Ever watch the film Heat? Loved it as much as I did? Ever wondered what happened to Chris (played by Val Kilmer in the movie) the only one of the gang to get away? Or Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino’s cop)? Or how about a prequel to see how Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro’s character) and the rest of the characters became like they were in the movie? Well, if you have, this is the book for you.

Meg Gardiner was given the green light by director Michael Mann to write Heat 2 as a novel and she’s done a terrific job. This is told in two timelines: the first is in the future and tells the story of Chris and what he did after the events of the movie; the second is in the past and portrays the formation of the McCauley crew as masters at pulling heists, and Hanna as an ace detective, and sets up the events of the film. Needless to say, both timelines overlap (without giving spoilers, a quite chilling villain is introduced who appears in both).

This is a brilliant, brilliant novel. Even readers who haven’t seen the movie should enjoy this, and if you like a heist story, this is definitely a book for you. But Heat 2 is an extra treat for those who’ve seen and loved the movie.

I’ve never read any of Meg Gardiner’s other work, but she expertly plots this story, crafts both timelines to perfection, and breaths new life into Chris as a character, and while in the movie he’s very much second fiddle to De Niro’s Neil McCauley, here he takes centre stage.

It’s no surprise to read that Michael Mann is talking about turning Heat 2 into a script and he really should. Yes, the original actors are now too old to appear (and in Val Kilmer’s case, have tragically passed away), but this novel deserves to be brought to the big screen, or the small screen via a streamer.

A fantastic read!

Having seen the film, it was good to visualise the characters by the actors who played them.

I liked the prequel part of the story that explained the characters before the film. Where the story lost me a little, was when the story focused on Chris in the aftermath of the film's climax. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, it was good to see the development of the character, I just thought the story slowed down a little in the pacing.

Overall, a good book and even if not a fan of the film, is a good thriller to read.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publishers in return for my personal opinion and review of the book.

Amazing read. It has the feel of a novel but you can see it on the screen as well. Some of the tying up of storylines was a little convenient but the writing is so gripping that I didn't mind.

Filmmaker Michael Mann plunges into literary waters with Heat 2, a sequel and prequel to his 1995 crime thriller movie. Mann wrote the script for Heat in the 1970s which became his hit movie with Robert de Niro, Val Kilmer and Al Pacino – which my husband has made me rewatch a couple of times.
The plot was loosely based on a real-life case, in which a cop and a bank robber call a temporary ceasefire over a cup of coffee at a deli, a scene recreated with De Niro and Pacino. At the end of the movie, all but two of the main characters – bank robber Chris Shiherlis and detective Vincent Hanna – are dead. The novel picks up the story a day later, with Chris in hiding, wounded and being hunted by Vincent. From Los Angeles, the action goes global. It shifts to South America and Asia, with a scheme involving cybercrimes, while simultaneously flashing back to an earlier case of Vincent’s, and a heist being plotted by De Niro’s character, Neil McCauley.
Mann teamed up with author Meg Gardiner for this novel, which he’s said he hopes to adapt into a film. It’s a terrific read, packed with suspense and action. It fleshes out familiar characters and hinted-at situations, bringing their backstories to life and seamlessly linking them to the movie, all while propelling their new stories. It’s preferable to be familiar with the movie though to fully enjoy the novel.

A rip-roaring prequel/sequel to Mann’s iconic film Heat. The narrative alternates between earlier heists by the gang and what Hanna and Chris do next after the events of Heat.

There are plenty of thrills and tension, particularly in the set-pieces which read like a screenplay. Unsurprisingly. The takedown of the narco count house is a particular highlight.

Tightly plotted and full of character insights, this is a true companion piece to the film. A must read.

It's difficult to imagine just how a man approaching the winter of his life would pen a sequel to a film made close to three decades ago. Of course, Michael Mann isn't most men, but even so: the atmosphere has changed, the sort of subtle machismo Heat exudes is almost non-existent, and what was a dramatic film about crime has undergone so many examinations that to say it has been stripped bare wouldn't be an overstatement.

And yet Mann, with Meg Gardiner, creates one hell of a ride. You could picture this flying off the page, projected before your eyes, old-school style. Heat 2 is unimaginative only by title - in every other way, the book responds to, interacts with, and builds upon the legacy of the film that birthed it.

Neil McCauley is tough as nails, Vincent Hanna is dogged as hell, and we know this as well as we do thanks to DeNiro and Pacino, but Mann-Gardiner make Chris Shiherlis the driving force of the novel, the only man from the original bank score to make it out. He's made a break for South America, and does the bidding of a major crime lord there, all the while hoping for the heat to die down in LA.

Taking place years before Heat and years after it, there is a fluidity to the narrative, bolstered by rock-solid Neil and Vincent and a chilling villain who makes Waingro look like a kindergarten bully. Mann-Gardiner are adept at switching timelines, and thrust the reader into each setup, each moment with a gentle forcefulness. You want to look away, but you also want to look.

Heat 2 makes good on its initial promise, and comes together really well for a typewritten sequel of an audio-visual product from twenty-seven years.

Excellent book. I can see why it's one of Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2022. Perfect prequel/sequel to Heat.

Came to this as a huge fan of Heat the movie, and was a little nervous to see if this could match the level of pace and storytelling. Have to say it absolutely delivered on all fronts. Pulls no punches right from the first chapter, dropping you back into that world. Had all the look and feel of picking up where that left off and does it so authentically that it feels like a seamless segue rather than a sequel that’s been written years later.

It’ll take some beating as one of my favorite reads if the year.

I was intrigued by this but not having seen the film - perhaps the only person on the universe not to have done so - I found that fact to be a distinct disadvantage.

I enjoyed it as a thriller that thrilled with good plotting and characterisation but suspect that I would have got far more out of this book had I actually have seen the film beforehand.

"Neil's mantra was split in thirty seconds flat if you spot the heat around the corner".

Its release became the most long-awaited publishing event of the last five years and signified the first-time-ever involvement of a renowned auteur such as Michael Mann in the writing of a novel which would act both as a prequel and a sequel to his 1995 classic film Heat, starring a stellar cast including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight and Ashley Judd. Mann's collaboration with the acclaimed crime fiction author Meg Gardiner, whose thrillers often hit the bestseller lists, further added to the notoriety of the upcoming title and guaranteed top-notch quality as far as the writing style is concerned. The final result, coming under the title Heat 2, is an electrifying crime/thriller, packed with tons of action sequences reminiscent of those depicted on screen in the original movie. Some of the scenes of the film such as the legendary street combat between Neil McCauley's crew and LAPD armed officers marked cinema history and influenced the later productions of the genre. Moreover, the face-to-face meeting of Vincent Hanna and Neil McCauley at Kate Mantilini on Wilshire Boulevard, the scene in which Robert De Niro and Al Pacino sat down and talked like two regular guys sharing their views on life and the world in general, has been widely debated as the two veteran actors donate human breath to their respective protagonists and the audience can't help but root for either of them and in some ways identify with their innermost thoughts and feelings as conveyed during their short discussion. It is the only instance in the film where Pacino and De Niro show up together with the exception of the finale in which Hanna shoots and kills McCauley, then shaking his hand in a kind of honoring farewell from a tormented soul to another one.

In the prologue, the authors provide a brief synopsis of the events that took place in the 1995 film and, in the process, they divulge some in-depth observations regarding the complex relationship between Hanna and McCauley. We read: "They (Hanna and McCauley) were the same in that both knew life was short, we are footprints in the beach until the tide comes in (...) Polar opposite in some ways, they were the same in taking in how the world worked, devoid of illusions and self-deception". Both in the film and the novel, it is clearly implied that Hanna holds McCauley in respect as he sees parts of himself in his adversary, despite McCauley's criminal disposition and history which began from his early childhood as we will learn while reading the novel. Their final handshake makes that respect palpable and in the first pages of the book, the authors write: "He (Hanna) took McCauley's hand through the paroxysms that carried him into death. They understood each other, as if they were the only two people in the planet. Alone, isolated within who theyt were, but only they knew how it all really worked". The movie's ending scene is backed by Moby's song "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters", adding a heroic aspect to the conclusion of a great crime epic and one of the most alluring action films of the 1990s. The prologue ends with McCauley's killing in LAX by Hanna and introduces the reader to the first timeline that begins in 1995 and spans the whole year and the following one, following the character of Chris Shiherlis, played in the movie by Val Kilmer, the only member of McCauley's crew who manages to get away, despite being severely injured during the battle that took place outside the bank in Los Angeles.

Shiherlis is unaware of McCauley's fate and gets taken care of Neil's fixer and middleman, Nate (Jon Voight), who arranges his escape from LA and his transport to a safe place, somewhere in South America, where Hanna and the officers of LAPD's RHD (Robbery-Homicide Division) will be unable to locate him. We should keep in mind that Shiherlis had shot and killed one of Hanna's colleagues, thus making the seasoned cop all the more eager to locate Chris and make him pay for his crimes. After the initial seven chapters, we are then transferred back in time and more specifically to 1998, the setting being no longer the shiny, crime-ravaged Los Angeles but Chicago where Hanna worked previously as a Sergeant in the Criminal Intelligence Division. Hanna is investigating a series of brutal home invasions committed by a group of thugs who torture and sexually assault the families living in the houses while robbing them blind. The viciousness of the crimes makes Hanna shiver and prompts him to cross the line during the inquiry, meaning doing things that are legally and ethically dubious in order to succeed in his goal. We read: "Both men knew Hanna, when he's impelled, when he has the scent and is zeroed in, crosses lines too, and it's not that Hanna runs red lights. It's that there cease to be lights, red or green (...) In that state Hanna commits no errors. Decision-making is smooth and instantaneous, It's magic. He's immaculate". The reader gets to know more about Hanna's idiosyncracy and temperament as well as some facts regarding his past that explain his present attitude and conduct both professionally and in his personal life. The authors stress his empathy toward the victims as becomes evident in his attempts to approach a teenage girl who got raped during one of the home invasions that Hanna investigates. At some point, he says: " I don't neutralize myself. Most homicide detectives stay abstract (...) I take it in. I use it. Personalize it to understand the victim, the perpetrator, the anger, the reasons. Keeps me sharp, on edge".

In the 1988 timeline, we also witness the beginning of the fiery relationship between Chris Shiherlis and the woman that would later become his wife and mother to his only son, Dominick, Charlene. The two of them meet in Las Vegas, a city that Chris often visits due to his gambling addiction that has caused him many problems throughout his life. It is love at first sight, unquestionably, and the two of them seem to share a unique type of understanding that renders their bond stronger and more mature. Mann and Gardiner employ the use of multiple perspective and the reader watches the intricate plot unfolding through the eyes of the protagonists (Hanna, Shiherlis, McCauley), but also as perceived by some of the secondary characters, even the villains. It should also be mentioned that the authors introduce one of the most stark and abominable antagonists in the crime fiction genre in the character of Otis Wardell, a sociopathic thief who enjoys torturing and causing mayhem in the lives of his victims, regardless of the necessity of it. Wardell is the textbook psychopath who commits evil deeds for the sake of them, something that is unimaginable to a high-stakes criminal such as McCauley who likes to organize his scores to the last detail, surveilling the target for a long time before proceeding to action. His attitude towards his line of business is this: "Save your crew. Save what you did it for. If anybody gets in your way, that is their problem". Despite his determination to take out every individual who would stand in his way, he is against torturing or killing someone without good reason. The audience will remember his rage toward Waingro, who botched the mini-van robbery in the beginning of the film. McCauley and Wardell's roads will intersect in some point in the novel and their clash will have tragic consequences for a woman whom Neil loves more than his own life.

The 1995/96 timeline covers Chris Shiherlis's time in Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, a weird city which is described by the authors in great detail as a paradise for smugglers and criminals of any kind. There, Chris will find himself working for a local Taiwanese tycoon and gangster who will slowly learn to appreciate Chris's instincts, intuition and decisiveness, features that will help him move up the ladder fast and become one of the boss's most trusted employees. Here, I have to highlight the fact that I found this plot strand to be the most confusing one, and there were times that I found myself reading and re-reading some of the paragraphs in order to grasp in its entirety what is going on and comprehend Chris's and Ana's schemes and plots that involve the trafficking of advanced technology, counter-intelligence equipment, and military-grade weaponry. Apart from that fact, the Paraguayan sub-plot succeeds the 1988 Chicago storyline and the Hanna versus Wardell strife that literally grounds the reader, making the difference all the more noticeable. The 1995/96 timeline feels like shifting a gear down in terms of pacing and prompted me to skim some of the pages near the end. The story moves forward rather slowly, with Shiherlis gradually gaining his employer's trust and embarking on a high-risk undercover mission that aims to sabotage the software of the rival gangster family. Chris will also become romantically entangled with the boss's daughter, Ana, and their relationship will prove to be a serious and strong one as we will see them together again in the third and final timeline of the novel, in 2000 in Los Angeles.

The 2000 timeline finds all the major players of the story assembled in the City of Angels, with Hanna going through a tough spot, popping Adderall in order to cope with the vast number of cases he has to deal with, while Chris and Ana return to LA in order to close a deal that will stabilize their position in the underground market of state-of-the-art military technology. Otis Wardell is also present, now a motel owner and high-end pimp who keeps terrorizing his underlings and becomes involved in the savage murder of a young immigrant sex worker who is found buried in a shallow grave in the city's outskirts. The case is investigated by Hanna, who, while examining the crime scene, becomes heavily interested in the modus operandi of the killer that is reminiscent of that used by Otis Wardell. Soon, a CCTV grainy video will prove his suspicions correct as he recognizes Wardell's figure as one of the men who are spotted leaving the location in which the murder took place in a car. Hanna has a score to settle with Wardell who 12 years earlier managed to escape capture to the copper's dismay. Now, the tough-as-nails Robbery-Homicide Lieutenant has the opportunity to lock Wardell up and offer peace to some of his victims that survived and had to live with the horrible memories and consequences of his home invasions and the murder of the people closest to them. Furthermore, Shiherlis, who is trying to keep his head down as he is still a wanted man in LA due to the events that took place five years earlier, will become obsessed with the idea of avenging his friend's, the "brother from a different mother" Neil McCauley, death, meaning that he will put Vincent Hanna under his radar, searching for a chance to kill him and restore an equilibrium in his soul. Chris will also be torn between his intimate feelings for Ana and the sense of duty toward Charlene and his only son, an inner conflict that is expertly disclosed to the reader by the authors' plausible descriptions of the character's inner thought process.

Heat 2 is a novel that is written in advanced English and the vocabulary is precocious, forcing me to stop reading many times in order to search in the dictionary for an unknown word. At least that's my impression as a non-native speaker. It is a rather lengthy novel and the story is divided into three distinct timelines (1988, 1995/96. 2000), spanning twelve years and constituting both a prequel (1988 timeline) and sequel (1995/16 and 2000) of the film which was released in 1995. Chris Shiherlis is definitely the main protagonist as he is the only character who appears in all three chronologies, unifying the expanding narrative that becomes more and more complex and multi-faceted as the reader keeps turning the pages. The 2000 timeline is the most striking one as it signals the conclusion of the story and features all the major characters in the same place at the same time. The last scene of the novel, with Hanna chasing Wardell by car in the streets of LA and with Shiherlis, at the same time, persecuting Hanna in order to take revenge over McCauley's death is breathtaking and covers many pages, with the point of view alternating between the protagonists from one paragraph to the next. As a result, the tempo becomes frenetic, reminiscent of that of the film's, and the finale is cathartic while leaving room for a possible sequel as it is apparent that the character arcs of Hanna and Shiherlis could be further explored. In Heat 2 their personal battle doesn't find its solution. It would be great to have a Heat 3 as in this novel, Michael Mann exhibited his talent in writing which equals his immense directing skills and it would be interesting to know if the action sequences were written by him. I am inclined to bet that they were. The reader becomes attuned to the tension and heat experienced by McCauley's crew before each score and empathizes with them despite their criminal acts, indicating the tremendous work done by the authors who breathe life to the characters, urging the reader to touch them with his mind. The collaboration between Mann and Gardiner is smooth and there is no way in which the reader can imagine that this is a novel written by two separate individuals. The prose is meticulous and consistent, the characterization parts are exceptional, conveying a truthful illustration of the story's protagonists, and the narrative style is indicative of an experienced and skillful work by an accomplished author.

There are some minor flaws such as the authors' almost obsessive persistence to describe the weather conditions and the color of the skies in the beginning of each chapter, something that becomes repetitive and a bit tiresome after a while. Furthermore, as I already mentioned above, there is an unevenness in the narrative as it contains come parts that are plainly less appealing to the reader than others. However, if one wants to formulate a concluding assessment regarding this novel, he or she would have to concede to the fact that it has been a truly long time since they have read such a fully-fleshed, elegant crime novel that can be deemed equal to the film in terms of quality, a feat that is nothing less than stunning. I began reading Heat 2, bearing in mind the faces and events of the movie and it was a nice change to be able to have a clear picture of the characters as most of them were also featured in Mann's 1995 classic. I would urge both the authors to continue this thrilling saga that has much to offer to the thirsty crime fiction readership which is fed up with the generic novels employing hackneyed tropes and featuring cardboard characters. It has been a long time since I'd stayed awake a whole night reading a novel and devouring each and every word of the rich text, basking the solid prose and goading my imagination to provide vivid images of the descriptions on page. I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for offering me a free ARC of this title in exchange of an honest review.

Ive seen the film Heat a few times but not for a long time, so, the night before I decided to start this book I re-watched this fantastic film just to familiarize myself with the characters again.

So a book that is a sequel/prequel to a movie and is co-written by its director. I have to say I was intrigued but slightly skeptical.
I neednt have worried. This is everything the film was an so much more.

Set in the present, following Chris, the only survivor of the crew from the film and a few years in the past, where we get the back story of the crew members and their heists and especially Robert De Niros character and what moulded him to the calculated character we see in the film.

The pace is relentless, the plot intricate and involving and we are also introduced to one of the most memorable and deranged "baddies" that has ever graced a page.

The book works beautifully with the both time lines. The new characters are as memorable as those from the film, the book really is a tour de force and a fantastic addition to the movie.

Five easy stars for me. Real life got in the way of this one a bit and I took longer to read it than normal but its a testament to the book that I was right back in the story again when I did manages to pick it up.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC though Netgalley.

Heat is an amazing film and this book didn't disappoint either.

Covering 1988 to 2000 the story gives us background on Neal Macauley's crew and previous heists they've undertaken, information on Vincent Hanna's background and the case that drove him to LA from Chicago as well as updating us on what happened to Chris after the final heist.

Great writing which keeps you hooked from the beginning - certainly lived up to all the hype.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins, Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

One might ask oneself if HEAT really needed a sequel. I re-watched the movie before reading this, and I was pretty convinced that it didn't need a sequel - the movie is such a complete, well-told story.

After finishing HEAT 2, I'm still not convinced that the movie HAD to have a sequel. However, I am rather glad that it has one: Mann/Gardiner bring these characters back to life brilliantly on the page. The feel of the movie is evoked nicely in the writing and scenes, and it was great to get to know more about their past and post-movie-time lives (for those that survived).

If you're a fan of the movie, then I strongly recommend you check this out, too. A solid crime novel.

I have to admit that I came to this book with a bias - Heat is one of my favourite films and I was very excited to read a book that was both prequel and sequel to it. Let me tell you, it didn't disappoint!

The pace is frenetic and the action is totally amped the whole time - it was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. The prequel elements give a great insight into the characters and their actions/decisions that makes the film richer. The sequel parts are a great thriller with interwoven storylines and twists, turns, and double-crossing galore. Absolute kudos for the creation of one of the most grotesque villians in a long time. This guy is just devoid of any human emotion bar anger and every page he was on made me nervous for what might happen.

As you would expect from a film director writing a book, the visual descriptions are sublime and I found it easy to see in my mind how the scenes would play out. Reading the sequel parts also led to a fun discussion with my husband as to who could play the characters, and the awful baddie Wardell, in the film that I desperately hope gets made of this book.

I believe that readers who have never seen Heat would still enjoy this as a standalone crime/thriller story - the plot is deep and rich and the feverish writing draws you in. The action set-pieces are breath-taking in their vastness and energy. This book jangles your nerves from the first word and you end up thanking it for the ride.

enjoyed Heat 2 but really wanted more about the back story of Neil and Vincent – I wasn’t so interested in what happened to Chris after the end of Heat.

The dynamic and personalities of Neil and Vincent are far more intriguing than Chris who seems little more than a guy who has expertise.

The writing is very reminiscent of the story telling and dialogue you find in the movie Heat – it’s very mid 90s man talk. I imagine some people might not like that but if you accept it for what it is, it’s fine. I appreciated the little nods to the movie also – Vincent going to Neil’s famous house near the ocean and Eady’s home which has become more famous as Bosch’s house in recent years.

Overall this was an solid story and I liked it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an advance copy of Heat 2, a combined prequel and sequel to the 1995 film.

The novel opens with a short recap of the heist and its aftermath, which is a good reminder for people like me who saw the film all those years ago, remember greatness, but not much else and have not revisited it since. With my memories of the film lost in the mists of time I approached Heat 2 as a stand-alone crime novel and that worked for me.

It is a long, sprawling, epic novel that starts in 1995 and then goes back to 1988 when the lead detective Sergeant Vincent Hanna was working murder cases in Chicago and burglars Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis are undertaking a heist. Their paths don’t cross but it gives the reader a feel for how the characters operate and how the authors want to write their novel. It then shifts back to 1995 and an on the run Chris Shiherlis, who is the only surviving member of the heist crew. It toggles back and forward between these two years and then on to 2000. Fortunately it is done in big chunks, so there is no loss of concentration or confusion. The novel isn’t quite long enough to suggest that it could have been two novels, 1988 and 1995/6, 2000, but in some ways it reads like that, exploring the exploits of the characters and their unknowing intersections.

The novel is about the characters and their motivations, mostly Chris Shiherlis, and they are strongly drawn. I like the way they change and adjust over the years without losing their essence. Having said that, these men live in a violent world, so there is no shortage of action and death or tension and heartbreak. It is a broad, sweeping novel, cinematic in its scope and descriptions, although that is hardly surprising given Mr Mann’s credentials, and very addictive. As a reader I wanted to know how it pans out for the surviving characters.

Heat 2 is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Remarkable concept and impeccable execution from start to the end. Every single page gives a full-throttle effect. The story moved marvellously. I finished the book overnight. The book supercharged me.

As a huge fan of Heat and Michael Mann films in general, I was looking forward to this/slightly anxious it would disappoint. First things first, it is pretty much everything you could want or expect from a sequel to Heat. The characters are of course fully formed already, and they ring true to the movie. I don't know what the division of labour was between Mann and Meg Gardiner, and I've never read any of her books so can't identify her style as such, but this read exactly how I would expect Mann prose to. Sharp, clipped sentences, smart dialogue, very spec and detail heavy. It also has some of the dizzy romanticism of Mann's best work.

You can see some of the later films themes and obsession creeping through here as well: transnational crime (Miami Vice) and cyber-hacking (Blackhat). You get some great insight into pre-Heat Vincent Hanna and a backstory for Neil McCauley which stretches believability perhaps, but there's real emotional weight to it. There's a villain who shows up that makes Waingro look like the Dalai Lama.

But the book ultimately belongs to Chris Shiherlis. For me, the best section of the book is the meat of his tale in the aftermath of the film's ending and his new life in Cuidad Del Este.

The plot jumps around through time and between characters in an attempt to cover a globe-spanning saga and if I was gonna quibble about anything it would be that the pace and the story start to crumble towards the end. But....this is absolutely essential for Mann heads. Many thanks to HarperCollins for the advance copy.

First things first: if you haven’t seen Michael Mann’s 1995 unhinged, 3h long heist movie, you probably won't get much out of the book (although I’d love to be proven wrong!). It’s a solid crime novel with great plot and pacing, but relies on readers being familiar with the actors’ (superb) portrayal of the main characters.

If, however, you have seen the film, then the book is GREAT. The writing does a spectacular job of capturing Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), Neil McCauley (DeNiro) and Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) - both before and after the movie events. In particular I LOVED Hanna’s early story set in 80s Chicago: the chapters where he visits a victim in the hospital were absolutely beautiful, provide great insight into the character and drop little clues that make his evolution into movie-Hanna believable. I challenge you to read his lines and not hear Al Pacino’s memorably unhinged delivery, every single time.

Shiherlis, who becomes the focus of the book, also gets a great background story and I hugely enjoyed how prequel-he and Charlene were portrayed. Similarly I found his early conflict between his old life and his ambition really well written. I’m not sure how much I believe his later development into a super tactical and occasionally heroic cyber security guy, but it does make for a good storyline.

What made me knock a star off the rating is the uneven writing: sometimes it’s spectacular and beautiful, nails down to the actors’ exact voice and mannerism, and perfectly captures the very urban, metallic and cold atmosphere that makes the movie such a visual masterpiece. Being able to render that aesthetics into words is no small feat, and I’m amazed that came across so well. But at other times chapters are just dry and cheesy descriptions with super choppy sentences, or even just chunks of sentences, which I didn’t particularly enjoy.

And while the characters are mostly super well written, there were specific moments that didn't meet my movie-expectations. Look, Heat might be famous for the real life robberies it inspired and for *that* shooting scene that’s apparently shown to Marines as part of their training - but what always stands out to me is how the movie succeeds in humanizing fairly violent ‘bad guys’ without ever glamorising or romanticising them. Unfortunatley that approach is not always there in Shiherlis’s sequel story (a bit too much heroism for my taste) - and especially not in McCauley’s origin story, which I found unconvincing and overly romanticised (it reads more like run-of-the-mill fan fiction than anything).

But those points aside, Heat 2 is a great, entertaining novel, with well-woven, intricate storylines and action-packed scenes. And if you enjoyed the movie characters, it’s definitely a super satisfying prequel/sequel hybrid.

Huge thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy - I couldn't have been more excited at the chance to read this one early!

I just want to start by saying I am a massive fan of the movie Heat, and I was incredibly nervous when I heard that Heat 2 was going to be released in the form of a novel. Heat is probably my favourite movie of all time and I didnt want anything to be released that could spoil its legacy or tarnish it in my mind.

So when this became available on NetGalley to read I had to request an Arc. And i'm happy to say this book was fantastic!!!

I loved that the book was both a prequel and sequel to the movie at the same time. It gave you more background to the events leading up to the movie and then you find out what happened to the characters still alive from the movie.

If you are a heat fan read this book - fast paced writing, incredible characterization, great worldbuilding and a brilliant ending.

This book not only added to my enjoyment of the original movie but im desperate now to see this adapted with all the original actors. If we have deaging technology im sure we can get back Deniro and Pacino to some of their most famous roles.

5 star!