Customer Reviews

Gabriel: Zero Point: The FREE Prequel Novella: Evan Gabriel Trilogy (Unabridged)

This is a novella detailing the origins of Evan Gabriel, a futuristic super soldier whose story continues in the trilogy.

The novella is a fairly short read but gives enough detail to understand Evan's motives for agreeing to participate in the programme and although I did guess the 'twist' fairly early on it was still an enjoyable read.

I will definately be buying the trilogy and look forward to reading what else Evan will get up to.

It's a free novella you'll read in an afternoon so give it a try and I'm sure you wont be disappointed

I did not like this book very much because there was no romance forthcoming. There was no real content or background involved in it. It just went straight into the story. Not my cup of tea I am afraid.

Good book ,but need to read the next book to continue the story
Of which you have to pay for.

This is a prequel to the Evan Gabriel Trilogy and it gives the reader a glimpse into Evan Gabriel's start as a Special Forces Soldier. As I am sure anyone who has read my reviews knows I love military Science Fiction and this one is almost as good as some of my favourite writers. I look forward to reading the Trilogy.

Read it before the three main books and it set me up for the series....just wish that wasn't it thou'

I know its only a short prelude to the other books in the series but something about it just didn't grab me. It was obviously well written though but the plot just seemed easy to guess. What followed was predictable the more and more you read.
You were introduced to a few characters but you didn't really learn anything about them. The story was not long enough to form a connection.
Maybe if you'd read the following books first and you wanted to see how it all started it may have been better but on the strength of reading this first I wouldn't want to carry on with the series.

Steve Umstead wrote three books in the Gabriel, series but has now released this shortish Novella as a prequel to the three books.

I've read the first book in the series, Gabriel's Redemption and enjoyed it, see that review here , and fully intend to download and read the remaining books in the trilogy, but as always the TBR pile is rather large, so they are probably some way off, but then I saw mention of this one pop up on Twitter and so as it was a novella decided to take a punt on it.

So, Evan Gabriel has joined the navy after both his parents have died and his older brother has disappeared off world leaving him alone. He then applies to become an officer and as we know from reading the first book in the series he is one tough soldier with enhanced neuretic implants. Zero Point tells us how he came to be selected for Special Forces and how he was turned into a super soldier with the abilities that he has.

Pulled out for a transfer that he did not request, but accepts, transported to a lab and submerged unconscious for 22 hours while nano probes enhance his body he comes to in the empty lab with a blood trail but no bodies.... still trying to orient himself to his situation he finds that he is fighting for his life, the enemy have guns, grenades and body armour, he has managed to get his socks on and ..........

Umstead is a SyFy writer who writes, or so it seems to me, with some clarity; in that his prose flows seamlessly along without the uncomfortable trap that many of his contemporaries fall into. By that I mean that many SyFy writers out there seem to feel that there is a need, as they are writing about 'off world' existences and other planets, that they have to make up the most complicated language and names for people and technology, it is of course needed in some stories, particularly if you have created a whole new species, but still!

I don't know about others but when I am reading, the words are actually being spoken aloud in my head by my brain and while Ishbel sitting opposite me on the sofa clearly can't hear me, I can hear them, and so when reading to myself and I find that suddenly I am stumbling over another made up foreign name or word, it can be more than slightly off putting as well as irritating, Umstead doesn't do that [much] - he writes in good old fashioned English without, I suppose, feeling the need to complicate the language, which makes for a flowing narrative....

A good read and good value for the money and, I am sure, a good addition to the first three books.

Editing for Kindle: 5 out of 5
Reading Enjoyment: 5 out of 5
Plot: 5 out of 5
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

I picked this up on a whim and was pretty pleased I did. Aside from a few (now standard) typos, which seems to be the way with every Kindle ebook I've ever purchased, I enjoyed. I admit I figured out the twist very early but even so, the science made sense and wasn't too in your face and I like the character, even if he could do with fleshing out a bit more. However, this is just the opening novella to introduce people to the characters featuring in the Gabriel's Journey trilogy, so much can be forgiven.
On the back of Zero Point, I bought the trilogy, so I guess that says it all.

Welcome to the birth of Evan Gabriel, not his literal birth but the creation of the next gen super soldier equipped with the latest nano tech and neuretics that Earth governments and corporations can supply. Evan as a young cadet he excelled in all areas and was totally focused on his passage through the academies and early deployments, he wasn't one to make friends but fully embraced the notion of comradeship and loyalty to the unit. Evan as a man was prime leadership material and along with his natural talents that got him spotted and moved into a position to eventually become an operative of the Naval Special Warfare unit.
Gabriel: Zero Point is a novella but packs an awful lot of information and events into it's short length, as an introduction to the Evan Gabriel series it would work quite well but it does seem to benefit from knowing the events in his future as told by the initial trilogy. I guess the depth of character and knowing Evan as we do helps to supplement the information given in this novella and you get more out of it but don't let that put you off, if you are new to the series it's certainly not a bad place to start.
Gabriel's Journey (Evan Gabriel Trilogy)