The Rho Agenda

The Best-Selling Amazon Sci-Fi Series
by Richard Phillips

The Second Ship, UFO conspiracy thriller by Richard Phillips, Midwest Book Review

The Best Selling New Sci-Fi Series
by Richard Phillips

#1 Best Seller
"Amazon.com Science Fiction"

Wormhole Update: ( 30 December 2011)


I am pleased to announce that I have come to agreement with the publisher on final contract terms.  The final contract should be prepared and sent to me for signature once the publishing house comes back to work after the holidays.  For the latest update, please visit my Rho Agenda Blog. Richard Phillips

 

For sixty years, the National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico has been investigating the powerful technologies of a damaged alien ship, an effort dubbed the “Rho Project.” Now, the American government is ready to share the Rho Project discoveries with the world.

But as the world scrambles to adopt the alien technologies, three people make another shocking discovery: hidden inside a cave in the New Mexico wilderness lies a second alien ship. The discovery snares them in a web of government cover-ups involving secret experimentation using alien technology on humans and the frightening knowledge of an extraterrestrial war.

A battle has begun, and the secrets of the second ship may hold the key to humanity’s last chance for survival.

In this stunning new thriller, Richard Phillips provides a terrifying glimpse into technologies that lie just around the future's corner.

 

A Note from Richard Phillips

 

Many people have asked me why I chose to thrust three high school students into such increasingly violent content.  The answer lies in what we do to our kids every day: try to give them nice comfortable lives, then ship them off to some violent hell-hole halfway around the world, hoping they come through it alive and mentally recognizable. 

 

In the Rho Agenda trilogy, war is coming, and as three young people are about to discover, the road to becoming a warrior carries a very heavy toll.

 


Reviews

 

"This second book of the Rho Agenda certainly kept my attention going at high speed. I suppose it could be read as a stand-alone, but because the story continues with no break and to get a real feel of understanding where the story has been and how it got to where it is, I do recommend that the first book in the series be read before tackling this one. You will be very glad you did because it sets up and prepares you for everything that is about to come.

Picking up immediately from where "The Second Ship: Book One of the Rho Agenda" left off, "Immune: Book Two of the Rho Agenda" is much more active and serious. A roller-coaster ride of a lifetime with no tracks! What is your talent or special ability? Imagine if it was increased a thousandfold? This is one of the many facets of the book. What if you find out your enemy has also increased specialties a thousandfold? Although "Immune" is a much darker story than "The Second Ship", that darkness was carefully set up in the first book and follows through, building to threshold on threshold. There seems to be no stopping it. Hang on to your hats, everyone, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Our three teen protagonists, Heather, Jen and Mark, have become even more in control of and more adept at their exceptional talents. Their focus and brilliance is amazing, but still they maintain the usual ups and downs of normal teens. I found myself wishing I had the same power of speed reading as Mark, one of his newly learned abilities. The speed reading would have made it possible for me to read this book without stopping to eat or sleep. In fact, I did forget to eat, but sleep overtook me. Richard Phillips has an incredible way of bringing his readers right into the story, one can't help but be involved. What an encompassing book, what a fantastic series! Tender moments between heart-stopping terror; horror and conspiracy, but at the same time a bonding between friends; death and new life; all there and more. There are constantly new things discovered on the Rho Ship, but Jen has shut down the Second Ship to save it. Everything from drug lords to heroes to good and evil in high places, even good and evil between the two ships, and our young heroes are on the run.

New characters are introduced, some old and new characters disappear, "poof"! Emotional ups and downs are enough to keep any reader on his/her toes. This is one very gripping tale. The story is hungry, it wants all your attention and devours you. This book crosses so many genres, or what we may think of as genres, I believe Richard Phillips could write about anything and fascinate the reader! This series is an absolute winner! We're now left hanging, breathless, wondering what will come with the next book! One thing we know, it will pack a wallop."
---Nightreader Reviews

"There is a new force to be reckoned with in the realm of Science Fiction Literature. Let me assign my absolute highest recommendation to anything you can get your hands on written by Richard Phillips, I have just finished "The Second Ship: Book One of the Rho Agenda" and "Immune: Book Two of the Rho Agenda" and am finding it difficult to contain my excitement at the prospect of imbibing "Wormhole: Book Three of the Rho Agenda." The first two books defy conventional critique and stand alone as a monument to excellence not only in the Science Fiction genre, but in the broader context of modern literature. The imagery and emotion evoked by Phillips is every bit as palpable as watching Avatar in 3D at the IMAX on a pot of Honduran coffee containing ground coca leaves.

Phillips' literary style is characterized by the use of language that is as evocative and eloquent as it is efficient. Transitions are intuitive and seamless. Character development is incredibly strong, leading to true concern, affection, sympathy, and disdain for his rich tapestry of characters that all manage to strike common enough chords within the reader to impart an uncanny sense of realism in the characters' emotional states and interactions. Plot elements are interwoven so cleverly as to produce a sense of satisfaction I can scarcely describe upon being whipped through each twist and turn. Scientific and technical story elements are presented in a such a way as to be easily followed by the lay person, while remaining sufficiently sophisticated as to not insult any science snobs in his audience. Phillips takes risks psychologically and emotionally challenging plot elements, and the payoff is great - some made the blood run from my face in revulsion while others ignited a very real hatred of some of the darker characters.

It has been a long while since I have considered myself a voracious reader, but Phillips' books have ushered in an abrupt change to that assessment. Perhaps the most glowing recommendation I can give is that my wife, who has always "tolerated" my love for science fiction fought with me over whose turn it was to read as we were reading it concurrently, so we stayed up the last few nights reading it aloud to one another. Upon concluding each reading session, we were as energized as we'd have been just exiting the latest multi million dollar summer blockbuster. In short, these books will utterly ROCK you out of your run-of-the-mill-sci-fi-induced ennui. Truly a new bar has been set."
---Lambert Review

"...enjoy the first of what promises to be an engaging series of novels that this reviewer could definitely envision as an exciting movie as well as (a) fascinating read!"
---Crystal Reviews

"I really appreciated this book. I love science fiction/thriller type books, but sometimes they are lacking in plot and believability. I have to say that this was one of the most INTELLIGENT books in this genre I have read."
---Showell Reviews