Monday – I published my review of historical thriller The Art of a Lieby Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
Tuesday – My take on this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books Set on Islands.
Wednesday – As always WWW Wednesday is a weekly opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to take a peek at what others are reading.
He will stay like this forever, Robert’s arm draped round him. They will be forever twenty.
Scotland, 1933. Bobby MacBryde is on his way. After years grafting at Lees Boot Factory, he’s off to the Glasgow School of Art, to his future. On his first day he will meet another Robert, a quiet man with loose dark curls – and never leave his side.
Together they will spend every penny and every minute devouring Glasgow – its botanical gardens, the Barras market, a whole hidden city – all the while loving each other behind closed doors. With the world on the brink of war, their unrivalled talent will take them to Paris, Rome, London. They will become stars as the bombs fall, hosting wild parties with the likes of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon and Elizabeth Smart. But the brightest stars burn fastest.
What I’m currently reading
I’m listening to the audiobook of The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel, I’m reading There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak for my book club and The Best of Intentions by Caroline Scott from my NetGalley shelf.
First came the darkness. Then the storm. Now it’s time to face the fire.
Following a fighter jet crash in the Haitian hinterland, special agent Alex Lamarque is taken captive by a violent gang, the lone authority in this lawless territory.
His only allies are busy on the other side of the world, facing a crescendo of dangers: the AI viruses crippling the digital state; the breakdown of law and order; and some unexpected, terrifying news from a Paris observatory.
With no hope of rescue, Alex must take on his greatest challenge entirely alone. Survival will take every bit of strength he has.
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My Review
The Coming Fire is the final book in the trilogy which started with The Coming Darkness and continued with The Coming Storm. The book accommodates those who haven’t read the earlier books by providing some recaps of events so far. However, I would suggest for maximum enjoyment, read the first two books. They’re fast-paced and you’ll race through them as I did.
The Coming Fire is set in 2037 in a world severely affected by climate change. Some parts of the globe have become uninhabitable which has led to mass migration. Those in possession of essential resources have power, the rest do not. Technology is familiar but has developed beyond what we have today. For example, there are fully autonomous vehicles. Just as today though, countries’ economies, infrastructure and vital services rely on digital communications relayed via satellites orbiting the Earth.
Imagine if all that came to a halt. Even worse, imagine that there are some who view that prospect not as a catastrophe but as the first stage in a reset for the planet, a chance for humanity to start all over again but on a smaller scale. And perhaps scariest of all, imagine there are people actively trying to bring this about.
The Coming Storm finished on an epic cliffhanger with the reader not knowing which of the main characters (all left in perilous situations) would make it out alive. The Coming Fire picks up directly from that point. In the case of Alex Lamarque, hailed as ‘saviour of the world’ for his role in defeating The Coming Darkness conspiracy, he’s mid-flight on an out-of-control aircraft with the cabin door locked. It’s just the first of a series of seemingly impossible situations from which he must extricate himself.
Every action hero demands a suitably villainous opponent. The author delivers this in style, introducing the reader to a man without morals, utterly ruthless and willing to sacrifice the lives of millions in pursuit of his warped objective. Those he needs to help him achieve it are used, and then discarded. Ironically his use of experimental medical treatments aimed at increasing his longevity has left him a husk of a man, reliant on others for his bodily needs. Unfortunately, his evil brain is still intact and if anything his immiment demise has made him even more fanatical.
A small island off the coast of Haiti is the location for the final showdown. Can Lamarque and his colleagues save the world from the catastrophic effects of a deadly cascade of events? Actually, perhaps it’s not just the action of humans we should fear. Maybe the universe has something against us as well.
The Coming Fire is a pacy action thriller that takes you on a whirlwind journey through a nightmare future.
In three words: Gripping, action-packed, immersive
About the Author
Greg’s first career was in theatre as actor, director and writer. He has lived and worked in Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Madrid. Having worked as an interpreter at a variety of international institutions, in 2015 Greg returned to theatre. Since then, he has written and produced 25 plays and musicals. He took advantage of 2020’s lockdown to fulfil a long-term ambition to write a powerful thriller, and the Coming Darkness trilogy was the result.
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