What if You Don't Even Realize You've Snapped?
In Nate Kenyon's haunting sophomore thriller, The Reach, Jess Chambers finds herself in the middle of a battle over one of the most explosive genetic discoveries in the history of mankind when she is assigned to work with Sarah, a schizophrenic child housed in a children's psychiatric ward. Helix, a shadowy biotechnology company, has been studying Sarah's remarkable genetic gift for years, enhancing and manipulating its effect, twisting something miraculous into something evil. But their plans have gone terribly wrong, erupting in an inferno of fire and blood, and Sarah has withdrawn deep inside her mind to a place no one else can reach.
Now Helix is growing desperate, and every move Jess makes draws her deeper into a complex web of deceit, making her question her own strength and resolve, until finally she must make a choice; walk away from yet another young child she has come to see as her responsibility, or fight overwhelming odds to stop those who see the girl as nothing more than a tool that must be kept and controlled no matter what the consequence.
In Nate Kenyon's haunting sophomore thriller, The Reach, Jess Chambers finds herself in the middle of a battle over one of the most explosive genetic discoveries in the history of mankind when she is assigned to work with Sarah, a schizophrenic child housed in a children's psychiatric ward. Helix, a shadowy biotechnology company, has been studying Sarah's remarkable genetic gift for years, enhancing and manipulating its effect, twisting something miraculous into something evil. But their plans have gone terribly wrong, erupting in an inferno of fire and blood, and Sarah has withdrawn deep inside her mind to a place no one else can reach.Now Helix is growing desperate, and every move Jess makes draws her deeper into a complex web of deceit, making her question her own strength and resolve, until finally she must make a choice; walk away from yet another young child she has come to see as her responsibility, or fight overwhelming odds to stop those who see the girl as nothing more than a tool that must be kept and controlled no matter what the consequence.
But young Sarah has a mind of her own. Nobody can predict what she will do when pushed to the breaking point. None of them truly understand the terrifying power of The Reach.Kenyon's work is full of atmosphere, and The Reach hits you with it right away in the prologue. "...something sparks me, I write a scene, and I'm off again jotting things on napkins and obsessing, searching for that perfect experience where every idea makes sense and the entire project comes together and I'm completely satisfied at the end. It hasn't quite happened yet, and I think that's what makes us writers keep trying--that quest to write the perfect novel, which of course is impossible." Kenyon may think he hasn't created the perfect novel yet - but he's come close to creating the perfect trailer to The Reach.
But it's Sarah's story that Kenyon wanted to write. "One of the things I wanted to do with The Reach was contrast the innocence of a child, someone essentially powerless, with the almost limitless power I've described in the book. What might happen when that little girl breaks free? What happens when someone like that is pushed and prodded and finally snaps?"
And it's not that far a stretch for Kenyon, the Director of Marketing and Communications at Boston College Law School to be interested in the mind and how it works. "I've always been fascinated by the human mind, particularly the ways in which the machine breaks down. Human beings ARE the most dangerous animal, and at their worst are also the most frightening creatures in the world. It's not just terrifying to imagine what people are capable of doing to one another. The most terrifying thing is the idea that any of us, at any time, could lose control of our OWN faculties. Most of us take our sanity for granted. But what's it like to have such a radically different view of the world, incapable of trusting your own thoughts? Worse yet, what if you don't even realize you've snapped?"
"Kenyon (Bloodstone) shifts smoothly between '80s-style supernatural horror and modern-day science thriller in this superb sophomore effort...readers, left breathless, will hope Kenyon makes good on hints of a sequel." Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Contributing editor Mark Combes is an avid sailor
and Scuba diver and travels extensively in the Caribbean pursuing his
passions. He works in book publishing and RUNNING WRECKED is his first
novel.
