Chimera

June 10, 2013
Genetically designed savages known as chimera, named after the hybrid monsters of Greek myth, make trouble in this inventive thriller from Wellington (Monster Island). Four of these big fellows—whose DNA is 99% human, with the remainder coming from chimpanzees, rattlesnakes, and water bears—have escaped from a military prison camp in upstate New York. Pentagon officials know the creatures intend to kill eight people across the country, including a judge recently nominated for the Supreme Court. The task of stopping the beasts falls to Capt. Jim Chapel, a one-armed Afghanistan war veteran who works for the army’s Intelligence and Security Command. Chapel is tough, but his quarry is tougher, and he must also contend with the CIA and the folks who designed the experiment that created the chimera. While the overwritten romantic elements distract, the constant action and novel concept will satisfy fans of this subgenre. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency.

March 15, 2013

A band of genetically modified killers has smashed out of a secret military facility in upstate New York, and Special Forces veteran Jim Chapel gets to puzzle out whether they're renegades or part of a high-up conspiracy. Author of the "Monster Island" trilogy, serialized online zombie novels, Wellington is currently working toward a degree in Library Science at the Pratt Institute.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2013
This Wellington novel takes one-armed hero Jim Chapel on a wild cross-country chase to find a group of mysterious creatures that have been sent off to kill. War hero Chapel lost an arm in Afghanistan. Even though the high-tech replacement arm he has is top-notch, he still doesn't feel like the man he used to be. So, when he's summoned to embark on a complicated journey for a powerful yet shadowy admiral who is at odds with a top CIA official, Chapel is both mystified and gratified to finally be back in action. A former member of the Army's Special Forces, he's a highly trained and lethal operative, but when the admiral, Hollingshead, and his spy counterpart, Banks, send Chapel off, they only give him bare-bones information. Chapel's been told that a group of chimeras, men who are mostly human but also contain the DNA of certain other species, who were once part of a special project, has broken loose from their camp and is on their way to kill certain people. His instructions are to stop them at all costs. But when Chapel, aided by a beautiful veterinarian and a mysterious, sexy hacker with a sultry voice and known only to him by the name Angel, sets out to stop the chimeras, he finds that there's more at play than first meets the eye. Is it a government conspiracy? And, if so, how deep does it run? Wellington stretches the bounds of belief with this fanciful tale that takes readers from New York to Atlanta and places both north and west in order to find the chimeras and make certain their intended victims are safe. But the writing is good, and Wellington knows how to sustain interest, although the hero's ability to take a licking and keep on ticking will strain the credence of even the most ardent fan of the genre. This book is sure to score with those who like a little touch of science fiction with their action thrillers.

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June 1, 2013
The author of horror novels such as 32 Fangs (2012) and the Monster Island trilogy sticks a toeor perhaps an entire footinto Jonathan Maberry territory. Jim Chapel, who used to be in the Special Forces until he lost an arm in Afghanistan, is given a new job tracking down four escaped military detainees. Here's the problem: the escapees are infected with a man-made virus, one that gives them superhuman abilities (and a taste for human flesh), and they are systematically hunting down and killing specific men and women across the country. Assisted by Angel, a brilliant computer hacker, and by the daughter of one of the victims, Chapel sets out not only to stop the escaped killers but also to find out why they were created in the first place. It's a good book, crisply written and exciting, but readers familiar with Maberry's Joe Ledger novels might experience a bit of been-there, done-that: the genetically modified killers; the tough, no-nonsense hero; the powerful government organization. On the other hand, if you've read all the Ledgers and are jonesing for more, this might take the edge off.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)