Artificial Agent
Book 1 of the Michael Cooling Series
J. W. Jarvis
Big Dee Books
January 31st, 2025
Artificial Agent by J. W. Jarvis will remind readers of the TV Shows “The Six Million Dollar Man” or “Bionic Woman,” because of the familiar overtones.
Jarvis noted, “I was a fan of ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ TV show as a child and grew up watching it. I waited for a remake to be made. I was tired for Hollywood to figure it out, so I decided to write my own story, making it technology advanced since it has been fifty years since the show.”
The differences between the TV Show and this book, according to the author, is how Cooling was “incorporated with AI since it is integral for a lot of robotics now. The book is more of an adult type of espionage-related tale while the TV show had some playful quirks. My villains are more vicious. The other big difference is mine has a lot of technology where the artificial prosthetics could be created today. I wanted it to be possible.”
The plot has Navy SEAL Michael Cooling captured by a brutal Russian officer, General Ivan Petrovsky who tortures him. To save his life, Cooling undergoes surgery that integrates an untested hi-tech endoskeleton technology, AIonics, into his body.
AIonics can be described as an advanced form of bionics. The author explains, “Bionics such as “The Six Million Dollar Man” uses nuclear for the limbs, but it was unstable and could cause radioactive leaking, something I mention in the book. My story has AIonics which is more sensory driven, where the hero could make his own decisions, and uses water. It has a neuro interface that connects right to the brain. AIonics is AI assisted, helping to make decisions, yet the hero has the option to not follow the advice. Unlike the TV show my hero does not need weapons since he is his own weapon and does not need external technology. I trademarked the term AIonics.”
The author describes Cooling as intelligent, a former Navy SEAL with good instincts, and is stealth like. “His code name was ‘ghost walker.’ He has the charisma of a James Bond and is a patriot. Plus, his dad has bionics from the old technology.”
The heroine in the story is Jasmine Pham. Her story currently fits into the fantasy realm since she is given the honor of becoming the first female Navy SEAL. “I wrote Jasmine as someone very patriotic. Remember this is fiction. There has been male and females who has done things we never expected them to do. My thought process is why couldn’t a woman be a SEAL? She has so many talents and can intimidate people with her strong drive. She seems superhuman just like Tom Brady as a quarterback. My development editor has twenty years in the business, a master’s in military history, and has edited the Navy SEAL Team Six book. I asked him to make sure this is true to form. Yes, I do know the dropout rate is huge, but this is a story where the impossible becomes the possible.”
There are references to current news and Petrovsky is a Russian general that has gone rogue. “I wrote him as ruthless and evil. He does not like the fact that the Soviet Union has broken up with a goal to reassimilate the Soviet Union, calling it the Red Union. He will not let anyone get in his way.”
Those fascinated and intrigued with superhumans will enjoy this story. Its blend of sci-fi thriller, and fantasy. But this should not be any surprise to readers since the author also has written a fantasy series. His next thriller book will probably be a follow up to this book with his goal releasing it in the fall. The release of his final book in another series, a fantasy series for young adults, titled The Phantom Healer, will be published in February.
