A Dream Within A Dream: Project Cain Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the official blog tour for Project Cain! Today I have my review of the book to share with you and don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the post to enter the tour wide giveaway!

Project Cain

Author: Geoffrey Girard

Genre: YA Thriller/Horror

Release Date: September 3, 2013

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Description:

Fifteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff’s life changes forever when the man he’d thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called ‘Project CAIN’.

There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer’s DNA. There are others like Jeff—those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time: The Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy . . . even other Jeffrey Dahmer clones. Some raised, like Jeff, in caring family environments; others within homes that mimicked the horrific early lives of the men they were created from.

When the most dangerous boys are set free by the geneticist who created them, the summer of killing begins. Worse, these same teens now hold a secret weapon even more dangerous than the terrible evil they carry within. Only Jeff can help track the clones down before it’s too late. But will he catch the ‘monsters’ before becoming one himself?

Project Cain is a young adult thriller/horror novel that tells the story of Jeff Jacobson - a typical 15-year-old guy who lives with his dad, a famous scientist. His entire life comes crashing down around him the night that his dad tells him the truth about who - and what - he is. Jeff's dad has been working on a project for his company and the government for the past twenty years to make weapons - human weapons. For "Project Cain," they took the DNA of the most notorious serial killers and cloned them, hoping to trigger the "anger gene" that causes serial killers to act. Jeff is actually the clone of famous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The worst part - he's not the only one. His dad vanishes into thin air and Jeff is left to fend for himself and told to avoid the police and the company his dad worked for. After a dozen people are killed at the lab and the nearby school and six other clones go missing alongside his dad, Jeff is teamed up with Castillo - the mean and scary looking guy tasked with finding the clones for the government. Will they be able to stop the boys before they cause too much damage? What about his father - what role does he play in all this? And the biggest question on Jeff's mind - is he destined to become a 'monster' too?

Thrillers and horror novels are some of my favorite genres, so I was immediately drawn to this story. The thought of a secret project to clone notorious serial killers was really creepy and surprisingly realistic. The technology exists to clone people and that made this scenario even scarier - that it could possibly happen. The plot was completely unique and original. I was blown away by the plot itself, not to mention all of the twists and turns that kept me on my toes and eagerly turning the pages trying to guess what would happen next. The characters were all well written and realistic - especially Jeff, our main character. It was easy to sympathize with him - he was lied to his entire life, nothing he thought was real about his life, his family, himself, is true, and now he learns that he's a clone of a serial killer and to top it off - the only dad he's ever known has abandoned him. He's scared, lost, confused and afraid of what he's going to turn into. These weaknesses and flaws, along with his realistic personality made it easy for me to identify with him throughout the book. The writing was exceptional with an effortless flow and natural dialogue - both from the narrator (Jeff) and actual conversations in the book. The pace was fast and full of twists and turns that I didn't see coming, which is unusual for me. I loved that it had the ability to confuse and surprise me - that doesn't happen often anymore and when it does, I know that I've found a great author. I loved the descriptions and history tidbits thrown into the book as Jeff explains things. There are pictures along with actual statistics and historical information that spice up the book to a whole new level. I will definitely be looking for the author's next work and I highly recommend this novel for fans of horror fiction and thrillers.

Geoffrey Girard is an award-winning fiction author whose works have appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future (a 2003 winner), Murky Depths, Apex Horror & Science Fiction Digest, and the Stoker-nominated Dark Faith anthology. His first book, Tales of the Jersey Devil, thirteen original tales based on American folklore, was published in 2005, followed by Tales of the Atlantic Pirates (2006) and Tales of the Eastern Indians (2007). Simon and Schuster will publish two Girard novels in 2013: CAIN’S BLOOD, a techno thriller, and PROJECT CAIN, a spinoff novel for teen/YA readers.
Born in Germany, shaped in New Jersey and currently living in Ohio. Geoffrey graduated from Washington College with a literature degree and worked as an advertising copywriter and marketing manager, later shifting to high school English teacher. He is currently the English Dept. Chair at a private boys school in Ohio and is an MA candidate in Creative Writing at Miami University.
He has presented seminars and workshops on creative writing at colleges, elementary schools, bookstores and writers’ organizations and can also be spotted speaking at various conventions/events.

Website