Government Project

Robert Kelley

Computer programmer Tom Chambers thought he was developing one section of a program for a genetic engineering project. Upon testing, the project turns out to be a weapons system for the government. Mild-mannered Tom realizes his country is in jeopardy if all the disks end up in the wrong hands.

Tom's wife Mary is a mother/bored housewife who longs for adventures beyond carpool and laundry. It doesn't take long before she gets her wish - Tom steals the disk and transforms overnight into a fugitive bringing his unsuspecting wife on the adventure of a lifetime.

The computer program created by Tom Chambers turns out to be more of a threat to the safety of the United States than Tom realized. The program now is in the hands of the military and it is up to Tom and his wife Mary to retrieve the disk.

In the process, Tom and Mary run into danger from sources within the U.S. Government and, to Tom's surprise, other interested parties.

Review by Victim (151003) Rating (7/10)

Review by Victim
The story is of a Computer Programmer who is working on a project that he believes is related to Genetic Modification, to engineer superior humans, but having not seen most of the code, he doesn't know what it is actually for. When he discovers that it is actually for a new super weapon, he balks at the idea and removes all of the data for the project, sadly the project is more widely known than he realises, thus putting himself and his associates in great danger.

The plot is good, the characters pretty well written, and it flows quite nicely. However, the proof reading detracts somewhat from the overall quality. In parts it appears a little disjointed, almost as if a page were missing, I don't know for sure. It took a few pages to get used to some of the formatting of the text, and there were some continuity errors.

Having said that, I really enjoyed it! The pace was very good, racing along, the 'Goodies' were all likeable, and I found myself feeling for them, the 'Baddies' were despicable and evil, if a little two dimensional. Basically what you want in a good baddie! The descriptions of the gross bits seemed fairly tame, compared with some that I have read (Hutson, Herbert, etc) but perfectly adequate.

I am reminded slightly of Desmond Bagley with this, the style seems to be heading in that direction. I would definitely keep am eye out for this guy again...
Victim (15th October 2003)