The Chimera Vector by Nathan M. Farrugia

(Fifth Column #1)
362 pages - 24.17
Momentum (1 mai 2012)

Once is not custom, it is the author who suggested I read his book! And it fell really well, because I had put his book in my TBR on Goodreads (hehe). And besides, Nathan M. Farrugia is Australian and I must say, I'm partial to the authors of this country, as for now, I have loved everything I've read by them.

Oh! And do not miss Nathan's interview, soon to be published on my blog!

The blurb

The Fifth Column: the world’s most powerful and secretive organization. They run our militaries. They run our governments. They run our terrorist cells.

Recruited as a child, Sophia is a deniable operative for the Fifth Column. Like all operatives, Sophia’s DNA has been altered to augment her senses and her mind is splintered into programmed subsets.

On a routine mission in Iran something goes catastrophically wrong. Bugs are beginning to appear in Sophia’s programming and the mission spins out of control.

High-speed chases, gun fights, helicopter battles, immortal psychopaths, super soldiers and mutant abilities are all in the mix in this edge-of-your-seat action-packed techno-thriller.

Perfect for fans of Matthew Reilly, THE CHIMERA VECTOR melds sci-fi with sizzling espionage action.

What's good in that book?

Its action! This book is full of adrenaline, fight scenes and twists. I was super surprised by the quality of the descriptions of battle scenes, until I learned a bit more about the author. I discovered that Nathan M. Farrugia pushes the writing care to go live very strong adrenaline situations. He participates in survival camps, climbs over the rooftops of Russia, struggle to stay free in hyper realistic situation. In short, when he describes the action, he does it from memory, because he lived these situations. This gives you an idea of ​​what is the big highlight of this author.

I also appreciated seeing a male author giving a great part of his book to the women: his heroine is surrounded by a cohort of women all brighter and stronger than each other. So no worries for you gentlemen, this is not a book about a band of vengeful and castrating Amazons: there are also men (phew, I thought for a moment that I would lose you there guys!) The truth is that Sophia teams up with two guys, she finds herself isolated from her group, she must form another one and she teams herself with other women (and others guys) . Still, for us girls, it's nice to see an author take the gamble to choose a women's team - it's almost avant-garde and when reading his book, I think that producers of video games could be inspired by him to create strong female characters.

Regarding the story, some will enjoy the hyper-techno side, others the scientific side (and here I confess I have not understand everything), so the geeks will be delighted. For the non-geeks, there is still that now famous action that will appeal to lovers of adrenaline, weapons, helicopters and other military gadgets (top secret of course the gadgets!) The only thing that slightly disturbed me is the many changes of tactics from the characters that change their tune more quickly than we have time to read it. So, admittedly, this brings punch to the story, but there could have been a little less and still make a great book.

In a nutshell

A book one reads in one sitting, super well written action scenes and interesting characters, it's a 4/5 for me.

Out of exile

by Luke Preston

A Tom Bishop Fampage

Momentum (October 1, 2013)

254 pages - 4.99 $ (kindle)

Luke Preston was recommended by several authors that I follow on Twitter. As these authors are good, I think that they should also have good taste about books, right? Plus, Luke Preston on Twitter has a keen humour so I wanted to read his second book when I saw it on NetGalley. A thank you to Momentum for the book!

The blurb

Sometimes a little violence is a good thing

You can't go on the kind of spree ex-cop Tom Bishop did and not face consequences.

After three years of rotting in a cell, Bishop is busted out of prison in the dead of night and thrown into the middle of a police war where the stakes are high and personal.

Now, the very man who put him away calls on his help. But what starts out as a simple rescue mission escalates into an adrenaline-fuelled, action packed thrill-ride as Bishop plunges into a web of conspiracy that threatens to destroy his soul, but may provide the truth about his past.

Out of Exile is the anticipated follow up to the award-nominated Dark City Blue.

What I think of it

Out of Exile is the sequel to Dark City Blue that has already caused a stir at the time and that ends with Bishop in prison. Fortunately, not having read the first book does not stop to read the second. Some references are made, of course, but I never felt out of the gang, which is great, but it does make you long to read Dark City Blue!

Out of Exile is not a book you read, it's a effing action-packed film, a kind of Die Hard with a more virile McLane! It's explosive, relentless and incredibly funny. This is an action-packed film where the hero is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

About the characters in the book: we mainly follow Tom Bishop ex-cop who ended up in jail for having taking out the dirty cops who killed his daughter. He's therefore in jail at the beginning of the book. He's a tough guy, violent but who always tries to do what is right. As he says : "Sometimes a little violence is the right thing to do." He is very tall, bald and full of scars (due to bullets received in Dark Blue City), he's the kind of person who would make you want to change of pavement if you crossed him. Yet we can't help ourselves to like him, to know that with him on our side we have the best chance we can get to survive.

One thing I really appreciated is that Bishop does not hesitate to let go of something when he sees that he can't do it. He won't run unnecessarily in front of guns - assuming that him being alive will be more useful. Often heroes risk their lives in situations where logic dictates to hide away from bullets. Obviously, the hero never dies, but it's more difficult to identify with that kind of hero. Bishop reacts more consistently with logic and even if his stamina is much better than mine... I found that he was more realistic in his decisions.

The story is very complex, ultra-fast paced. Tom must team up with a gang of criminals to try to save the victims of a hostage. But he soon realizes that the hostage-taking is a tactic to reach for even more violent and devious ends. He's of course pursued by justice but managed to get the support of some former colleagues. It's a chase against the clock, the dirty cops, cops... no time to lose! There's a lot of stunts, explosions and other ingredients for a good action movie in this book. English is not my mother tongue so I read more slowly than in French and yet I read this book in two days! I couldn't let go of it.

In a nutshell

An explosive book, funny with a very interesting main character which is easy to relate to. A big favorite for this thriller. I give it 5 /5 (and  I run to buy Dark Blue City)

My thought on closing the book: Wow, it rocks!