Earth-Shock By Nicolas Morton – A Review
When I recently discovered that a fellow magician had written a spy thriller, I had to take a look, as this is one genre (out of many, in fact) that I love.
The book is called Earth-Shock, and it’s written by Nicolas Morton, a mind reader from Melbourne, Australia.
The novel features Matt Sharp, an agent of the ASIS (which is roughly equivalent to Britain’s MI6 or the USA’s CIA).
Initially set in the Australian Outback, where some unexplained earthquakes result in the mysterious disappearance of two geologists, Matt is dispatched to investigate.
Meanwhile, in Japan, a fatal nerve gas attack in a subway is carried out by the brainwashed followers of a deranged cult leader, Takashi.
The two events seem unrelated, until Matt digs deeper and uncovers Takashi’s plan for world domination using the fabled Tesla machine, a device previously thought to be impossible to build.
Matt joins forces with the Japanese CIA, in an unholy alliance with the Yakuza, in a desperate race to stop the madman from carrying out his evil plans.
So, what do I like about this novel?
- It’s fast-moving.
- The characters are believable.
- There’s just enough gadgetry without it being OTT.
- There’s a lovely twist at the end.
- All in all, it’s a great read.
Is there anything I don’t like about Earth Shock?
If I were really being picky, I could only say that I wish it had been a bit longer, but I know that, at just over 300 pages, it’s probably the right length – any more and the pace would suffer, and that would ruin one of the joys of this novel.
(I can tell if I’m enjoying a book because if I do, I tend to speed up the closer to the end I get.)
In many ways, it reminds me of our own debut novel, Ring Of Daggers, which is also an action/adventure story, and that’s maybe one reason why I enjoyed it so much.
So, if you want a good, entertaining read, we can highly recommend Earth Shock.