What people are saying about
​The Sequence

"A complex, exciting, and intelligent thriller with compelling characters and ideas." 
— Kirkus Reviews

"Lucien Telford’s debut The Sequence is a winner that stands out boldly in the area of science fiction. It is a novel that dares to predict the future of science while exploring the implications on humanity, starting with a compelling, believable premise."
— Franklin Bauer for thebookcommentary.com
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"Thoroughly entertaining science fiction by an author who knows how to engage you, with tight prose and suspenseful scenes that carry the story forward. A mix of William Gibson, James Clavell, and Bruce Sterling all rolled into one. Sometimes though, like SEC football, I was wishing everyone could lose. Kit, the protagonist, uses repugnant means to achieve a worthy end, but you can't help but sympathize with her plight. We didn't get enough of Detective Woo, I suspect he will return in a sequel. The best people in the novel were the thieves and smugglers, as is sometimes the case in real life. Looking forward to the sequel."
— Paula Scholtz

"Absolutely brilliant in parts, (many parts), so much so that it’s hard to believe this is the work of a first time author. The story line is multi-layered, fiendishly ingenious, and peppered with such cool tech gear, holograms, vehicles, implants and gadgets that I couldn’t stop thinking what a terrific movie it would make. 
— Terri @booklymatters

"A dystopian adventure involving the morality of gene editing. Thrilling, moving, and thought-provoking."
​— Electra Nanou

"The short chapters are comprised of bold moments with cliffhanger endings, setting a swift pace. As the story lines merge, the chapters elongate and intensify..."
— Foreword Clarion Review

"The Sequence is a gripping, flawlessly-paced, diverting, beautifully written action sci-fi thriller."
— P.L. Stuart, author of A Drowned Kingdom

"THE SEQUENCE is incredibly exciting, and Telford writes it compellingly and well. It’s almost cinematic in scope, with its taut dialogue, creative turns of phrase, and vivid scene descriptions that engulf the reader and draw them easily into this unsettled, unsettling new world."
— Jennifer Weatherly for IndieReader

-- Kirkus Reviews
"The fates of a genetic editor, a contraband-transporting pilot, and two Hong Kong police detectives dangerously converge in this SF thriller.
In the future, scientific advances have made it possible to edit the human genome with inheritable changes. But ever since terrorists released a deadly engineered toxin, the United Governments of the America have banned all DNA manipulation, imprisoning or executing genetic scientists. Kit McKee—the world’s foremost genetic editor— now works out of NegSense, a well-defended, lavishly funded (but by whom?) research lab in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She develops clean, safe, and wildly lucrative cosmetic enhancements while also working on her own secret project. In Hong Kong, detectives Johnny Woo and his partner, Fong, investigate several murders of genetically edited victims. A triad might be involved, such as the one that employs pilot Dallas Ward, who ferries contraband out of Africa. The detectives’ search leads them to NegSense, but when they try to contact Kit for questioning, they find she has disappeared after traveling to Gambia, Africa, for a conference. As shocking secrets regarding NegSense’s test subjects are revealed, all roads lead to Hong Kong and a rich, ruthless man. In his debut novel, Telford shows remarkable assurance. The future science is well founded and lucid, as are the philosophical musings on the ethics of gene editing. The novel is taut and dramatic, with edge-of-your-seat action scenes, vivid multinational settings, and well-drawn, distinct characters whose backstories contribute to the plot. Even minor elements scintillate, such as the detailed description of a Japanese African truck driver’s rig cluttered with bouncing, dangling gewgaws."
—Kirkus Reviews

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— Book Breath Blog
Loved it! 😍A dystopian adventure involving the morality of gene editing. Thrilling, moving, and thought-provoking.
The Sequence is a dystopian tale taking place many years in the future, when genome editing is a thing among several other tech and scientific advancements. Despite the condemnation and restrictions from various fronts, Kit McKee is a leading geneticist, producing the best augments in the world, including a secret one that could change humanity forever. The question is: for better or worse?
The book weaves the stories of different characters together. Apart from Kit, we follow a Hong Kong detective as he tries to solve a series of strange homicides and a triad smuggler hired for a job that turns out to be harder and far more complicated than usual. All the characters are intriguing and well-developed.
The writing is rich and smooth, unravelling the plot very nicely. At times it does feel a bit too languid for the action illustrated, while also missing some opportunities for more depth in terms of important scenes and emotions, for example. Nevertheless, the overall effect of The Sequence is good. You can look forward to an immersive and thought-provoking experience.
To be exact, through the mystery, intrigue, and excitement, we get to think about the morality of gene editing. As Jurassic Park’s Ian Malcom pointed out, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. But what if some augments actually save lives? Does it justify what Kit and other scientists like her do, not to mention the means used to reach their goals? Additionally, is the betterment of mankind worth delivering such innovations to people who happily abuse and weaponize them?
This novel is a worthwhile read, not just because of the great plot, characters, and style, but also because it makes very important points regarding human nature and scientific discovery. The Sequence is the type of science fiction that makes you think and feel while sweeping you up in smart and thrilling action that doesn’t go overboard. Quality work all-round.
REVIEWED BY
Electra Nanou


— P.L.Stuart, author of A Drowned Kingdom
I fully anticipate Lucien Telford to soon begin gracing the lists of best up-and-coming sci-fi writers, after having the pleasure of reading his novel, "The Sequence." I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review, which in no way influenced my opinion of this novel. Wow, I was glad I got a sneak peak this one! An absolutely brilliant book!

Telford begins his novel with some definitions of laws that exist within the universe he creates. These laws include prohibitions against 1) growing living humans from cloned material 2) editing the human genome for the purposes of enhancement 3) humans being used as test subjects for genetic alteration, and 4) illegal transportation to elude taxation and prohibition laws, ergo smuggling. You just know from these definitions being provided at the onset that some of our characters are going violate these rules, and that is going to make things very interesting. No disappointment here: that's exactly what happens.
For me, "The Sequence" is very much about secrets, clandestine pursuits, and moral questions about what constitutes "the end justifies the means". Save for the police investigators in the novel (and even with them there is some moral ambiguity) everyone has something major to hide, that can cost them everything, up to and including their lives.
The setting for "The Sequence" is a dystopian-like near-future earth. There, the plot follows several POVs. The three main POV characters are Dr. Kit McKee, Dallas Ward, and Detective Woo. The reader will follow their unique stories as they align, all tied together by a shadowy, powerful, reclusive figure, who strikes terror in the heart of governments, much less individuals.
McKee is a brilliant scientist, an American expat, working for a private company in China. Her field is genetics, and she is one of the world's best in that sphere. She and close friend / fellow top scientist, Nigerian-Canadian Avery Hill, have been provided some of the most elite laboratory facilities possible to conduct their research. However, both are keeping things from each other. In particular, Kit is working alone on a secret project that is at best controversial. And Hill is engaging in other activities that could compromise his friendship with Kit, and potentially ruin her trust in him forever. 
Meanwhile, Dallas Ward, and his partner Camerica, are pilots and smugglers. They are employed by a Hong Kong triad. That particular gang wields large global influence, does not suffer failure gladly, and tends to keep their contracts short, with contract termination meaning the literal end for their contractors. Faced with this numbing prospect, and flying the latest in advanced stealth airplane technology, Dallas and Camerica (Cam) are very well compensated to risk life, limb, and liberty, trying to avoid imprisonment or being shot down by the authorities, or killed by their employers should they botch any of their illicit missions. 
Finally, Hong Kong Police senior Detective Woo, and his partner Fong, have been drawn into the investigation of murders linked to the field in which McKee specializes. Woo is haunted by tragedy occurring in a task force unit he was once part of, and dodged in his determination to get to the bottom of the crimes, which seem to follow after turbulent weather episodes. 
These characters are fascinating. Each are intelligent, talented, driven, but lonely or isolated, conflicted, and trapped in their own unique fears and issues. They are very well fleshed out, and the reader will be engrossed in their fates. The best characters have the reader easily envision what they would look like, if portrayed by famous actors on the screen, and Telford's slick narrative does that for me. 
Ward - who I would have played by someone like Henry Golding or Darren Criss - reminds me of legendary charming rogue smugglers of screen sci-fi lore such as Dominick Cobb, and Hans Solo. I can see Chow Yun Fat or Jet Li, with all their gravitas and charisma, playing the movie / tv version of Detective Woo. And for the heart of the story, the genius, ambitious, strong yet vulnerable heroine McKee, could be portrayed by someone like Constance Wu or Ali Wong. This book definitely deserves a movie adaptation some day down the road - it just plays well to that sort of conversion. No doubt it would look gorgeous on the big or small screen.
Beyond exceptional characters, "The Sequence" has the best elements every popular sci-fi books needs: it illustrates the relationship between the characters and the future environment, and how that new-age environment impacts them; it explains the future technologies, systems, and how they operate in a way that is readily understood; and it features incredibly cool, sexy tech that is imaginative candy for the reader. 
The pacing feels like a great spy thriller, or police procedural. Its fast, yet Telford manages not to skimp on the details, and truly suck the reader into his novel, with a potent blend of action and exposition, highlighted by evocative prose. 
Oh, that succulent prose. I have read few sci-fi books that pay the kind of attention to detail and description that I crave, which catapults me into the setting as if I am actually there. Not so with Telford. This author had me captivated with the elegance of his writing in the opening paragraphs:

"A staccato of shallow flora along a bare, wind-razored stretch of savannah, pimples on a barren landscape, short grasses scorched by a summer's fierce sunlight. In the distance, the tendril-like fingers of a fiery-red sunrise crept up behind blackening thunderheads through the pre-dawn East African air, the rising sun illuminating their silhouettes with a background of blood-red sky."

Finally, the book incites thought-provoking questions about genetic enhancement, and whether or not this is something good for humankind, or bad. I found the exploration of this topic riveting. Great science fiction books make one think about future possibilities for the human race, and where they could take us, and Telford's novel certainly delivers on that aspect. 
"The Sequence" is a gripping, flawlessly-paced, diverting, beautifully written action sci-fi thriller. This one is bound to garner many more great reviews, and I predict Telford is in for his share of writing accolades in the future. He is surely a great writer to watch.
— P.L. Stuart, author of A Drowned Kingdom

– Amazon Verified Reader
This is a highly engaging thriller that draws upon sci-fi and noir conventions. The story is peopled by scientists, smugglers, and detectives. The dialogue is sharp and funny. The world-building is detailed and inventive. The story also feels chillingly prescient. This is a world shaped by extreme weather and widespread sociopolitical disorder. Features of this world, such as “pod” dwellings, “protective covered walkways,” “asteroid mining,” and sudden violence (inflicted by both criminal operatives and by weather systems) are assumed parts of daily life.

At the center of the story are stunning advances in genetic modification. Geneticists have been driven out of the United States (“the United Governments of the America”) as a result of some sort of theocratic crackdown, but elsewhere the work races forward. One modification revealed near the end of the story is genuinely species-altering.

Though the story is not without disturbing elements (e.g., unconscious humans are grown in medical storage facilities for organ harvesting), it is also full of laugh-out-loud funny passages (the one about bad-food tourism was a particular favorite).

Kit McKee, the plucky antiheroine at the center of the story, is a gene editor—an author of “augments.” Detectives Woo and Fong are wisecracking, analog-preferring, persevering investigators. Dallas and Cam are aviators for hire—extremely good at their jobs, but working in a definite gray area. The author deftly weaves all of their stories together.

If you enjoy the rich atmospherics of Bladerunner 2049 as well as the fast-paced plotting and provocations of Minority Report, you really should check out The Sequence.

THE SEQUENCE IS NOW AVAILABLE

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