Sea Sick by Iain Rob Wright

Description from Goodreads:

"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE RELAXING…

Police Officer Jack Wardsley’s life ended the moment his partner died, stabbed to death by a deranged druggie. Now, years later, Jack is a changed man, with a head full of secrets driving him insane. His recent record of police brutality and a reputation for not following the rules has prompted his seniors to give him an ultimatum: take a few weeks off, relax, and find some way to let go of all the anger – or else find another job.

That’s why Jack is about to board The Spirit of Kirkpatrick, a cruise liner built for relaxation and fun. Pretty soon, however, Jack realises that a little R&R is the last thing he’s ever going to get aboard the cursed ship. There’s a virus onboard, making people insane and bleeding from the eyes. The whole ship is overrun with blood and death, and there is nowhere to escape. 

Just when Jack thinks his number is up and his life is over, he wakes up. The day is exactly the same. In fact, everything is the same. Jack is forced to witness the viral outbreak again and again as it ravages the ship and its passengers over and over, day after day. Jack finds himself trapped in a repeating hell. 

It won’t be long before Jack realises there are others onboard just like him – and that some of them know more than they’re letting on."

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To be totally honest, I was expecting a cheesy zombie novel especially as it was a free download from Amazon but I was pleasantly surprised; it kept me entertained from start to finish.

I don't need to go into detail about the story itself as it's clearly described in the blurb above but what I will say is that I found it different to the usual zombie books that are around in that it's not just about blood, guts and gore which, I'm not going to lie, there is some graphic scenes of death but this is not the main focus of the book.

The main character, Jack, is an interesting one.  He did take time to grow on me because I felt like he was wasting time rather than trying to figure out what the heck was going on but once he did, his police instinct kicked in and that determination to get to the bottom of the dire situation in which he finds himself in came to the fore.

Written at great pace, this is an easy book to read.  There are a few grammatical errors but it didn't distract me from enjoying it and I will certainly be reading more by this author.

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Author website:  Iain Rob Wright

Author twitter:  @IanRobWright

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Other books I've read and reviewed by this author:

Click here for my review

The Last Girl: Book One, The Dominion Trilogy by Joe Hart

"Pleasantly surprised"

Blurb:

“A mysterious worldwide epidemic reduces the birthrate of female infants from 50 percent to less than 1 percent. Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women.

Zoey and some of the surviving young women are housed in a scientific research compound dedicated to determining the cause. For two decades, she’s been isolated from her family, treated as a test subject, and locked away—told only that the virus has wiped out the rest of the world’s population.

Captivity is the only life Zoey has ever known, and escaping her heavily armed captors is no easy task, but she’s determined to leave before she is subjected to the next round of tests…a program that no other woman has ever returned from. Even if she’s successful, Zoey has no idea what she’ll encounter in the strange new world beyond the facility’s walls. Winning her freedom will take brutality she never imagined she possessed, as well as all her strength and cunning—but Zoey is ready for war.”

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First off, I have to say that I am not a huge fan of post-apocalyptic books but I was drawn to this as I have read some of Mr Hart’s work before and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

The story, as the blurb describes, is set in the not too distant future where female births are as rare as rocking horse poo! The solution, thought to be the best idea by scientists, is to take girls from their families and house them in a highly fortified complex where they are kept until they turn 21 at which point they go through a door to a place where they are told they will be reunited with their family. One girl, Zoey, has her doubts and so begins her plan to escape and to find out just what is through the door and on the other side of the walls.

For me, I felt it took a bit too long to get to the real ‘page-turning’ stage and there were a few plot holes that I struggled to overlook with the major one being why are they treating these girls/women so poorly when they are a rare and important “commodity” that should be pampered and cared for; if they are the only potential future mothers of the world, they need to know how to be a mother.

Despite this, the way the book is written draws you in; the characters are interesting and complex especially Zoey - she is one tough cookie! There is tension and atmosphere aplenty with action and suspense.

Overall, a good read which I think is aimed at young adults and even though I’m far from one of them, I would be interested in seeing where the story goes in the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, for providing me with an e-copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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Author website: http://www.joehartbooks.com/

Author twitter: @AuthorJoeHart

Other books I have read by Joe Hart:

The River is Dark

The Line Unseen 

Natural Selection by Stephen Leather: A Spider Shepherd Short Story

"A good introduction to a great character"

Blurb from Goodreads:

"An action-packed short story featuring Dan “Spider” Shepherd during his days on the SAS selection course. Shepherd is tested to his limits - and is given his nickname.

Natural Selection is about 14,000 words, about thirty pages, perfect if you have half an hour to spare."

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I am a huge Stephen Leather fan and particularly love his character Dan “Spider” Shepherd. This short story introduces “Spider” and, for those of us who are already familiar with him, provides a little insight into his early years during selection for the SAS and the origins of his nickname. For those who aren’t, this short read provides an introduction to a great character and series of books that you will quickly become addicted to.

Even though this is a short story, it provides a good indication of the excellent writing style and skills of Stephen as an author and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good action story with great characters.

I downloaded this story from Amazon for free and as of today, 31st January 2016, it remains free so give it a go, you have nothing to lose.

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Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers. He was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. Two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were made into movies. You can find out more from his website - http://www.stephenleather.com/

Twitter - stephenleather

The Orphan Uprising by James and Lance Morcan

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“In this explosive conclusion to The Orphan Trilogy, the ninth-born orphan’s dramatic story resumes five years after book one, The Ninth Orphan, ends.

Having eluded his former masters at the Omega Agency and escaped his past life as an operative, Nine has married his soul mate, Isabelle. They’ve carved out a new life for themselves, off the grid, in the remote islands of French Polynesia.

The contented couple have a five-year-old son, Francis, who is a chip off the old block and who has inherited his father’s unique DNA. Francis will soon have a sister as Isabelle is about to give birth to a baby girl.

Their idyllic lifestyle is shattered when Francis is abducted by operatives in the employ of the Omega Agency, the shadowy organization that brought Nine into the world and once controlled every aspect of his life. The terrified boy with the unique DNA is dispatched to one of Omega’s underground medical laboratories for scientific testing and experimentation.

Nine is desperate to find Francis before Omega can harm him. He soon finds he’s up against his fellow orphans – all elite operatives as he once was – who are under orders to kill him on sight. To overcome them, he must call on all his former training and skills. His search takes him around the world – from Tahiti to America, Germany, Greenland and the Congo.

To add to Nine’s worries, he has a serious heart condition that requires immediate surgery. The clock is ticking and he knows he’s on borrowed time. It’s a race against the clock to find his son before Omega can harm the boy – and before his heart gives out.”

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As the synopsis says, this is the final book in the trilogy and, I have to say that I am a little sad about that as I have grown to really like Nine and Seventeen and I will miss their exploits which have been expertly written about by James and Lance Morcan. I feel you really need to have read the first book - The Ninth Orphan and the second - The Orphan Factory - to really appreciate this one but you won’t be disappointed and I would highly recommend that you buy all three.

The description of this, the third book, says it all so I won’t go into the ins and outs of the story but will say “what’s not to like?” You’ve got brilliant characters, a fantastic story which is excellently written and is easy to read with flowing text that seamlessly changes from the different perspectives of the main characters. The locations are expertly described as are the various unsavoury characters that Nine utilises to help his cause in the search for his son which include a motorcycle gang from Greenland, African Militia and the American Mafia. These may be shady people but are nothing in comparison to the Omega Corporation that Nine is going up against who think that horrendous experiments against children are perfectly acceptable!

The entire book is just great and although it’s a traditional story of good against evil; hope against despair it's so well written that it feels fresh, new and exciting and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone and would encourage you, yes you who are reading this, to go and buy the trilogy right now … you won’t be disappointed and if you are, well you wouldn’t know a good book if it came up and hit you in the face!



Disclaimer: I was sent an eBook copy of this book direct from the authors in return for an unbiased and honest review - this in no way influenced my review whatsoever.

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Authors Website:  http://morcanbooksandfilms.com/

Twitter:  MorcanJames and sterlinggate