Stephen Martino

The New Reality by Stephen Martino is a highly recommended medical thriller.

In 2080 medical experiments being conducted on the Greek island of Astipalea that were meant to help mankind had turned into a nightmare for those involved, which is why Dr. Christakos chose to obliterate/vaporize the whole island as his final act to save humanity. A year later, in 2081, something that is referred to as The Disease is spreading through Greece and Turkey, afflicting more of its population than either government cared to divulge. "Since its appearance almost a year ago, it first spread quickly through Scientists could give it no other name. No pathological organism for this new scourge could be found. Neither bacteria, virus, protozoa nor other infectious agent was ever discovered. Even rare pathogens such as prions, similar to those causing mad cow disease, were investigated but without any success." (Location 180)

National Institutes of Health (NIH) expert, Marissa Ambrosia has taken a body for examination to Alex Pella because the NIH is at a complete loss in identifying the cause of The Disease.
Alex Pella is the CEO and founder of Neurono-Tek, a neuroscience institution equipped with the latest scientific and medical equipment. He is also a world-renowned scientist with a "Ph.D. in both neuroscience and bioengineering, he had already discovered or created treatments for many of the most complicated neurological diseases. Other than his business partner Dr. Samantha Mancini, there was no one else as qualified to tackle such a difficult task." (Location 274)

At the same time a Malik or Arab chief named Ari Lesmana, is gathering armed forces against the west, blaming The Disease on them “First the West brought you despair. Now they bring you The Disease!” The crowd hissed and booed. Others shouted anti-Western sentiments. “You all know of Tustegee [sic]!” he said with a sinister snicker." Location 483

Adding to this lethal mix there is an army of small bug-like creatures on the loose. "Spawned out of death and created for destruction, they were like little demons sent to unleash horror onto the unsuspecting world. Their one-centimeter, oval-shaped bodies had tiny little spikes adorning their back, resembling some ancient type of armor. Their heads were like something seen in a horror movie. Four red eyes, two beaded antennae, and an elongated jaw full of serrated teeth with two large fangs along the edges made it a formidable sight. These creatures created a clanging sound like falling rain upon a tin roof as their multi-jointed six legs sputtered across the wall. The bugs did not seem completely organic in nature. Their bodies appeared to be constructed from a black metallic substance while their movements at times looked more mechanical than biologic. They were certainly not of any species a trained entomologist could identify." (Location 743)

The final piece of the puzzle is a Biblical scholar, a Millerite, named Jonathan shows up to talk to Alex. He knows that Astipalea was the source of The Disease and he seems to have more knowledge than anyone else concerning The Disease. “Do not blind yourself with the obvious,” Jonathan rebutted, “for sometimes the answer you seek can only be found in the most inauspicious places.” He placed his prized Bible on the end table and gazed upon it as if it contained the answer. (Location 844) It appears that the Bible may contain answers they need

Now Alex must piece the clues together, wherever he can find them, to solve the clues and save the world from destruction by The Disease.

The New Reality is an exciting page turner that will keep you guessing. Since I had an advanced readers copy I'm going to have to assume any of the errors I saw were caught and corrected. Other than that Martino is a decent writer who has presented an exciting thriller that doesn't rely on a glut of adult situations and language to propel the story forward. The New Reality is the first book in a new series featuring Alex Pella, so I would imagine we will be reading more adventures in the future. This is a good airplane book. It will help you pass the time quickly but isn't too dear should you misplace it.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Light Messages via Netgalley for review purposes.



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Sometimes experience and knowledge really does count. I have read many books now that are written by doctors. I have to say that the knowledge and experience that they bring to the story that they are writing really helps add another layer to the story. For example, I can not believe that this book is Dr. Martino's first book.

Alex is an interesting character. He helped lead this story along nicely. However I would like to get to know more about him. Even though this story took place in the future, there was enough details good storytelling by the author to make it believable. I hope this never does become the case. The pacing of the book was good. It had enough action to keep my interest and it moving along without too much lag. I look forward to seeing what Dr. Martino comes out with next.… (más)