I love indie published books! I love science-fiction! I praise all writers with the gumption to indie publish! So congrats to Randy Dockens. The premise of this book is really good.

First, this book was professionally proofread. Kudos for that!

Second, this novel was not professionally developmentally edited--that's when an editor dives deep into the story to help the author streamline and pull the story together tightly to make a fast-paced page turner.

Third, Dockens does a good job of developing the main character who is believable and 3-D. The POV is written very well. However, the love interest/physician is a bit flat. Transitions from one scene to another are non-existent, and the number of characters is very large... not that it is a huge problem, it's that developing a lot of characters so they fit perfectly in the story to move the story along is very difficult to do. A developmental editor could do this for Dockens and make this story zing with some much needed zest.

The premise is very good, but the execution of it still needs a lot of work to make this a really good book. That said, the story is good enough to keep your attention, except when more characters without much development are added to the mix. When that happens, keep reading, it'll become clear.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for a copy of this book to honestly review.

The book just didn't suit my tastes. More my fault than that of the author.

This book was not what I had expected. Parts were fast-based, but others dragged. Overall, the plot was interesting, and you felt like you were "on the inside" with our team of heroes. The story is similar in many ways to Dan Brown's books without as much research and detail to wade through. The meaning of "THB" was a surprise. I'd like to read the second book to continue the story.

What an interesting and amazing story line. Really engaging novel. Throughout the book I was wondering what does THB stand for.. With the twiss and turns I changed my mind many times. Right until the end I had not seen it coming and was surprised what it stood for. The characters and their dual personalities worked really well. I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to read the sequel. Well thought out and gripping.

In the book T-H-B, author Randy Dockens takes us on a journey with Luke who feels like something is missing in his life. He also gets the feeling that he is experiencing things but the next day no one can remember it. What is going on? And what is T-H-B and why is everyone who knows about it disappearing?
This was an excellent, fast paced read. I would highly recommend this book and look forward to the continuing story line. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story takes place in 2089, and it is the year of an impending Mars launch. It is a strange society, people are raised by their parents until they are 10, and then they are sent away to be raised by the government.
One of these people, Luke, is on his way to work when he picks up a floating piece of confetti with the words T-H-B on it. While he is picking it up, another man appears to grab it who has odd bluish - green eyes. Luke tries to give him the confetti but he runs away.
Luke goes to his office, where he works as an astrophysicist working on the Mars project. He tries to figure out what the letters T-H-B stand for by looking them up on his holographic computer, but he only finds articles about neurotransmitters and jet propulsion.
All of a sudden, at the end of the day, his boss, Paul appears with two men in black suits who identify themselves as "Cain and Abel". They take Luke to a cell where he meets a woman who injects him with a purple dye and asks him what T-H-B means in a very threatening manner. Luke falls asleep and he wakes up and is taken out of his cell by a uniformed policeman who treats him like he was drunk and takes him to his friend Sarah. Luke finds out that he has been gone for 2 days and his friend Sarah hired a lawyer to search for him and they end up finding him at a local police station.

Luke goes home and finds out his apartment has been ransacked. He goes to sleep and then returns to work the next day and everyone but Sarah thinks he was taken away by 2 paramedics, not by two men in black suits named Cain and Abel.

You will have to read the book for yourself to find out why Luke is being pursued and drugged and what T-H-B means.

Gripping and amazing page turning book. Suspense and the knowledge of working together as teams is encouraging. The details and descriptions of living in the future is realistic and we'll described

It's 2089, and Luke Loughton lives a comfortable life. He's preparing for the future Mars mission as an astrophysicist in Houston and a romance blossoms with his gorgeous coworker, Sarah. However, his hope for normalcy shifts when he lifts up a confetti-sized piece of paper with the letters "T-H-B" printed on it. The letters mean nothing to him, but weird things start to unfold. A man follows him. Two other men in suits pull him from his office in handcuffs. Luke tries to discover what type of conspiracy he's thrown into in a unique blend of science-fiction and religion.

I enjoyed following the course of Luke's adventures throughout the book. I was curious how three simple letters could cause such an uproar, and the series of events that followed showcased a fun journey. The descriptions of the Continental Drift restaurant were some of my favorites - I wish such a place actually existed!

At times, I wished for additional detail. A bulk of the story contained sentences along the lines of "He did this, they did that, and then this happened." I think filling these passages with added descriptions, more of Luke's internal thoughts, and overall idea expansion would benefit this book greatly. Characters also tended to jump to the [usually correct] conclusion after only a brief conversation. While of course these characters are quite intelligent, I think some feelings of prolonged confusion would add suspense to the book. I don't mind simplistic sentences, but sometimes events in the book felt rushed and were over too quickly.

I also craved for more background to the 2089-future world. Holo-computers, the cabs, and the whole Invocation situation were good starts, but I would like to know more. Are there any other technological advances? Is fashion 72 years in the future really still that similar? Is the world still relatively the same? Then again, maybe these things will be expanded in the follow-up book.

T-H-B is released on September 1st. Thank you to NetGalley and Carpenter's Son Publishing for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.