Copyright © Thomas Roberts. All Rights Reserved.
Science Fiction or Science Fact?, May 14, 2009
By G. Reba (Panama City, FL) -
"The Five" by Thomas Roberts is a fast paced science fiction thriller that will have you speed reading in no time! From page one, you are drawn into the story, experiencing the moments of triumph as well as trepidation. The tale begins in a highly action quenched sequence...Zane and Abby are trying to escape the clutches of "bounty hunters" with their young son Jimmy. While attempting to scale a high cliff, Abby is thrown to her doom on the rocks below. Both Zane and Jimmy manage to escape...or do they? Flashback nearly 20 years to find a younger couple, minus Jimmy, toasting the news of successfully commandeering two jobs at the up and coming Neuraldine facility. The founder of this company is one Devon Aldine. He personally makes the job offer that they are only to enthusiastic to accept. The purpose of the company is to develop new ways of training the youth of tomorrow. Imagine, if you will, a world where children do not need to go to school for 12+ years to be well educated. Instead, as infants, they are fed the data through electronic stimuli with a form of binary code. In a matter of 3 or 4 years, the children would be the embodiment of all known knowledge of today and be processing changes for the future at faster rates than we have ever seen. Such is the task of project five. Five children are cut off from the outside world and plunged into this research experiment. They are of varying races and backgrounds, allowing for a proper testing group to be known as The Five. Everything seems to be going quite smoothly. But as the old saying goes, knowledge is power....so what if you have seemingly ALL knowledge? The "unintended consequences" of the good science practiced comes to pass with EXPLOSIVE results. I'd say more, but alas...you really need to read this one for yourself!
Although listed as science fiction, I believe it to be highly enjoyable to even those not usually drawn to the genre. Typically this classification brings to mind aliens and monsters from outer space...you get my meaning. The writing style in this book is very reminiscent of great authors that we know today. Take the late great Michael Crichton. Two of his works, Jurassic Park and the Lost World, both explore scientific advancements that may not be that far away on the horizon. Both the story and technical aspects were sound and thoroughly explained. Author Thomas Roberts accomplishes this within his work as well. I look forward to seeing more from this emerging talent. For more information on the author, visit fivethebook.com. Happy reading...
EzineArticles Book Reviews
This Would Make a Great Movie!
By Tiffany Craig
This is a review of the book: The Five: The Law of Unintended Consequences. It is written by Thomas Roberts. I typically do not enjoy anything related to science fiction, but "The Five" has swayed me. It is not your ordinary science fiction thriller as I felt personally involved in the book.
I was so engrossed and could not wait to experience the turn of events involving Abby, Zane and their son Jimmy. Will they all escape the bounty hunters? Will they survive the jump off a high, steep cliff? I could not help but quickly turn the pages of the book to find the answers to these questions. And, this was just the beginning of the story.
I could not dare to imagine that the book would sustain its air of mystery and adventure, but it most certainly does. This book examines what would happen in the future as it is placed in the hands of "The Five." The Five consist of young children of various races, ethnicities and genders. This book poses the question of what if children were "implanted" with knowledge at a young age instead of having to go to school and complete either high school nor college.
It is them against the world and without giving away the juicy plot, "The Five" seem to be in charge. How would we handle a group of young children that are far more intelligent than us but have a very dark, evil side to them? This book dares to venture into those questions. I would highly recommend this book to others even if they are not fans of the science fiction genre.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Neural Explosion!, May 15, 2009
Beware, even the noblest of mans intentions may be fraught with disaster. In this case a group of scientists set about to see if they can input data directly into the brain of five children with learning disabilities. Their hopes were that this would give them a chance to lead normal lives. What they create are super intelligent human beings without social morals. The Five, as the children are called set out to take over the world and do so by setting off a series of bombs and viruses, which in turn take millions of lives in the process.
The two sides in this war are The Five against world and it does not look good for the world. That is until Kitchi Manitou steps in and makes Ben Barboncito a major player. Through Ben, Kitchi starts to change the playing field and the tide begins to turn.
I have very little doubt that in the future we will be learning by taking data directly into the brain. I do hope that we look at all the possible consequences before we do so. If we do not, we may end up with the master slave scenario that this book warns us about.
Intriguing MUST Read, June 2, 2009
The Five is a magnificent storyline with five babies that are to be used in a new technique. This new technique will let children learn at a much quicker rate; less than three years instead of the traditional twelve years of schooling. It is looked at as doing GOOD for the education system. So many children are diagnosed with autism, ADD, and a lot of other learning disabilities. It is hoped that medication will come to an end and education will cure these affected children. (As a parent of a 10-year-old son with ADD with learning disabilities and an 8 year old son who is a twin with ADHD and learning disabilities this book was of interest to me even if it is Sci-Fi.)
The five babies used are numbered instead of named: 1: a white male with Down Syndrome, 2: white male, 3: white female, 4: Hispanic male and 5: black female.
The learning part of the brain is the only part that is thought to be affected. What was not predicted was that the The Five would turn into pure nightmares that can even murder people.
The author,Thomas Roberts, really wrote an intriguing book on what can happen in the future if science messes with humans. This Sci-Fi book would make an excellent film. The book keeps you on your seat, turning pages, waiting to see what will happen next.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, even those that are not into Sci-Fi books.
Futuristic or Science Fiction?, June 9, 2009
The Five: The Law of Unintended Consequences by Thomas Roberts starts out action packed and flashbacks give you the history of the characters: Zane, Abby and Jimmy. Fast paced science fiction thriller that draws you into the story line from the very beginning. Running from bounty hunters with a tragic ending at the beginning for Abby gets and keeps your attention. But then the author takes you back to the beginning of this tale and explains how Abby and Zane met and got involved with Neuraldine facility whose founder is Devon Aldine. The institute uses a new technique to input data into the brains of 5 babies of different races and backgrounds ("The Five") to make it possible for them to learn quickly even though they have learning disabilities. As in many experiments where the results seem too good to be true there are consequences to this experiment. Even though the children become super intelligent, these children have a dark side and now the world has to deal with the results of this experiment.
I do not normally like science fiction stories and they are not usually the type of book I read but this one is different. It does not feel like your usual science fiction story and more like a futurist novel. It is appealing enough to have a hard time putting the book down. Well worth the read.
Great Read, June 10, 2009
Wow! You will begin this book and not want to put it down into you get to the last page. Thomas Roberts has created a mesmerizing novel that had me questioning, wondering and reading in disbelief. It is classified as a science fiction work, but his ideas are very believable and I could see the story being possible in our future.
The story revolves around an experiment. Five babies will be injected with knowledge over 3 years instead of learning in the traditional way. These children will be of different races and genders and will have learning disabilities. What happens to these children will have you turning pages as fast as you can read them. From the very start of the book, Roberts has action packed scenes and he keeps the pace throughout. You will not be disappointed.
By Nicole Leon
(REAL NAME)
The Five: The Law of Unintended Consequences by Thomas Roberts was a great book that was enjoyable to read. I enjoy reading science fiction novels and this book was right up with other best seller books and I see this book right up with those books. I found this book hard to put down and it was a definite page turner. Within the first pages of the book action began instantly with a devastating event between Zane and Abby both trying to escape the clutches of bounty hunters chasing after them. I look forward to reading more of the author's books.
An exciting science fiction thriller., June 9, 2009
By Lonna H. (Chesapeake, Va) - See all my reviews
The Five is an intense page turner that pulls the reader in and doesn't let go. The Neuraldine Corporation tries to enhance the lives of 5 babies (dubbed "The Five") through a new procedure using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). This technology allows them to input data directly into the brains of these five. They are successful in making these learning disabled children super intelligent. However, there is a price to pay for meddling with nature when these children begin to wreak havoc on the world.
I look forward to reading more from Thomas Roberts
By T. M. Craig (Ohio)
I typically do not enjoy anything related to science fiction, but "The Five" has swayed me. It is not your ordinary science fiction thriller as I felt personally involved in the book. I was so engrossed and could not wait to experience the turn of events involving Abby and Zane. I would highly recommend this book to others even if they are not fans of the science fiction genre.
Good Read, July 2, 2009
By www.bookshipper.blogspot.com/ "www.bookshippe... (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
I like this type of science-fiction - using the premise of "mind" experiences to see how people react. Of course, the other part of me was cringing - using little babies to test their experiments on - just disgusting. However, the plot of this book is extremely interesting and author Thomas Roberts does a very good job of making his plotline suspensful and it moves along at a great pace.
He actually also did a good job of presenting his characters Zane and Abby very well and I felt myself invested in what happened to them - so all of this kept me reading and interested.
What I had a very difficult time with was the actual writing. It felt incredibly stilted to me and at times, the author used way, way too many descriptive words to get his point across. This took away greatly from the storyline for me.
The Five
The Law of Unintended Consequences
By Thomas Roberts
What do you get when you mix power-hungry scientists, high-powered government officials and innocent children?
Find out in Thomas Roberts’ new riveting novel, The Five.
Set in the year 2020, The Five is a compelling, prophetic sci-fi novel where scientists use electrodes to feed educational data into babies’ brains as a means of controlling their development. But children grow up. Now who’s in control?
Centered on a father and son; a group of scientists; a wise, old Indian spirit guide; and of course, ‘The Five’, Roberts’ intricate plot draws you into a corporate scientific experiment hidden away in the cold, crisp mountains of Colorado. What, at first, seems to be beneficial progress in child education morphs into a power struggle that reaches worldwide proportions. Using skillfully employed flashbacks, Roberts tells a tale of scientific intrigue, domination and destruction that keeps you guessing until the last page. Although at times the detailed scientific explanations and techno-speak distract from the main story, Roberts well-crafted plot navigates you through the delicate terrain between science and civilization. If you’re ready to question the value of science versus the need for humanity, The Five is the book for you.
For more information on Thomas Roberts and The Five, please visit
www.fivethebook.com
©2009 Gioya McRae, Author of From Pen to Prose
