Mad Science Institute

By Sechin Tower

Sophia “Soap” Lazarcheck is a girl genius with a knack for making robots—and for making robots explode. After her talents earn her admission into a secretive university institute, she is swiftly drawn into a conspiracy more than a century in the making. Meanwhile and without her knowledge, her cousin Dean wages a two-fisted war of vengeance against a villainous genius and his unwashed minions. Separately, the cousins must pit themselves against murderous thugs, experimental weaponry, lizard monsters, and a nefarious doomsday device. When their paths finally meet up, they will need to risk everything to prevent a mysterious technology from bringing civilization to a sudden and very messy end.

For fans of Scott Westerfeld, Orson Scott Card, and Neal Stephenson.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sechin Tower
• Release date: Dec 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9780984850716

Sechin Tower

Sechin Tower (SechinTower.com) is a writer, game designer, and teacher. He began work for Exile Game Studio in 2006 as editor of the Hollow Earth Expedition RPG and went on to become the chief contributor to the award-winning supplements Secrets of the Surface World and Mysteries of the Hollow Earth. He lives in the Seattle, Washington area with his beautiful wife and adoring cat. In his spare time, he prepares for the zombie apocalypse by running obstacle courses and practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. His first novel, Mad Science Institute, is now available wherever books are sold

Book preview

Reviews for Mad Science Institute

[dlmorrese · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I like the idea of this book — a YA story premised on science rather than magic, with smart, young adult heroes, passionate about learning and discovery who find themselves in an environment where they can pursue their interests. It reminded me a bit of another book I read and reviewed not long ago, Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks. There should be more stories in settings like this.

The plot of this one is the classic ‘good guys versus bad guys bent on taking over the world.’ The pacing is good, with discoveries and events leading incrementally to a satisfying and logical conclusion.

I was less taken with the characters.

The star of the story, Sophia "Soap" Lazarcheck, is a 16-year-old science geek, brilliant but socially awkward. Her ability to invent and build truly amazing gizmos is offset by a lack of appreciation for how these inventions might go wrong. Explosions and fires tend to be the result. For the most part, I found her an endearing character, but my ability to suspend disbelief was breached in her first encounter with the antagonist. She was far too trusting of this mysterious and clearly untrustworthy voice on the phone, and I could not accept how easily she sold him the key code for her new, and otherwise impregnable, school.

Her cousin, Dean, is the character that most failed for me. He plays the part of the well-muscled and well-intentioned but intellectually uncomplicated knight in shining armor. He’s not quite dimwitted enough to be a comic character, but I found him far too simple to be either likeable or believable in his role in this story.

The mysterious antagonist, always in the background and pulling the strings of his minions, is a recognizable James Bond type villain. The biker gang that serves as his muscle is a group of unwashed, uneducated, and thoroughly unpleasant individuals. They were not inept enough to be funny but too (unjustly) stereotypical to be believable. (I’ve known a few bikers, and most were nice people.)

The chapters with Soap providing the point of view are written in first person. The other chapters are written in third. This can be a bit jarring when you’re reading. I would have preferred third person throughout, with chapter or scene breaks for changes in POV. Otherwise, the book is well written, although I did spot a few typos. The ending is set up for a sequel.

The book is an enjoyable departure from more common magical or mystical YA stories, and I can recommend it as a quick, light read.

[mazeface · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have to admit, I really like this book. Sophia "Soap" Lazarcheck is geeky, clumsy and socially-awkward, but has the brains to create world-changing machines. She finds herself a pawn to a madman called "The Professor" and a member of a secret college where kid-geniuses rule. She has to overcome all her fears, the least of which is a germ-covered wad of gum(one of my favorite scenes for some reason), to stop the Professor from doing massive damage to life on Earth. In the midst of it all, she has no idea who can be trusted. Mad Science Institute is a blast to read and I look forward to more in this series. Soap Lazercheck is my hero!