MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
So you read Genesis Plague a while back, before the MASSIVE overhaul that changed several key things with the plot as we move toward the sequel. If you purchased the book from Amazon, you should be able to update your Kindle edition of the book by following this method. If you were gifted the book or received it as an advanced review copy, this is not possible. Instead, I have created a list of the most important changes below. If you don’t want to purchase and/or re-read the entire updated book (and I wouldn’t blame you), check out what is new in the second edition.
Non-Plot Specific
(These changes do not affect the sequel)
- Changed the entire book from present tense to past tense, except for the prologue (“I walk and pick up the vial” is now “I walked and picked up the vial”)
- Title heading “Audience With The King” changed to “Under The Knife”
- No more giant ape. Vincent the genetically-modified chimp now only has a brief cameo.
- No more giant boars. Not even a cameo for these guys. They’re simply gone.
- Three infected humans take the place of our departed animal friends. They are each joined with a parasite, which makes them stronger and faster.
- The whimpering Dr. Crown, who was Vincent’s pet human, is now in charge of the jungle. He controls the three parasitic infected, and captures Paul and Maria. They are forced into a surgery room, where the good doctor makes it clear that he intends to splice a fully-grown parasite into each of them. Flint saves the day before the doctor can finish the operation.
- Since there is no more giant ape, there is no more fight with a giant crocodile. Something in the muddy pool still bites Flint’s ankle, injuring him badly.
- There is also no more chase on the catwalk with Vincent the overgrown chimp hybrid. Instead, Paul is pursued by the three parasitic infected and a roomful of infected workers. Not sure which one is worse. He still gets away. No surprise there.
- The PharmaCor processing facility is destroyed at the end in proper Hollywood fashion.
Plot Specific
(You need to know about these changes before you read the sequel)
- Maria goes with Xander on the train at the end. Yeah, you heard me. She’s a strong character and she doesn’t make the decision lightly. Xander presents a good case for her tagging along, and she tells Paul she’ll make sure the PharmaCor board of directors stays in line, and that he needs to go to Greenland to focus on a cure. Divide and concur. She’ll also keep an eye on Cassidy.
- Paul won’t let that happen. He wants to go wherever the train is headed, since Cassidy is still in her lifepod. Xander, being the villain, triggers the train’s departure along with a 15 second countdown timer that will detonate the tunnel once the train leaves the platform. Paul is forced to take the virus samples he found in the facility and flee with Flint. The train leaves with Maria, Cassidy, and Xander on board, and the tunnel explodes. After Paul and Flint make it to the surface, the entire complex collapses in on itself
- Paul doesn’t give up on Cassidy in the new edition, even though she said she never wanted to see him again in the video. He would have stayed with her lifepod if Xander hadn’t triggered the countdown and made it impossible for Paul to know where the train was going.
- Flint becomes Emma’s guardian (she’s the little girl they picked up on the way to Rapid City), and says they’ll head east to Baltimore to check in on his ex-wife before trying to find a safe haven.
- There are now three “things” embedded in the ice near the research base instead of one. Paul still can’t get a straight answer when he asks about them. He is only told that the researchers hope they hold the key to finding a cure.
- Cassidy pops out of the wrecked train two months later, instead of the original six.
And now you’re all caught up. The decision to go through with such a drastic overhaul was not undertaken lightly, and it resulted in much more work than I had anticipated, which delayed the progress of the sequel. Still, I believe book one is now a much more solid read. I was able to find and fix multiple typos and grammatical errors, so hopefully future readers will experience a nice, smooth story from start to finish. I’m only sorry that I couldn’t have published it like this from the beginning.