Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 31st January, 2018

40276268 – vintage old pocket watch and book

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – The Eye of the North by Sinéad O’Hart

#fantasy #children’s

When Emmeline’s scientist parents mysteriously disappear, she finds herself heading for a safe house, where allies have pledged to protect her. But along the way, she is kidnapped by the villainous Doctor Siegfried Bauer, who is bound for the ice fields of Greenland. There he hopes to summon a mystical creature from the depths of the ancient glaciers, a creature said to be so powerful that whoever controls it can control the world.

I did really well with my reading challenge last year – but failed dismally in my attempt to read more children’s and YA fiction, so I’m trying to ensure I read more Netgalley arcs aimed at youngsters. I rather liked the sound of this one – and if it looks promising, maybe I can recommend it to the granddaughter. This edition is due out on 8th February.

Teaser Tuesday – 30th January, 2018

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is my choice of the day:

The Stone Sky – Book 3 of The Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin
76% I will not say we weren’t tempted, when faced with the choice between permitting the destruction of a civilization, or of all life on the planet. Syl Anagist’s fate was sealed. Make no mistake. We had meant to seal it. The difference between what the Earth wanted and what we wanted was merely a matter of scale. But which is the way the world ends? We tuners would be dead; the distinction mattered little to me in that moment. It’s never wise to ask such a question of people who have nothing to lose.

BLURB: THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS… FOR THE LAST TIME.

The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women.

Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe.

For Nassun, her mother’s mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.

I have left it far too long to return to this amazing series – The Fifth Season blew me away, so at last I have returned to the final instalment. It is every bit as remarkable as I recalled… This author breaks ALL the rules and somehow manages to get away with it. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure and enjoy apocalyptic adventures with a difference, then track down that first book, The Fifth Season – this densely written, engrossing series needs to be read in the right order.

Sunday Post – 28th January, 2018

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

I am now getting the hang of fitting in my extra Creative Writing class on Tuesday evening, which is now starting to feel like routine. That said, I can’t remember when so many students were absent with illnesses. I’m hoping the coming week will see everyone recovered and back attending the classes. On Thursday, my sister came shopping with us as Himself had the day off and then later she joined us for a meal in the evening. The wonders of technology had Himself and my son Rob, who is currently in the States, playing Bloodbowl together via their computers after our meal.

Yesterday was a special day I won’t forget in a hurry – I got to see my unborn granddaughter on screen in such amazing detail that I wept. My daughter decided to go for a gender scan and invited us grannies along, with the rest of the family. A magical experience. Today I shan’t be around much, because we are off to celebrate my lovely stepfather’s 70th birthday. We are taking him to one of his favourite restaurants and hopefully the rain and gloom will ease up sufficiently so that the drive is less slog in the mirk and more of an enjoyable drive in the countryside. In the meantime, I hope you all have a lovely day and that the weather is at least bearable, if not kind.

This week I have read:

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew P. Walker
Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when we don’t sleep. Compared to the other basic drives in life—eating, drinking, and reproducing—the purpose of sleep remained elusive. An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. Within the brain, sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming mollifies painful memories and creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge to inspire creativity.

Walker answers important questions about sleep: how do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What really happens during REM sleep? Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us and can they do long-term damage? Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses.

Yes… I know – this has to be one of the longest blurbs in history, but it also nicely sums up this entertaining and rather frightening non-fiction read. If you regularly don’t get between eight to nine hours of sleep a night and have kidded yourself it really doesn’t much matter than you don’t – then this book is required reading.

 

Keeper by Kim Chance
When a 200-year-old witch attacks her, sixteen-year-old bookworm Lainey Styles is determined to find a logical explanation. Even with the impossible staring her in the face, Lainey refuses to believe it—until she finds a photograph linking the witch to her dead mother.

After the rather disturbing read earlier in the week, this is just what I needed – lots of magical mayhem around a sympathetic protagonist and a completely dastardly villain. Great stuff! Review will be following in due course.

 

My posts last week:

Sunday Post – 21st January, 2018

Teaser Tuesday featuring Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew P. Walker

Can’t-Wait Wednesday featuring Keeper by Kim Chance

Review of Netgalley arc We Care For You by Paul Kitcatt

Friday Face-off – The grass is always greener over the septic tank… featuring The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

My 2017 Reading Year – the Statistics

 

Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:

Space Features of the Week (27 January) http://earthianhivemind.net/2018/01/27/space-features-week-27-january/ Steph brings another wonderful roundup of all that is going on – I love the idea of the Tesla on Mars and do check out that NASA video of the unfurling solar panels…

Chai Break: How positively have authors responded to your negative reviews? https://thisislitblog.com/2018/01/27/chai-break-how-positively-have-authors-responded-to-your-negative-reviews/ The bad behaviour of some authors when confronted by bad reviews is a frequent hot topic on book blogging sites, so I really enjoyed reading this more uplifting take on the subject.

The Difference Between Young Adult and New Adult…And Why It’s Important http://www.momwithareadingproblem.com/2018/01/difference-young-adult-new-adult-important/ This is a particularly gnarly issue if you have young teens keen to read anything they can get their hands on – and I agree with Lillian, it’s important.

Sandy Denny – Who Knows Where The Times Goes? https://theimmortaljukebox.com/2018/01/04/sandy-denny-who-knows-where-the-time-goes/ Once again, the marvellous Thom Hickey takes me to a place I didn’t know I wanted to go – from this haunting song, he transitions to a wonderful passage from the Old English writings of Bede, which then had me hunting for the translation… Magical and moving. I’m now going to be looking for the writings of Bede. Thank you Thom!

31 brand new animal species discovered by amateur naturalists – https://redpenofdoom.com/2018/01/25/31-brand-new-animal-species-discovered-by-amateur-naturalists/ This quirky blogger has an offbeat sense of humour and this item had me laughing out loud – and wishing that some of these names actually existed…

Thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to visit, like and comment on my site and may you have a wonderful week.

My 2017 Reading Year – the Statistics

This has been another excellent reading year. I kept my reading challenge to read and review 100 books during the year and in the event, I read 175 books and reviewed 162. Of these, 66 were written by male authors and 109 books by female authors. Given that I read mostly science fiction and fantasy, I am happy to be reading more books by female writers as they tend to be under-represented in book shops and libraries, particularly in science fiction.

 

 

Another related challenge I set myself was to read at least two books by a female author previously unknown to me – the Discovery Challenge, prompted by Jo Hall. During 2017, I read 39 books by women writers I hadn’t previously encountered, and 24 books by male authors I hadn’t read before. So 36% of books I read were by authors new to me. This is a bit disappointing, as last year, I had managed to achieve 43% of books read by previously unknown authors.

 

After resurrecting my previously-dormant NetGalley account in 2016, during 2017 I read and reviewed 74 new releases, still retaining my 80% feedback ratio badge with NetGalley. I have been very careful not to overload myself with arcs as I am a mood reader who reviews books as a hobby. I think this caution is paying off. In addition, my reviewer stats with Amazon have steadily climbed and I am now hovering around the 1,500 top reviewer mark. This may seem rather grim, but I am very happy, given that only three years ago I was waaaay down this ranking. One of my targets for 2017 was to make more inroads on my TBR pile. I am pleased to announce that I managed to read 74 books from my TBR pile. What was a bit shocking was how much less we are using the library, given Himself now has a lot more books from Kindle Unlimited, which he often goes on to buy if he likes them.

 

In 2017 I read 75 fantasy books, 72 science fiction books, 4 historical adventures, 11 contemporary fiction and 13. Science fiction includes sub-genres including time travel, steampunk, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, military, space opera and literary. Fantasy includes sub-genres including epic, urban, swords and sorcery, sand and sorcery, musket and magic, grimdark and coming of age.

 

Regarding the age cateogries of the books – I read 19 children’s books in 2017, along with 25 books for young adults. The rest were adult/new adult. This is a massive fail – I was supposed to read more children’s and YA books this year. Given that in 2016 I also read 19 children’s books and 30 YA books, I am definitely going to have to ensure that I read more books for children and young adults in 2018.

 

And that’s it. How did you get on in 2017 – was it also a good year for you, too?

Friday Faceoff – The grass is always greener over the septic tank…

This meme was started by Books by Proxy, whose fabulous idea was to compare UK and US book covers and decide which is we prefer and is currently hosted by Lynn’s Book Blog. This week the theme is a cover featuring grass, so I’ve gone with The Long Earth – Book 1 of The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

 

This cover, produced by HarperCollins in June 2012, is the version I read. As a result, I have a real soft spot for it. I love the worlds lined up in the sky, which give a strong sense of the content and the world depicted looks very unspoilt and free from mankind – until now, that is. My one grizzle is that the author names, along with the title do tend to sprawl across the image rather intrusively.

 

This French edition was produced by L’Atalante in June 2013. Again, sweeping grassland features, although this is a world where humanity has already got a foothold with tracks, fencing and an airship. Again, those other worlds are lined up in the sky. I like the fact that the title and author is clumped neatly in one corner, which gives a far better sense of the immensity of the landscape.

 

Published in April 2016 by Nemira, this Romanian cover is my favourite. I love the solitude of the figure on the outcrop, staring up at the other worlds lined up in the sky. As well as the lovely landscape, there is also that stunning spacescape – this one has it all, in my opinion.

 

Produced in 2013 by Prószyński i S-ka, this is another effective cover. While I prefer the figure just standing, a little stunned, in the previous cover, the running man in this one is also striking and once again, the sky full of different versions of Earth is beautiful. It is very close contender for the favourite.

 

This Turkish offering, published in February 2014 by İthaki Yayınları, is another lovely cover with those wide vistas and multi worlds, but what spoils this one is the writing sprawling across the whole image, which is the same peeve I have with that first cover. However, all in all, I think Terry and Stephen were very lucky to have such a lovely lot of different covers. Which is your favourite?

Review of NETGALLEY arc We Care For You by Paul Kitcatt

When I read what fellow book blogger, Ana, from Ana’s Lair had to say about this offering, I immediately hightailed it over to NetGalley to request it. I was delighted when I was approved and bumped it up to the top of my pile because I was so keen to read it.

Margaret Woodruff is slowly dying in a care home. When her son is presented with the chance of exceptional care in her final months, he finds the offer hard to resist. Winifred is assigned to Margaret’s care. She’s a Helper: a new kind of carer that’s capable, committed and completely tireless – because she’s a synthetic human being.

This is ambitious book is not only a gripping story about what happens to an old lady in a care home, but it is also a discussion about what it means to be human. Kitcatt isn’t afraid to hold up the pace of his unsettling story to provide detailed conversations between Margaret and Winifred, which have stayed with me since I finished reading the book. I’m not sure if I agree with the conclusions he comes to, but they are certainly food for thought and I do thoroughly agree with the prevalent view throughout the book that the life experience gained by the elderly is essentially thrown away in our modern society. This is in sharp contrast to almost every other culture throughout history, where the wisdom of the aged is valued and held in high regard. Although the conclusions that Winifred come to are somewhat worrying…

Any niggles? Well, I do have one. I’m still scratching my head as to why Kitcatt has set the book in 2022, given the sophistication and real-life appearance of the robot. That is only four years away and I simply don’t believe we are anywhere near producing an artificial being with that sophistication and complexity to be rolled out and fully interact with a very fragile human being in the manner described in the book. To be honest, when I saw the date I nearly didn’t continue, being rather nerdy about this sort of thing. While I’m aware, great strides have been made in the field of AI and robotics. I simply don’t believe we are within touching distance of the likes of Winifred and her hub.

However, the writing is sufficiently good and the book has been produced to a high standard with solid formatting, so I decided to proceed and give the author a pass on the unrealistic timeline. Other than that, this is an engrossing read with some important things to say about what we value as a society and a species, and though I thought I knew exactly what the ending would be, that final twist did leave me with a shiver up my spine. All in all, this is a memorable and unsettling read, recommended for anyone who enjoys near future science fiction relating to our current society.
8/10

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 24th January, 2018

40276268 – vintage old pocket watch and book

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Keeper by Kim Chance

#fantasy #YA #magic #witchcraft

When a 200-year-old witch attacks her, sixteen-year-old bookworm Lainey Styles is determined to find a logical explanation. Even with the impossible staring her in the face, Lainey refuses to believe it—until she finds a photograph linking the witch to her dead mother.

After consulting a psychic, Lainey discovers that she, like her mother, is a Keeper: a witch with the exclusive ability to unlock and wield the Grimoire, a dangerous but powerful spell book. But there’s a problem. The Grimoire has been stolen by a malevolent warlock who is desperate for a spell locked inside it—a spell that would allow him to siphon away the world’s magic.

With the help of her comic-book-loving best friend and an enigmatic but admittedly handsome street fighter, Lainey must leave her life of college prep and studying behind to prepare for the biggest test of all: stealing back the book.

Being the shallow sort, I was first lured into checking out this one because of the rather scrummy cover – but I also really liked the idea. Yep – I know it’s been done before, but right now, after being traumatised by my current read, I could do with some magical mayhem!

Teaser Tuesday – 23rd January, 2018

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is my choice of the day:

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew P. Walker

60% It is said that time heals all wounds. Several years ago I decided to scientifically test this age-old wisdom, as I wondered whether an amendment was in order. Perhaps it was not time that heals all wounds, but rather time spent in dream sleep. I had been developing a theory based on the combined patterns of brain activity and brain neurochemistry of REM sleep, and from this theory came a specific prediction: REM-sleep dreaming offers a form of overnight therapy.

BLURB: An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. Within the brain, sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming mollifies painful memories and creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge to inspire creativity.

Walker answers important questions about sleep: how do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What really happens during REM sleep? Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us and can they do long-term damage? Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and accessible, Why We Sleep is a crucial and illuminating book.

I am conscious that I hardly ever read non-fiction and when I saw this one on offer, given our recent, rather scary experience with my husband’s severe sleep apnea, I decided I wanted to know more about this subject. Now I do, I’m making strenuous efforts to get my own broken sleep rhythm back into some kind of order. This book is not just recommended – for those of you who don’t regularly get 7-8 hours sleep a night, this is required reading.

Sunday Post – 21st January, 2018

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

Christmas now seems like a distant memory. I finally started back at Pilates and Fitstep this Wednesday and to be honest, was rather dreading it, given how little exercise I’ve done over the past couple of months. It didn’t help that my sister made the most delicious Christmas cake in the universe the size of a small house. I can never resist Christmas cake and this one somehow just disappeared from the cake tin and inside me – so now I’m the one the size of a small house… In the event, our lovely teacher Louise got it just right – we were eased into the classes again really gently so that although I was a tad stiff and sore on Friday, it was nothing major. This was just as well as on Friday, I had to drive over to Brighton to pick up the grandchildren, then dogleg across to Worthing Hospital to collect a new sleep mask for Himself as the one he’s been using has split. It meant I spent most of Friday afternoon behind the wheel of the car and in the evening, Frances and I went to a fish and chip party over at Sally’s house, where we met up with other cast members who had taken part in Tim’s film. There was lots of laughter over the clips Tim showed and afterwards some amazing karaoke performances – we both had a brilliant time.

On Saturday morning, the grandchildren and I shopped till we dropped. They were busy spending pocket money and I was buying in supplies for the rest of the weekend and a red lentil curry which I made last night. It needs a bit of tweaking, but overall I was very pleased with it. Today we’re meeting up with my sister who has now recovered from her ear infection and is on a mission to buy a new handbag, before we return the grandchildren back home this afternoon. It’s been lovely to catch up with them once again.

 

This week I have read:

We Care For You by Paul Kitcatt
Margaret Woodruff is slowly dying in a care home. When her son is presented with the chance of exceptional care in her final months, he finds the offer hard to resist. Winifred is assigned to Margaret’s care. She’s a Helper: a new kind of carer that’s capable, committed and completely tireless – because she’s a synthetic human being. Under Winifred’s care Margaret’s health improves beyond everyone’s expectations, and Winifred begins to learn from Margaret what it means to be alive. After all, she has a lifetime of experience to pass on – and in a world where youth is the ultimate prize, perhaps it takes a robot to recognise the value of old age. But how will Winifred use what she learns from Margaret – and what does she truly want from her?

This was intriguing read that also attempted to answer the question – what makes us human? Though I’m not sure I totally agree with Kitcatt’s conclusions, I wholeheartedly agree that as a society we completely disregard the wisdom the elderly has to offer. And I really didn’t see that final twist coming…

Talon – Book 1 of the Talon series by Julie Kagawa
Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they’re positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. There was more romance and teen interaction than I’d bargained for. However, since I completed it, I find this book whirling around in my thoughts as I’m looking forward to getting hold of the second one in the series.

 

My posts last week:

Sunday Post – 14th January, 2018

Review of Netgalley arc The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

Review of Kindle Ebook Ranter’s Wharf by Rosemary Noble

Friday Face-off – It’s only words and words are all I have… featuring Room by Emma Donoghue

Review of Indie Ebook Subversive by Paul Grzegorzek

 

Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:

Thursday Doors – Clevedon https://jeanreinhardt.wordpress.com/2018/01/19/thursday-doors-clevedon/ I used to live in Somerset and these lovely pics brought back just what a beautiful county it is… Thank you, Jean!

…the scariest Author project I’ve ever undertaken… https://seumasgallacher.com/2018/01/19/the-scariest-author-project-ive-ever-undertaken/ I can sympathise with Seumas, who is writing his life story – and finding it very daunting…

Franky the Finicky Flamingo by Wanda Luthman https://anitashaven.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/franky-the-finicky-flamingo-by-wanda-luthman/ If you have a child who is a fussy eater, then this books sounds like it could be a huge help…

How To Poop in the Wilderness when Bathrooms Aren’t a Luxury https://roamwildandfree.com/2018/01/17/how-to-poop-in-the-wilderness-when-bathrooms-arent-a-luxury/ Being a major screen hugger, I haven’t had to face this issue – but some of this advice was unexpected. If you’re headed out for the wilderness in 2018, do read this article, first.

#Lessons Learned from Diana Wynne Jones: In #Fantasy #Writing, Not all Rabbits Wear Waist Coats https://jeanleesworld.com/2018/01/18/lessonslearned-from-diana-wynne-jones-in-fantasy-writing-not-all-rabbits-wear-waist-coats/ As ever the talented Jean Lee has something pertinent and important to say about the craft of writing.

Thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to visit, like and comment on my site.

Review of Indie KINDLE Ebook Subversive by Paul Grzegorzek

London, 2123. A century after ebola-bombs decimated the population, PC Sean Weaver of the Combined Police Force is a drone operative tasked with enforcing the Government’s dictatorial rule. Nearly anything and everything is considered Subversive and the people huddle behind ever-watched walls, under threat of forced labour on The Farms for the smallest infraction. Trust is nearly impossible to come by and terrorists could be anywhere. Trapped within this oppressive regime, Sean has to make do with small, secretive acts of rebellion lest he end up on The Farms himself. Until, that is, the day he witnesses the mass murder of hundreds of civilians. Events quickly spiral out of control, propelling him into a bloody and brutal conflict where he finds himself faced with the ultimate choice. Accept his fate and bury the truth, or fight back and become… Subversive.

I reviewed Grzegorzek’s apocalyptic adventure Flare – see my review here – which I thoroughly enjoyed. But this sci fic dystopian thriller hits the ground running and the pace doesn’t ease up until the climactic ending. Sean is one of the novel’s strength’s – he is a likeable chap who can certainly handle himself in a scrap and quite right, too, as he is a trained PC. However, while he is at the heart of all the action and manages to attract trouble like a magnet attracts iron filings, Grzegorzek manages to avoid his depiction of Sean becoming too invincible. While he is horrified at the wanton slaughter of fellow Londoners and wants to do the right thing, he is also reluctant to risk his own family or endure too much physical pain. In other words, he is just like you and me – which made me warm to him and care about what happens to him.

The other outstanding aspect of this book is the twisting plot, which kicks off when Sean sees something he shouldn’t. Immediately, he finds himself hauled into the middle of a plot to wipe out the terrorists who are held responsible for the incident and I settled into the book, thinking I knew how it was all going to play out – only to find within the next handful of pages, it all flips around and something else is going on. The speed at which Sean experiences reverses and finds himself in the middle of desperate situations reminded me of Darrow’s struggles in Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series.

Grzegorzek’s depiction of a ravaged London, particularly the grim state of the underground stations, are memorable and provide a suitable backdrop for the desperate battles that are played out. The technology is believable and I was also pleased at Grzegorzek’s explanation of why a fair proportion of the population are now behaving like mindless sheep and showing slavish obedience to a corrupt and unpleasant form of government.

All in all, this was a cracking read – and as the first book of 2018, I was delighted it was such an entertaining book. Recommended for fans of dystopian and post-apocalyptic thrillers.
9/10