Once Dead (The Rho Agenda Inception Book 1)

Once again Richard Phillips hits a home run with the characters Jack and Janet ! This is a great prequel to " Rho Ahenda " . I hope to see and read more from this author ! If they make a movie from " Rho Agenda ", I'd bet money it would be a hit !

Thank you for writing a book with a truly intelligent hero! He wins because he is better and smarter not because of the whim of fate or prophecy. This is well written book populated by smart people with their own agendas. I loved it!

Mr. Philips writes engaging plots with enticing character development. His military and physics background serves him well, in devising a thrilling page turner, with a storyline he continues to develop. I look forward to the not-so-subtle hints at what's in store for the Ripper and his role in the fate of humanity in books to come. If I have any complaints, it's simply that Mr. Philips is not prolific enough. Write more. Write often.

This is a standard thriller with a superman as the protagonist. I was attracted to the series by the excellent science fiction of the prior books, but there is little of that here. This one was a decent read, but nothing particularly special about it.

I really enjoyed the book. It is an interesting story story but with a twist. Think a sort of Exorcist meets Mitch Rapp character.
I've previously read the entire Rho Agenda series and enjoyed them all. I bought this one as soon as I saw it offered.

My only negative comment is gun related. Too many authors rely on guesswork or bad advice when it comes to firearms.
There is a point where a bad guy is reloading an Uzi SMG and he "slammed home his second magazine and released the slide that would push a cartridge into the chamber".
First, Uzi's don't have slides, they have bolts.
Second, full auto Uzi's shoot from an open bolt. (At least the ones I've fired do!)
That means when it is ready to fire the bolt is open and when you pull the trigger it slams forward chambering and firing the round.
There is also the usual talk of people being thrown around by pistol bullet impacts. Not possible (see Isaac Newtons third law of motion). "For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action".
If the bullets were powerful enough to knock down the target they would also transfer that much power to the shooter through recoil.

Freaking great read - I couldn't put this book down. Richard Phillips has used his extensive knowledge of the military and physics to create a thriller along the lines of Clancy 's "Hunt for Red October", and a character every bit as powerful as Ludlum's "Jason Bourne". Bravo.

I could write about this series, but there's only one thing you really need to know: if you like the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry, this is for you. Great plot, great characters, great action. Fast paced, extremely well written with science, science fiction, and thriller genes all boosted on steroids. Get. This. Series.

I read the entire Rho Agenda series and was entertained. This work which precedes the Rho Agenda series contains some plausible scenarios for the real-world portion, and interesting twists for the sci-fi portion.
It provided a quick read and welcome diversion from other sci-fi, yet real world ideas.
Worth picking up.

Like your meal with hot curry and spices.Then this is the digital feast for us. Ooooh that's right I've already eaten mine. Sooorrryyyy couldn't wait - the meal was great though this one is drama not scifi. On another note and after a long wait I apologise to Richard who kindly sent me a draft of the final Rho Agenda novel. I bought my first one from iBooks then he shipped out to Kindle province of the store. Rho Agenda - if you do not read this series a great drama filled with Great Science Fiction will be your loss Choose to read the series and all those drooping brain cells will perk up and Party wildly whilst imbibing in some of the best thought out science fiction around. He'll my brain love to partake of my higher functions involving stars, aliens and plots galore. Richard not only an army ranger, also a physicist What a great and wonderful combination for a writer. Gotta love your work. Sssoooo more Science fiction and fast paced drama please. Reading your work is turning me into a digital Adreniline Junkie seriously I loved the Rho Agenda series and I'm critical as I'm a great lover of well written Science Fiction ??????

This is a very interesting and captivating story. The story line and characters are very interesting and captivating through out this book. I have enjoyed reading this book and looking forward to more.

Completed this book In Two days steady reading. If you are familiar with the Rho Project books then you know the type of read you are getting yourself into. So pour yourself a glass of wine and be transported to the Rho universe.

Having already read Phillips Rho Agenda trilogy,I was somewhat pessimistic about how he was going to top it, but top it he does ,flawlessly! All hail Jack Gregory! The Ripper's origin story manages to be both unique and unusual enough to make it believable. Can't wait to see where the next book takes me!!

I liked the characters Ripper and Janet in the Rho Agenda trilogy, so I finally bit on this book (Once Dead). And I liked those two characters in this book too -- BUT introducing a non-human entity to (presumably) explain the Ripper’s extra-ordinary instincts, awareness and reactions seemed just short of crazy to me. (And that’s not a spoiler as the entity is introduced in the Prologue – and talked about in the store’s book description as well.)

As for the antagonist’s plan, the plan’s success depended upon such a long string of interrelated actions taking place successfully that the plot just seemed silly to me. (If a rogue foreign government were involved instead, the plot would be simpler - and the evildoing harder to prevent.)

Still, the story did zip along and I do like the Ripper and Janet characters (despite that 3rd party entity), and so, feeling generous, I give Once Dead 3 stars.

I was not disappointed in the action, since the author is a West Point Grad. Most of the time I say "give me a break" on these military action books, but this time I say "not bad". To the author I say "keep writing and I'll keep buying".

Not what I expected after the wonderful Rho Agenda trilogy. Not really sci-fi, closer to the well used possession theme that I don't love But it is creative, well developed and moves along fast enough to keep you up late.

Interesting story backed by strong and developed characters. I have read all of Mr. Philips Rho series and thouroughly enjoyed every word. I look forward to this new series and can't wait for book two.

A well thought out spy adventure. The story line seemed plausible and the pace of the story was great. I loved the creative thinking and the development of the mind worm, and hope to learn more in the sequel. This also helps with an understanding as to why Jack and Janet were so effective in the Rho series.

I enjoyed the heroes of the Rho Agenda series and this gives book gives you a background, a deeper dive into the life and motivation of the mentor that was key help for the young people that starred in the Rho agenda series.

I like the occasional adolescent power fantasy as much as the next guy, but the main character is so invincible that none of the (many) action sequences in this book are remotely exciting -- aside from the event that sets up the plot at the very start of the book, the protagonist is clearly never in peril. I mean, c'mon, even Jason Bourne gets roughed up a little from time to time.

It's a shame, because there are some potentially interesting ideas that are worked into the plot, but the action is so central to the author's approach that having them not work kills the experience. I quit reading about a third of the way through the book after I'd slogged through yet another pointless action sequence where the main character had once again effortlessly defeated everybody. No fun.

I really enjoyed this book. It was actually a very good read. It was very much a spy-thriller novel, and I think I enjoyed it more than the SciFi books. I look forward to reading more about these two characters, and seeing how they interact with the characters from the early Rho Agenda books.

Wondering what the hell was going on with Gregory in the other Reo Agenda episodes, I could hardly believe that a retro story could be so exspliscative + exciting + scientific!!! all at the same time!!!

Wondering what the hell was going on with Gregory in the other Reo Agenda episodes, I could hardly believe that a retro story could be so exspliscative + exciting + scientific!!! all at the same time!!!

Very well written non-stop action. Even though character development is shallow, I was quickly drawn into an attachment with the heroes and found the book hard to put down. While uncomplicated, it's a great story!

A page turner. Hard to put down. Besides the good vs evil, the details about the science involved in plot was expressed in a way that was understandable.. I look to add to reading more books from this author.

Very entertaining and creative story. Good character development. The only reason I didn't rate five-stars is that the story is more of a action-thriller genre in the mold of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books than a sci-fi story. In fact, there's hardly any science fiction at all in it.

It was a great story filled with conspiracy elements and spice of the supernatural that resides in Jack as he is carried from one task to another eventually leading to him saving the united states from facing a disaster that destroy the economy. Its very fast pace, and the story ends pretty smoothly, the only problem is the dialogue being a little long but beside that its a great story