Now a captain in the Air Force, Roger Greene loves spending his days in the cockpit while helping with a top-secret military project. So when the CIA asks him to leave this perfect life for a temporary government mission against the Heritage Organization, he turns the offer down—until he hears a name from his past. Motivated by a duty now personal as well as civil, Roger agrees to go on the assignment that will place him—and the woman he loves—in greater danger than ever before.

The Methuselah Project was a fabulous book. But S.O.S. takes “fabulous” to the next level, with higher stakes, multiple plot twists, and even more humor than its precursor.

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I specifically enjoyed the following parts of this standalone sequel:

The Tension

The stakes were high enough in The Methuselah Project, but in S.O.S. the overall tension and urgency increase, both for the individual characters and on the global scale. The stakes kept rising even within the book, which held my attention as “This is bad” went to “This is really bad” to “This is really REALLY bad.” I could not put this book down.

Additionally, S.O.S. offers not just one but several plot twists, one leading to the other like a chain detonation, that left me reeling. Near the end of the book I gave up even trying to predict who would do what or what would because it was obvious whatever I expected wasn’t going to happen. But I loved it—there’s something satisfying about a good twist in a story. (Or a few good twists.)

More subtle but just as gripping was the romantic tension between Roger and Katherine throughout the story. While at various points I wanted to slap both of them upside the head, I couldn’t really because in their place I would probably do the same thing. Their behavior was perfectly natural, and albeit maddening, it did make me want to keep reading in hopes of an eventual reconciliation.

The Realism

The author fills in his story with all sorts of little details: quick-thinking survival skills, makeshift booby traps, last-minute hiding places, and more. I was thoroughly impressed by the author’s research and learned some pretty cool things!

The author also includes entire phrases and sometimes sentences of foreign languages, all short enough and in context that we understand the gist of what’s being said. I loved “hearing” the language itself as opposed to reading “He said something in German.” Great authenticity.

The Depth

This book shows us both extremes of humanity: its very best in the protagonists and its very worst in the Heritage Organization. Granted, the main characters aren’t perfect, and they don’t make perfect choices. But they want to do right, and their motivations and actions give us a glimpse of the highest morality possible among humans.

Then we get to the Heritage Organization, whose evil members and terrible projects plunge into the deepest, darkest potential of the same human soul. Though based on speculation, these projects aren’t far removed from reality (if removed at all), and I think that’s why I found them so repulsive. Though a work of fiction, S.O.S. accurately exposes the best and the worst sides of humanity–then lets readers decide which side they’ll choose.   

The Humor

The Methuselah Project made me laugh, but I’m pretty sure S.O.S. made me laugh even more. One part in particular had me DYING—in public. I was waiting for a friend in a café and had to stop reading more than once because I was laughing so hard. Kudos to the author for fabulous humor and wit. These light moments balance the tension nicely, and who doesn’t like a book that will give some hearty (and clean) laughs?

The Ending

At first I was disappointed by how Roger ends the book. I was also worried about him and sorry for the change to his character. But the more it sank in, the more I appreciated it and felt relief rather than disappointment. (To say why would give spoilers, so I’ll stop here.) It was bittersweet to me, but I savored it all the same.

The Faith

I liked seeing Roger’s trust in God and watching God work in divine but realistic ways. There were evident answers to prayer that affirmed Roger’s trust and proves to readers that even in a fiction story God is real, hears our prayers, works on our behalf, and is/would be good and trustworthy no matter what happens.

I also appreciated another character’s prayers and budding trust. The way these characters reached out to God was appropriate to their personalities and circumstances (and appropriate to the story, without digressing into sermons or spiritual treatises), and the way they saw God’s responses, acknowledged them to Him, and grew because of them was truly a blessing to read.

Overall, I highly recommend Methuselah Project S.O.S. to any adult or mature teen looking for a gripping read with high stakes, realistic characters, laugh-out-loud humor, and faith-based themes.

Get your copy of Methuselah Project S.O.S. on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or add it on Goodreads!

(I was given an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review, but I bought my own hardcopy anyway!)

About the Author

Rick Barry is the author of Methuselah Project S.O.S., The Methuselah Project, Gunner’s Run, Kiriath’s Quest, plus over 200 published articles and fiction stories. In addition to being a World War II buff, he has visited Eastern Europe over 50 times in connection with Christian ministries. He holds a degree in foreign languages and speaks Russian. Visit Rick at his website, Facebook, or Twitter.