Season Of The Harvest (Harvest Trilogy, #1) by Michael R. Hicks

Season Of The Harvest (Harvest Trilogy, #1) Reviews

• 
  Abby Goldsmith

  This book will appeal to fans of Dan Brown.
  
  The plot relies on main characters whom we're told are smart, but aren't. A bunch of crimes in the beginning are obviously pinned to an innocent target, but that idea never occurs to the main character or anyone else in the F.B.I. They're just too stupid or too unimaginative to figure it out. Character stupidity is repeated throughout the novel. One of the good guys is actually a traitor (surprise, surprise, just like the plot of every Hollywood action film), but the leaders in charge of good guy ops flip out at the mere suggestion of a traitor. They don't ask for evidence, they don't consider they idea, they just flip out. And we're told they're geniuses.
  
  Wow, if the human race is in the hands of such geniuses, then there's no hope. The bad guys are rather stupid, too. So it's dumb vs. dumber. I lost interest and stopped reading. There's plenty of action, but it's as mindless as a Michael Bay film.
  
  Oh yeah, and there are gratuitous cats.
• 
  Jeff

  Season Of The Harvest by Michael R. Hicks is an action filled book, intriguing from the very beginning. The plot is great and falls into the category of what I call "Believable Sci-Fi." Though, it falls into that category just by a hair, which is my preference. I give it four and a half stars instead of five only because some of the author's writing choices bothered me.
  
  Multiple characters thought or said the expression, “there’s a special place in hell for me.” After the third time reading that, I was annoyed. I understand that Mr. Hicks was trying to convey that the characters’ decisions were tough on them, but there are other ways to do it than by repeating that one phrase. There were a few other very minor things that bothered me similar to that one. Maybe I’m just too nitpicky, but they did take me out of the story. I think Mr. Hicks just needs to get an editor (or better one, if he has one) and a lot of those little things would disappear.
  
  Another thing, something that isn’t the author’s fault, was the formatting of the Kindle ebook. Quite often there were chunks of the book that weren’t indented properly and it messed up my flow of reading a couple times where I had to reread a few lines. It was just another minor annoyance that pulled me out of the story.
  
  It is a great read though and one I recommend. It is a very captivating story that had me reading at work when I should have been working, which is not something I do often.
  
  4.5/5 Stars
  
• 
  Tammy

  I have to say that I am finding some of the best writing talent on Twitter! I will only mention Mr. Hicks here, of course, but I wished I had used social media sooner.
  I happened to catch a tweet from this author and was intrigued, Checking out his site I saw this gem of a book. I am a sucker for disaster in the making from plagues to quakes and conspiracy to monsters, whatever. I DL'd Season Of The Harvest and am happy to report that I loved it.
  
  Here is the book summary: What if the genetically modified crops that we're being forced to depend on for food weren't really created by man? What if they had a far more sinister purpose?
  
  FBI Special Agent Jack Dawson investigates the gruesome murder of his best friend and fellow agent who had been pursuing a group of eco-terrorists. The group's leader, Naomi Perrault, is a beautiful geneticist who Jack believes conspired to kill his friend, and is claiming that a major international conglomerate developing genetically engineered crops is plotting a sinister transformation of our world that will lead humanity to extinction. As Jack is drawn into a quietly raging war that suddenly explodes onto the front pages of the news, he discovers that her claims may not be so outrageous after all. Together, the two of them must battle a horror Jack could never have imagined, with the fate of all life on Earth hanging in the balance..
  
  From the suspenseful opening of the story, you realize you are not dealing with a human conspiracy. At least, not completely human. Don't let that fool you into thinking this is just another alien invasion-type story, because it is definitely not just that. A conspiracy ranging decades with the science of genetics and human imposters holding powerful positions at it's core, humans have found an all too willing place in the upcoming disaster. The use of genetically modified grain is commonplace. These modifications create pesticide and pest resistant crops as well as a bigger harvest. This is real life, not fiction and Michael R. Hicks makes sure you understand it well. This adds to the story as you follow Agent Dawson on his quest to find a killer. Unfortunately for him, it's not that simple. An organization that was founded to stop grain that has been genetically modified with a retrovirus of unknown purpose is blamed for bomb attacks used to assassinate key people. They are Dawson's only source of answers but are they crazy eco-terrorists or our only hope?
  I am always unwilling to give plot away in my reviews so I will say only that this is an action filled story with creepy undertones and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
  
  I will end this with a direct quote from Mr. Hicks; "You are what you eat".
• 
  Olethros

  -Batiburrillo de buenas ideas y senderos comunes.-
  
  Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
  
  Lo que nos cuenta. Jack Dawson es un agente especial del FBI con experiencia militar que trata de averiguar cómo acabó muerto en extrañas circunstancias su amigo y compañero Sheldon. Aunque no está destinado al caso, Jack prosigue con sus averiguaciones y las pistas terminan por conducirle a un extraño grupo que habla de una invasión alienígena y que parece estar dirigido por una investigadora llamada Naomi. Pero algunos no quieren que Jack continúe con sus investigaciones. Primer libro de la triología The Harvest.
  
  ¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
  
  
  http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
• 
  Robert

  I have always been a fan of fiction that is based on reality... books like "Jurassic Park" and "Prey", for example. It is one reason why I always enjoyed reading books written by Michael Crichton. He knew how to entertain with a good work of fiction based on reality, and he often got me thinking, "Could this really happen?"
  
  With the passing of Mr. Crichton, I never thought I would find another writer who wrote in such a similar style until I recently read "Season of the Harvest". It had all the elements I was looking for including the science fiction based on reality. This particular book focuses around the science of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), something that is very real and a bit scary if you do some reading about it. But what if the food you ate was genetically altered and you didn't even know about it? After reading "Season of the Harvest", you may think twice about taking a bite out of that corn on the cob.
  
  Aside from the science fiction (horror) based on fact aspect of "Season of the Harvest" I think one of the best things about this book is that it is fast-paced and has a lot of action. It is well-written, flows well, and also has a satisfying ending. If you don't have an e-reader, the print edition is well worth the $9.95 price tag. You won't regret it.
• 
  Gia Scott

  First off, I have to complain. It's a quarter after six in the morning, and the sun is up. I am writing a book review for a book I just finished, because I stayed up all night to finish reading it. Books are not supposed to keep us awake, reading is supposed to encourage us to go to sleep, aren't they?
  
  Seriously, this was a novel that was riveting. It took the implausible, united it with factual information, and welded it all together with artistic license to create something that was terrifying, creepy and impossible to put down. I had to know what was going to happen next...over and over, until the book was done, and then, to realize that it is a trilogy, it's sheer agony.
  
  I want to read the rest of the story and know what happens next still.
  
  The story was intense enough that if they were there, you don't have a brain cell left to register them. They are all engaged in the story. I'm not the only one who stayed up all (or most of one anyhow) to read this story. We can't all be delusional, right?
  
  If you are on the fence about this novel, get off already. You are missing a great story.
• 
  Meg

  This book has an intriguing plot that is based on the fears of genetically modified organisms in our food. In many ways it was bizarre and yet the author was able to keep it relatively grounded by focusing more on the conspiracy rather than the ‘alien’ aspect. Because much of the focus was surrounding the GMOs and the people involved in perpetrating the scheme, the outlandishness of the harvesters is balanced out so it is not as unbelievable.
  
  The characters were well developed. Nearly all of them came with a backstory that in some cases wasn’t really relevant but it served to engage the audience with the characters. The different characters have different personalities and strengths/skills-both in terms of knowledge and in terms of emotional understandings/attachment that, when combined as the final team, form a well-rounded assault. For the most part the writing was clear and set off cleanly, there was little weaving between POVs without marking the transition. I felt, however, that the last third of the book was too overwhelmed with different POVs. There are only a few in the beginning to keep track of but near the end, we are suddenly switching between many, and ones that had not been introduced before. I felt that while the occasional new POV was fine (think Alexander and the monkey), some of the major players should have been introduced to the audience sooner (VP, Director of FBI).
  
  There was a clear need for a better editor. I almost gave up from the beginning because of the constant repetition of phrases/actions for multiple characters, the constant full blown explanations of things, and the spelling out of every single acronym that he uses (everyone knows what FBI stands for). While I know that a lot of people have a tendency to gloss over the exposition parts, especially when explaining in detail things that only need a brief description, that doesn’t mean that you should place all of your explanation/exposition into dialogue. When Naomi was explaining every little, tiny, down to the barest detail of the base to Jack, I wanted to scream. There was no reason for a complete breakdown of the base when we only needed a basic outline.
  
  I wasn’t thrilled with this book, mostly because of the editing issues above, and I felt that it took forever to get through, but it was action packed and interesting. It didn’t grab me as it has other readers, but it was a decent read.
  
• 
  Peter Wilson

  I was given this book to read as a part of a reading club challenge, and I will freely admit that I would most likely never have picked this book for my own reading pleasure.Sci-fi is really not my cup of tea maybe i dont have the imagination necessary or am too grounded in reality but i was given this book as a challenge and not one to shirk a challenge i got stuck in.
  
  People generally dont like to admit that they were wrong but in this instance I am more than happy to admit it.This book had me thoroughly engrossed, i cared about the characters and whilst it was Sci-FI it was written well enough to have just about enough believablilty about it.
  
  Half way through the book i went to amazon and bought a trilogy by the same author and as a consequence i think its fair to say that Michael R. Hicks may just have opened up a whole new genre to my reading interests
  
  
  Thank you Michael and the person who challenged me
  
  
  Peter
  
  
• 
  Nicko

  Aliens after us with corn!
  
  The fact that I do not agree with the author's ideas about GMOs and the vast conspiracy of corporate greed he outlines in his afterword cannot make me remove a star on this excellent book.
  
  The pace was fantastic, the characters were fully developed and you actually cared for them. Even the cats! I was rooting for Alexander the entire book! Having been stationed at Beale didn't hurt either and I was fully immersed in the experience.
  
  To remove stars from the review and try to justify it would just be hypocritical. Instead I'll just be a cog of the evil corporate conglomerate seeking to genetically engineer humans to buy more iPhones who really (really) enjoyed this book. :)
• 
  Samantha Tanner

  Summary: eco and bioterrorism via GMOs developed by aliens
  
  Review: I expected this to be a standard mystery thriller that centered around, of all things corn or wheat, without getting too sci-fi. It was, but it was a lot more than that, because aliens. Don't know how they got here or when, but they shape shift, are super deadly, and geniuses when it comes to genetics. It's pretty fast-paced, action packed, and smartly done. Full of surprises and cats. On par with his In Her Name series, if not quite as good as that one. If you wanted to read just this one of the series you can. It wraps up fairly well and you could just pretend there's no small seed (pun!) for a second book. Also, I didn't check when this was published, but there are some damn erie coincidences with stuff going on this year...
• 
  Aaron Cochrill

  I had higher hopes for this book when I started, then after I finished. I have to give Hicks credit, for the most part it was well written and he grabs your attention right off the bat. The first few chapters I couldn't put it down and found it interesting and engaging. I had visions of a James Rollins type of story, because for the most part it started off very similar manner. Then partway through, the weird twists came out. The story seemed to jump a couple of times and I just didn't enjoy it as much as I had anticipated. Most of the characters show development and the story seemed plausible on most accounts (you'll have to read it to find out where the plot twists are!). I also found the ending a little clunky. For example, there was a wrap-up or two that I wasn't sure why it was in there. I'm trying to figure out what I missed that leads me to the next book in the trilogy.
• 
  Emily

  If you're looking for a book that will intrigue you with brilliant nuances and practiced subtlety, this absolutely is not it. It honestly could not get any more straight-forward, explaining everything and everyone immediately as introduced, with all the style of an encyclopedia entry, as if this novel was a quilt of research notes and character profile stitched together with a predictable plot and the occasional attempt at a twist. I am sure some will enjoy this novel, but it's way too formulaic for me-- all Top 40 beats and auto tune that are tried and true, but with vapid message and no soul. The teaser for the next book makes it sound, if possible, even worse in that area. I definitely won't be continuing with this trilogy.
• 
  Liquid Frost

  I struggled between the 3.5 star (so either 3 or 4 stars on this rating). Why I leaned toward 4: The book was interesting, it was a conspiracy theorist's wet dream - GMO not JUST used to control the masses toward the elites' desires and wealth, but also - aliens running Earth. And shockingly, not all that truthful to Earth's elites (a.k.a. The Secret). The action was good and even cats (i don't like cats) had a positive role.
  
  Why I leaned toward 3: This is the first in a trilogy. While I enjoyed reading this book - staying up too late - at the end, I didn't have the burning desire to read book 2.
• 
  Thibaldo Manrique

  An absolutely fantastic book!!!
  
  Usually I stay away from exclamation points, but this book deserves them.
  
  Really well written and thought out. A delight for since fiction fans, police thrillers, and FBI stories. It has it all. Great characters, very believable and varied, great story and situations, a truly great bad guy(s), intrigue, suspense, sad parts, funny parts, even lovable pets. I'm telling you, it is definitely worth reading.
  
  Furthermore, if you are going to read it, start on a Friday, that way you will be able to come back to it often and with little or no guilt. It is addicting.
• 
  Andrew

  So you think that Genetically Modified (GM) crops are the solution to the worlds food problems? Well think again!
  
  Michael R Hicks has a written a Science Fiction novel about unrestrained scientific research and greed and how they affect on the very existence of humankind. "Season of the Harvest" is full of action and suspense from the very start with and an added bonus was that it was a free download for my Kindle!
  
  This was a great read and I have the next novel in the series already on my reading list!
  
• 
  Lucian Barnes

  Before I picked up this book, I had attempted to start several others (not by this author) and closing them due to frustrations over abundant errors in each. It was a pleasant surprise to finally come across a decent story, which this one definitely was. I only had a couple of problems with this book, but they weren't enough to make me put it aside. At times, the story seemed to bog a little with technical details, and in many of these cases the author's choice of wording became a bit redundant. Overall, I enjoyed reading this story.
• 
  Rebecca

  I definitely liked the premise of this novel. It was interesting and different. The story seemed to drag on sometimes and other times unfolded too fast. I liked the characters. They were real and each had their own unique personalities. There was way too much use of foul language especially from characters that were supposed to be of high intelligence. I do not recommend reading this simply because of that.
• 
  Fred

  Fast, fun read but the story strained credibility a little too much for my tastes. It felt a bit like a Michael Bay movie with the main characters surviving one impossible scenario after another. Still, Hicks does a good job of creating likeable characters and making the most of the crazy, roller-coaster situations he puts them in.
• 
  K.Lee

  I really enjoyed this book although it was a bit too close to reality for my tastes. I prefer my aliens REALLY fictional. The circumstances in this book were really terrifying. There was one episode in Russia that the book really could have done without. It seemed like that chapter (s) were really just added to bulk up the book.
• 
  Linda

  From beginning to end this book kept me on my toes. It was a rollercoaster the whole way through. If you are looking for excitement, thrills, and a damn good book this is the book for you. A murder mystery tied in with aliens and genetically modified organisms did not strike me as a good book at first, but boy was I wrong. I'm glad I picked this book up, maybe you should too.
• 
  Steven Wade

  Food kills
  
  This story about aliens and modified food is terribly exciting and does a great job of keeping the action moving. This is the first book in a trilogy and it definitely reads like a well thought out and well written book. I was captivated by it from beginning to end. And the best characters are the cats.
• 
  Katherine

  This book had some very interesting moments, but once I got about halfway through, I stopped reading. I became completely uninterested in the plot. The storyline felt as if it had come to a standstill.
• 
  Jennifer M.

  Makes you think about all the genetically modified foods that are out there now...suspenseful novel with a sci-fi flair. Not usually a sci-fi fan but this one captured my interest and sucked me into its plot.