Coffee2words

When I read the synopsis of this book I was excited. It sounded thrilling and exciting. The concept of eco-terrorism is one I've not read a great deal about and I was intrigued.

Sadly, this is where my excitement left. It wasn't because the story is bad - it's not - it's just that there was so many character arcs and sub-plots and changing POVs and new locations that my brain just couldn't keep up. The style and pace would be far better suited to a visual product, and that might be partially because the authors have backgrounds in film and TV production. The frantic pace, changing scenes and POVs are far better suited to a TV serial or a film because the visual cues can help the watcher pick up the meaning without needing paragraphs of backup text to convey the same thing.

The characters (except for Stephen) are brilliant. I felt for Cara, I enjoyed the emotional unheaval, the mental warring and the physical changes to each of the varied cast. I even liked Stephen, but he was far less defined than any of the other characters. I think my favourite was Tariq, even though initially I wasn't sure why. I really liked how he changed in the story. It was a nice touch.

The reasons why this has only got three starts from me are:
1. There are some minor editing issues (the details are at the bottom of my review).

2. The pacing is off - the reader gets way too much information and not enough time to digest it. It's a constant struggle to keep up, which keeps the reader out of the story and essentially means that the reader gets less character emersion, less emotional attachment and far less of a grasp on the complex plot.

3. Stephen's lack of complexity and roundedness. Compared to Tariq and Cara, even Paula and Ken, Stephen is a flat cookie-cutter copper character. He deviates from that marginally, but generally speaking I felt no connection to him at all.

These points are, of course, a huge let down for the book because the writing is, in most parts, fantastic, most of the characters are great, complex and realistic, and the plot is a thoroughly exciting one.

It's a bit sad that too much has been crammed into the story.

Things I noticed:

5% - He was answerable right here and now to to (delete second to)...
...the warden's face.pulling a handkerchief (insert space after full stop)
8% - ...they want us (to) concentrate on their mud...
13% - 'Like I said it"s my day off...
...indifference didn"t...
I"ve got a cousin...
...He"s
(replace " with ')

60% - changes from Cara to Ken to Janine POV in one para.
62% - ' I'm (remove space before I'm) giving you a lift...
Throughout the book, but more so in the latter half, the scene changes need more substance. Is this the 'tabbing' issue the previous Awesome Indies reviewer flagged? (71%, 79%)
85% - Perhaps he was (delete was) just wanted to pull...
93% - ...one sludge tank voiding'Mitch said. (Add space after speech)

**Note: I was provided an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review**