Unfettered Journey

A literary cross-genre adventure and love story, for the intelligent reader. Winner of 14 book awards.

"Unfettered Journey is an existential adventure for the mind and a lot more besides."
- Carly Newfeld, The Last Word, KSFR Santa Fe Public Radio

Unfettered Journey follows Joe, an AI scientist, as he pursues the secret of AI – and his own – consciousness. He travels to a small college to escape life's frenetic pace and to find answers. But a mysterious woman on a personal mission interrupts his search. Fighting unjust forces, they are caught up by a malevolent plot. Their struggles against machines, men, and nature test the resilience of the human spirit.

Set in a richly imagined near future, this is a cross-genre novel combining thrilling action, adventure, and a love story. It traces an epic journey – from inside the human mind to the vastness of space, from AIs battling in the desert to the peace of a mountain refuge. It asks spiritual, social, and philosophical questions that will linger. How does the will to survive bring clarity to the human experience? What would you sacrifice to achieve social justice? How do we find meaning and purpose in a world dominated by technology?

"...an epic expedition into the nature of consciousness, God, Reality, and the minds of Man."
- IndieReader; IR Approved

"Shades of Huxley and Asimov. Gary F. Bengier has created a science fiction adventure that is reminiscent of the masters."
- Lee Scott, for the Florida Times-Union

"It is so well-written…excellent storyline…one of those novels that stays with the reader long after the last page is finished."
- The US Review of Books

"That ending was jaw dropping. What a ride!"
- The Literary Vixen

"…we are witness to a beautiful love story that transcends and survives time and its journeys…"
- Book_LoversDreams

"It's a captivating and fast-paced futuristic love story...a future that feels eerily authentic..."
- She's Single Magazine

"…a very rich read…a fascinating portrayal…so much wisdom…"
- Donna Seebo Show

"The world is as richly imagined as the Bladerunner movie."
- Midwest Book Review

"Unfettered Journey is in the business of life-changing, really, whether it's teaching us how to love in the face of a world of loneliness and ambiguity [or] reflect on the depths of our soul and maybe just experience all the things that life has to offer us."
- Books R&B, Vyshnavi, book blogger