In a seemingly alternate futuristic universe, Peter Bernhardt is the who’s who of nanotechnology. He and his firm, Biogineers, are well-known for their ground-breaking advancements in nanotech. However, when someone steals his tech and uses it to kill thousands of people near a convention in Las Vegas, all fingers point to Peter being behind it all. He loses everything – his company, his career, his house, his reputation, etc. (R)EVOLUTION is where his story begins in the Phoenix Horizon Trilogy by P.J. Manney. 

Here Comes the (R)EVOLUTION

Peter and his wife Amanda enlist the help of an old college friend and somewhat friendly rival named Carter Potsdam. Carter eventually lets Peter in on a little secret – he joined a secret society called the Phoenix Club, an elite group of powerful and wealthy men whose members date back to the Founding Fathers. The Phoenix Club helped Carter achieve his dreams, and he says that they can help Peter get back on his feet with his newest innovations. Peter agrees, sending our Protagonist on a roller coaster of opportunities, conspiracy theories, betrayals, and so on. 

P.J. Manney has written for TV before, but I believe this is her first novel series. She goes into great detail in building this world, describing the technology and how it works, while still drawing suspense and challenging readers to pay attention to those who seem to keep an eye on Peter for their own agenda. 

The details and explanations helped me grasp the purpose of the tech and ultimately how devastating it would be if it fell into the wrong hands. Furthermore, our protagonist uses music to work through problems, pairing songs with situations, even earning some eyerolls from his team at the cliché moments. Manney includes a playlist at the end of each book. I encourage readers to examine the lyrics to gain an even more in-depth understanding of pivotal plot points.  

Eventually Peter finds himself in over his head and accepts the help of Talia Brooks – a mysterious, beautiful, talented, and highly-connected woman. She assists Peter in becoming Thomas Paine and exacting his revenge on those who wronged him. Following this covert plan and being in on the secret was enjoyable for me as the reader.

Overall I had mixed feelings about Peter’s fate in the first book of the Phoenix Horizon Trilogy, (R)EVOLUTION. To say I didn’t care if Peter survived wasn’t necessarily true. I suppose I was ready to accept his death because he was powering through his to-do list all the same. Death is a gray area in Manney’s Phoenix Horizon series anyway… 

On to (ID)ENTITY

In the second book in the Phoenix Horizon Trilogy, (ID)ENTITY, we see the aftermath of Peter/Thomas’s success in stopping the powerful forces who would use his technology for less-than-noble means. Peter/Thomas has become Major Tom, the first successful AHI – Artificial Human Intelligence. In this book he struggles with lacking a physical form and the emotions and other unique experiences that come with being human. Even so, the entire world knows about Major Tom due to his actions in the first novel; funny enough, half of mankind reveres him, while the other half labels him a villain. Meanwhile, other countries take advantage of the confusion in the U.S. to expand their empires, which involves Major Tom more than he realizes. 

Of course, Major Tom gets help from old friends and new ones. Ruth is a childhood friend of Peter’s and Carter’s, and the daughter of their deceased mentor. Veronika Gascon is a 20-something trans woman expert hacker who is obsessed with Peter yet proves to hold her own in a group of creative geniuses. Dr. Steve, Talia’s former lover, becomes an invaluable asset to the team; after all, it helps to have a medical professional on board when Peter’s experiments include installing his own tech into his body and giving AI capabilities to sex robots (yes, really).

Without getting too spoilery, (ID)ENTITY really makes readers explore what it means to be human. Major Tom cannot relate to human emotions, and he only has memories of what his own experiences were. He also has access to the web at the speed of a standard search engine, which unfortunately renders his wait-time at a glacial pace compared to his human counterparts. 

I appreciated how Manney explored what it would be like to be an AHI, and the struggles that would come with that – such as the disconnect between Major Tom and the rest of humanity. Our protagonist goes through such unique character growth, having to make increasingly difficult decisions but unfortunately falling short. I did become frustrated at times; Major Tom and the gang go through so much work to right wrongs and help humanity, only to find themselves a step behind Carter et al. and even falling into his traps on several occasions. It’s also heartbreaking to see the turmoil that his decisions cause his allies and life-long friends, who end up questioning their own roles in these events. 

And Finally, (CON)SCIENCE

Lastly we get to (CON)SCIENCE, the final installment in the Phoenix Horizon Trilogy. Carter is still at large and wreaking havoc, seemingly obsessed with ensuring Peter’s downfall. He strategically uses Peter’s own mind to turn the world against him, using the people most important to him at one time or another. Seriously, if you’re a parent, some moments are very powerful and heart wrenching. 

What I also found interesting was China’s involvement in the fiasco and how much control they really have when it comes to how technology affects international relations. On a more intimate scale, we also lose other notable characters and see Peter/Tom deal with multiple versions of himself. That being said, Manney seemed to wrap up everything in several bows while simultaneously giving us a peek into where Peter’s story and his technology would go. 

Overall, the Phoenix Horizon Trilogy is well-paced, packed with twists and turns, and details a future that we might be closer to than we realize. I did my best to keep up with the terminology and science of it all, but those who are interested in such topics like nanotechnology, bioengineering, and artificial intelligence will undoubtedly appreciate and enjoy how Manney tells this story. 

Deep Dive into Tech

P.J. Manney joins our growing list of guests on The Nerd Cantina Show to talk about her background and the future of technology as she sees it. Stay tuned for an upcoming Cantina Conversation and purchase the entire Phoenix Horizon Trilogy, available now.