Nick Thacker

Misfortunes of a bar-keeping hitman

Mason Dixon is a killer. Maybe not for hire, but definitely working for someone. He also runs his own bar, which makes for interesting digressions on the merits of different whiskies and how to mix the perfect cocktail.

Mason is in his bar one night when his latest mark walks in, pushing all the right buttons to make Mason despise him and look forward to the pleasure of executing him. The mark leaves the bar unobserved and Mason dashes outside. He is just show more in time to stop the mark attacking a young woman and kills him in front of her.

From that moment Mason's life gets more and more complicated. He reveals more than he intends to the girl, who - rather than being shocked - promptly tries to hire him; the guy he killed turns out to be a rival, not a mark; his boss refuses to pay him; threats to the girl keep escalating; and his car breaks down at the most inconvenient moment.

The book is full of surprises - from the nature of the threats to the girl, to the identity of "the boss". The characters are well drawn and make you want to know more about them.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. When I first heard what it was going to be about I was doubtful whether I would take to it - serial killers are not my favourite characters to read about - but I found that I did enjoy it, and I'll be looking out for the next book in the series. show less

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

I was craving a bit of SF and The Enigma Strain fulfilled that craving quite well. It reads almost more like a movie because of the large cast, but when you’re focused on a particular person, you are focused. This has a downside because some of the characters don’t make it, a pet peeve of mine, but at the same time, each almost vignette helped build the full picture. As I was reading, I kept being reminded of movies like Outbreak for obvious show more reasons, but for non-obvious ones as well in that there too we got little pieces of many lives on top of the thread with the main characters.

I’m not a scientist, and most of my knowledge comes from reading layperson articles (though I did index and abstract leading medical journals in one of my jobs), but the science read as plausible and connected with other pieces I already knew. While the infection information was often explained in unfamiliar terms (appropriate to the characters’ knowledge), having Ben along allowed for analogies and layperson explanations that made sure I got the gist of everything mentioned without feeling info dumpy.

Other aspects showed skill as well, such as the use of foreshadowing and the way the reader is able to connect with characters known even for only one scene. The pacing, and how we learn the scope and impact of what’s going on, was very effective. The large cast made sure there were enough people to tell all sides of the story without losing me in a sea of meaningless names and faces. It’s clear early on that Ben, and then Julie, are the main characters regardless of the rest, and we never spend too much time away from them.

I read this in an arc provided by the author, but I was surprised at the level of content errors, both typos and continuity. It says a lot for the compelling story that I didn’t give up after the second or so issue. The Enigma Strain is a fast-paced, fun, harrowing action tale with imperfect characters who are easy to identify with, and who have complex lives around and outside of the story that add to their depth. The story itself is a vast conspiracy, some pieces of which I figured out and others are not yet explained, leading me to wonder if there’s more to this story to be seen in a later novel. Also, in case you’re wondering, I asked and the story went through two additional edit passes before the final version was released, so you should not experience the errors I did.

I only review things I enjoyed, and there is no question I was sucked into the story enough so I “created” extra time to read. Interesting story, deep characters, and some time in Yellowstone Park, though one quite different from my last visit. It has the big crisis, serious stakes, and the personal touch in Ben and Julie. Worth the read, and prime for a movie adaptation as well. show less

An Action-Packed Adventure…But Psychics?

At its heart, The Amazon Code is action/adventure, with all the extreme feats and unlikely events that this genre implies. Set in the Amazon (obviously), it becomes a veritable catalog of the gruesome ways someone might die in that world – hostile natives, vicious creatures, unforgiving habitat. Then, add to that mix a shadowy and utterly ruthless organization committed to your demise and the stage is set for some hair-raising action.

The potential show more reader should view this book’s listed genre with skepticism, in my opinion. On Amazon (the online store, not the region), the book is listed as Psychics, as well as Action & Adventure. I don’t get it. With the references to neuroscience, as well as the author’s synopsis mentioning “emerging science,” I was thinking technothriller. For example, the clues that drive our protagonist, Harvey “Ben” Bennett, to the Amazon come from fMRI-based videos of people dreaming, a capability that appears close at hand. But perhaps the author went with the psychic category because the link to science is weak with more hand-waving in crucial places (how did they get that map?) and niggling errors (e.g., the incorrect definition of fMRI) than one would hope.

The second precautionary note for potential readers is that you may want to start with book 1 – always a good idea, but maybe more so for this series, because you are joining an on-going story. Ben is single-mindedly pursuing a ruthless organization he faced in book 1, even though he’s totally unsuited to the task. He’s a park ranger. The villains are part of a clandestine group unencumbered by ethics and at ease with the use of extreme violence. Hopefully, his obsession is explained in the first book, because the attempt to attribute it to his personality in this book just doesn’t work (“Ben was just being Ben — stubborn, boorish, and reclusive”). Lots of people share those traits, but none of them go to the Amazon based on a rumor, untrained and unprepared, hoping to form a rag-tag team with the right mix of skills to win the day. Ben, however, does. It’s good suspense, but a bit inexplicable even for action/adventure.

The Amazon Code also has the somewhat unusual distinction of being loaded with action – chases, gun fights, grisly deaths – and yet, it feels slow. Part of the reason is that chapters are written from the perspective of different characters, so with each change in point of view, the reader gets another recounting of the hopelessness of their situation. Additionally, each character recounts events from their lives in general. The technique can greatly aid character development, but it’s overused and sometimes makes little sense. I was never sure, for example, how either Ben or Julie saw their relationship, beyond the fact that they thought it was something they couldn’t escape (“Hours of arguing and slamming doors had taught her that there was nothing that could force them apart, except, ironically, death”). Is that supposed to be romantic?

So, for the reader who can suspend reality a bit and who doesn’t require crystalline characters, The Amazon Code can provide a decent rush of intense action…and a long list of ways to die in the Amazon. show less

Non-stop action with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing

My first read of a Nick Thacker book, but definitely not my last.

The Enigma Strain is a thriller that revolves around the discovery of a lethal biological entity which is scientifically altered to turn it into a terrorist weapon. In the early stages of the book, the narrative jumps backwards and forwards in time and among different places and groups of people, which I found a little confusing at times - but not enough to make show more me want to stop reading.

The protagonist, Harvey Bennett, known as Ben, seems at the outset to be a simple loner. He is a ranger working at Yellowstone National Park - a man who is far more comfortable being around the bears than he is around people. As the story progresses you learn more about him and begin to understand what has made him shy away from people. An explosion at the Park, followed by the discovery that a highly contagious unknown disease is spreading out from its epicentre, forces Ben out of his isolation into the company of a CDC scientist. Threats against them and those they know keep mounting until they no longer know who they can trust.

The action is non-stop with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. There was only a couple of spots where I found myself quibbling with the author. The first time, I thought he had overlooked something rather obvious, only to find that it had not been overlooked at all, and it was dealt with in a satisfying way. The second didn't get dealt with - but it was a small thing and maybe I'm being a bit picky.

Tiny quibbles aside, this was a very enjoyable read, and I have already downloaded three more titles by this author onto my Kindle. show less