World of Fire

“World of Fire” was published in 2014 (August) and was written by James Lovegrove (http://www.jameslovegrove.com/). Mr. Lovegrove has published over 25 novels and many short stories.

This is a Science Fiction novel and I would rate this novel as ‘R’ due to Mature Language and Violence. The story was told first person and is set in a distant future where mankind has spread to distant stars. As they have spread they encountered the Polis+, an AI based race who are humankind’s rivals. A bloody war was fought with the Polis+ and after a particularly costly battle to both sides an uneasy truce was declared. While there is no longer open warfare, along the border with Polis+ space there is constant tension.

The main character of the story is Dev Harmer, an ex-soldier who currently is a troubleshooter for Interstellar Security Solutions (ISS). ISS provides contract services to worlds that have problems, particularly problems that seem to stem from Polis+ activities. He is sent to Alighieri, a planet with an extremely hot surface, at the request of the local government. The planet is very near Polis+ space and is principally a mining colony for helium-3. The underground colony is being threatened by a series of earthquakes. Dev is there to find out what is causing the tremors.

Dev’s investigation leads him across the planet. Dev is not the most likeable character and he quickly rubs many of the Alighieri inhabitants the wrong way. There is a lot of action and intrigue as Dev seeks out the cause of the tremors.

I enjoyed the eight hours I spent reading this first novel of the Dev Harmer series, though I have to say that I did not particularly like the Dev character. His constant wise crack humor irritated me. Other than that the story was interesting. The characters were well developed and the story line was not what I expected. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

Other book reviews I have written can be found at http://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/ and on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com).

James Lovegrove's new SF series, I just knew I had to read it. I have read three of his pantheon series sagas - Age of Ra, Age of Zeus and Age of Odin and I loved how the author incorporated Gods of various pantheon into his alternative world stories. Thus, I found 'World of Fire' on Netgalley and requested it without a second glance.

Set in a distant future, the people of Earth have spread out across the stars. Where they came face to face with the AI race called Polis+. A bloody war was waged eventually resulting in an uneasy truce after both sides sustained looses. The war may be over by the time out story begins but the fight is still on an constant tension still reigns supreme.

It is in these times that Interstellar Security Solutions (ISS), the agency that offers contract based services to planets facing terrestrial or extraterrestrial problem that rather rise from Polis+ involvement. Dev Harmer, the troubleshooter from ISS is the protagonist and he is sent to the beaming hot mining planet, Aligheri. Too close to comfort to the Polis+ region of space, this is a Helium 3 mining planet and recently they have been experiencing tremors and Harmer is sent to find out why and if the culprits are Polis+, then do everything to put a stop to it.

Harmer is our wise-cracking hero who rubs the inhabitants of the planet in the wrong way. A war veteran Harmer knows what is going on and while the people of Aligheri don't tolerate him at all, they soon realize that he means business and will achieve said results by hook or by crook. His investigations lead him across this burning hot planet unearthing clues and keys and following leads none thought existed.

Spine-tingling action and dramatically intriguing, Lovegrove serves us a power packed debut for this new series with a well thought out plot, the needed world building and strong characters to make it a memorable reading experience. The ending gives us a glimpse into the next one 'World of Water' and i'm excited to see what it will hold.

"An action-packed new SF series from James Lovegrove"