Member Review
Review by
Kaushik K, Reviewer
International criminal enterprises and the organizations who fight them have been a staple of thriller fiction for years. S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and MI6. Thrush and U.N.C.L.E. Cobra and G.I. Joe. Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. The Combine and Rubicon (from James Swallow’s excellent Marc Dane series).
The latest series to follow this fine tradition is the Daedalus series by R.D. Shah. I’ve had the privilege of reading the ARC of the final entry of this series titled After Shock, thanks to Canelo and Netgalley. After Shock follows an organization called DSV – short for Disavowed – as they try to bring down Daedalus which seeks to establish a Fourth Reich.
Actually, the book follows the remnants of DSV because in the previous book Daedalus detonated a low-yield nuke in the UN Building in New York City and managed to frame Iran and DSV as the perpetrators. So now they’re on the run from every law enforcement and intelligence agency in the world as they try to clear their name and expose Daedalus.
The book hits the ground at 100 mph and goes faster and faster as it progresses. There’s never a dull moment as we race from an underwater Nazi retreat to a seven-star hotel in Dubai to the hell-hole of North Korea and then to the nuked-out, abandoned New York City for a final confrontation. Shah belongs to the Matthew Reilly School as he keeps the pedal firmly to the metal and almost never takes a breather – but gives out exposition without stopping the action. His writing is condensed, much like a 2000AD Future Shock. Not a line is wasted and each scene serves to propel the action forward.
The book ends the series on a satisfying note. If Shah doesn’t write another book in this series that’s fine by me because as far as I am concerned no loose plot threads remain. But if he does write more, I will be sure to read those. In fact, I am going to read everything he writes from now on.
The latest series to follow this fine tradition is the Daedalus series by R.D. Shah. I’ve had the privilege of reading the ARC of the final entry of this series titled After Shock, thanks to Canelo and Netgalley. After Shock follows an organization called DSV – short for Disavowed – as they try to bring down Daedalus which seeks to establish a Fourth Reich.
Actually, the book follows the remnants of DSV because in the previous book Daedalus detonated a low-yield nuke in the UN Building in New York City and managed to frame Iran and DSV as the perpetrators. So now they’re on the run from every law enforcement and intelligence agency in the world as they try to clear their name and expose Daedalus.
The book hits the ground at 100 mph and goes faster and faster as it progresses. There’s never a dull moment as we race from an underwater Nazi retreat to a seven-star hotel in Dubai to the hell-hole of North Korea and then to the nuked-out, abandoned New York City for a final confrontation. Shah belongs to the Matthew Reilly School as he keeps the pedal firmly to the metal and almost never takes a breather – but gives out exposition without stopping the action. His writing is condensed, much like a 2000AD Future Shock. Not a line is wasted and each scene serves to propel the action forward.
The book ends the series on a satisfying note. If Shah doesn’t write another book in this series that’s fine by me because as far as I am concerned no loose plot threads remain. But if he does write more, I will be sure to read those. In fact, I am going to read everything he writes from now on.
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