Stephen Martino Talks His Cover 'The Hidden Reality'

Title: The Hidden Reality
Author: Stephen Martino
Publisher: Light Messages
Pages: 318
Genre: Science Fiction/Political Thriller

In the year 2084, the brilliant inventor, Alex Pella, finds himself at a precarious crossroad between the pursuit of justice and preservation of his own sanity. While attempting to undermine an international New World Order government created by the financial juggernaut known as The New Reality, he must also face the hidden truths about his own genetic heritage that are slowly destroying him. After receiving an ambiguous message sent from a former New Reality executive who died 2 years prior, Alex learns that the only possible means to confront this New World Order is to defeat a long-forgotten enemy almost 2500 years old.

THE HIDDEN REALITY is the second stand-alone novel in a trilogy starring Alex Pella, created by New Jersey-based neurologist and entrepreneur Stephen Martino. With his fusion of history, politics, and science fiction, Martino joins such masters of the thriller genre as Dan Brown, James Rollins, and Michael Crichton.

Martino’s villain is a corporation run by a cadre of ruthless international bankers known as The New Reality. Directed by the most corrupt and morally unscrupulous of the bunch, Myra Keres, the company has economically seized control of the world’s governments and the population’s personal freedoms in the process. In order to save humanity from this despot ruler and the unwonted atrocities to which she plans to perpetuate on the world, Alex Pella must infiltrate the company and face an enemy that has unknowingly haunted both him and history for almost 2500 years.

Martino says he wrote THE HIDDEN REALITY more than just to entertain the reader. He wanted to create a modern day Orwellian ANIMAL FARM to allegorically forewarn his readers of a possible dystopia future that awaits all of mankind if humanity continues to proceed down its path of self-destruction.

In THE HIDDEN REALITY, Martino has included such hot-button contemporary topics as genetic cloning, unprecedented economic debt, the rise of big government, and the threat of a New World Order run by the economic elite, while bringing the reader back almost 2500 years into the past when the ancient city state nation known as Greece fought the mighty Persian Empire for world domination.

All of these elements, Martino maintains, separate his book from the pack. He calls THE HIDDEN REALITY “issue-oriented fiction. There are real concerns facing society today that threaten both the sovereignty and prosperity of our future generations. Though fictional, my novel addresses some of these issues and predicts the potential consequences we face as a nation and the world if they are not properly addressed today.”

For More Information

• The Hidden Reality is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Stephen Martino Talks Book Covers

First of all, I’d like give my publisher, Light Messages, complete credit for creating my book cover. Honestly, I was completely thrilled with the first draft they provided me. After only 2 minor changes, with the last one making the Greek helmet three-dimensional in appearance, the cover was complete.

Not only does the cover portray a tantalizing picture, but it also provides a glimpse into the essence of the story and dichotomous nature of the book. To begin with, holographic pictures and encrypted codes on the cover set a futuristic tone meant to convey the fact that The Hidden Reality is a dystopian, science fiction thriller set in the year 2084. It’s a future whereby we have surrendered all of our personal rights to a New World Order government run by an international banking institution. It’s also is a time when the First Amendment and Second Amendment to the Constitution are but a distant memory. In contrast, it is additionally an astounding era whereby both scientific and medical achievements rival one’s imagination and make the reader ponder if mankind can achieve such amazing accomplishments.

The Hidden Reality also takes the reader back almost 2500 years into the past and away from a dystopian future which may ultimately become our own fate. The daunting Greek helmet which seems to jump out of the cover represents the ancient clash between the East and West, which is just as apropos 2500 years ago as it is today. It’s a time when the army under Alexander the Great collided with the Persian Empire ruled by King Darius III. Both historically accurate and militarily precise, the reader will find themselves in the middle of an epic battle between East and West that shaped the course of history for millennium to come. Known ironically as the Battle of Isis in the history books, this clash of 2 great armies and their perspective cultures may be a harbinger of what lies ahead in our own future.

About the Author

Stephen Martino is neurologist practicing in New Jersey. Though not separating conjoined twins like Dr. Ben Carson, he is part of an active medical practice and is currently participating in concussion research and inventing new medical products. When he is not working, he can be found with his five children doing homework or cheering them on at a soccer field, basketball court, or dance recital. Martino is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Cub Scout den leader and is an active public speaker, helping to provide stroke education to the local community, EMS squads and healthcare professionals.

His latest book is the science fiction/political thriller, The Hidden Reality.

For More Information

• Visit Stephen Martino’s website.
• Connect with Stephen on Goodreads and Twitter.