The latest Tim Heath stand-alone thriller!
Store Link:
eBooks:
Amazon (One Link, All Locations)
https://geni.us/The26thProtocol
This title is FREE to read in Kindle Unlimited (click the link for a 30-day FREE trial)
Paperbacks:
Each book is beautifully crafted and printed on-demand, meaning you get the last edition every single time. All my paperbacks now come in two formats; regular and LARGE print.
Regular: https://geni.us/The26thPaperback
LARGE print: https://geni.us/The26thLargePrint
NEW OPTION Hardcover: https://geni.us/The26thP-Hardcover
Release Date: 17th February 2021
Publisher: HCP
A brilliant and believable dystopia, a 21st-century version of 1984 or Gilead from The Handmaid's Tale.
What if life had a use-by date?
A New World Council runs the planet, a perfect world in their view, where everyone and everything has a time and place––even death.
Blythe Harrell is a man very much on the inside of the system––but the more he sees, the more broken he understands things to be. Yet to challenge anything is to challenge it all. Even his own place at the very top.
Through medical advances, most life-threatening diseases have been defeated. Yet underlying the whole system, a human cancer grows.
When he discovers his wife is expecting, their unborn child carrying one of the last incurable diseases––a death sentence to most––he’s forced to confront the truth about the world around him.
Praise for the book:
★★★★★ “I really enjoyed this dystopian. It's an interesting take on the evolution of humanity, especially considering the pandemic we are currently facing. Pre-programmed life spans proclaiming equality for all, guaranteed employment and a huge retirement package… What could possibly be wring with that? As ever, this book is beautifully crafted. Great character and world building. Lots of different characters who seem to have nothing to do with each other are gradually brought together in an intricate way. Gripping and intriguing this is a fabulous read.“
★★★★★ “Interesting read on a futuristic world that has cured many of the woes of the world. What they haven’t resolved is the people being divided into different classes. As Blythe makes the journey to resolving the class divide, it is an interesting view into the psyche of the human race. Enjoyable all the way to the finish, in a genre I spend little time reading.”
★★★★★ WOW! “I normally shy away from dystopian thrillers. However, Tim Heath is one of my favourite authors, so I decided to give this book a read. I am very happy that I did.
Tim is a masterful storyteller. The book is set in the near future (maybe even 2096). There are multiple threads created, each of which develops a character or two and adds to the growing world-view. The threads are woven into a fabric that shows the utopian world is rotten at its core and follows the various protagonists as they come together (unexpectedly) to move toward the ultimate outcome of the story.
The work-view is sometimes graphic and sometimes unsettling. One thread brought to mind the gas chambers of the Holocaust.
This is Tim's first book in this genre and it proves that he can write a great story in many genres.”
★★★★★ Another great novel by Tim. “I wasn't sure I'd enjoy a futuristic novel, but Tim's writing is as gripping as ever and the story had me hooked immediately. So many unexpected twists and turns, full of suspense right to the end, I couldn't put it down. Tim has become such a diverse writer, his writing just gets better.”
★★★★★ Brilliant book. “This was a very different book to Tims usual books but just as good as usual. I have read most of his books and this i up with his others. it is a very thought provoking read and i would urge everyone to read it. it is very futuristic and plausable. I would urge everyone to read it. Brilliant could not put it down.“
★★★★★ If you only buy one book this year…. “If you like dystopian novels, or even if you don’t, you have to read this story from Tim Heath, the author of The Hunt series and others. This is a stand-alone story set in a very plausible future in which the state decides the individual’s station in life, for example, by coding babies with their end-of-life date. But instead of mimicking Logan’s Run or Soylent Green, Tim’s world offers the individual a job for life with huge rewards for their final year. It sounds a perfect world as it addresses problems like over-population, poverty, food resources and so on; but if it is so perfect, why are there catastrophic accidents like plane crashes that kill all on board?
I found myself guessing the next scene or the plot, only for Tim to blindside me and take me on another direction. Later on, I thought I had the plot down tight, but again, Tim threw in another angle I hadn’t considered. Tim’s writing is original, his style is unique and his stories are always engrossing and engaging. I found it hard to put this one down, and hope you find the same. Buy it – you won’t be disappointed.”
★★★★★ A fantastic read. “Tim's done it again. Another fantastic story, yet so different to his usual. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.”
★★★★★ Brilliant! “📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚 A New World Council runs the planet, a perfect world in their view, where everyone and everything has a time and place – even death.
This was very much a ‘stay up late to finish’ read for me. I was up until just past midnight and read this in one day. Brilliant.
I love dystopia anyhow, but with Tim Heath’s thriller twist to it, there was just all the extra layers of the genres I adore.
I think one of the authors best assets as far as writing goes, is his ability to introduce many characters, develop them all, intertwine them all within the story and still not confuse the reader.
I did stop to ask myself if, in reality, there would be many people that would be happy to be assigned their date of death in exchange for a world without disease….
There’s so much to this story, and with Tim’s flavour throughout, makes me want more of this genre from him.”
★★★★★ Too close to real life in many ways! No spoilers. “This knocked me for a loop! Tim Heath continues to awe me with the range of his writing talent. This was written to catch the reader’s attention; it caught mine within the first three pages. My curiosity was whetted and away I went into a dystopian world that made me think , feel and ponder issues too close to home.
Now, I promised no spoilers. That leaves me room to share the ease with which this reader easily fell into this book. From the first sentence I could picture the classroom, the rapt students and the dedicated teacher in front of them. At the same time I was listening to the teacher’s personal thoughts, doubts and what was looming in front of him at the end of his day. What!? Well, the only thing to do was keep reading, right? So I did, keep reading, that is.
As I turned page after page I was introduced to a growing cast of characters, learned their relevant life histories and watched as they went about their lives. On the surface things looked good, but the author is slick about inserting doubt here and there—just enough to keep me on edge and trying to work out what the dickens was going on. Tim Heath is good about building tension; he ratchets it up quietly, lets it build and then throws in a bit of relief—just enough for me to catch my breath and then off he goes again.
What a ride this was. I sat on the edge of my bed reading until I couldn’t see anymore. Usually I am comfy, warm and relaxed. This book kept me curious, enthralled, enraged, hopeful, sad, mad, disgusted and wanting to shake people. Yep, it was a book worth buying, which I did. I hope you will enjoy the book as much as I did. If you are looking for a book to take you away for a few hours, this is for you. It has made me think, again, of our world and my own place within it. Take a chance on an excellently written book which will affect your thinking and entertain you, too. Really, I have never been disappointed in any of his books! Happy reading!”