First Chapter Review: The One Percenters by John Podgursky

This is another first chapter that has been submitted to the blog directly from the author. It is listed as a psychological thriller novella and was released by Damnation Books.

BLURB: Natural selection has become unnatural. Having dealt with the vicious murder of his wife, Edward Caine takes his rightful place as a One-Percenter, eliminating those not fit for the human race. He must fight his instinct to use his role for revenge; he is after those who live on only because of money and medicine. The weak-gened are not fit to breed, and it's the job of Edward and his brethren to see that they don't. But can he finish the job before his own mind betrays him? He is an agent of the Earth. He is a One-Percenter.

COVER: Not my favorite, but definitely appropriate for the genre. The skull inside the capital O is a nice touch and speaks to the death aspect of the book. I would glance at the back cover blurb after seeing this book on the shelf to find out what it is about.

FIRST CHAPTER: Narrating this story is an unnamed male who has tied Samantha Jones to a tree in the forest. He tells the reader some details of how they came to be where they are. Carefully dropped clues provide information about him and Samantha's fate.

KEEP READING: I'm definitely intrigued. The style of this opening chapter is unique in that author John Podgursky has created a character who has a very calm, friendly manner. He reminds me of a serial killer or a person who massacres a bunch of people one day and the news reports from those who knew who claim he was such a nice, quiet guy. Though we don't know the male character's name in the first chapter, we can assume by the first person narrative that it is Edward Caine who is speaking. The reader also doesn't know his history yet, so Podgursky has quickly created a scenario where she is eager to discover why Edward has Samantha tied to a tree. Even though it is assumed no good can come out of this event, Edward admits he doesn't know what he is going to do with this young woman. His personality is one that doesn't create a sense of anger or hatred on the part of the reader, which is smart, because in psychological thrillers there is much to be gained in getting inside the main character's head and creating a sense of empathy for him.

I would continue reading The One Percenters for a bit to see how it evolves. The book blurb doesn't indicate a story I would generally be interested in, but the first chapter is well-written and has captured my attention. I might be pleasantly surprised by the rest of the book.

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Damnation Books, LLC (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 161572012X
• ISBN-13: 978-1615720125
• SRP: $15.25
• Also available in a Kindle edition. 

The author submitted the first chapter of this novella to me via email, so I can provide my honest opinions. I received no monetary compensation for this first chapter review.