My name is Gemma Keyes. Other than my name, I am utterly forgettable—so those who never paid much attention to me in the first place haven’t exactly noticed that I’ve disappeared. Vanished. Oh, it’s much more complicated than it sounds. I’ve had to learn the hard way: Invisibility comes with its own set of problems.I should tell you about Dr. Daniel Bickel, world-renowned nanophysicist. We used … world-renowned nanophysicist. We used to work together, but I’ll be candid with you: He’s supposed to be dead. Well, he’s not. (Imagine my surprise.) Instead of the proverbial “six feet under,” he’s subsisting in an abandoned devolution cavern beneath the old Manzano Weapons Storage Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base here in Albuquerque.
“I need to show you what I’m protecting here, Gemma,” he insisted.
I stared into the clear glass case. I could hear . . . humming, clicking, buzzing. A faint haze inside the box shifted. Dissolved. Came back together. Reminded me of how mercury, when released on a plate, will flow and form new shapes. Only this, this thing was “flowing and forming” in midair.
“Do you see them?” Dr. Bickel asked.
“Them?” I was confused. My mouth opened to a stunned “o” as the silver haze resolved into blue letters.
H E L L O
Dr. Bickel hadn’t pressed any buttons. Hadn’t said anything to them. Hadn’t gestured.
He grinned. “Ah. They’ve noticed you. They know they haven’t seen you before.”
“Well, I wish they wouldn’t notice me!” I choked on the words, my eyes fixed on the glass case.
And I need to warn you about General Cushing. The rank and name likely conjure images of a lean but muscled old soldier, posture rigid, face cemented in unyielding lines, iron-gray hair cut high and tight. Let me disabuse you of that impression: General Imogene Cushing is short and a tiny bit plump. She wears her silvered hair in an elegant braid knotted at the nape of her neck, and she knows how to smile sweetly. With the deadliest of sharks.
You wouldn’t suspect a two-star general, an Air Force O-8, of being a traitor, would you?
Nanostealth
Book 1: Stealthy Steps
Book 2: Stealth Power
Book 3: Stealth Retribution
Book 4: Deep State Stealth
“Vikki writes the kind of faith-filled fiction that hooks you within the first few pages, will not let you go until you have finished, and leaves you wishing for more.”
—Janis Braun, Seattle, Washington
“Her books are not just for ‘chicks’! I was amazed how engrossed I became in the lives of Vikki’s characters, and how much I could relate to their situations.”
—Ed Dunne, Los Angeles
“Be prepared to put life on hold. That’s all I have to say!”
—Rebecca H., New Jersey
“You will laugh, you will cry but, most of all, you will be uplifted.”
—LaTisha Holland, St. Augustine, FL
more
WOW
This really is an exceptional story, I was quite impressed! It sets the groundwork for the other books in the series. This is the first faith-based, syfy book that I’ve ever read. It does get technical, but it’s quite fascinating!
I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
Really enjoyed the nanostealth series. Stealthy Steps was Book 1 which was free on BookBub, and I very rarely buy books, but absolutely had to buy Books 2 and 3, and will buy Book 4 if it’s ever written. Makes you wonder about future technology with nanobots, you can see it as a possibility, can see how any technology created to be used for good will ultimately want to be used for greed, personal gain, and selfish motives – power. It’s a good versus evil story that keeps you reading.
The three Nanostealth books make up the best book series I’ve read in a long time. I would love to see these stories made into movies. They would rival the “Hunger Games” and “Insurgent” series. When I finished the first book I had to get the next two immediately. I hope Vikki Kestell extends this series.
I received the first book free from Bookbub. So thankful that I didn’t overlook it! I receive so many free books from Bookbub that I rarely follow up on a series since I have hundreds more loaded on my Kindle. This was the proverbial ” I couldn’t put it down”. Within seconds of finishing the first I was on Amazon to buy then next two. I was very disheartened to finish the third and have no more. So much so that I immediately emailed the author to request more! There was a hint of more coming from her, though she stated there were four books ahead of it. I am waiting on the edge of my seat, I cannot wait to continue this series! There is something for just about every facet of my interests…Sci-Fi, thriller, drama, adventure, action. Factual science based sci-fi is awesome! Also spiritual truth that brings to life repentance, and witnessing. I couldn’t recommend any higher!
Great first book. Have whole series.
Great book! Kept me engaged and wondering what was going to happen next. Looking forward to continuing the series.
I loved this one and the others in the series. Well-written, with enough suspense to keep me wanting more!
This story hooked me from the very beginning; couldn’t put it down and ended up buying the whole series including pre-ordering the next book out in December, 2021.
It is different in so many ways, yet captures you and draws you into the world created, and the characters in that world. It is easy to visualise and feel the various aspects of the story. I have finished the first 4 books and waiting for number 5 to see what is.
Loved it! I had to start the sequel immeditely!
I never heard about nanobites! I was intrigued and couldn’t put it down many late night readings.
The 4 book series is absolutely wonderful. It has an original plot, characters that you love or despise and appropriate Christian messages. I don’t know when I have read a better book series.
Meet Gemma, sweet innocent “girl Friday” your normal everyday woman who goes through life making do with what ever life tosses at her. Her story is told through a “diary” or letter to the reader type of format. How she came to work at a top secret facility. The events that lead up to her turning on her boss and becoming the enemy of one of the armed forces most vile of self serving officers, Gen Cushing. Dr. Bickel, a brilliant scientist, has created a technology that can literally perform miracles. Problem is, how to field it. Cushing wants it for herself. Dr. Bickel is determined that it will not be used for military purposes. And, now, Gemma is in total possession of it. Nanites! And to protect her they have rendered her invisible. While they have a limited number of commands Gemma doesn’t know how to get them to turn off the invisibility mode.
Nosey neighbors, dominating sister, kind hearted pastor, and best friend neighbor. Makes for interesting tales of avoidance. Some of which include drug dealing groups and an almost orphan.
Just what is a girl to do.
Safe reading for all ages. Enjoy
(3.5 / 5)
I didn’t fully understand the premise of this book going into it, because the synopsis is more like a boiled-down excerpt from part of the book, with a little extra character introduction. Most of the information is there, but it’s cryptic. Here’s my synopsis though: Gemma Keyes is a young woman fresh out of college, and takes a job as a project manager at a top secret lab. She mostly organizes things and takes meeting notes, but this makes her privy to some classified information. When she hears the wrong information (not her fault), she is fired. Months later, after an accident in the same lab claimed the lives of the 2 top scientists she was working for, she’s contacted covertly by one of those scientists, Dr. Bickel (obviously not dead). She ends up being asked to help him continue his work, which he’s keeping secret from everyone at this point. This work is in nanotechnology. When the government, and in particular, a nasty military general who has no scruples about how she gets information & technology for her military, closes in on Gemma and the man she’s helping, an unexpected incident leaves her invisible. Literally. (Some people see the invisibility aspect as a spoiler, but it’s how the prologue ends, so I see it as part of the set up.)
So…now Gemma has to figure out how to live life completely invisible, which presents all sorts of problems, especially since she practically lives in a fish bowl. Half of the book is about this, as well as her concern about being discovered by the general who went after Dr. Bickel. This half of the book is entertaining and interesting. I liked the relationships Gemma developed both before and after her invisibility. My favorite thing was the ways she tried to communicate with the nanotechnology that is responsible for her uncontrollable invisibility.
The first half of the book had some interesting parts as well–especially the relationship that began and/or developed between Gemma and Dr. Bickel, Gemma and the associate pastor of her old church (more on that below), and an established relationship between Gemma and an older neighbor. However, the first half of the book was bogged down heavily by a lot of exposition and repetition.
First, there is a long and tedious description of how Gemma first got into the secret, abandoned military based where Dr. Bickel directed her to meet him. It might not have been so bad, had we not already given given those steps (most of them), but backward. Then there are the 37-8 pages of Dr. Bickel talking and explaining. Explaining how he avoided dying in the lab explosion, explaining how he got himself set up in this mountain base, and longest of all, explaining how the nanotechnology works. In detail. That most of us reading aren’t going to really follow. Some of it did prove to be important to the rest of the story, but honestly, much of it wasn’t. (At one point, after about 33 pages of explanation, Bickel says, “‘Would you like to hear more about the nanomites before you go, Gemma?'” And I literally thought, “I wish I could say no.”) Since the book is told in 1st person, and Gemma didn’t understand a lot of what he said, I have a very difficult time believing that when she wrote this account some weeks or months later, she could remember all of the science that he spouted. It could have definitely been boiled down for us, and even more so, would have then fit in with the style of narration that the rest of the book has.
Much of the information in the first half of the book would have been okay on its own, but since it was all told together in the first half, it made it difficult to keep reading. I totally understand why the prologue is a long description of the point when Dr. Bickel is discovered in his secret lab by the general, ending with Gemma finding herself invisible. It needed that action and intrigue to get people hooked. Still, if I hadn’t been recommended this book series by my mom who has recently been very anxious for me to read it so she could hear what I thought, I might have at least set it down and come back to it later. As such, once you’re past that half of the book, it does get more interesting. It’s the first book in a short series, so some of the expositiony first part can be explained as set-up to an entire series, and it does have an ending that left me wanting to know more. Still, I think setting up an entire series isn’t an excuse for so much info-dump all at once.
The associate pastor I mentioned above, named Zander, is where the Christian aspect of the book comes in, for the most part. He’s invited to visit Gemma by her older neighbor, and he is a good example of a Christian in fiction. He is generous, compassionate, flawed, and complicated. Gemma sees a lot of sides of him, some of which draw her to him, but others of which push her away. His very Christianity is the biggest obstacle to their developing relationship, though, because Gemma is quite against Christianity. He speaks the truth in love, and shows Christ’s love through his action, while still being a believable human being. I look forward to seeing how this develops in the rest of the series.
I was particularly bothered by some of Gemma’s actions in this book, and the way she excused them, but I think that was intentional. She also got angry, or at least upset, at weird things, which made her seem like sort of a petulant child to me sometimes. I don’t know if that part of her personality was intentional or not. There were a few inconsistencies that stuck out to me (like why Dr. Bickel let Gemma take pictures in his secret lab, after the intense precautions he’d asked her to take in getting there, and in their communications). Also, I feel the need to give some trigger warnings: domestic abuse, child neglect and endangerment, descriptions of or allusions to gang violence.
So to sum up, yes, the first half of the book was slow, but the rest was good enough, and I have faith that the following books will pick up the pace, that I felt the book was worthy of 4 stars. I would recommend the book to fans of Christian mysteries & thrillers and lovers of this type of sci-fi.
This book was so different than what I expected! Thought provoking look forward to reading more
The premise of the first book in the series grabbed my attention and I had to read all four books. I was left wondering if any of the scientific data used in the book was even remotely possible. I was fascinated by every twist and turn and of course rooting for the good guys the whole time. Loved this series and am still thinking about it.
should read all four, but in order. Couldn’t put them down.
I loved the story and enjoyed all the Science that challenges the brain. I do wish the author would have continued the story in the same book. I don’t like to have and go purchase another book to find out what happens.
Series a great read !!!!