Mat Nastos

Read this book. Here’s why:

I picked it up with an attitude of “well, I got it for free, so I better read it and review it”. By page 2, I’d scoffed at least twice and made a snide comment about the rehashed opening (man wakes up in mysterious government facility, not quite human anymore? Please). By chapter 2, I’d commented to the Husband at least 3 times about the prose doused in clichéd phrase (green with envy, again?). By chapter 5, I’d laughed out loud once, gasped in show more surprise twice and tried to guess the mystery by staring off into space for a solid 5 minutes. By chapter 9, I’d sighed over another rehashed plot point, felt bad for the main character (dude could not get a break), found a typo and refused to put the book down long enough to pee (if you can take a phone to the potty, you can take a kindle – am I right?) By chapter 12, I’d been told, by the Husband, to “shut up about how bad the book is because if it’s so bad, why haven’t done anything but read since you came home for work. You didn’t even make dinner!” (Poor man. He’d starve if it weren’t for frozen pizza – which can be made with one hand while reading a kindle). By chapter 15, I read wide-eyed and breathless and by the last chapter, I firmly declared the Cestus Concern to be a marvelous book!

Nastos’s book is a fantastic story. Albeit, one that reads like a comic book, contains cheesy plot devices and somewhat shallow characters. It’s a B movie – you know it’s bad and that’s why you watch it. Because it’s fun, it’s entertaining, it’s precisely what you want to watch – you don’t get dragged through the emotional ringer or some overinflated Hollywood producer’s world ideology shoved down your gullet or get left at the end going “um, what?”. The hero wins, bad guy loses and you spend the time wishing you could have the nanotech healing or a giant bulldozer or fancy metal arms because – dude, how cool would that be!

In conclusion, I will recommend this to others and I will be purchasing the next in the series!

I received this book free as part of LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer Program in exchange for my fair and honest review. show less

I received a review copy of "The Cestus Contract: Weir Codex Book 2" by Mat Nastos (Nifty Entertainment) through Librarything.com.

Mr. Nastos writes a fast moving thriller about the trials and tribulations of a special forces operative, spy, military whatever cyborg. That's fine, but Mr. Nastos' sentences are turgid and I simply could not slog through the book. If you don't mind the style, there is probably an exciting story here. Give the first chapter a try before buying.

The Cestus Concern is a relentless action packed book from Mat Nastos which crosses Universal Soldier with Terminator 2.

From the moment Mal Weir wakes up on the operating table to the brutal end, this highly enjoyable book melds future cybernetic technology with modern day weapons to produce a gore splattered romp across the American countryside.

In the spirit of Matthew Reilly, The Cestus Concern avoids over complication of its characters, instead tumbling from one set piece 'boss battle' show more to the next in a fun page turner. A few minor proofreading errors in the ebook version (which I'm told have already been fixed!) did little to detract from what is otherwise a fun book - recommended to action or science fiction fans.

(Ebook was received as part of a LibraryThing giveaway - Thanks Matt!) show less

While this genre is not my usual cup of tea, I had a hard time putting it down. Half-human robot soldiers is an old plot, but never done this well. Characters are well rounded and downright funny, and the action never stops. It'll make a great movie if they keep the integrity of the book.