fluently wove the past and the present together made this story rich and inviting, a sign of mastery from the author as they built up the tension and mystery progressively throughout the narrative.
An entertaining, expertly crafted and evenly-paced read, author Richard Whitney’s The Amherst Protocol is a must-read sci-fi thriller. The blend of governmental conspiracy and biological development made this story a standout amongst the rest of the narratives within the genres, and readers won’t be able to put the book down as the climatic conclusion finally arrives.