Advance Copy – DaneCobain.com

Laline Paull – The Ice | Review

Title: The Ice

Author: Laline Paull

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 374

Rating: 4*/5

Laline Paull – The Ice

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book was interesting because it took a different approach to structure and storytelling. Most of the plot follows the aftermath of the tragic death of a young environmentalist, and the ensuing enquiry in which they try to establish the truth. That means that the critical incident happened before the story even starts, which means that all of the action is effectively set in the denouement.

To counter this, the author uses flashbacks and jumps backwards and forwards in time, which can be disconcerting from time to time but which works quite well. True, it’s sometimes difficult to tell exactly what’s going on, but it’s still enjoyable and it actually encourages your mind to put the pieces together and to slowly discover the truth for yourself.

A good chunk of the story takes place against the backdrop of Svalbard, where a wealthy businessman has teamed up with his friend, an environmentalist, to purchase some land. Only all sorts of political interests start to get involved, and many of the characters are forced to do things that they otherwise might not have done. It’s a novel of intrigue, then, and it raises some important questions about the future of our world if we continue to abuse the planet in the way that we do.

Laline Paull

The writing was pretty good, although it felt too flowery for me from time to time, and I liked the illustrations and the quotes at the starts of each of the sections. I’d say that it’s probably not suited to everyone, but if you like to read political thrillers and stuff that will engage your brain and push you to guess what the truth is, it’s worth a go. There’s a twist at the end, of course, but I didn’t guess what it was – in fact, I suspected something else entirely.

The only other thing to mention is the cover, which is gorgeous. Of course, I’ve got an advance copy and so the cover might change before you get your hands on it. But still!

Laline Paull

Click here to buy The Ice.

L. A. Larkin – Devour | Review

Title: Devour

Author: L. A. Larkin

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 410

Rating: 4*/5

L. A. Larkin – Devour

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book was a bit of a weird one. It was a slow burner to begin with, and it reminded me of a bonfire – the author chucked a match on it, and it didn’t light, and then they tried another and still nothing. Then they tried a third and it went up like a fireball, and once that happened, I was hooked.

Let’s start by taking a look at the story line. Loosely speaking, it’s based on a real life scientific expedition, in which experts travelled to Antarctica and attempted to dig around 3 km beneath the surface to reach an underground lake. The expedition failed, but in Larkin’s book, it succeeds and finds some rare bacteria that have been living in isolation for millenia. And unfortunately, they can have some pretty devastating effects.

I can’t say any more than that without ruining the story line, but that should be enough to give you a good overview of what to expect. The good news here is that not all of the action takes place in Antarctica – we get to see a decent cross section of the world, as well as a fascinating array of characters who keep you guessing about their true intents right up until the end.

L. A. Larkin

As for the negative points, there are only really a couple that I can identify. The first is negligible, because it was unique to the book that I was sent – as an advance copy, the rear cover was plain and white, and the paper wasn’t of a high quality. But that won’t affect you once the mass market copy comes out. The second will still apply – the protagonist is being stalked, and there are a number of sections which are written in the second person, directly addressing the reader. For me, it just didn’t work, and it was particularly offputting at the start. Later on, it still didn’t work, but it was a lot easier to skim read over it.

But overall, as the first book in a promising new series of crime novels by a writer I’ve never heard of, I’m pretty impressed. There’s also plenty of room for the story to be developed in the future, and I know that the author has started work. Exciting!