New Book Review - Abyss by Nicholas Binge

Name - Abyss

Written by - Nicholas Binge 

Narrated by - John Lee 

Published by - Tor Publishing Group

Audiobook by - Dreamscape Lore

Well, this one is almost like how it was pitched on the cover. A work inspired by Lovecraftian horror mixed with bits from the show Severance. I enjoyed my audiobook listen of this, while also wishing it had a bit more bulk and some well-developed characters.

Binge knows how to tell a fast-paced thriller with twists, which is quite apparent from the beginning of his newest novella. The protagonist gets suddenly thrown into this mysterious job and meets some unorthodox co-workers and slowly unravels the truth about his sinister employers.

The real world relevance of the main characters' predicament as well as his inability to have social interactions was quite relatable. Adding a mixture of cosmic horror bits into the setting was another fun element, but once again the author kept things a bit unexplained at times regarding the side characters.

And a special shout out to the narration by John Lee, which was quite soothing with his delivery and pacing and probably made me enjoy the book much more than I would have liked if I had read it.

As a matter of fact, the novella felt like the story really could have benefited from a longer length in explaining stuff and dealing with the side characters. And that's my main complaint with the otherwise enjoyable read.

I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - Extremity by Nicholas Binge

Name - Extremity 

Written by - Nicholas Binge

Published by - Tor Publishing Group

Oftentimes, there are some reads which seem quite fun as you read it, but start to lose some of its fun and coherence when you examine it closely, more so with the perspective of hindsight. 'Extremity' is such a book. A fast-paced mystery and sci-fi hybrid that is a thrilling enough ride while it lasts, but quite forgettable once you are done.

This book is told through the first-person viewpoints of three characters: one veteran, one rookie, and one former police detective. The narrative style seemed a bit odd initially, but soon became comfortable enough and I as a reader was swept away by the blistering pace of plot progression. 

Some plot holes or rather unexplained plot points did make the enjoyment a bit hampered, but the interesting characters and the unexpected directions of the conflict kept me entertained up to the mini cliffhanger ending.

The main problem is that the author hammered through the science fiction bit of the story in his attempt to focus on the thriller aspect. Maybe he did this to keep stuff rolling for future sequels, but the story suffers from keeping the reader a bit unsatisfied when thinking back after finishing the book.

I will probably check out future books if any sequel does come out to see how the author explains the setting further. Meanwhile, this gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.