2 out of 4 stars
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Michael's Project by Louis T. Bruno is a Sci-Fi book separated into 5 books (parts). Our protagonist is Michael, a man that has little to no memories, who is entrapped in government's facilities, and he is trained to become an assassin. Michael hears "Mother" inside his head, a voice that no one else can hear, who tells him what to do and how to react. One day, another voice appears that wakes up Michael from his numb slumber, and makes him realize he needs to escape and find who he really is. To help him with his escape, he kidnaps a woman who works there named Rachel. He agrees to let her go if she helps him "go to the surface" to which she complies. Who is Michael in reality? What is he capable of? What do some Muslims, Beelzebub, and a small Church have to do with this story? Will Michael be able to find his true identity, tame his powers, and find his purpose in this world?
I have to admit I was impressed by the plot, and I was dying to read this book, once I laid eyes on it. I had great expectations but I was soon let down. Even though this book has an amazing plot, it's not well written. It starts beautifully but from the second chapter, the downfall begins. While I was reading this book I had a constant feeling that the writer never read it after finishing it. The reason I'm saying that is because many characters throughout the book change names. Rachel, our female protagonist, for example, is sometimes called "Michelle" and others "Denise". I've noticed that this happens with many characters in the book, which makes me assume that the writer didn't proofread his work and neither did his editors.
Moreover, there were many punctual and grammatical errors. Many times question marks are replaced with exclamation marks and vice versa. Not to mention that Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 are the exact same chapter. There were so many errors that sometimes it was hard for me to understand what the author was trying to say.
Perhaps due to the fact that English is not my mother language, I got a really hard time understanding the plot and the way the scenes were gliding one after the other. Sometimes, I felt there were scenes that weren't mentioned, and I've noticed many plot holes throughout the book that could be avoided if the author proofread it. Furthermore, there were numerous similes that made the reading of this book really hard and tiring.
The character development though proves that the writer is talented. He managed to create several characters, and all of them were unique and different. My favourite characters were Beelzebub and Robert because, in my opinion, they were more realistic and interesting. It was amazing how even the tiniest character had a backstory and reasons behind his/her actions.
To sum up, I wish I could give this book 4 stars because that was my intention when I chose it. However, the poor editing of this book and the sloppy performance of the author prevent me from doing it. I'm giving it 2 out of 4 stars because I think that the plot deserves a second chance. With a better editing, this book has many potential and I suggest you give it a try if you're into sci-fi, adventure, and action. Keep in mind though that there were many explicit scenes of rape and violence in the book, so I wouldn't recommend it for people under 18 or with a weak stomach. Moreover, there are some scenes that may be considered offensive to religious people so, if you are religious but you want to give this book a try, you should read this with an open mind.
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The Michael Project
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