Review: Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes

Viral Nation is young adult dystopian adventure set in a world where a virus has wiped out the majority of the population. Now people live in walled cities run by the company who invented the suppressant, a drug that prevents people falling ill with the virus. The cities are calm and orderly on the surface but is there something lurking beneath?

The plot of Viral Nation was not unique but it was interesting and well written. The addition of time travel made the plot less generic, and whilst I personally am not a big fan of time travel/alternate universes, here it was well done but the author did leave many questions about how it worked unanswered. The story was a page turner and I couldn’t wait to carry on reading every time I put it down.

The characterisation of the main characters was well done, particularly the relationship between Clover and West, and Clover and her dog. A big part of Clover's character was her autism, which did have a purpose in the plot but I felt it was unrealistic, for example in low stress situations she relies on her service dog but a few chapters later in a high stress situation she leaves the dog behind and has no problems. I feel this was a weakness in her characterisation, and is hopefully something that will be refined in the future.

The reason Viral Nation didn’t get 5 stars from me was the abrupt ending. This is clearly the first book in a series, and I understand the author wanting to have a ‘hook’ to get readers to read the second book but I felt ripped off after spending hours enjoying it to have the book just end with no real conclusion. This is a massive weakness for Viral Nation, particularly as the sequel has not yet been published, and I feel readers will forget the 95% of the novel which is excellent and just go away with an unsatisfied feeling, never to read book two.

Overall a fantastic dystopian adventure for both teens and adults, with hints of mystery and romance. This is really a book you should read, perhaps just wait until book two is available first.

Viral Nation is available in deadtree format only for £6.53 from Amazon.co.uk (and Amazon.com ).

[An ARC was provided by NetGalley]

Review: First Activation by D.A. and M.P. Wearmouth

First Activation is a post-apocalyptic thriller in which nearly the entire global population is turned into brainwashed puppets with one single purpose – to kill someone then kill themselves. Only a few people are unaffected, having been on airplanes when the phenomenon hit. Four of these, two of them soldiers, set off in a group to try to figure out what is going on and to survive. What they find is more horrifying than anything they can imagine.

First Activation had me torn, I felt at the end like I had read two different books in one. The first half of the book is gripping, powerful and terrifying. It seems at every turn our survivors are faced with yet another threatening situation; and the behaviour of the ‘killers’ is highly disturbing. It took a lot of effort for me to put the book down and go to bed, and I was ready to give it five-stars as soon as I finished it.

The second half of the book was less satisfying, mainly due to the pace and the lack of credibility of the plot. I found the story was rushed, and lacked the detail of the first half of the book. It was like the authors were determined to get to the end as quickly as possible, whereas I much prefer a more drawn out journey, especially when it comes to travelling in a post-apocalyptic world. This was not helped by the sudden lack of tension (for reasons I can’t go into without spoiling the plot), and the ‘threat’ in the second half of the book just never really seemed like a real threat. The actions of the main characters also start to unravel - two men who have refused to kill without great provocation just a few chapters before, suddenly turn into ruthless torturers, which is a tad unbelievable despite their military background.

Prior to the end of the book the cause of the phenomenon is exposed, although the reasons behind it are not fully explained, perhaps this will be in the obvious sequel. I didn't really like the cause as it felt a bit clichéd; I felt an opportunity for a more interesting explanation was missed. Maybe when a fuller explanation is given in the sequel my opinion might change.

Rating First Activation is very hard. As I've said, half of it was OMG and half of it was meh. In the end I have settled for a three and a half star rating (rounded to a four for rating on sites that don’t allow half stars). This is because I did enjoy it, and there were some great bits so I would recommend reading it, but the second half let it down, but not so much that it wasn't enjoyable or something I wouldn't recommend; it is also excellent value at 99p. Fans of sci-fi thrillers will want to ad this to their to-read lists.

On a side note, it was good to see some decent post-apocalyptic fiction coming out of the UK as most authors in this genre are US based, and I really hope the sequel is more like the first half of the book and slows down a bit.

First Activation is available from Amazon.co.uk for 99p and from Amazon.com for $1.55.

[Review copy provided by BookRooster] 

Review: Slabscape: Reset by S. Spencer Baker

“Take the most sophisticated A.I. designed mind that has ever existed, encase it in over fifty million cubic kilometres of diamond nano-rods and send it off on a twenty-thousand-year odyssey towards the centre of the galaxy. Then screw it all up by allowing thirty-two million humans to go along for the ride...”

Slabscape: Reset is not my usual type of read, but I was very impressed with the level of imaginative realism in this sci-fi outing. The plot and characters are very believable, humour was weaved throughout the plot and it reminded me a little of the Red Dwarf universe. There were times when the pace of the book slowed but overall the book was well paced, and as such I was left wanting more at the end.

I liked the idea of an online resource providing additional information and value to the book, and whilst I personally didn’t find it all that useful, I can see many readers enjoying the material provided there. The wiki will probably become more useful and interesting as the series progresses.

Overall Slabscape is a very humorous and believable sci-fi outing. Drago as a character is easily the most thought-out and well written character I have come across this year.

The book is available from Amazon UK for £7.69 and from Amazon US for $12.35. It is a shame that currently this book does not appear to be available in non-Kindle formats, although the paperback version can be obtained from Amazon.

[A review copy was provided by the author]

Review: TAG by Simon Royle

In the TAG universe everyone is monitored via a device called a dev stick which monitors a person’s every move. When Jonah, an arbitrator, is called to interrogate a prisoner, he discovers a disturbing plot to wipe out two-thirds of all humans, and knows he must stop it. But can he save the majority of the population, when his own life is being de-constructed around him.

TAG is set 100 years in the future, with a very detailed and believable universe. Rather than recreating everything from scratch, the author has allowed a natural evolution of technology and behaviour which gives the book a very realistic feel, and as such it is not a ‘strong’ sci-fi, which is great for readers like me who like sci-fi elements rather than full on, hardcore science-fiction. The plot its self is more of a thriller than a sci-fi and has a very Orwellian theme running throughout. Whilst fully formed, the plot takes a while to get going, particularly with the wordy writing style and the author’s focus on the intricate details of the character’s life, and the true suspense does not kick in to near the end of the book. It is however, an enjoyable read and the characterisation is, like the universe, very believable.

The book was let down by the addition of some very explicit sex scenes which did not contribute to characterisation nor the plot. I’m not a prude, but do not like to see sex included just for the sake of sex, which I believe is the case in this novel. It is definitely not a book for minors.

To conclude, a perfectly formed and well-thought out universe is presented in this novel and provides the backdrop for a believable and entertaining thriller. The book is affected by a slow pace in the first half and the inclusion of unnecessarily explicit sex.


TAG is available from Amazon UK for 70 p and from Amazon US for $1.14. 

Review: The Enemy of an Enemy by Vincent Trigili

The Enemy of an Enemy by Vincent Trigili is a sci-fi space adventure which follows protagonist Vydor through his encounters in the Empire. It is intended to be the first in a series of three novels by Trigili set in the same universe. 

From Amazon

"Everything seemed to be going Vydor’s way, until the Dragon Claw was sent on a rather unusual assignment to investigate a minor incident deep within the Empire’s space. That would send Vydor down a path filled with fantastically powerful enemies and extraordinary friends that would obliterate everything he ever understood to be true and threaten the very foundations of the Empire itself."


First impressions are not good but the cover is very misleading, it gives the impression of a cheap and trashy sci-fi outing, when in fact it is an entertaining read, with a well-developed plot. Whilst the plot is good, the book is severely let down by it's simplistic, often child-like, writing style, which means that it reads more like a Young Adult book rather than the adult fiction it is. Hopefully this will be improved in the rest of the series. The simplistic writing style is countered by the brilliant pacing of the novel, particularly near the start, which makes this a sure page-turner.


The Enemy of an Enemy is available from Amazon UK for just 69p and from Amazon US for $1.13. It is also available in print from Lulu for £6.33.

Review: Pet Noir by Pati Nagle

Whilst Pet Noir originally sounded right up my street, especially as I am rather fond of cats, the reality was disappointing. The book follows Leon, a genetically engineered cat, who solves a range of cases along with his human companion Devin. That is perhaps the book's biggest downfall, as it is actually five short stories rather than one novel, which interrupted the flow when reading it. Some of the cases were predictable and felt rushed towards the end.

From Amazon

My one other major criticism is that the characterisation, at times, is unbelievable. Leon and Devin, are beautifully written, and it is a shame that the other characters are not written with such care. I did however like the idea of a cat detective, and Pet Noir did make me laugh in places.

As a final word, I would warn hard-core Sci-Fi fans that this is only really Sci-Fi in context, and the plot is rather more humour-based than heavy science-fiction.

Overall, I finished the book but didn't really like it, although that could be just that it wasn't what I expected. I wouldn't read this again, and I would only recommend it to fans of this particular sub-genre or perhaps the teenage reader, who wants something different. Only two stars I'm afraid.

Pet Noir is available from Amazon for £3.47

[This review copy was obtained in the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Giveaway]

50% off all Angry Robot books!

Angry Robot books, publisher of many Science-Fiction and Fantasy titles, is offering 50% of it's catalogue until May 9th if you buy two or more e-books.  Perfect if there has been a series that you've been waiting to buy. It doesn't look like this offer is open to Kindle owners who have to purchase through Amazon. It's all in honour of Lauren Beukes' Zoo City winning the Arthur C. Clarke award.

From Angry Books

To take advantage of this offer visit the website and enter clarke11 at the checkout.

Angry Robot's twitter feed with offer details can be found here.