Arcadian Genesis by Greig Beck

Alex Hunter – in the mission that turned him from a normal man into the weapon
known as the Arcadian – and the elite team of soldiers known as the Hotzone
All-Forces Warfare Commandos must enter a hostile country to rescue a defected
Chechen researcher from the center of a country at war.

But the HAWCs are not the only ones looking for the rogue scientist and the
mysterious package he carries with him. A brutal and relentless killer and his
death squad are on the trail too – and they bring a savagery with them that
Hunter and his team have never witnessed before in modern warfare.

The HAWC team must race the clock to rescue the scientist,
prevent the package from falling into the wrong hands … and save the world from
a horror that should never have been woken.

My thoughts: I had not read any of the author’s books before reading this one, so I was kind of worried about plunging into this new world that I didn’t know anything about. But that shouldn’t be a problem, because this book is a prequel to the rest of his books and so it explains pretty much everything anyway, and serves as a great introduction to the author. It was a novella and though not perfect, it was quite good. 

There were a lot of things I liked about the book: The pace of the book is fast and I was involved in it entirely right from the first page. It is a short book and a lot happens very quickly, which is what makes it the kind of book that should be read in one sitting and with minimum distractions, like I did. The story is a great combination of mystery and action. I am normally not the biggest fan of thrillers, but this one is gory and chilling to the core. The character development is pretty great for a book this size and the world created is one of a kind.

The thing I didn’t like the most was that the book is very short, and for people who aren’t already acquainted with the author, it isn’t quite enough. For the author’s fans, a prequel must be a unique treat! But for me, it was more of an introduction or a prologue than a complete story in itself. As a standalone, the book is a considerably okay read, the kind that I would read while travelling, or in waiting rooms, to while away time. And still, I loved the author’s writing style, the theme, the idea of such a world and such a lead character. I guess the reason I enjoyed the book so much is that it seems like a promising series and I would certainly love to read the other books.

I can’t say for sure if everyone would like this book, but I would definitely recommend thriller, mystery and action genre lovers to try this author! If you like the sound of this book, go ahead and grab your copy from right here.