Operation

Author: Toby Heathcotte
Publisher: Triskelion Publishing
Available At: www.triskelionpublishing.com
Publishing Date: July 2004
Genre: Futuristic Romance - Phantom Realms line
Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML/LIT
Price: $5.99
ISBN: 1-932866-15-9
Author Website: www.tobyheathcotte.com
Reviewer: Robin Taylor

Twenty-two year-old Maya Rembrandt, super brain, graduate from Yale and MIT, has led a normal, productive life. A bit stressed as a youth however, as she was always smarter than her peers and graduated every school years ahead. Her specialty is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and she has a job she loves. Suddenly, everything about Maya's life has changed. Her best friend is murdered right in front of her; her already strange parents are acting even stranger, and her daily interactions with computers and technology are taking a strange turn. Next thing she knows, there is a blackout among the Eastern seaboard, involving several states. Somehow, Maya feels responsible. But how? Then, discovering her parents are not her parents at all, but hybrids, has really confused and shocked Maya.

Nearly twenty years ago, seven girls, including Maya, were abducted. Neither local authorities nor the FBI ever found out what happened to the girls. Each girl, some as young as two years old, became the property of an alien race called the Anaz-voohri, from the Pleiades galaxy. The Anaz-voohri decided they wanted to take over the planet earth. By kidnapping these girls, and programming each of them with different gifts - even changing their DNA - the Anaz-voohri have a plan that involves setting triggers in each of the girls, to further their plan to take over the planet. Maya and the others are dubbed The seven sisters of the Pleiades. The black-out is the first instance in using one of the "sisters" - Maya Rembrandt.

With world politics undergoing many changes in the first decade of 2000, it was necessary to create a Global Security Sector, to prevent any threats against the planet. In the process of their operation, the GSS discovered some nasty alien activities, and another group was formed, called ORION. ORION's sole purpose is to seek out alien threat and destroy it. The Anaz-voohri plan has been identified, and now ORION is set to destroy each of the seven girls as they are found. The blackout is no coincidence, and ORION now realizes Maya Rembrandt is one of the seven, and a death warrant is placed against her.

Dylan Brady, code named Apollo, is a Mythos operative. Mythos was formed when it was realized how corrupt both the GSS and ORION have become. Dylan is an unusual man, gifted with clairvoyance - able to project himself into current and past events. This makes him a very valuable operative to Mythos. Dylan's current assignment: find Maya Rembrandt and kill her. Dylan does a lot of research. This research reveals a lot about his past - much to his surprise, and the truth behind Maya's past. There just might be a chance that Maya has not a clue as to her past, and that she's being used by the Anaz-voohri. Dylan is determined to get to the bottom of what's going on with Maya, and uses every opportunity to try and vindicate her - while desperately trying to keep her alive. The elite group of operatives known as Mythos must seek out every "sister", find out what gift and trigger she has, and protect her.

Full Contact is utterly thrilling. Danger at every turn. Nothing is as it seems. Book One of the Operation: Pleiades series is amazing. After witnessing everything Maya is experiencing, the rest of the series promises to be just as intense. As Maya didn't know about her "sisters", they also don't know of their past, and of the purpose the Anaz-voohri has in store for them. Ms. Heathcotte grabbed this ball and ran the full hundred yards! Taking this concept of an alien race intent on destroying the human race, and taking over the planet while using innocent victims to do their dirty work, certainly gave readers a hint of Ms. Heathcotte's incredible imagination.

This is a book you live or feel. You sense the danger facing Maya. You want her to be safe. You want Dylan to be able to save her. Above all, you will want Maya to trust Dylan. If you want to read a book where you are completely pulled out of this world and into another, then Full Contact is definitely the book you want. Publisher Triskelion promises a book every month for at least the rest of this year continuing this amazing series. Each story will be written by a different author, and in each story we'll meet the next "sister", and the next Mythos operative. Make room on your computer's hard drive, or your PDA; make time in your schedule, because Operation: Pleiades promises to be the most exciting continuity series for a long time to come.

Futuristic Romance

Earth - 2000

An Anaz-voohri removes seven baby girls from their safe, warm beds and steals them away to his awaiting ship. The girls' DNA is changed and Anaz-voohri DNA is added, making the girls' the perfect weapons to destroy Earth.

Earth - 2022

Maya Rembrandt creates computer programs, merging with the computers to do so. When her friend, Lola, is murdered, Maya is devastated. However, things get worse when she accidentally shuts down the entire Eastern seaboard while creating a fantasy lover. Maya finds herself a suspect wanted for questioning. Wandering aimlessly, trying to figure out what is going on, Maya falls asleep on a park bench in the snow and is awakened by Dylan Brady, the man she'd met at a museum auction. Strange things are happening, and even stranger is the way her parents are behaving. What is going on? Who exactly is Dylan?

An operative for Mythos, Dylan Brady is one of the good guys who protect the future of mankind. He fights against the Anaz-voohri, who want to take over the Earth, and Orion, a deadly organization that governs the whole Earth. Mythos believes that the aliens have hybrid spies in Orion, and it's not a good thing. When Dylan is assigned to investigate the death of Maya's friend, Lola, he uses his power to go back and visit the site of the killing. What he discovers is very disturbing and leaves Dylan and his boss, Archer, with a lot of unanswered questions. Just exactly why does Orion want Maya dead?

FULL CONTACT reminds me of a sci-fi movie with alien abductions, attempted world domination, and a league of good guys to defeat the enemy. Born blind, Dylan is given his sight with new technology at the CEM, Center for Evolutionary Medicine. But, he discovers something a little extra...he can see visions. Maya is intelligent, and flies through everything with quickness and smarts. She's often wondered about this ability but never really explored it until now. When Dylan discovers that both of them were used by the CEM and injected with alien DNA, he is angry for them both. The atrocities they both have suffered are inconceivable, but it makes them who they are. Dylan and Maya are both well-created characters who find they have quite a bit in common. There's only one problem -- Dylan was sent to take Maya out before the trigger in her brain is set off and she unwittingly helps the aliens take over the world. As Dylan and Maya work together to stop whatever plot has been hatched, readers become aware of the deep feelings developing between the couple.

The first of seven stories, FULL CONTACT sets up the series very well. Readers learn the identities of all seven girls and what they are capable of. To say FULL CONTACT is intriguing is an understatement. Ms. Heathcotte's imagination runs wild in this futuristic tale, and this reviewer can't wait to read the next book in the OPERATION: PLEIADES series. Each story is written by a different author and should prove quite enjoyable.

For a plot thickening, mind-grabbing, romantic story, grab your copy of Toby Heathcotte's FULL CONTACT today.

Seven young girls were once kidnapped by Anaz-voorhis and had their DNA changed to further the aliens’ cause of ridding Earth of humans. Those girls have now grown up and it is time for the hidden triggers that were implanted to come to life. FULL CONTACT is the story of one of those girls, Maya Rembrandt, and her struggle to understand the circumstances in which she has been thrust. The fate of humanity is at stake.

After watching her best friend gunned down, Maya is stricken with grief for the one person who seemed to like her for what she was. She goes to work as usual, but when she enters her artificial intelligence computer, something strange happens. When she comes out, the whole eastern seaboard has been blacked out and someone knows it is her fault. The government hunts her and her only hope of survival rests in the hands of Dylan Brady. She has no idea how he found her or why he is helping her. Can she trust him with her life? Should she?

Dylan Brady is a Mythos operative who has been sent to find and kill Maya before she can wreak more havoc. Dylan, though, cannot bring himself to kill her after he has met her. He digs into her past and realizes that Maya most likely has no idea what is going on. When Maya realizes who she is, she is determined to rid the Earth of the Anaz-voohri threat. But does she have any control over herself, or is she ultimately just a pawn? Dylan must find out or lose this amazing woman.

FULL CONTACT is full of action and danger at every turn. Toby Heathcotte has written an amazing first book in what will surely be an incredible futuristic series. This future world is engaging and fascinating, filled with a cast of characters who make this into an utterly compelling tale. OPERATION: PLEIADES has lifted off to an explosive start and I can’t wait to see where future authors and books will take this thrilling continuity series from Triskelion Publishing.

OPERATION: PLEIADES-BOOK 1: FULL CONTACT
TOBY HEATHCOTTE
July 2004
ISBN: 1-932866-15-9
Triskelion Publishing
www.triskelionpublishing.com
E-book
$5.99
186 pages
Futuristic
Rate: 4 CUPS

This book was an exhilarating paced story from start to finish. It is about Maya Rembrandt, a woman with secrets that she does not even know about. Her life is about to spiral out of her control but she wants that control back and to turn it on those that want her dead. Abducted when she was young and assimilated into
a culture that wants her to become their weapon, she'll do everything in her power to change that and become a weapon trained on them.

Dylan is a pilot, who also happens to work for a secret organization called Mythos. He has been given to job of hunting Maya down and if necessary, killing her.

Maya Rembrandt is a computer technician, who is also an alien hybrid. Being kidnapped as a child, her abilities enable her to interface with computer technology and either shut it down or blow it up.

This story was great with the suspense of not knowing what was around the next corner. I found the pace of the story exciting and gripping. From Maya's distrust of those around her, after finding out her role in events yet to come, to Dylan's increased loathing of the alien race called the Anaz-voohri. These two characters come together after finding out that they were both made extraordinary by the Anaz-voohri and wanting to destroy what plans the aliens have made for humankind. This book is for those that love futuristic stories and I, personally, can't wait to read the rest of this series.

Sheryl
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance

Dylan Brady is an operative with Mythos, an organization that is trying to rid Earth of the Anaz-voohri. The Anaz-voohri has infiltrated the highest governments and seeks to destroy humanity. Word comes to Mythos about a girl that has escaped a sniper attack, and has somehow managed to shut down the electricity for the entire east coast single handedly. They know that she could be an Anaz-voohri pawn, a nybrid human-Anaz-voohri surgically altered to appear human, to destroy their world. Luckily for Dylan and the rest of Mythos that not all hybrids follow the Anaz-voohri. Dylan is to use his Special ability of remote-seeing to find Maya Rembrandt and kill her for the good of humanity.

Maya Rembrandt has always been slightly estranged from her parents and her peers. The only person in her world that really counts is her best friend Lola. But when a sniper mercilessly guns down Lola, and Maya barely escapes with her life, Maya’s world changes forever. She meets a man that can penetrate her sadness and the mood-altering pills, but she quickly dismisses the attraction. Attempting to bury her survivor’s guilt in her work, she interfaces with her work computer but her sadness overwhelms her. A mysterious voice speaks to her and the electricity suddenly shuts off.

Now she is on the run for her life. From the Anaz-voohri, from her government, and from secret agencies – nothing she thought was real was, and everything is now up for grabs. Can she trust the man that tries to save her? Can she control her power and who will benefit from her abilities?

A stirring tale! Hard hitting, fast paced and really great read! And just the beginning of what looks to be a very interesting series from Triskelion Press. Highly Recommended.

FULL CONTACT is a good read!"

In 2003, an Anaz-voohri spaceship abducts seven little girls and the aliens change the DNA of the girls. The aliens have a diabolical plan to use the girls in their quest to destroy humankind. In 2022, one of the seven girls, Maya Rembrant, is accidentally triggered and shuts down power to the entire Eastern seaboard of the USA. Dylan Brady, an operative of Mythos, is assigned to discover the truth about Maya and kill her, if necessary.

Since the aliens have been discovered, an agency has been in charge of stopping them. This agency, GSS, has been infiltrated by alien-human hybrids, that work for the aliens, and is ineffective. However, ORION, a military offshoot of GSS, is ruled by a vicious man, who hates all aliens and hybrids and will destroy them by any means. Maya is caught in the middle of all these opposing forces and needs to learn about her past and abilities very quickly.

FULL CONTACT is an enjoyable science fiction romance with interesting characters and a very suspenseful plot. Dylon, who has been genetically altered by the aliens, is torn between his growing love for Maya and his mission. Maya, who has been overwhelmed by the revelation of what she is, doesn't know who to trust but is drawn to Dylon. I'm looking forward to reading the stories about the other six girls and seeing the continuing struggle between humans, hybrids and aliens. All in all, FULL CONTACT is a good read; I highly recommend it.

Summary

Seven girls were kidnapped in 2003 and vanished from their homes and families without a trace. No one ever suspected that their kidnappers were an alien race with a bold plan to take over earth. Now twenty years later the race is on as young women find they have intriguing abilities. The must face what has happened to them as well as use every ounce of their strengths to escape the wrath of a secret agency called ORION that wants them all dead. Maya's world will turn into a hurricane of deception and deadly consequences when she discovers the power to shut down the eastern seaboard and alerts a secret government agency to her presence. Her only hope is a young Mythos agent who is on his mission and may have an ulterior motive.

This is one intense sci-fi saga! At times it reminded me of the old TV Mini Series called "V" (Visitors). In a nut shell, aliens want humans wiped out so they can claim our planet as home. Human fight for their survival. The author placed this scenario in our not too distant future and included enough tech info to make the story pretty realistic. Toby Heathcotte has a new fan in me! Riveting! ****

HUNTRESS REVIEWS

(Reviewed by Detra Fitch)

Review No. 8

Maya Rembrandt has the power to black out the entire Eastern Seaboard--and does so by accident. Soon she is running from all factions of the government, unaware she caused the blackout and not knowing whom to trust. She finds an ally in Dylan Brady and together, they try to organize the chaos of the past few hours.

In this interesting tale of artificial intelligence, everyone is not who they seem and it's fun to watch Maya and Dylan--and the few they trust--peel back the layers, literally, to discover the true person, robot or whatever beneath the artifice.

There are surprises, unusual turns of events and a developing romance to keep the story moving. This is a quick read for those who enjoy relating the technology of the future to evil and good minds, and the attempt to keep humans from becoming machines themselves. (dl $5.99)

Donna M. Brown

Romantic Times

Review No. 9

How do you cope when all you believe has been a lie?

In Toby Heathcotte’s, Operation: Pleiades Book 1: Full Contact, Maya Rembrandt is smart and has always been different. Learning that her strangeness is more than just being human Maya must come to terms with herself and learn to trust. Dylan Brady is duty bound to protect humanity but circumstances make this assignment not as cut and dry. It is time to break the rules and go with his gut.

Maya Rembrandt has always known she was different. Being estranged from her parents and only one peer to count on, her best friend, Maya loses herself in her work. Her life is suddenly turned upside down as her best friend is murdered right in front of her. Barely escaping with her life Maya has no one to turn to. Her parents are acting stranger than normal and not who she thought they were. Her work is no longer an escape but a ruse used by the Anaz-voohri who plans to destroy humanity. Finding out she is in danger Maya has to run for her life. Can she find anyone she can trust?

A Mythos operative code-named Apollo, Dylan Brady is sent to execute the Anaz-voohri pawn, a hybrid human-Anaz-voohri surgically altered to appear human - Maya Rembrandt, one of the seven sisters of the Pleiades. Using his special powers of remote-seeing Dylan is expected to find and eliminate this threat to humanity. As Dylan seeks Maya his research reveals secrets from his past and the truth of Maya’s past that she may be unaware of. Can he fulfill his duty or will a woman who is supposed to be the first step in the downfall of humanity sway his judgment?

Full Contact will thrill you with danger, make you live each moment and stir the imagination into frenzy. The first in the Operation: Pleiades series is breathtaking. Full Contact draws you into an intense world where you must suspect everything. I was captivated from the first sentence to the last. Each step Maya and Dylan took to finding to the truth kept me at the edge of my seat. Ms. Heathcotte has started off this series with a no holds barred bang. Each novel will be written by various authors and I look forward to more of the Operation: Pleiades series and other novels by the author Toby Heathcotte. Operation: Pleiades Book 1: Full Contact is a read I would recommend.

Reviewed by M. Jeffers

Road to Romance

August 6, 2004

Review No. 10

From start to finish Full Contact is fantastic! Definitely one of the best reads of the year! A fascinating premise using the Anasazi Indian's legendary disappearance to explain an alien race determined to "reclaim" the Earth is brilliant and believable. Reading this book is like watching a movie, smart, exciting, suspenseful and colorful with characters and images coming to life upon the pages. The seven "sisters of the Pleiades" each get there own book in this series and this first of the series ia n indication that it will be the must-read series of the year!

Johnna Flores Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books

Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance

Review No. 11

Toby Heathcotte has done it again, written a winner! This time she has written a thrilling series about seven women abducted and altered by an alien race to help take over the earth. Full Contact is the first in the Operation Pleiades series, it grabbed my attention right from the beginning and never let go. Even now, I am on pins and needles waiting for the next book in this exhilarating series.

Full Contact is a breathtaking, action packed, romantic thriller that will capture you as a fan for this exceptionally well written series by Toby Heathcotte. Don't miss your chance to read the first book in Operation: Pleiades: Full Contact.

Donna, eCataromance Reviews.

Review No. 12

Full Contact

Four Hearts

Full Contact, the first book of Triskelion’s Operation Pleiades series starts with a bang and the action continues non-stop until the very last page is turned.

Sometime in 2003 two year old Maya Porter is kidnapped, but not from any human abductor. She is taken by the sickly cruel and malicious Anaz-voohri, beings from the far off Pleiades star system with one goal – to annihilate the human race. To achieve their goal, along with Maya they abducted 6 other young baby girls, including one that would eventually be the daughter of the President of the United States. The Anaz-voohri set about altering the DNA of these Seven Sisters of the Pleiades and embed them with instructions for how the human population of Earth is to be destroyed.

In the year 2022 Dylan Brady, code name Apollo, is a top operative of the ultra secret organization Mythos. His initial mission is to locate Maya and end her life. Yet Dylan sees more in the young woman and realizes she is not only significant to the future of the people of Earth, she is an intricate part of Dylan himself. Together Dylan and Maya battle not only the Anaz-voohri, another militaristic group on earth ORION also sets them upon. ORION’s goal is to eliminate not only the alien Anaz-voohri, but to also exterminate the hybrids – the half human, half Anaz-voohri who live among Earth’s population. As the enemy close in, Maya and Dylan flee for their lives and find much more than they ever imagined.

Ms. Heathcotte offers a unique combination of a Sci Fi thriller with elements of current Earth research and a touch of the paranormal in Full Contact. Her depictions of the Anaz-voohri ships bring a chill to the reader in their starkness, made colder by the machinations of the invaders. She then delves into remote viewing not only as a defensive weapon but as an aid to self-realization and ultimately incorporates it into Dylan’s search and later rescue of Maya. Going a step further she entwines the idea of reincarnation as part of Dylan and Maya’s history. With the foundation of their former life together they become a formidable couple in their battle against the Anaz-voohri and ORION.

There are a few parts in the beginning of the story where this reviewer wondered where the threads might lead only to be caught off guard and thrilled with the final tapestry. Just as the reader is lulled into “just another nice Science Fiction story” Ms. Heathcotte turns a corner to open up a whole new world of possibility and adventure as seen through the characters. Their development, especially Maya’s is well done. So true to life that one feels Maya is indeed someone he or she would know.

For this reviewer Ms. Heathcotte offers some ground-breaking concepts in Full Contact with not only the reincarnation thread, but the use of remote viewing and natural clairvoyance. Her explanation of how remote viewing works and what is necessary to achieve it is done in easily understood terms, even for the novice who has not engaged in its study. An interesting twist is that of being from the Pleiades as being the “bad guys”. For fans of good ETs and bad ETs visitors will enjoy their pure evil depiction.

Full Contact is a completely stand alone story with intriguing characters, intense suspense in wondering just who the bad guys really are and left this reviewer eager to read the rest of the series.

Reviewed by Gina
October 2005

READERS COMMENTS

Thank you for the welcome. I finished reading Full Contact and rushed over to your site to see what other books you had. I loved that story. Looking forward to hearing about your other books.

Kim Westgaard

I just finished Full Contact. It was awesome. Loved it.

Mary Mulligan, Glendale, Arizona