‘MEMORIES CAN BE MURDER.’
From the multi-award-winning author of the cult novels BLOOD CRAZY and THE NIGHT OF THE TRIFFIDS.
‘IF IDENTITY COULD BE REPLACED WITH MEMORY IMPLANTS.’
THE PROTOS EXPERIMENT is gripping dystopian Sci-Fi/Horror based on an Avenet-Bradley Film, scripted by Simon Clark and Brian Avenet-Bradley, and directed by Laurence and Brian Avenet-Bradley.
‘SHE STARTED TO REMEMBER.’
Kyra wakes in a mysterious, dungeon-like vault… Kyra is not alone. She is chained to a wooden structure, and she is utterly vulnerable in the presence of a nightmarish, prowling figure that is getting ever closer to her. Kyra discovers she has other companions. They appear to be captives, too, but how far can she trust them? Because soon, she will be plunged into a terrifying and dangerous struggle to save her own life. Somehow, she must evade the Protos… and then escape their cruel master.
Dark bleatings, my experimental tribe! I’m here to talk about the newest book from Simon Clark today, The Protos Experiment. In short, this is a nuts sci-fi horror (emphasis on the ‘horror’), that tricks you into thinking you know the characters, but you don’t. Or do you?
The longer version of this review goes as follows…
The opening scene was an absolute thrill. A guy wakes up with no knowledge of where he is and no memory of how he got there. In fact, he doesn’t seem to remember much of anything. He quickly finds that he’s chained to an enormous guy that moves through the dank rooms of wherever-the-nightmare this is, slaughtering anyone that draw his attention. Weirdly, said gargantuan brute seems completely unaware of the helpless fellow he’s dragging around – he doesn’t seem to hear, see, or feel him at all. There are other petrified prisoners here, all shackled to something or someone, and all at the mercy of this dude.
The sense of panic and fear is palpable, and immediately puts you on the side of these people. And then, they all seem to awaken elsewhere, with no memory of what just happened or each other. My mind was boggling. BOGGLING, I TELL YOU.
From there, we embark on an absolute nightmare of psychological horror that covers all the great hallmarks of the genre; an immediate, overbearing threat, characters that are easy to route for because if you have any empathy, of course you’re hoping things turn out okay for them, and a central mystery that must be unravelled. But it’s more than that. This story, in a broader sense, is about cause and consequence, crime and punishment, and justice and retribution. I think that the themes of this book are more relevant than ever.
I found that on the surface, The Protos Experiment was a fun, thrilling, twisty tale of horror – the kind that we know and love Simon Clark for. Beneath that layer, it’s also an entertaining but thought-provoking look at our judicial system, whether or not it works, and reminds us what it’s supposed to be for in the first place. It raises several interesting discussion points about society and perspective, and I’ve been thinking about its themes for weeks.
I’d recommend it to horror fans, especially if you like a little social commentary and some light sci-fi thrown in. If you’d like to check out the book, author, or upcoming movie trailer, I’ve popped some links below for you:
THE MOVIE TRAILER CAN BE WATCHED HERE
Bleeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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