Adam Baker

When the night closes in and the jungle sounds start with their screeches and shrieks and ice-cream jingles, we gather round the fire and huddle together for warmth and clutch our rusty knives and clubs and garotting wires and the kids ask for a story and I say how about some post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror military action from the incomparable pen of Adam Baker? And they groan and cry and sob and beg for Winnie the Pooh or the goddamnd Gruffalo or whatever and I start shouting and swearing show more 'cause we only got the post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror military action from the incomparable pen of Adam Baker, you understand? That's all that's left! The rest is gone! Just us and this book is what's left of humanity! And they say quiet, quiet they'll hear you and come looking and I say fine, fine, you wanna hear this or not and they say yay! Post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror military action from the incomparable pen of Adam Baker! Our favourite! Fine, I say, then I'll begin. show less

The Outpost by Adam Baker: I got this from the library on a whim, and it is a cracking, taut, cinematic thriller. The prose is pared-down to the bone, making for a fast, furious read. A caretaker crew on an Arctic oil refinery are abandoned as the world comes to a end due to a mysterious plague. Winter closes in, food stores are too low and the plague itself makes an unexpected arrival. Though atmospheric and claustrophopic, Baker pulls off a few sepctacular set-pieces. The heroine is show more unusual - basically she's the Vicar of Dibley - and he avoids the obvious killed-off-one-by-one route, building instead a core of four characters for the reader to become totally invested in. I've come to respect the art of writing books that read like really cool films, mostly because when they're made into films they usually end up a mess. I blew through this in a day and a half. An unexpected treat. show less

Outpost by Adam Baker is an excellent, unique, gripping apocalyptic story. It all takes part on a closed-down oil refinery in the remote Arctic Ocean called Kasker Rampart. The skeleton crew of fifteen people who have been left to look after the station watch news reports of a global plague, looting, mass death, and global quarantines with helplessness -- they are stranded, and the ship with their relief and supplies for the winter never arrives. The group knows that they don't have enough show more food to last the winter, and have to face the fact that they won't be able to leave the refinery until the ice freezes over....at which time, the plague and death could also cross the ice to them. The isolated, icy, barren setting is the perfect stage for an end-of-the-world horror scenario.

Most of the book revolves around the motley crew's response to the disaster. Jane, a faithless, depressed priest, rises to the occasion and tries to support the rest of the group. Her metamorphosis is fascinating. Ghost, a skilled handyman, devises ways for the crew to survive. The cook Punch and hairdresser Sian contribute to rescue efforts, while many of the crewmen drown their fears in drugs or alcohol. The group fragments as they become increasingly isolated and afraid. All the characters in the story, even minor ones, are well-drawn, complex, compelling, interesting and full of depth. This is one of the major strengths of the story. I genuinely cared about the characters and wanted them ALL to make it (generally a false hope when reading an apocalyptic tale!).

Another real strength of this story is the plague victims themselves. Much like a typical zombie, they are mostly mindless and driven to kill humans; however, they are so much more than typical! They are genuinely creepy, scary, ever-evolving metallic creatures who become almost robotic. We never learn exactly what caused this, but we learn the origin and Jane speculates that it is a nano-type biological weapon. Regardless, the creatures are truly frightening, and somehow somewhat human, too. The horror they feel as they transform is riveting and adds to the reader's horror.

I found myself unable to put down this book. It is beautifully imagined and written. I would have rated it 5 stars but for a bit of fuzzy logic near the end. Despite that, it is a strong story and highly recommended. This is Adam Baker's first story -- I can't wait to see what he comes up with next! show less

THEY SEARCHED FOR GOLD. THEY FOUND DEATH.

Iraq 2005. Seven mercenaries hear an enticing rumor: somewhere, abandoned in the swirling desert sands, lies an abandoned Republican Guard convoy containing millions of pounds of Saddam's gold. They form an unlikely crew of battle-scarred privateers, killers and thieves, veterans of a dozen war zones, each of them anxious to make one last score before their luck runs out.

After liberating the sole surviving Guard member from US capture, the team show more makes their way to the ancient ruins where the convoy was last seen. Although all seems eerily quiet and deserted when they arrive, they soon find themselves caught in a desperate battle for their lives, confronted by greed, betrayal, and an army that won't stay dead.

Second book in the Outpost series and another rollicking, rollercoster page turning read. Baker excells at writing strong female protagonists and I loved the female lead in the last book "Outpost". In Juggernaut Lucy, mercenary leader and general all round kick arse makes a refreshing change to have a female in the kind of role that's usually reserved for pumped-up action men.

In fact Lucy Whyte is so hard she makes pumped-up action men cry:

*Lucy and her team were wearing full body armor. Lucy had a cheery Sheraton conference badge pinned to her flak jacket. “Hello, my name is … F*** YOU.”

*Lucy shot him through the left eye and blew out the back of his skull. He was thrown clean out of his flip-flops.

*Lucy threw him over the parapet. He fell three stories into the wreckage of the burning Humvee, and was lost in flame.

:) show less