Techno-Thrillers discussion

Post your nominees in this thread for the July 2025 Book of the Month.
I have two separate themes: something new where and “new” was published in the last 10 years, and member author … a book authored by a member of this group. We’ll do two polls, and have two selections for BOTM. I’ll go to a poll in a couple weeks. We’ll just do one poll at a time, not two at the same time. So you have some time to post your book nominees. First come first serve. If more than 5 people nominate, I take the first book from the first five people. If less than 5 people nominate, I take the second nominee from the first person, and so on. Last month, no one else nominated, so all nominees ended up being mine. That doesn’t usually happen, but … isn’t rare either. Please feel free to suggest books for the group … techno-thrillers … preferably at least 1000 ratings (no minimum for member author books). Yes, explicitly, this is one of those rare months that you can nominate your own book!

Nomination for something new category:
Change Agent by Daniel Suarez (2017)

Use of CRISPR to alter DNA goes black market. A baby was just cured of a fetal disease this week. This probably will happen in the next decade or two.

Midnight Burn I'll take the plunge and nominate my own book. It's my first published work and I'd be grateful for feedback and dialogue.

Nomination for something new category:
Critical Mass by Daniel Suarez (2023)

Mining asteroids. A “sequel” to Delta-V, but Delta-V had an ending. So, I’m expecting this will stand alone fine.

Nomination for something new category:
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021)

Better than The Martian … and every other techno-thriller I’ve read, though there are people who don’t like it. It is a little more ambitious than The Martian.

Devil In The Pale Moonlight

Nomination for something new: MEMBER AUTHOR - this is my book! it releases May 30th, it's a first person action packed, lightning fast cyberpunk psycho-thriller. A quick 200 page read, and a wild ride. Hunting a serial killer through a simulation controlled by Nazi-influencers.

I'll nominate one of my books: The Yamanaka Factors: A Thriller

"FALL 2028. Mickey Cooper, an elderly homeless man, receives an incredible proposition from a rogue pharmaceutical “Be our secret guinea pig for our new drug and we’ll pay you life-changing money, which you’ll be able to enjoy because if (cough) when the treatment works, two months from now your body will be youthened to twenty-three years old.”

When his treatment proves more difficult than expected and corporate espionage turns deadly, Mickey finds himself flanked by internal corruption and powerful external enemies, including Chinese operatives desperate to reverse their country’s aging demographics and amoral U.S. government officials who fear the new technology will upend civilization.

A nihilist at heart with a dwindling number of friends, Mickey yearns to fade into the woodwork to live in peace, struggling to remember what matters in life. An analog old-timer has no chance to win in the digital age anyway, right?"

For something new, I'll nominate Beachhead

It's book 2 in a series. Think Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising, but near future and involving U.S. v. China.

Todd Hosea emailed to nominate his book.

Hi there,
I'd like to nominate my award-winning technothriller, Steal the Reaper, for the July Book of the Month! Steal the Reaper was recognized by the Military Writers Society of America in 2024. Fans of Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton will enjoy it. Here's a brief synopsis:

A mysterious spacecraft has crashed in a remote region of North Korea, setting off a geopolitical firestorm. The ship is now in the hands of a tyrannical dictator who will stop at nothing to unlock its secrets and bring the West to its knees. As tensions rise in the wake of this threat, North Korea's Supreme Leader is unaware that a small, prototype vessel, known as the Reaper, lies hidden within the wreckage. Its ingenious purpose could either save humanity or lead to its extinction.

Meanwhile, Captain Ava Tan is recruited for the boldest mission in military history: Steal the Reaper. Her orders are to infiltrate North Korea—the most isolated country on the planet—avoid triggering World War III, and pilot an alien vessel that is light years beyond anything she has ever flown. It is a suicide mission that will test Ava's courage and force her to decide where her loyalties truly lie. Earth's fate hangs in the balance and the clock is ticking.

Thanks for your consideration. Enjoy!

Steal the Reaper

Russell Atkinson emailed to nominate his book:

I nominate my book Cold Case: A Cliff Knowles Mystery, #10 in the Cliff Knowles series. Cliff is intrigued by a geocache description about a murder site in posh Los Altos Hills dating back eighteen years. When the victim's granddaughter approaches Cliff and Maeva to find the killer, they accept. Soon they are drawn into the esoteric world of DNA and genealogy to try to track down "Cole Case," the killer.

That’s the first 5 nominations for the member author topic. I’ll do a poll sooner than later here.

Still only 2 nominations for the something new category. Just need 1000 reviews, not your own, and a technothriller.

Upgrade by Blake Crouch (2022)

Thanks to those who participated in the member-author theme for the book of the month for July. Polls closed. As in the past, I did not count votes for anyone who joined the group after a member-author poll was announced. That did come into play.

Congratulations to Jed Henson's The Yamanaka Factors had the lead in the end.

Sorry to say to several who email me that I'm not accepting more member-author nominations at this time. That poll is over.

For the "new" theme, we are looking for books with at least 1000 ratings.