The Untethered

SW Southwick

Feb 2017 · Roble Arrow Publishing Ink

About this eBook

THE UNTETHERED is a philosophical techno-thriller that spans the globe, weaving five seemingly unrelated characters into a web of impossible conflict and unlikely friendship. And while they battle against their own internal demons in an attempt to achieve their selfish pursuits, the self-righteous mobs of the world are closing in to stop them. 

The characters:

Juvenile delinquent, Roble Santos, chases his radical vision to build the most controversial aircraft in history---but with the threat of betrayal, prison, and death all around, he's running out of time.

Political star, Alexandria Patra, rises to the envy of the masses---yet to reach the top she is forced to decide between what everyone expects and her long-abandoned childhood dream.

Rogue geneticist, Stock Brant, reinvents nature in order to save the very world he hates---unaware the price of his plan may be his own soul.

Savant tennis player, Nicolette Popov, employs precise mathematics and youthful spunk to become the best player in the world---but unwilling to follow the rules off the court, she risks everything she fought to achieve.

Manga artist, Danny Sands, goes to the ends of the earth to make his father proud---blind to the reality his submission may cost everything and everyone he ever held dear.

When all five lives collide beneath the streets of Las Vegas, each must make a choice---and none of them will ever be the same again.

 

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"A thought-provoking novel that will appeal to fans of Atlas Shrugged."---BookBub.

bookbub.com/books/the-untethered-by-s-w-southwick

 

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Quote from the back cover:

Alexandria counted her shallow breaths. "Roble, what...what is it you need?"

He pulled his arrowhead out from his shirt and rubbed it. "I don't need to hear how scary the world is and how I shouldn't try anything. I don't need to know how much suffering there is out there," he pointed out the window, "or how bad I should feel about it. What I need..." he looked up, his grey eyes pleading, "...is to see someone who is still happy after growing up."

Lowering his head, he added, "I need to see living, Ms. Patra, because I actually want to live."

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Quote from inside:

The East China Sea glistened like an endless glass sheet. The F-22 Raptor Super Kai flashed just above its surface, ripping twin aerated water plumes into the air.

A grey destroyer sat broadside in the water just ahead. Roble hurtled toward its bow without slowing.

Crossing above the ship, the jet's sonic shockwave rocked sailors to the deck as if Roble's soul had exploded through their bodies. Sea spray from the wake doused the ship's hull like an exclamation point.

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Advisory: This novel contains sex, drugs, and fighter jets.

Ratings and reviews

This book has soooo many twists and turns. Some sections were almost painful to read - but so worth it. A story reminiscent of Howard Huges' drive to built the best jets in the world.

In the beginning. But the more I read the harder that got. By the time it was over, I was already trying to picture what a sequel would be like. That being said I think this novel is complete just as is. The emotional roller-coaster of the characters made them come alive. Even when doing things I didn't personally agree with, they never stopped being relatable once I connected with them. This book has taken the #4 slot of my top 5 books of 2019, and the only reason it's not #1 is cuz I reread my top 3 ;)

This book led me into complete agreement with the story line and the moral understructure. Loved the characters. Big government is the worst possible and most inefficient way to administer projects and people. There is no room for free thinking people to fit into the system. The only way for government to control on such a vast basis is to clone everybody into basically thinking and doing everything the same way.

About the author

Bestselling Author, S.W. Southwick, son of a fighter pilot, and son of gun, lives and writes in Las Vegas. He is currently working on a three part sequel to his debut novel, The Untethered, with the finish date undetermined.

If you are looking for a novel similar in spirit to The Untethered, here is a recommendation by the author:

"Because of my positive philosophical view of life, I usually dislike most novels I read because they tend to endorse a malevolent sense of the universe. More often than not I'm relegated to reading biographies and history books where the heroic nature of a person can't be fully edited away. I do find many parts of heroic stories "hidden" in sci-fi and fantasy, but what I really long to read about is heroes set in contemporary literature. My view of heroism apparently is much different than the majority of writers and readers. Their heroes tend to sacrifice themselves for others as a principle, think in terms of the collective not specific people, and often forgo their own happiness for the idea that suffering is a virtue. I believe there is a reason many villains (or anti-heroes) in today's literature are hailed as heroes behind closed doors; it is because many of them, despite their flaws, are actually independent individuals, which I would argue is the highest virtue a human can possess. Have you ever read a story which includes a selfish hero who accomplishes all of his/her dreams, is considered a criminal by society, yet has harmed no one? Those are the stories I want to read. 

And here is my favorite: The Fountainhead (1943).

It speaks to me on so many levels. To see a character such as Howard Roark seeking his own happiness for his own sake, to see him using rational judgement instead of mystical teachings, to see him neither helping nor hurting anyone else, to see him actively unattached to any group, to see him attacked from every side simply because he stands on his own two feet and uses his own mind, to see him in a contemporary setting that most people can relate to instead of in a fantasy world or in a galaxy far far away---All these elements makes The Fountainhead something very special. And I would venture to say that the secondary characters, especially Gail Wynand and Dominique Francon, are just as fascinating as Howard Roark." SW Southwick

Contact info: [e-mail]

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and goodreads:

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