thriller – NickFromTipp

SS-GB

My first time reading Len Deighton. He is probably most well known for the film adaptation of his book “The Ipcress File” starring Michael Caine. SS-GB is a murder mystery set in an alternative history where Britain lost the war against Nazi Germany and is under occupation. Readers of Robert Harris’ “Fatherland” or Philip K. Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle” will enjoy this book immensely. The atmosphere of tension, fear and claustrophobia Deighton conjures is palpable. It reminded me (in a good way) of John Le Carré’s work.

Polostan

This is the first in a new spy thriller series from Neal Stephenson. This book covers an interesting period of history during the aftermath of the Russian revolution and the American Great Depression. Hot takes: I did not realise where polo horses were bred in America. I also did not realise that American companies and architects helped design some of the Soviet Union’s blast furnaces for steel manufacturing. Great book and will certainly read the follow-up instalments.

See also Seveneves and Fall or Dodge in Hell.

Alien Clay

Great to get a book gift I really enjoyed from my fabulous eldest daughter. There are some interesting and innovative biological ideas in Alien Clay from Adrian Tchaikovsky (writer of Children of Time, Children of Ruin and Shards of Earth that I’ve previously read). A combination of sci-fi with a touch of horror. Will continue to read his stuff.

Dead Lions (Slough House)

I’m still on a Kindle buzz after reading Spook Street, Real Tigers and Slow Horses from Mick Herron’s Slough House series. Really enjoying these. Will take a break from these now and divert to sci-fi for a while.

Spook Street (Slough House)

Immediately after reading Real Tigers I used the power of Kindle to go straight onto the next book in the Slough House series from Mick Herron. A good page turner and I liked the characters.

Real Tigers (Slough House)

I enjoyed Mick Herron’s book Slow Horses so have started to read more of the series on Kindle. Very enjoyable, good characters and it’s fun following the locations on Google street view.

2024 A Novel of the Next World War

2034 A Novel of the Next World War. Book Cover

A page turner from Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis about a hypothetical near-peer conflict set in the year 2034 between the United States and China. When I spoke about the book with a work colleague, we both felt “2034” was in the same vein as the cold war / hot war thriller “Red Storm Rising” by Tom Clancy from the 1980’s and that is not a bad thing. Enjoyable and a bit scary.

Mickey 7

Edward Ashton’s Mickey7 is an enjoyable Sci Fi story revolving around the topic of cloning.

Slow Horses

Mick Herron’s book Slow Horses was recommended to me by a work colleague who’s read the entire series. I also understand from him that there is an Apple TV adaptation of it with Gary Oldman. I enjoyed it – it’s the first espionage thriller I’ve read in recent years other than John Le Carré.

The Apollo Murders

Vivid description of Apollo re-entry was a highlight of Chris Hadfield’s Apollo Murders. Recommend. Read in February 2022.