The Final Correction: The Condition Trilogy #3

Author: Alec Birri

Narrator: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 6 hours 34 minutes

Publisher: Essential Music Limited⎮2018

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: The Condition Trilogy, Book 2

Release date: Jan. 17, 2018

The third and final part of a dystopian trilogy based on the author’s command of a top secret government unit.

So, Professor Savage has been unmasked as the monster Alex Salib always knew he was. But what was their agreement, and why is she still determined to see it through? The war on terror appears to be back on track, but why does President Kalten seem hell-bent on ramping it up – are the Americans seriously intent on starting World War Three?

And what of the treatment itself? Despite Savage’s arrest, the “corrections” go on, but to what end? The laws of unintended consequences are about to cause a seismic shift in the very nature of our existence. But then our new master knows that and won’t let it happen until we’re ready….

Ready to accept the unacceptable.

Alec Birri served thirty years with the UK Armed Forces. He commanded an operational unit that experimented in new military capabilities classified at the highest level (Top Secret Strap 3) and it is this that forms the basis of his novels. Although semi-autobiographical, for national security and personal liberty reasons, the events and individuals portrayed have to be fiction but are still nonetheless in keeping with his experiences.

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Narrator Bio

If you regularly enjoy listening to audiobooks then this Shakespearean actor will need no introduction. Winner of a 2016 SOVAS award, Jonathan’s voice is rightly recognized as being one of the best, and his narration of The Condition Trilogy is no exception.

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Ok, so this one ends in a really cool and confusing way! I recommend if you enjoy big thinker books and having to come to your own conclusions. Birri has done a number on me and I’m not sure I’ve learned much over the course of this trilogy, but I am awed by what has occurred. There is definitely a big political tone to this novel and I like the twilight zone and black mirror feel to it. It’s super creepy and just mind boggles you! I give this a 5/5 and the overall trilogy should get a 5/5! Definitely read or listen consecutively!

Keeble does an amazing job once again. Love what you’ve done with the voices and emotions! It has been an excellent ride with this narrator and I look forward to more work from both of these artists! 5/5 on the narration front as well!

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Alec Birri. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Q&A with Professor Sir John Savage

‘My guest today needs no introduction. As the winner of not just one, but two Nobel prizes, Professor Sir John Savage’s place in history has been assured. But as the incredible cure-all benefits of his red pill wing their way around the world, might there be more to this man than meets the eye? So, come on, professor – what else have you got brewing in that laboratory of yours?’
‘Three’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Three Nobel prizes. My PA informed me of another missive this morning, so one can only assume either Physics or Peace has just joined my previous awards for Medicine and Chemistry.’
‘Er, then congratulations on being the first person to be awarded three Nobel prizes! Physics rather than peace though, surely?’
‘Why?’
‘Well, incredible medical cures aside, your methods are not without controversy. The testing of drugs on animals alone has made you a target to some, and what about the patients who died during the trials?
‘An unfortunate necessity. Nothing truly worthwhile was ever achieved without sacrifice.’
‘Sacrifice? Professor, does it ever occur to you it’s statements like that which make you appear colder than the iceberg that sank the Titanic?’
‘I’m not here to win friends. The healing of the sick and curing of the lame will be my legacy. I’m no different to Jesus, really.’
‘And likening yourself to a messiah won’t do you any favours either. You do realise many would consider Doctor Frankenstein to be a better comparison? Sounds like you need to take a dose of your own medicine – does the red pill cure narcissism as well as schizophrenia?’
‘Physician heal thyself, perhaps? What makes you think I haven’t?’
‘Ah! So the rumours are true – the red pill does do more than correct everything from angina to Zika.
‘The red pill is capable of a great many things and, once the results of my latest trial have cleared the necessary ethical hurdles, the world will soon be clamouring to take advantage of it.’
‘Well, go on, professor. Don’t leave us in suspense.’
‘Imagine waking up one morning with the ability to do anything. Climb Mount Everest or go to the Moon? You can. Be the President of the United States or score the winning touchdown in the last second of the Super Bowl? You can. Or how about being a super athlete, soldier or hero? Very soon we’ll all be able to do absolutely anything.’
‘I hate to be the first to break the news to you, professor, but while you’ve been busy with test tubes the rest of us have been doing that with virtual reality.’
‘Virtual reality? Those clumsy, sick-making devices? I’m talking about real reality.’
‘Real reality? I’ll tell you what’s real, Professor – my wife. She won’t even let me watch the Super Bowl let alone play in it.’
‘Then might I suggest she takes the red pill?’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘The ability to do anything goes well beyond curing the sick, flying into space or climbing the highest mountain. Society’s most difficult challenges are about to be tackled too, and ensuring your domestic bliss is as good a start as any.’
‘Are you suggesting my wife could be made to enjoy the Super Bowl? That’s brainwashing!
‘I’m suggesting your wife might enjoy being able to view the world differently – that’s all. An epiphany if you like. Think of it as a meat eater turning vegetarian, an atheist finding God or vice-versa. Don’t worry, she’ll be just how you remember her. Only better.’
‘They were wrong. You’re not Frankenstein – you’re the monster he created.’
‘I can understand how my methods might seem unsettling to some, but once domestic bliss has spread throughout the world, I think minds will change – with or without the red pill.’
‘Ha! So you’re saying brainwashing is going to bring world peace? You’ll be lucky not be killed in the rush to get to you.’
‘Well, let’s just say I’m expecting my PA to announce another missive in the not too distant future. You will remember to congratulate me on being awarded a fourth Nobel Prize, won’t you?’
Top 10 List

Alec Birri’s Top Ten Tips for Writing your Dystopian Thriller

Blame Brexit. Blame Trump. Blame the rise of populism in general if you must, but there is no doubt we are currently living in what historians may one day refer to as ‘interesting’ times. And, if you know your pseudo-Chinese proverbs, that’s not meant to settle your thoughts. The literary upshot of that? A resurgence of interest in dystopian classics like Orwell’s 1984, Huxley’s Brave New World and the more modern, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Want to have a crack at ensuring the historians include your name on that illustrious list? Then read on.
1. Write what you know
Don’t even think about penning a dystopia unless you’ve already spent decades living in a one. What? You haven’t? You mean to say you’ve never been denied entry to a bar, stopped by the police or made to do something you didn’t want to? Take all that and dial it up to eleven. Welcome to your dystopia.
2. Use technology but avoid ‘hard’ sci-fi
Best done by setting your dystopia in the not-too-distant future. That way it’s more likely to feel ‘real’ to the reader i.e. if we’re not careful, our children might end up living in it.
3. It’s a thriller first
And some other blah about the environment, population control, conspiracy theories, thought police, eugenics, etc. second. Be passionate about your favourite citizen-oppressing subject but don’t let the detail get in the way of the action.
4. It’s about us
It may be the plot that keeps your readers turning the page, but it will be how you explore the human condition that will ultimately decide your literary legacy. The chapter with the rat in Orwell’s 1984 is gripping, but the way a hidden autocracy turned its citizens into unthinking, unfeeling but above all, obedient servants was far more unsettling.
5. Don’t ignore utopias
A perfect society may make for a boring read, but lambs don’t lie down with lions for long.
6. Use simple prose
It’s going to be complicated enough. The last thing you want your readers asking is, ‘But what’s it about?’
7. Sex, religion and politics
They might be barred from the dinner table (well, the topics of conversation are) but all three are a must in a dystopian thriller. Remember, you’re aiming to explore why societies do the things they do, and digging deep reveals these three to be the main culprits.
8. Avoid anything gratuitous
Particularly when writing political opinions that coincide with your own. If they’re crucial to the plot, then have someone else in the scene state the opposing view no matter how distasteful to you personally. Let the reader decide.
9. Build the novel
In the same way evolution seems to have built us – step by step. Why does that appear to have resulted in so much inequality?
10. And finally
Aim to satisfy the reader in this way: They have read an exciting thriller which has given them a lot to think about.

The Condition Trilogy Giveaway: $100 Amazon Gift Card

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3 thoughts on “The Final Correction: The Condition Trilogy #3”

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alecbirri
March 26, 2018 at 7:04 pm


Many thanks for joining the tour, Ashley and the reviews especially 🙂 Great having the Condition trilogy compared to two of my favourite shows!

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Nikolina84
March 27, 2018 at 8:42 am


I was really enjoying following this tour, thank you for all the great blog posts and excerpts!

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