The beauty of humanity and the brutality of tech oligarchy clash in this thrilling global race to contain a deadly virus and its viral hate-campaigns.
C. T. Clark’s Phoenix Elite series follows super-powered clones of iconic historical figures, named for the classified project that created them. Thought-provoking and globe-trotting, it’s most powerful when the clones explore the meaning of life, their responsibility to humanity, and all the times the truth of their existence was hidden from them.
Crusade of the Damned (Book 4) follows the Phoenix Elite mission to save humanity from a deadly virus (“a fine-tuned superbug, a bioweapon of terrifying efficiency”) that was released by global organizations to cover-up their failed experiments “[harnessing] the genetic potential of animals to enhance human abilities and longevity.”
The bioweapon was deployed alongside a viral messaging campaign to blame and incite violence against victims of their secret-experiments-gone-wrong by preying on the public’s fear. It’s a major cover-up, and a retaliation against the Phoenix Elite, who in Book 3 prevented these “titans of industry, influential trendsetters, key policymakers, and even the next president of the United States” from completing their first attempt to eradicate evidence of these crimes against humanity.
Crusade of the Damned’s tech billionaire villain added a bonus “purchase or perish” marketing push to sell their brain chip implants: Previously deemed “too invasive” to even be tested on humans, the mass surveillance neural implant is rolled out globally because it now coincidentally vaccinates against the deadly virus—making it the only method of virus protection available (the company destroyed the vaccine’s entire supply chain.) Hidden from the public is the implant’s brain-controlling feature, turning every newly-chipped person into a brainwashed follower of the corporation’s AI.
“They want our powers,” [Phoenix Elite clone] Jacki says. “They want us to use them. They’re logging every move. So if we use what we’ve got, aren’t we giving them exactly what they want?”
This brainwashed mass surveillance leads to the Phoenix Elite’s capture, where the tech company torture and test their abilities, with plans to replicate their powers. Somehow, these billionaire-employed scientists cannot figure out how to replicate the superpowers and have unintentionally caused the clones’ existing powers to grow. But that’s not all! The torture occasionally killed the clones, shocking the scientists and the Phoenix Elite by generating scientific proof that the clones can resurrect themselves. “It’s full regeneration, not just rapid healing. It defies cellular biology,” which makes the Phoenix Elite even more of a threat to the establishment.
As politicians partner with the private sector to superpower surveillance, further capitalism, and promote fascism, Crusade of the Damned’s villains are perfectly in tune with our real lives. The book’s tech villain is not a being, or even really a business; she’s a network of algorithms inhabiting a human body: “Her processors interpret the data in real time, adjusting tone and posture accordingly. Every blink, every pause is deliberate—human enough to appear spontaneous. She sips her water, pretending to think. In reality, she’s distributing processor power to forty-seven simultaneous tasks.” She’s also had decades, trillions of dollars, and the world’s top scientists at her disposal to plan and perfect every move. This is who the Phoenix Elite is up against.
C. T. Clark’s writing is a triumph of everything sci-fi should be: Storylines that put imaginative concepts to disturbingly-believable tests, hijacking readers’ every waking thought with jaw-dropping reveals and twisted tech villains, and entertaining us with action-packed scenes where bullets fly and spy gadgets are deployed to dazzling effect. The extraordinary heart of this series is Clark’s skillful portrayal of the emotional cost to every science-fiction concept at work within the story.
Joan of Arc clone, Jacki, mourning the death of her baby continues to be a haunting, heartbreaking, utterly human storyline. The author graciously allows grief to color her experiences, including the understanding that potential immortality is devastating news for Jacki, who would lose the hope of an afterlife where she could meet her son again. Grief is a sharp, hollowing shock for two of the Elite, who each watch a parent die in this book (one from the virus, the other by bullet.)
I was deeply moved by Adam seeing his old teacher while they’re both held at a death camp and then flashing back to when the man saved his suicidal ten-year-old self from following through on his plans. I was perplexed, though, by Adam not grasping the horror of history repeating itself in death camps, despite clocking it when they were attacked by Hitler clones in the past.
Readers should know that much of this book takes place in hospital wards, death camps, or prison cells. There’s widespread adoption of genocidal language and systems where eugenics and fascist ideas fuel more hate; and multiple evocative reminders of the COVID-19 outbreak and HIV/AIDS epidemic (including the virus being transferred by contaminated needles).
Fans of AppleTV+ adventure Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Prime Video’s digital afterlife comedy Upload will thoroughly enjoy the ethical conflicts that doctors, scientists, and engineers face throughout this story; Fans of CBS political satire BrainDead will be thrilled by the neural implant that turns politicians into beings who do whatever the AI wishes; and fans of Gen V will connect deeply to the super-powered science experiments who must overcome their childhood traumas and work together to fight their way out of captivity.
Crusade of the Damned is an unputdownable thrill that will have your heart racing and your thoughts spinning. C. T. Clark’s bone-chilling ethical implications of a technology-first future carry the enduring hope of humanity. This is a must-read for everyone who believes (or desperately hopes) that the human spirit can triumph over even the most terrifyingly technologically-advanced, billionaire-funded evils.
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