In the near future British society is in meltdown. The economy is struggling, the environment has been wrecked by us and a new Prime Minister comes to office wanting to make a difference. A businessman and a geneticist team with him to conceive a cloning experiment that they intend to change society and right the ills.
The debut novel by John Writher attempts to bring this science fiction scenario to life. Following the three characters above and having a few twists along the way. The Killer App is a novel that uses this central idea to try and shine a light on some of our current issues and the potential outcomes of them. There is much to enjoy in the story and it is a book that drags you along with the pace. However, the narrative can be clumsy at times with over explanations of motives and a feeling of forced descriptions. It also tells of the experiment and could have told the story on a much bigger scale. The ideas are very good, the execution a bit sloppy and therefore it feels somewhat like a missed opportunity when it could have been so much more.

When do the needs of the country outweigh the rights of the citizens? When does poverty become such an issue that the wealthy force their beliefs on others? Set in the near future, John Writher’s book The Killer App focuses on a struggling image of the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Robert Hand is desperately looking for solutions to fix the challenges of an unemployed population. Businessman Bill Haugan is on a ruthless crusade to bring up profits and fight against aging. Janet Icks is a genetic scientist who has discovered a possible cure; by injecting a certain DNA sequence she is able to change the genetic makeup of a baby so that it grows to be an adult already on the planet. The three scheme together to come up with solutions for their failing world. After an extensive search, the three settle on Candidate 1456; a starving artist with nothing to live for. 1456 is sullen, frustrating and hateful. He volunteers for death on his 40th birthday, only to find that the experiment is about to go horribly wrong. Icks, Hand and Haugun work quickly to cover up their mistakes, but find that some secrets cannot be kept.

The Killer App did something that few books have done lately; it scared me to the core. Even characters who seem to be able to connect with other human beings make horrifying decisions for others. Possibly the most graphic scene involves 1456, who has volunteered for the experiment. The volunteer decides to back out of the experiment that will kill him just a few minutes before. He loses points for his reasoning for backing out, but the fact that he is forced into a procedure where many of his organs are removed while he still lives left me with shivers. Even worse was his removal from the facility without the proper equipment. The characters are intentionally unlikeable, to the point where the reader wonders how someone could feel there are so innocent while being so innately evil. Scientists will likely laugh off a majority of the science in this novel, as it is more akin to something Mary Shelly would have cooked up during a thunderstorm had she known about DNA. Writher also spends a good deal of time explaining motives and behaviors, a few instances to the detriment of the more imaginative reader.

The Killer App is not a book for the squeamish of stomach or those who like to keep their reading light and innocent. It is often violent, several times stomach turning and perhaps not so fantastical in a few years, should science keep its steady march forward.

The Killer App by John Writher is now available.

In the future, Britain is facing serious problems of being able to avoid financial difficulties. The Prime Minister Robert Hand has pledged to cut costs as well as doing funding for research. He decides to team up with Bill Haugan, a ruthless American business man and Janet Icks, a scientist. Janet wants to continue her DNA research on a human that is questionable in more ways than one. Bill wants to expand his empire, Robert wants his future voters to vote for him. So why not let people die and live again in a new body with all their memories intact from the prior life? They would start their new life as a baby and grow up to be responsible working, buying and voting people. However nothing is ever that simple for them. Just as the experiment starts, there are events exposing secrets.

This is a science fiction thriller which may cause you to wonder what are future holds for us. Technology and science has changed our lives faster than we realize. Will there be genetic manipulation in our future? This is an excellent thought provoking novel.

What terrifying concept for the future. With developments in research of DNA and genetics it isn't beyond the realms of possibility. This story cleverly mixes reality with fiction making the threat more of an actuality. Fascinating story which definitely raised my pulse rate

Publication Date: 27th February 2014
Publisher: Higive
ISBN: 9780992837310
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
The Killer App is set in a future generation where Britain is crippled by an ageing population, and the associated spiralling costs of pension, health and social care. The new Prime Minister, Robert Hand, pledged to strip-search the country’s finances, as well as funding research and innovation, to remedy the situation. He teams up with Bill Haugan, a ruthless American businessman with a penchant for pushing the boundaries, and Janet Icks, a hard-working genetic scientist wedded to her laboratory.

On top of the snow-covered pistes around Davos, Switzerland, the unlikely trio hatch a killer experiment designed to revolutionise society. They all have their own personal interests in the proposal – Hand wants the public vote for solving the demographic imbalance, Icks is keen to test her research to transfer DNA after death, while Haugan has designs on expanding his empire – yet the worlds of politics, big business and science become uncomfortable bedfellows in a bid to rebalance the population.

All they need is someone willing to “die to be young again”.

Experiment Candidate 1456 is a frustrated artist in his late thirties, depressed at what his life has become after a failed marriage. Convinced he can do better, he is thrilled to be selected for this trial regeneration and sees the proposal as an opportunity to drop off the grid and start over. Little does he know what lies ahead… Just as the experiment starts, ethical opponents sabotage proceedings and violently shatter the lives of those involved, while events unravelling from the protest leave many secrets exposed.

*****

Writher effortlessly plunges the reader into the chaos of a future generation, where commerce, politics and science collude to artificially rebalance the population demographic. Exploring the bond of family, the handcuff of business and conviction of the self-righteous, The Killer App follows the fall out when a social gamble with life and death takes a wrong turn.

*****

Considering the technological and health-related developments of the past decade, nobody really knows what the future holds. However, a compelling new 2025-based social drama novel introduces readers to a mass genetic manipulation experience unlike anything they’ve heard of before.

A thriller and a science fiction novel with an educational plot, on the social crisis of the XXI Century, the meaning of age, family, science, politics and business.

In the most unique of literary projects, ‘The Killer App’ fuses thriller, Science Fiction, education and food-for-thought to redefine age, family, technology and politics. The big question – would you embrace new technology that could bring you back to life for forty years, aware of your previous existence?
Review:
The concept of this book fascinates me - the option to die, peacefully and painlessly, at age 40 to be reborn anew as a newborn - in this age of cosmetic surgery and desire for youthfulness, I wonder how many people would choose this as a way to avoid growing old.
This début from Writher makes compulsive reading. The science is explained well, the characters are complex and interesting and the story unfolds with gripping tension on every page. I pretty much read this in one sitting as I really wanted to find out how the book concluded - what a surprise ending! My only criticism would be that it feels unfinished, but I'm guessing a second book will pick up the story.