The Uncontrolled

Tracking Devices, Mind Control, and Visions of the Future


An action-packed adventure set against the loss of
free will that comes from a mind control serum.


The robotic way people smile is John's first inclination that things are not quite as they seem in Amber City.


At the age of fourteen, everyone is “vaccinated” with a biological implant that makes people controllable. John is supposed to get his shot the very next day, until he and his parents find out about the mind-controlling chip requiring his family to devise a plan to put a stop to this once and for all, but things don't go exactly as planned.


Along with his friend Chase, and an irrepressible girl named Hazel, the three of them find themselves in the world of the controlled, where they must try to escape the notice of this powerful society and its leader, Crofar. As the trio of teenagers attempt to defeat Crofar on their own, they stumble upon the Renegades, a formidable group of “the uncontrolled,” led by Maximus.


Warily forming an alliance with the teenagers, the numbers are not in their favor, and the uncontrolled are barely holding their own. Until that is, they realize they have a secret weapon. John starts to have regular visions of the future, which can change in interesting ways when certain variables are adjusted.


While John has visions they can use to win the war against Crofar, things become complicated because Crofar has visions too. With two adversaries who can see the future, only one can outsmart the other.


The Uncontrolled is an adventurous, sci-fi book written by award-winning teen author Zachary Astrowsky.


● TCK Publishing Readers Choice Awards Winner 2018, MG/YA Category
● Purple Dragonfly Book Award Winner, Honorable Mention, June 2018
● Royal Dragonfly Book Award 2nd Place Winner, November 2018
● Story Monsters Approved


Age range: 8 -16