Saturday 22 August 2015

ALTERNATE HISTORY: Tin Men - Christopher Golden

Release Date: 16/06/15
Publisher:  Headline

SYNOPSIS:

Tin Men by Christopher Golden - author of Snowblind - is a must-read for fans of Dean Koontz, Peter Straub and Joe Hill thanks to its high concept and jaw-dropping thrills.

Economies are collapsing, environmental disasters are widespread and war the backdrop to life.

And so the military has developed a force of elite soldiers to keep the peace. A force like nothing seen before ... codenamed Tin Man, soldiers are virtually transported to inhabit robot frames in war-torn countries.

When PFC Danny Kelso starts his day shift in Syria, an eerie silence welcomes him and a patrol confirms the area is totally deserted. But when a rogue electromagnetic pulse throws everything into darkness, Danny's conscious mind is trapped within his robot body.

The attack turns out to have been global - the world is facing a return to the dark ages with no electricity, no technology ... no safe zones. And the Tin Men face a race against time to save not only themselves but society as we know it.



REVIEW:

Christopher can be a bit of a hit or miss author for me and whilst the premise is always entertaining as well as something that draws you in, at times it feels that the characters within are not fully realised and feel just there to be cannon fodder rather than anything to show the terror or horror of what they’re facing.

For me, as a reader when this happens it a let-down and really doesn’t allow me to fully engage with the book, to generate a personal connection to those involved and as such really doesn’t keep me glued to see what happens as each situation evolves as well as resolves itself.

Sadly this is the case with this book and whilst I do love the concept, for me as a reader, the execution was sadly missing as the title took a well-trodden path leaving no real surprises as it told the story. Don’t get me wrong, it is an OK read but when you’re spending hard earned money alongside devoting your personal time to help relax then it’s something that I feel cheated by.

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