I wanted to read this since i read the synopsis and i am glad that it didn't disappoint me. It was definitely an interesting story to read. I really enjoyed it. Thank you for the arc.

This was a cool, part scifi part mystery part adventure. I did find that the message/explanation got a little garbled near the end of the book, which was slightly frustrating for me because I like that stuff to be crystal-clear. But it wasn't frustrating enough to ruin a good tale.

I am a great Sci-fi fan but this book didn't do anything for me. Very slow moving and lots of negative feelings.

Dave Hutchinson has written the critically acclaimed Europe sequence of books. Whilst this story may have a title that makes it sound like a reboot of a lesser known Marvel super-hero, it is an intriguing slow-burning mystery that has a spectacular ending, which I won't ruin for potential readers.
Alex Dolan is a Scottish born tech-journalist living in Boston. The slow death of traditional journalism in the free Information Age has hit him hard and he is struggling to make a living. Financial salvation is offered by Stan Clayton, the world's fifth richest person. Clayton has something of the 'Elon Musk' spirit about him; entrepreneurial, seeking to push the boundaries of technology and looking to inspire people with tales of wonder.
Clayton has purchased large parts of Iowa on which he has built a particle super-collider. He wants Dolan to write some articles and a book about the project. Dolan is offered the freedom to write what he wants but he is stubborn; Clayton's wealth and the promise of a large pay-packet don't impress him. Reluctantly, Dolan agrees to at least consider the offer and to look around the town of Sioux Falls, a town that had fallen on hard times before Clayton started investing heavily in the area. Dolan meets a number of locals, some tell him to get away while he can, others cannot see why he would turn down Clayton's offer, which involves salary, a line of credit to buy essentials and a house.
Whilst he is mulling the offer, Dolan is staying in a very plush hotel suite. Whilst there, he hears a strange scrabbling knock at the door, which leads to a visit from the police. Dolan wonders what has happened in the past to make the police interested in such a mundane occurrence. There are other sporadic reports of strange sightings in Sioux Falls but little in the way of detail. The previous occupants of Dolan's house left in a hurry, leaving lots of their possessions in the basement. Dolan tracks them down and they mention they had a visitation, although it's not clear whether this was real or imagined.
Dolan's research takes him on and around the site of the super-collider, where he spots Larry Day, a scientific genius but an unstable and dangerous personality. Day likes to push boundaries without thoughts about potential consequences.
During a barbecue he has arranged for friends and neighbours, Dolan's house catches fire. Whilst evacuating the house, Dolan sees a man made of static. A number of other unfortunate incidents add to the mystery of what is actually happening in Sioux Falls. Dolan believes that Larry Day may have the answer. He attempts to confront him at the super-collider just as an experiment is taking place. And then things become ......weird, and riveting.
After a measured and slow-paced meander that feels as though it will end with a whodunnit/whatdunnit explanation, the book goes somewhere I was not expecting it to. It's a fantastic turn and makes the book feel unusual. I was reminded of some Philip K Dick novels in which he took the floor from under you when your expectations may have been set.
This is a great science fiction book and well worth reading.

4.2 stars. A relatively realistic take on superpowers, this novel was a joy to read up to the end, where a somewhat abrupt ending marred the story structure.

Our hero, a down-on-his-luck journalist, is invited to create promotional materials for an exclusive scientific and political project. But things, of course, are not quite right with the idyllic little town. A scientific accident might just turn a humble journalist into something monstrous and godlike…

The author creates a lovable protagonist, with very real and believable reactions to incidents beyond comprehension. The book also gives us (what I consider to be) a more-realistic-than-average depiction of possible effects of dramatic scientific mistakes. Other larger-than-life characters populate the book, and international politics adds an additional layer of realism (and fun). Moments of crackling wit also contribute to the unique atmosphere.

I do wish that the Exploding Man himself had shown up before the end of the book, though. Because everything led up to the confrontation with the Exploding Man, which was never really shown, the story seems to have been cut off at the climactic moment.

Content warnings: moderately severe coarse language, including multiple instances of the f-word; some violence and gore.

THis is a really interesting book. The build up to the main event of the story is pretty slow paced but is intriguing enough that I always wanted to read more and find out exactly what was going on. The whole setup gives you a really uneasy feeling as you progress through the story of a science journalist who is given an offer he can't refuse to cover a research project, but finds the whole experience strange, difficult and a mystery that needs to be unravelled. Characters are all only ever experienced from the perspective of the protagonist, so you never quite have a feel for their motives and intentions, which just adds to the mystery. Although it is written in the third person, it is told from a very much first person perspective. You only ever follow the main character and so you unravel the story at the same time he does.

Overall, this is a really well written thriller, definitely will be looking up the authors other books after charging through this one.

My next two books are courtesy of NetGalley. I will start with The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man David Hutchinson. Alex Doolan is just a normal guy - his writing career has flatlined, he can't make his rent and things are looking bleak until the multi-billionaire Stanislaw Clayton turns up and offers him a deal he can't refuse - writing a book about Clayton's big research project - Sioux Creek Supercollidor. Clayton owns not just the research station but the whole town and everyone in it. Alex thought that was weird until weirder things things start to happen. Unfortunately for Alex he is right in the epi-center. Will he come out unscathed? Read it and find out.

This is a slow burn action story and Alex is the perfect anti-hero. Hutchinson teases the reader until the very end. Luckily this is a quick and easy read so you aren't kept trying to figure out what is going on for too long. Hutchinson takes a fairly mundane character in the form of failed writer Alex Doolan and after a series of bizarre events he turns into the reluctant hero of the story. As much as I liked the story the pace is almost too slow. Nearly 80% of the book is setting up the last 20% and there really isn't a lot of character development. I still enjoyed it but think the pacing needs some work.

I was looking forward to reading this as the synopsis sounded thrilling but I struggled to finish it and I think this was due to the pacing as it ground to several halts for me. I found the set up with the characters intriguing but there seemed to been a lot of time put into the characters and the varied community of Sioux Crossing that it felt like it should have been a larger novel. The last third of the novel was too rushed and the ending was unsatisfactory. It actually felt like a few genres mashed together without much cohesion.

I enjoyed this - very well- written and convincingly described and plotted. The first section reads like a thriller, but the final part morphs into a very modern Sci-Fi tale. I found myself gripped for the most part, although I did struggle with the narrator as I found him slightly dislikeable - arrogant and moody - and was unable to tell whether this was a plot device or my own feelings towards him. I'd definitely pick up something else by Dave Hutchinson and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced and interesting read, a bit different than the norm!

An interesting read. I was straight into it and connected with the characters. I was intrigued and interested why nothing much happens in the first half. The second half happens and it looses its momentum. The first a brilliant piece of writing and the second, a hurried I’m not sure where I going with this, half. Having said all that, I did enjoy it.

https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2019/9/11/the-return-of-the-incredible-exploding-man-by-dave-hutchinson

Like cats the naming of books can be a serious matter. Titles shape our expectations of the story to come be they a short snappy thriller; a flowery literary tale or gory punchy horror. With The Return of The Incredible Exploding Man Dave Hutchinson suggests we are in for a B Movie SF ride and then cunningly manages to both subvert our expectations of the tale being told and yet still delivering on that title’s promise just not quite how I expected it.

Our lead character is Alex Dolan an experienced Scottish science journalist trying to eke out a living while the US print journalism scene continues to shrink and die. The unpaid bill reminders are coming through the door but then comes the offer of a job working for one of the richest men in the world. Stan Clayton is a very successful tech baron who has decided to create the next version of the Large Hadron Collider. Bigger and even more powerful this device is going to even further examine what reality is made of. Of course, a huge and expensive project like that is always going to be having some notable set up issues which then attracts the wrong media headlines and after being mocked on Saturday Night Live he decides he needs someone to tell his side of the story. Alex is invited to live in the town of Sioux Crossing where the collider resides; he is paid to publish some magazine articles and ultimately a book – he can be open and honest but must deliver a ‘sensawunda’. Alex reluctantly agrees and then starts to see the positive and negative impacts of Clayton’s investment on the town and eventually himself.

On the surface Sioux Crossing is a glowing endorsement for capitalism’s regeneration of a decaying small town but it is also still home to the original inhabitants feeling squeezed out; academic infighting and despite that people who really care about pushing the bounds of science. Alex himself also is seen as way inside for others to finally work out what Clayton may be up to. And then there are the sparks and angels that people keep claiming that they have seen over the years.

So generally, this feels much more a SF thriller, but it meanders into many other places. Clayton is not an evil genius looking to take over the world – but he is someone for whom money solves all problems from phone signals to troublesome employees. Need a site then let’s buy a town; then let’s replace all the buildings; lets fill it with my own people. It’s less evil and much more a very blinkered worldview that in the age of tech barons launching twitter wars and acting like small countries feels very true. But at the same time the actual scientists are genuinely keen to explore the universe with their new toy and it’s not a novel saying we are going too far and indeed rejects many myths of black holes (to some extent). But Hutchinson does throw in how scientists can be prickly when called on bad behaviour and that uneasy relationship between pure science and government military research where beautiful science is often just seen as shinier way to kill people.

Into this walks our main lead Alex – a middle-aged, balding slightly lost soul trying to find his place in life. He definitely doesn’t want to play to Stan’s tune but at the same time he’s emotionally captured by the people he meets and then also pressganged into staying by British Intelligence! Alex is however fundamentally a decent and also humorous man. He forms relationships with many in the town from Wendy the much smarter and more practical scientist and the cranky elderly neighbour Ralph and his farting dog Homer. The novel mixes pathos as in particular these two men discuss their lives and where they’re going and there is a lot of banter between the two which is just joyful. It’s the type of snark you could easily see in Scalzi’s Old Man’s War novel but here just in someone’s living room rather than on a spaceship.

That’s for me the most interesting part of the novel. It’s a low speed thriller for much of it. Alex is not immediately sucked into a mystery he’s just exploring how this place works. And slowly weird thigs happen – mysterious figures at the door; sparks in a room and laptops being hacked and then events get larger. These give Alex a chance to decide who’s side he is on and he’s refreshingly not selfish or that intrepid he just would like to do the decent thing. That leads to the finale of the story where all we’ve seen goes 180 degrees into a very different type of story – one that makes sense with all we have seen but not one you would be expecting. I think how much of that you accept will be the key to your enjoying the novel. I am an unabashed fan of mixing up types of stories and creating something different which this delivers in spades but if you are more logically minded in your plots then you may be feeling like the rug has been pulled out from under you unfairly. My one reservation is that the finale has a lot to try and wrap up and the faster pace at the end does seem to leave some plot threads unexplained. I’m hoping that this signals we will return to Alex’s new lifestyle in the future as I sense there could be some more tales to be told.

Following the very Le Carre style ‘Fractured Europe’ series that Hutchinson deservedly has received much acclaim for I was not sure what we would get in this novel. It however actively tries to move away from spying and skulduggery but at the same time is still funny, perceptive about the state of the world and genuinely surprising in the directions it takes. If this feels the type of slow burn SF thriller you have always wanted to read, then I would heartily recommend it.

This book is mostly brilliant, and is very much a book of two parts.
For the majority of the book, we have a slow burning but very brilliantly described path from an out-of-work writer to him being employed by a hugely rich person to write about a new supercollider. This part is excellent, as it builds up the background without us noticing unduly, and Alex meets various people working in or near his new town. Some of this is fascinating, and some is creepy, as you notice how a billionaire can manipulate places and people to suit him. It is all rather plausible.
The second part of this book, much smaller than the first part, is where things change dramatically. It becomes very science-fiction written, rather different to the first, and even as someone who loves scifi I found it a little surprising. However, it did all rather make sense, and I did enjoy reading about it as some things became clear.
Unfortunately, I felt that there were many issues still unresolved when I suddenly found myself at the end, and would rather have read a slightly longer book and had some of those explained. I am not someone who always needs all loose ends tied up, but I did feel a bit short-changed as I was expecting an explanation for some things that had happened. It was tempting to take away a star for this, as I cannot use half-stars! But I have not, as I did thoroughly enjoy the story, and just wished there had been a bit more.

First off I should say that sci-fi has never been my preferred genre to read. Having said that I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. It was witty, and engaging and whilst I can't pretend to understand all the sciency parts, it was intriguing. Alex Dolan is in a state of lethargy. Jobless, penniless and aimless. One day a letter arrives offering him a job interview. He also finds that all his bills have been paid off in full. He flies to San Francisco to meet Stan Clayton, the fifth richest man in the world. Stan has bought a whole county in the U.S. and is attempting a science experiment never attempted before. Alex's only job is to write a book about the experiment. However, the offer seems to good to be true, and things take a strange turn with mysterious figures appearing, blue sparks in the air and being coerced into becoming a spy for the British Consulate. Ultimately as the experiment counts down, a blast leaves everyone suspended between dimensions apart from Alex who acquires superpower status, and his nemesis Larry Day who is the incredible exploding man. I was somewhat perturbed by the ending, which some will love and some will hate, but potentially there may be more to come for Alex Dolan. Original and interesting, fans of sci-fi will I'm sure love this book.

This is a slightly deceptive book (which to me is a Good Thing: see below for why) as despite the pulpy title (and image) Hutchinson delivers what seems at first to be quite a restrained story. Alex Dolan is a washed up journalist, cast overboard as media transforms and traditional titles founder, who is rescued from debt by billionaire Stanislaw Clayton ('Stan').

Clayton is pouring money into a new high energy physics project, the Sioux Crossing Supercollider ('SCS') designed to investigate and manipulate gravity - but things aren't going well and he wants to generate some positive publicity for the enterprise. So Alex is invited to stay in Sioux City, a slice of small-town America apparently preserved from ruin and decay by Clayton's billions. No, not apparently. It has been preserved - or where necessary, rebuilt. The locals are in equal measure resentful to an all-powerful outsider and desperate for Clayton to continue his support, giving Dolan some difficulties in coming up with an interesting angle on the SCS.

It's a delight to read about Alex's encounters with Sioux City and its residents (both locals and the staff of the SCS), his very slowly growing misgivings that everything seems too perfect, and the undercurrent of weirdness that pervades Sioux City (from the basement full of guns in his rental house to yellowing newspaper stories describing strange past events). Hutchinson gives us an even paced, shrewd, and cooly perceptive vision of the place and its people, allowing it to unroll gradually, with the details of everyday life - getting lost on an unmarked road, dealing with a gonzo physicist who frequents seedy bars (OK, maybe that's not 'everyday') or playing chess with a neighbour - given weight and significance (as are the comparisons between pretty, lucky Sioux Crossing and the less well kept, indeed downright shabby, towns that surround it).

I found all this a joy. For the reader demanding instant action, little may seem to be going on but for me, it is all happening, even as Alex struggles to get a grip on the book Clayton wants written and small obstacles begin to appear in his way. Hutchinson has I think a real knack for getting under the skin of life, making the ordinary significant and drawing his readers in through detail and cool observations rather than lectures and infodumps.

But yes, there is a point where everything changes and this becomes a rather different sort of a book. It's hard to say a lot about this for fear of spoilers. The weirdness begins to show more and more, and Alex becomes the focus for someone with a grudge. His discomfort with this is in no small part due to his having a connection with British intelligence, which makes cooperating with the Local Police Department to get to the bottom of the crimes rather difficult (and given how friendly the locals are, itself racks him with guilt and indecision). Strange things begin to happen, which both acknowledges and denied by those around him, the basic weirdness of Sioux City itself providing a disorienting background to what is now going on.

The closing part of the book is then definitely fully science-fictional and builds skilfully on the earlier narrative, with mysteries explained (apart - I think - from one - why a certain person was driving a certain car just before the story turned?).This end part is satisfying in itself, if startling, but I was a little sad that so many strands from the earlier, gentler part were left unresolved: the enigmatic Clayton, the book Alex was writing, his relationship with Wendy, the prickly, hostile Prof. Delahaye who takes against Alex. I could easily have read a book twice the length which went into these things in more detail.

All in all this is an absorbing book, great fun to read with an intriguing mystery at its heart.

This is a really intriguing speculative fiction book that I completely loved and, despite what the title makes it sound like, it’s a standalone novel not a sequel. The pace is very different to what I normally read, it’s slower with not much of any action BUT the characters and mystery carry the book perfectly.

Alex Dolan is a science journalist down on his luck when he’s approached by a billionaire with a supercollider to write a book about the issue- riddled project but he can’t shake the feeling that something very strange is going on.

I loved Alex, he’s a journalist so can’t help but stick his neck into things and question what’s really going on. He’s also not phased by authority or status quo and so is brilliantly sharp witted with people who expect him to just go along with it. I loved his personality but I also loved the supporting characters. The grumpy older next door neighbour who becomes his friend. The various members of town who may or may not be involved or hiding things from him – I don’t want to be more specific, you’ll have to find out if you read it.

The book has this pervasive feeling of not-quite-right that I love about books set in small town communities – like the whole town is in on something – but it mixes it up with science fiction instead of small town secrets. Something isn’t working at the supercollider and strange occurrences with someone seeming to appear and disappear surrounded by static electricity keep happening in town. I loved the mystery unfolding and while the end was different (like most things about this book) it suited the story perfectly. A brilliant read.

The Return of the Incredible Exploding man is essentially a slow burn, building up to a (for lack of a better word) an explosive ending. At times the narrative did drag a bit, but overall this very surreal tale kept my interest, especially with so much mystery intertwined throughout its pages. This was the first time I have read anything by this author and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

It took awhile for me to really start to like Alex, but all the other characters in the story more than made up for it. At times I felt like I was somewhere like the town in Northern Exposure with a dash of Twin Peaks given how quirky and sometimes bizarre everyone was.

Honestly, I'm not quite 100% sure what I've just read, but I can tell you that I really enjoyed reading this unique and mind boggling tale.

Full review to come on my blog!

A fascinating book that kept me riveted from start to finish. Hutchinson has crafted an extremely unique yet fun read that left me wanting more after the final page.

The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man is a book of two halves, both of which are enormously readable and enjoyable. The first two thirds of the tale moves at an easy pace and tells the tale of Alex Dolan, a more-or-less failed science-journalist, unemployed and facing deportation, who suddenly and unexpectedly finds himself head-hunted by Stanislaw ‘Stan’ Clayton, the world’s richest man. Stan has built a supercollider to rival CERN in the middle-of-nowhere, middle-American town of Sioux Crossing. Alex will be handsomely paid, comfortably housed and well looked after, and all he has to do is write a book and place articles in the media that shine the best possible light on Stan’s ambitious vanity project. It is the answer to all Alex’s troubles, the job of his dreams. For Alex, it all seems too good to be true.
For most of its length, the story unfolds slowly, but always entertainingly, as Alex attempts to make sense of his odd job, his alien environment and all the peculiar events that keep occurring.
Then everything changes. An Event occurs that completely alters the trajectory of the story and changes Alex’s life in the most profound way imaginable. The tale really picks up speed at this point; the plot moves at a cracking pace as The Event and subsequent fall-out are told in real-time and retrospect. The tale is ret-conned; past events are given a kind of meaning. Things become complex.
There’s some fiendishly complicated science here that is, for the most part, glossed over, and thank goodness for it. There is a refreshing lack of fakery and gobbledygook that I really did appreciate as the story grew ever more outlandish. Alex’s experiences in the ‘Manifold’ are elegantly told with eloquent simplicity. The science never takes over or gets in the way of the plot. It never lost the sense of the story, and the story never loses its sense of fun.
At times, the plot is perhaps too simple. A lot seems have got lost towards the end as the book rolled smoothly to its satisfying climax. It felt to me that a fair bit of this section of the story was edited out to quicken the pace, and I’m not sure it was all for the best. I would have liked a slower unfolding and a little more explanation — what happened to Stan, and Ralph? Did I miss something or did they simply disappear from the story? Why was Larry so ghastly? - I would have liked to have known more, though there is a perverse kind of pleasure in not knowing too much.
There are no major plot twists (I can’t have been the only reader who guessed from the very start the origins of the odd electrical events and the re-appearing ‘angel’), but the story is always fascinating. It kept me reading, and there were more than enough surprises to keep things interesting.
All told, this is a spankingly good story with well-developed characters, which is not often true in SF. A true page turner with a healthy dash of humour; an easy read that I found extremely hard to put down.

I really enjoyed The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man. The story over the first few sections really kept me interested and wanting to know what was going on. The story definitely didn’t end as I expected it to, though, and more could have been made of what was suggested in the stories past as to how and what the “Angel” or “static” was in relation to what was happening in the present - a missed opportunity, maybe?
The ending was certainly strange, and maybe a bit lost when referring to the lives of some of the armed forces characters.

A comic book, super-hero.... more X-Men esque character idea, with some funny lines, a county reformed for the purposes of a supercollider experiment, a journalist whom has no choice but to work on a book associated with the goings on at the SCS, a grumpy townsfolk, a mystery blue light and some strange super powers.

A bit more could have be done to polish and refine the story overall, but worth a read if you want something quite light, a bit investigative mysterious, and to see how super powers were formed.

“Alex’s life appeared to have entered a period of rapidly escalating surrealism.”

About a fifth of the way through this wildly entertaining novel, Alex, the protagonist, realizes with some level of sardonicism that his existence may never return to what he once considered “normal”. Indeed, normativity builds itself out from our experience, cannot in fact do otherwise. Relativity in all its forms is not, it turns out, for the faint of heart.

Award-winning English author Dave Hutchinson has crafted an entrancing universe to inhabit. In addition to his fiction, Hutchinson has also worked as a journalist, and he has his main character do the same — an erstwhile Boston Globe employee — though with far less success, at least at first. Following a series of inexplicable interactions with an expectedly bizarre billionaire, Alex finds himself transported to a small town in Iowa called Sioux Crossing. Here, he discovers a world of rogue physics, mysterious circumstances, and a memorable cast of characters.

Equal parts science fiction and whodunit, The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man by Dave Hutchinson ranges from the prosaic to the absurd, often in the same sentence, and with great dexterity. The figure of Stan Clayton, enigmatic rich man par excellence, looms over the story. The reader is drawn along wondering what exactly Clayton is up to, what he may have up his affluent, bespoke sleeve. At the same time, the singular town of Sioux Crossing conjures its own baffling perplexity. As soon as one mystery reveals itself, another pops up to take focus.

Somehow, despite their number, the plot points and range of characters never seem unwieldy or cumbersome. A dull moment’s not to be had, even if it seems that way at first blush. Mr. Hutchinson has something in mind that will take the reader, if not by complete surprise, then at least down a modestly familiar path within the halo of a new lamp and a novel approach.

Similar in many ways to certain comic book characters and stories, Alex does not consider himself either particularly talented or well-suited to the job for which Clayton has chosen him. Also similar to his comic book counterparts, our hero’s position gets thrust upon him unawares. Though not exactly an innocent bystander either, Alex does sense something imminent, something ominous, a surreal world that is about to change markedly — again — and he will almost certainly find himself among the collateral damage. Without giving too much away, suffice it to say the final quarter of the book holds some very exciting moments.

It is easy to be swept up in the world and the events of this book. Mr. Hutchinson draws on some well-known tropes (with an attendant sense of credit where due), yet he takes them in a wholly new direction (at least to this reader). The story unfolds swiftly, then calms a bit, before finally picking up again. If one finds a complaint in this department, it may be the ending, which felt to me a tad unfinished. One imagines what happens next — given a strong hint what that might be — but a sense of finality is not one of this book’s strongest points.

Another small critical point: Mr. Hutchinson uses the same three or four responsive descriptors throughout the book. Practically every single character “raised an eyebrow”, “shrugged,” “nodded”, or “grunted” during conversation. That was about all they seemed to do other than listen and speak (though the author has a superb ear for dialogue itself). An ounce of variety would have solved this quite easily.

That said, these are two remarkably minor points in the grand scheme of this novel, which remains engaging, unsettling, and incredibly fun from start to finish. For fans of superhero reimaginings, look no further than The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man from Dave Hutchinson. You’re almost certain to be glad you did.