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Ebook Details
  • 06/2016
  • 978-1519740243 B01H98SWZU
  • 238 pages
  • $3.99
Bill Higgins
Author
Modify Destiny
Bill Higgins, author

A sci-fi conspiracy thriller written by a CIA veteran.

Dave Reed is working the Saturday midnight shift in the CIA's Message Watch Office when a misdirected top-secret message arrives from NORAD. The enigmatic message rekindles Dave's interest in UFOs. On a lark, he and a coworker set out to a small town where a hillbilly playboy named Tater and several other residents have seen mysterious lights in the sky, and people have disappeared under unusual circumstances. Falsely accused of espionage following a bizarre string of events, a CIA psychiatrist subjects Dave to a high-tech interrogation technique involving hypnotic regression. The terrifying story Dave tells exposes the existence of non-human entities and a looming apocalyptic event.

Reviews
OnlineBookClub

Highest rating! (4 out of 4 stars) Review by E-Tasana-Williams

Modify Destiny is the surprising new science fiction thriller by Bill Higgins. It opens with Reuben Garrett, a member of a clandestine CIA organization referred to only as "the project". He has been charged with destroying an old tape recording of President Kennedy meeting with members of the project who have been tracking extraterrestrial visits to Earth. The project members have plenty of historical evidence of UFOs and the Extraterrestrial Biological Entities (EBEs) they carry, but their mandate is to make sure the American public continues to believe aliens don't exist. The less ordinary citizens know, the better. The project's job suddenly becomes trickier when the whole town of Ramps, WV witnesses multiple sightings in one week.One of the witnesses is Dave Reed who works for the CIA's Message Watch Office. When he goes missing for two days after having visited Ramps, he lands on the project's radar. Upon returning to work he is told he must submit to a specialized polygraph technique in order to keep his job, and he complies. What Reuben and the other project members learn from Dave's special session changes the way they think of EBEs forever.Modify Desitny is a great book. It is well-written and riveting. The style is less X-Files and more Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Mr. Higgins draws from his inside knowledge of the CIA and other government agencies to write believable characters and scenes. He captivates his audience with a tale that builds in quiet intensity until the climax, which will have readers wishing they could read faster to discover the outcome of the story.The tale is not all intensity. Mr. Higgins includes some comic relief with the character Tater Potts. He is one of the UFO witnesses living in Ramps, WV and is Reminiscent of Randy Quaid's character in the movie Independence Day. There is also a bit of clean romance included, as Shelby Potts (Tater's sister) and Dave venture into a relationship while Dave is in Ramps.Sci-fi fans will love this book, and be surprised at the climax and the unexpected ending. Readers who prefer lots of action and combat scenes in their science fiction may not enjoy Modify Destiny, as it is a quiet thriller.I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is engaging, and appears to be professionally edited. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Higgins.

Readers' Favorite

Three 5-Star Reviews by Readers' Favorite Professional Reviewers!

5 Stars! Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite:  What if you discovered that people were disappearing at an alarming rate? What if those mysterious lights in the sky had something to do with the disappearances? What if the world as you knew it could change in a blink of an eye, a past totally wiped out and re-written? What if you really didn’t have any control over anything in your life? David (Dave) Reed works for the CIA. He works for the Message Watch Office, monitoring emails that arrive, making sure nothing unusual pops up. He’s also been studying to get his Master’s degree in world history, in the hopes of improving his career options. Dave believes he has his life and career all planned out. But he has this insatiable fascination with UFOs, an interest that has consciously and subconsciously marked his life since a mysterious encounter while serving at the Hummel Airforce Base in Alaska. Recent UFO activity in the small town of Ramps, Virginia, sparks his interest and a weekend camping trip with a co-worker, who’s also interested in UFOs, takes a different direction when the two decide to make Ramps their camping destination. And even their destination of Ramps becomes another anomaly in an already unusual plot.Bill Higgins’ science fiction novel, Modify Destiny, is full of unexpected and unusual twists and turns. There is something very top secret about these UFOs and only the highest level of command with the highest level of security knows the full truth. As the plot thickens, the reader wonders if this ‘very top secret’ knowledge will, at some point, be revealed. At first glance, the novel is another UFO mystery. But deeper into the plot there is a multitude of characters and interactions that create the illusion of a real life scenario, one that someone involves the assassinated President Kennedy. And where will this mystery lead? This is a fast-action page-turner, with a very believable plot and personable characters. It will certainly make readers want to question the many what if’s of life and what really is the truth.

5 Stars! Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite:  Modify Destiny is a science fiction novel written by Bill Higgins. Dave Reed's night shift job at the Message Watch Office of the CIA was fairly humdrum, that is, when he was not struggling to stay awake. He was working nights while attending George Mason University by day, and trying to be sure to ace all his classes. His co-worker, Maryanne, had no problem covering for him during his impromptu naps, but she did worry that their supervisor, Larson, would have something to say if he ever caught Dave snoozing. It was on one of those quiet, endless nights that Larson decided he needed real food instead of the stuff that came out of the Company's vending machines, and sent Dave and Maryanne out for steak and cheese subs. While they were driving, Dave fiddled with Maryanne's radio and tuned into a late night talk show on the paranormal. A woman caller was describing her husband's encounter with a UFO and subsequent hospitalization for radiation burns. Maryanne wondered about the woman's story, but Dave scoffed at her suppositions. Still, he began researching UFO sightings online when he got home after work. There was still that sighting he and others saw while stationed in Alaska lurking in the back of his mind: the event he had sworn to never talk about.Bill Higgins' science fiction novel, Modify Destiny, is a treat to read if you've ever wondered about UFOs or harbored a secret longing to visit Area 51. I loved trailing along with Dave and his co-worker, Bob, as they take an overnight trip to Ramps, West Virginia, an active site of a number of sightings and more than a few unexplained disappearances, and the home of Tater Potts, a rustic original and Dave's internet correspondent. Modify Destiny has a credible and inventive plot, and it reads like a dream. Higgins brings dimension and history into the tale by setting the opening during President John F. Kennedy's term in office, and it works quite well to set the tone for his storyline. Modify Destiny is fun, fast-paced and filled with conspiracies, Grays and flashing lights in the sky. It's highly recommended.

5 Stars! Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite:  Modify Destiny is a science fiction thriller, but also it is the story of Dave Reed, a normal guy just going camping with his new friend, Bob Wang. Dave is looking forward to a couple of days of rest and relaxation after a busy time studying for school and working at the Message Watch Office of the CIA. He has always been interested in UFOs and there has been a rash of them in a small West Virginia town named Ramps where Tater Potts, a man he has read about, claims to have seen a bunch of these UFOs. He calls Tater and they agree to meet.Dave and Bob arrive in Ramps and head to the local restaurant to meet Tater, who is joined by his sister, Shelby. As they sit discussing the recent sightings, Dave and Shelby form an immediate attraction towards each other and go off to explore some cows that have died an unusual death. Tater and Bob go in another direction and they all plan to meet up later in the day. Tater invites the men to sleep over rather than having to camp out, and they gladly accept. To tell you more would really ruin the story and I don’t want to be guilty of that.I am not always a big fan of UFO stories because they are usually too technical and 'out there' for me to enjoy, however, Modify Destiny had me glued to my lounge chair and I anxiously kept reading. Bill Higgins has written a perfect blend of science fiction and real life to put this book on the five star level. I highly recommend it to both sci-fi and fiction fans alike – you will definitely not be disappointed. All I will tell you is that you will never ever see the end coming.

Formats
Ebook Details
  • 06/2016
  • 978-1519740243 B01H98SWZU
  • 238 pages
  • $3.99
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