The Beam: Season Two

The Beam #7-12

by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant

From the bestselling authors of the Invasion and Yesterday's Gone series comes The Beam, a disturbing philosophical exploration of the future of our hyperconnected world. This chilling, intricately-plotted series is set in a futuristic dystopia where politics and technology have widened the gap between haves and have-nots.

Power is in the mind. The mind is in the network.

As the NAU’s "Shift" approaches, the Directorate and Enterprise parties are doing whatever they can both on-Beam and off- to win the citizen’s minds. The Beam itself, however, seems to be evolving.

As more and more people become addicted to connectivity, a question Does the Beam serve our minds ... or do our minds serve the Beam?

Meanwhile, using politics as cover, an organization is pushing human enhancements further than they were ever meant to go — and maybe more than the struggling NAU with its hyperconnected minds can hope to survive.

★★★★★ "Another homerun for Platt and Truant. Usually second books in a series are the weak link -- that didn't happen in The Beam. Just like the first season I got sucked in to this book and told the kids to just feed themselves poptarts and leave mommy alone already so she could read. An amazing series!" -- Patricia Eimer

★★★★★ "I loved the first season, but this did such a great job of fleshing out the story line that I'm already champing at the bit for the next season." -- BruceIn Baghdad

★★★★★ "A real high-tech futuristic political thriller with a great storyline and a cliff-hanger ending that leaves you wanting for more. Can't wait to read season 3." -- beachbaby

★★★★★ "For thousands of years humans got around on foot or horses. In seventy years we went from that to visiting the moon. Now we may visit Mars in my lifetime. So the technology discussed in this book is definitely on the horizon... So this is a great book and I highly recommend it." -- programmerx

★★★★★ "Johnny and Sean hit a grand slam with Season 2 of The Beam! I enjoyed the futuristic, funny and smart thrill ride that was Season 1 but Season 2 is so much better... If you like political thrillers or Sci-Fi, The Beam is for you." -- Brian Saemann

Platt and Truant deliver deep political intrigue and incisive social commentary along with a generous helping of big philosophical themes through engaging, multifaceted characters and rich worldbuilding. If you enjoyed Altered Carbon and The Fifth Element, you'll feel right at home in the world of The Beam.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Cyberpunk, Dystopia

684 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2014

About the author

Sean loves writing books, even more than reading them. He is co-founder of Collective Inkwell and Realm & Sands imprints, writes for children under the name Guy Incognito, and has more than his share of nose.

Together with co-authors David Wright and Johnny B. Truant, Sean has written the series Yesterdays Gone, WhiteSpace, ForNevermore, Available Darkness, Dark Crossings, Unicorn Western, The Beam, Namaste, Robot Proletariat, Cursed, Greens, Space Shuttle, and Everyone Gets Divorced. He also co-wrote the how-to indie book, Write. Publish. Repeat.

With Collective Inkwell
Yesterday's Gone: Post Apocalyptic - LOST by way of The Stand
WhiteSpace: Paranoid thriller on fictitious Hamilton Island
ForNevermore: YA horror that reads nothing like YA Horror
Available Darkness: A new breed of vampire thriller
Dark Crossings: Short stories, killer endings

With 47North
Z 2134: The Walking Dead meets The Hunger Games
Monstrous: Beauty and the Beast meets The Punisher

With Realm & Sands
Unicorn Western: The best story to ever come from a stupid idea
The Beam: Smart sci-fi to make you wonder exactly who we are
Namaste: A revenge thriller like nothing you've ever read
Robot Proletariat: The revolution starts here
Cursed: The old werewolf legend turned upside down
Greens: Retail noir comedy
Space Shuttle: Over the top comedy with all your favorite sci-fi characters
Everyone Gets Divorced: Like "Always Sunny" and "How I Met Your Mother" had a baby on your Kindle

Sean lives in Austin, TX with his wife, daughter, and son.
Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/seanplatt
 (say hi so he can follow you back!)

Reviews

[Belhor Crowley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as the first season. Too much focus on the characters.

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Need to Review

Now I have to decide if I'm going to read S3 now or later since there's no audio for it.

This was definitely a 4 Star. Few problematic sequences keep it from being 4.5-5.

[RC1140 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The star rating describes this pretty accurately for me , the book was just ok. Overall it was significant let down compared to the first book, with little to nothing actually happening aside from a slight build up in the characters backstory.

The narration was on point as usual except that it started to feel monotonous when the pace slowed down too much. The book ends on a cliff hanger of sorts in which you are left wanting more of the story to have been completed but are left with this cheap notion of what the next book in the series could hold and is meant to keep you coming back for more. The downside to this is that, having completed the book I wouldnt recommend this series and am generally left with a feeling of not want more from the series.

[Steve Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank god that's over. First season was great, second started well but then the writers got bored and the whole story dried up. The last 40% was a chore to read. Won't bother with any further seasons.

[Timothy Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Beam Season 1 left me with multiple reasons to be excited for Season 2, and a couple lingering worries. I was mostly excited to see the story continue to explore the development of the Beam technology. The best thing Platt and Truant are doing in this series is showing a plausible future affected by the advancement in nanotechnology. Some of my favorite bits are little nuggets of how their world is so much different than ours. For example, smoking is a sign of being rich because it means you can afford the nanobots capable of healing what every breath does to your system. Another is the wearing of watches for the simple reason of being able to make the snide gesture of looking at your watch to indicate the desired end of a conversation. As they often say in their writing advice about making every scene count for at least two things, they always couple these techno nuggets with how they are shown in the character's personality.

At the end of Season 1, there was a hint, or at least what I thought was a hint, about showing more of what happened to this world. There is some explanation and discussion, but it never fulfilled what I was hoping for in terms of enjoyment.

And that leads to my biggest let down of Season 2. I did not enjoy it. Platt and Truant have proven very much able to describe a future society and characters that genuinely reflect their environment, but I'm afraid personal taste has left me unsure if I'll continue with the series after this season.

Some of the major plot issues in Season 2 are: political tension in the days leading up to The Shift, a political event where people get to decide at one time if they're staying in their party or shifting to the other; the problem of a moon dust addicted colony of hackers losing their supply and facing the violent effects of withdrawal; the shattered marriage of one of the most powerful politicians, who also is the brother of one of the biggest bad guys in this story; the sad and empathetic story of how a gritty woman survived through prostitution and turned into an assassin and, if I have my characters straight, how she likes the politician who is getting divorced.

There is so much going on in this book, and the dark tone left me experiencing most of it without any joy or interest in seeing the character arcs complete. I want the divorced couple to get back together because I come from a broken home, and the way it's looking, how we only had one scene in this season and probably the last that shows any hint of hope for that happy ending. It's hard to listen to their fights and spiteful actions.

I'm also not a huge fan of political thrillers. I love House of Cards, but that credit goes more toward it being an outstanding production more than that I'd prefer a story about political leapfrogging. The Beam Season 2's political plot line grows tired because we already had a good deal of discussion about The Shift in Season 1. I appreciate the questions that it forces about living with a safety net of government subsistence or doing what you love and risking poverty, but let's move it along.

The moon dust drug trade was probably the most interesting of the plot lines, with one of our main characters having had a sex change operation in order to hide from hitmen, and a dirty cop trying to find a way to get moon dust to the colony of hackers before they go apocalyptic. I'm kind of surprised I was able to summarize that so succinctly, because there are a lot of moving parts in that plotline. Unfortunately, only a few scenes were really entertaining. It feels like most of Season 2 is tense, but moves too slowly as we are shown all the pieces necessary to fit the puzzle together. I have little doubt the end picture is going to be epic, but I'm getting a little bored having the narrator show me every piece of the ten thousand piece puzzle before we start putting them together. That's not to say nothing is being put together, it's just a metaphor for how I feel watching it happen.

The Beam Season 2 is much more a mystery than a thriller, but there's a chance a different person could react more favorably to the characters and their story. As far as audio production goes, this cast, including R.C. Bray and Podium Publishing, does a terrific job.

[Michael Ronn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Beam is back--this time it goes deeper into the characters, and in many ways it's more intriguing than the first season. I won't give away any spoilers, but If you loved Season 1, you'll love this. It's dark, intriguing, philosophical without being too much so, and always entertaining.

What I love most about the series is the writing style--it translates incredibly well into audio. I listened to the audio narration, which was fantastic as usual. Podium Publishing seriously has some of the best narrators around. They make this story come ALIVE. The funny thing is that I don't normally read hard sci-fi, but I love this series. Probably the deepest and most complex series in the Sterling & Stone franchises.

I enjoyed this, and I'm looking forward to Season 3. I would recommend you read this while listening to the audio version---honestly, no one should read this series without it.

[Yuri Machkasov · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is entertaining, but I was hoping for some closure after making the commitment to read the second season after I was iffy about Season 1. What brought me to reading the second season was the cliff hanger in season 1, which I am sure it is intentional...but the second season ended the same way. I feel that nothing was answered. Frustrated is how I would describe my feelings about this series.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before you read this one, please note it is the second book of a series. If you have read The Beam: Season One first, this one won’t make much sense to you.

The action picks up right where the authors left off with Season 1, although there are several flashbacks to the beginning of the Fall as we learn more of the backstory of the main characters. The authors continue to do a good job of describing their idea of the future and its technology without getting too far over your head: you’re able to wrap your arms around it and understand, without calling out “b.s.” as you might do with other futuristic tales. Similar to Season 1, you will find yourself having several Walter Mitty moments as you sit back and dream about being able to have some of these technologies today.

Without having a spoiler, the middle of the book starts off a really long tangent of moondust addiction, trying to get more moondust, and the fear of withdrawal that probably could have been cut in half. Readers should also be warned the language is fairly raw and more intense than Season One.

Despite my comments in the paragraph above, this was an enjoyable second chapter to the series, and I have pre-ordered Season 3. If you enjoy a good sci-fi / futuristic tale, I would recommend this one – but only after you read Season 1!

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why I put this down for 5 months, but even after 5 months I was sucked right back in, all the characters vivid enough that I didn’t have to go back and try to figure out who they were or what their storyline was, some interesting, some annoying—intentionally annoying, not one of those characters the writers are so in love with you just are constantly annoyed with, but characters that are written as annoying people who have sleazy background and want to pull heists on their old prison cellmates. A bit preachy on the political stuff, and I cannot say I care about couples, but fun and fast paced with plenty of interesting interconnected plots.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I enjoyed the greater focus on character. This second season has the same problem that I mentioned about the 1st: too much usage of brackets, and there's a couple times where characters do something that I couldn't quite believe (Nicolai, who survived the Wild East by being a social chameleon can't help but appear guilty in front of Micah) but I'm willing to forgive these due to the fun in having reading it

[Edwina Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I chose to rate it 5 stars because, after getting through the slow parts, it kept me wanting to know what happens next. Like watching a soap opera, you can predict what's next but can't stop watching.

[Hector Elias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great sequel to the first season

[Patrick Cullinane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Series.. Well thought out.. been a few years and too much "Moondust" so I cant tell you much more.

[Linda Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little on the slow side but it was entertaining. To say the least

[Christie Stratos · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This book was supplied to me by AudiobookReviewer.com. This review was originally published on ABR's website.*

The first season of The Beam started out with Natasha Ryan’s performance, and the second one starts out the same way. Yet things have changed massively. The Beam: Season 2 begins relatively soon after the first season left off, but what a difference.

At first, the plot moves along very quickly with major changes that affect some favorite main characters, especially Doc and Natasha Ryan. Those were two of my favorite storylines. A few new characters are added to the mix, some extremely important and some that will clearly play a larger part later and were mostly being developed in this season.

As much as I enjoyed this season of The Beam, be forewarned that it’s not as action packed as the first season. Instead, there’s a heavy focus on developing relationships and strategies and possible outcomes instead of having lots of running and shooting and escaping death. This isn’t a bad thing – the authors handle it well – but if you expect it to be the same as the first season, you might be disappointed. Expect a change of pace and you’ll be just as impressed as with the first one. Maybe even extra impressed with some of the revelations. Just shift your thinking a little.

Authors Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant have once again outdone themselves in terms of comprehensive futuristic technology. Now that the first season dealt with setting up so much of how technology works in the world of The Beam, this season went a few steps further and took you into Matrix-like forms of mind penetration (less code, more description) and the beginnings of the Beam itself as well as the degree to which a human body can be changed so that an identity can be lost. Let’s leave it at that.

One of the greatest new parts of this season was something rather unusual. Insertions of corrupted recordings of “off panel” conversations were included, which give the reader a look up the skirts of the Beam itself. They were also the best read parts, in my opinion. The voice talent – Doc from the first season – incorporates the raw code that shows up in corrupted files into his reading flawlessly and really makes it sound fluid. It was amazing to listen to and I looked forward to those rare parts.

Voice talents returning from the first season of this series were still impressive and well acted, and new talents were also fitting for their characters. I think the huge cast of talent (15 in total!) worked better in this second season of The Beam, but I can’t put my finger on why. Perhaps it’s because I was more used to it this time or maybe it’s because the way each character spoke across voice talents was more consistent. Either way, the authors have once again chosen wonderful talent who work their parts quite well and truly embody the characters.

As always, we have much to look forward to in the third season of The Beam – and much to fear.

[Jarkko Laine · Rating 5 out of 5]

After an action packed first season, in season 2, The Beam slows down (but just a little bit) to explain why the world is as it is and to explore the characters and their motivations in more detail. If anything, this makes the story even more interesting and builds the stage for an exciting season three.

To talk about the specifics of the characters and development would be spoiling the experience, so I will just say Truant and Platt manage to fill the story with surprises while keeping the characters and their motivations believable. There are no black and white cookie cutter characters in this story.

If you enjoyed season one, I'm sure you will read this one even without my recommendation, but here it is anyway. And if you are new to The Beam and unsure of starting on the series, after finishing season, 2 I can tell you to go for it: season 2 is just as good as season 1 -- and I have a feeling that things will be getting even more interesting in season 3.

[Blaine Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent followup to the first book in the series, I was very happy to see a lot more in the way of flashbacks in this one. I really enjoy the rich history of this world, and seeing how things were 20, 30, even 50 or 60 years before the events of the "present" in these books really helps to flesh it out.

I was especially happy to learn more about Nicolai's past, as he had the exciting adventures in the Wild East before the NAU cut itself off. Crumb as Stephen York isn't quite as great as Crumb the crazy gatekeeper, but the character certainly has a lot more depth now. It's interesting to see how he got to be the way that he was (again, with the flashbacks.)

Hopefully there will be a good number of Beam-world stories to tide us over until the third book gets written.

[Ellen Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with season 1, I love the world building. The science, the socio-political environment, the cultural impact of technology are all blended really well into what is a page-turning plot (I burned through this pretty fast despite the fact it's a sizeable book). The only challenge for me as before is with the style, where because it's so episodic there's not quite enough closure. But I really enjoyed it, and am in absolute AWE of the authors process and how they managed to write to this high standard and quality so fast (I picked this up because I listen to their podcast). Will be reading season 3...

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to see what happened next to all 'my' characters in the second season and I wasn't disappointed. I do feel that too much new stuff was introduced and I want to find out even more about Nicolai, Dominic, Kai and Leah and the Organas, but with the way the season ended, I see that the authors are setting us up for even more in the next installment.
I can't wait. I definitely recommend The Beam series to anyone who likes futuristic societies.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Platt and Truant do not disappoint in the second season of The Beam. OK, so it slows down a little in parts, but I still enjoyed it as much as the first season, and I have to say it's the best sci-fi series I've read in a long time. A real high-tech futuristic political thriller with a great storyline and a cliff-hanger ending that leaves you wanting for more. Can't wait to read season 3.

[Shawn Holman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Season Two more than Season One. It's an absolutely epic story with multiple storylines and characters and it's completely fascinating. I listened to it as an audio book and the narration is wonderful using several different narrators - not like a play but just different narrators for different chapters. It's incredibly well done. I am definitely looking forward to Season Three.

[Erin Klitzke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still rates 5 stars, though this one felt shorter than Season 1. This may have had something to do with there being a few more characters to keep track of...and less Nicolai and Kai than I'd have liked!

Still, very solid and a great read.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still finding this story very engaging. It's hard to end each "season" with a cliffhanger, but they've still got my attention so now I'm waiting for Season 3 with bated breath.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored Season 1 and Season 2 didn't disappoint.

Great Science Fiction: thought-provoking and thrilling with wonderful pacing.

Refer to my Season 1 review for more.

Look forward to Season 3.

[Vanwhelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and a well thought out world.

[T.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and fast read, well thought out and almost perfect in grammar and spelling. For me it created a need to read season three too.

[David Blaylock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the second season much more than the first.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great story. A tense ending! I listened via TTS.

[Jamie Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not a strong as the introductory "season."