The ALTA Project (Book) Review
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The year is 2017, and the world is a much different place than we now know. While right the midst of the global recession, a pandemic had swept through the planet, killing millions, and for a short while, chaos reigned. In order to restore order and get an accurate count of survivors, the United States […]
The year is 2017, and the world is a much different place than we now know. While right the midst of the global recession, a pandemic had swept through the planet, killing millions, and for a short while, chaos reigned. In order to restore order and get an accurate count of survivors, the United States implemented a drastic new style of governing. This state of military rule, coupled with the secretive ALTA project, were designed to give the government complete control over its citizens in ways that would have never seemed possible just a few short years ago.
As The ALTA Project begins, we meet one of its creators, Dr. Albert Anderson. Having been in a coma for the previous five years, he had no idea of the state of the world. Kept a virtual prisoner in an underground bunker, he is dependent on the mysterious figure who claims to have rescued him. His co-creator, James Jeffreys, has disappeared as well. Though the two of them were in a terrible accident together, Jeffreys’ body was never found. His children, Jenna and Jason, have uncovered some disturbing information in their constantly monitored house, and set off on a mission to uncover the truth about their father.
The ALTA Project does a good job of keeping much of the mystery under cover as the story unfolds. Though you realize early on that the world has descended into near complete government control, you must wait for the pieces of the puzzle to unfold to figure out how and why it happened, and what exactly the ALTA project entailed. That being said, it doesn’t always unfold as effectively as it should. The book is told in alternating snippets of events, past and present. The problem is, often nothing in the book – chapter heading, in the story, etc. – indicates when any of this is happening. And since it is the same characters who are acting out in the past and present, you will often read half of a chapter thinking it is part of the current story, only to finally figure out that it is something that happened years ago. It does make for some confusion when reading, and could be easily remedied with proper chapter titles.
Overall, The ALTA Project is an interesting read, giving readers ample opportunity to try to work out the underlying conspiracy as the story unfolds. Though there is some confusion as the story flips back and forth between past and present without informing readers, as well as some distracting typos throughout the book, it does have a rather original and plausible story line that does well to get readers sympathetic to the characters.