Title: Mark One
Author: John Hindmarsh
Series: Mark Midway – Book 1
Publisher: Rexon Press
Reviewer: Larry / John
Release Date: January 14, 2014
Genre(s): Action Thriller / Suspense
Page Count: 296 pages
Heat Level: 1 flames out of 5
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Blurb:

Mark Midway will kill to survive…

He is genetically engineered. He doesn’t know by whom, where, or why.

Nine men, ex-military, are on a mission to destroy a genetics laboratory and capture a genetically engineered specimen. They are supported by four rogue CIA agents, who have commandeered a test drone and a missile at a Marine base. The team attacks the genetics laboratory complex before dawn, during a raging blizzard. Within hours, seven of the men are dead, one is severely wounded and one barely escapes. The drone with its missile has been destroyed. The next morning the four rogue agents are found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Mark flees the laboratory complex, seeking safety and somewhere he can call home.

The FBI is on his case and a mysterious organization offers him its assistance. However, he is at risk. There are unknown killers chasing him and he needs to protect himself and his friends.

He will survive.

Review: My first thought when I started reading Mark One was – Does he know?

Mark seems to be a quiet young man who enjoys learning both intellectually as well as physically.  To him, everything is a welcomed challenge.  When his home and family are threatened, his superior training and logic enables him to overtake the attackers without personal harm.  That is if you call losing his only known parents and home not harm.

This book caught my attention considering the recent announcement of near approval of human genetic research that is happening right now.  Within a couple of years, babies will be genetically engineered to eliminate severe diseases.  From that, who knows what will happen.

Is Mark the only man-made human or are there others?  Why was he kept in isolation?  Who is the secret organization that offered him refuge?  Do they want him for further research?  And what would happen if he were captured by a government?

Throughout the book, Hindmarsh led me to believe that Mark was only one in a much larger sampling of cloned or genetically created humans.  He led me through Mark’s escape, his discovery by both friendly and not so friendly people.  As Mark ran, he found his mere existence was a threat to those around him.  That thesis leads to the full series called Mark Midway, which seems like a good series to read.

If you enjoy the not so farfetched sci-fi premise of cloned or genetically engineered humans, then read Mark One by John Hinmarsh.