Can technology truly heal grief, or does it risk creating new monsters?

In the cold, echoing corridors of the starship The Origin, 14-year-old Jax Hutson clings to the only family he has left: the ghosts of his parents, lost to the monstrous banshees that ravaged Earth. As a subject in the mysterious Phoenix Experiments, Jax is supposed to find closure by connecting with the dead—but his secret, forbidden dreams hint at a deeper, more dangerous truth.

When a catastrophic explosion brings a group of girls and their enigmatic synthetic guardian aboard, the fragile peace shatters. Hormones ignite, alliances shift, and a creeping dread takes hold as the ship’s AI science officer, Stygius Cryptus, grows ever more erratic. Soon, Jax and his friends are thrust into a desperate fight for survival, hunted by the very machines meant to protect them and stalked by an ancient evil that feeds on their deepest fears.

With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, Jax must unravel the ship’s darkest secrets, confront the lies at the heart of his own past, and discover whether love and hope can triumph over rage and despair.

Perfect for fans of tense sci-fi thrillers and haunting coming-of-age tales, The Phoenix Experiment is a pulse-pounding journey through grief, friendship, and the power of the human spirit.

Author Aaron Ryan of the bestselling Dissonance alien invasion saga and the award-winning Christian dystopian trilogy The End presents his new paranormal thriller, The Phoenix Experiment. Step aboard The Origin, where orphaned kids battle grief, synthetic androids, and ancient evils in a starship haunted by secrets. Perfect for fans of high-stakes sci-fi with a pulse of raw emotion and a twisty, unpredictable plot!

If you crave stories where unlikely bonds become lifelines, The Phoenix Experiment delivers. Follow Jax and his ragtag crew as they transform trauma and distrust into fierce loyalty, risking everything to save each other—and humanity itself.