Overall I think that this was a very interesting story and the descriptions of the monsters were wonderful. You could really imagine them and how they interacted with people and the world around them. Very interesting ending and I applaud that the author did not go the easy or basic route. The ending was rushed a little but still good. ( )

A Kindle First selection. Again (as with Miramont’s Ghost) what I thought I was getting turned out to be very different with the book I ended up reading. I thought this was going to be a science fiction book, it turned out to be a monster-horror novel. The book is about some toxic substance that accidentally ends up int the back of car in a junk yard, where it is forgotten about for years until it leaks out mixes with acid rain gets onto some rats who then mutate into monsters. As the book goes on the monsters multiply and mutate more and more. The country begins to fall apart, and there is some crazy subplot about a Soviet sleeper in the Presidents inner circle. The sub plot is absolutely ridiculous and in my option takes away from the real action of the story. The only good thing about this book is the twist at the end. Read it if you like monster-horror, but otherwise skip it. ( )

Chuck Grossart has brought all of his expertise as a strike planner and strategic analyst for the U.S. Air Force to the table with The Gemini Effect (previously published as The Mengele Effect). Amazon named it the 2014 Breakthrough Novel in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. I had to keep remembering to breathe when I read The Gemini Effect because once it starts, the action never stops and its content made my skin crawl. Part sci-fi horror novel and part political thriller, it was like a never-ending roller coaster of a train wreck I couldn’t look away from…not to mix metaphors or anything. For those of you who like being scared witless, this could be the vacation read you’re looking for. Let’s find out at http://popcornreads.com/?p=8460. ( )

The Gemini Effect
By: Chuck Grossart
Publisher: 47 North Pages. 347
Copy Courtesy of Goodreads First Reads
Reviewed By: tk

Intense Action !

A creature that can not be stopped. Biological, nuclear, genetic, or chemical warfare…who is responsible, and what are the options. A unique perspective of the tragic end of the world as we know it. From the first pages to the end, Chuck Grossart takes you from the populated, busy cities of every day life to the horrific mutations of human and animal, to a brave new world in about 72 hours.

A very fast read. I admit to having a hard time putting it down at times. I just had to know if it was going to end. Did I like it? Not really…

The plot is good, the characters are colorful, but I found the actual “mutations” extremely hard to believe. Most sci-fi /fantasy requires a good imagination, and I do enjoy creatures, aliens, magic and beyond. I just could not, for whatever reason understand the creatures here. It feels like a stretching, reaching, was going on. Like trying to hard. Of course it is just my opinion. I think if a re-imagining of the mutations, and sometimes less is more…would have been better.

Over all the plot is good. I also look forward to what comes next in the saga.
Would like to rate this higher due to content being really good. 3/5 ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in the way that I've enjoyed other apocalypse fantasies in the past. I've read some of the not-so-great reviews, and they are spot-on. It just happens that this sort of fiction appeals to me. In a story like this I wouldn't WANT the science-y stuff to be too plausible. That would probably give me nightmares! This story was terrifying and riveting, from page one. ( )