Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (1290)

Content

The Black Widow

Daniel Silva

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Bestselling author Daniel Silva delivers another spellbinding international thriller—one that...

Thriller crime

The Perfect Family

Robyn Harding

7.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The bestselling author of the The Swap explores what happens when a seemingly perfect family is...

ClareR (6256 KP) rated Cloud Cuckoo Land in Books

Oct 29, 2021

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Anthony Doerr | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Cloud Cuckoo Land will be VERY high in my favourite books of the year, I have no doubt whatsoever. It grabbed my attention from the first page, and wouldn’t let go - and frankly, I didn’t want it to.

There are three main timelines, four characters, and an ancient text that connects them all.

Anna lives in Constantinople just before the Ottomans bring down the wall and claim it as their own. Omeir is one of those Ottomans, a reluctant cog in their war machine.

We go forward 500 years to a hostage situation in a US town library, where a disillusioned teenager, has planted a bomb on the bookshelves. An old man, an ex-soldier who has taught himself Ancient Greek, has translated a very old book and turned it into a play. He is upstairs in the same library.

Then, on to the future where a girl, her family and a number of other scientists, explorers and volunteers, are all on a spaceship at the start of a long voyage that they know they’ll never see the end of. And disaster strikes.

I didn’t want this book to end. I had a huge book hangover when this ended, and I’m very certain that I will need to read this again. It’s perfection.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this.

Kudos

David McK (3857 KP) rated Antimatter Blues (Mickey7, #2) in Books

Jul 19, 2026

I know I've read the previous entry in this series ([book:Mickey 7|62030429]).

I know that was turned into a movie (haven't seen it).

I didn't remember all that much about it, other than it was a far-future set sci-fi and largely focused around the concept of 'An Expendable', i.e. a crew member whose job it was to die (doing all those jobs that machines can't do - think Spock's death in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan ) and then be 'downloaded' into a new replica body. Or, as the character of Mickey himself puts it: the metaphor of Theseus Ship.

(Or Triggers broom - he says he's always had the same broom but has changed the head twice and the shaft three times, or something similar).

This is the follow-up to that earlier novel, so it does require, maybe, a bit of background knowledge of the same. I'm not so sure, however, how *much* of that knowledge is needed - I reckon there are enough clues and context given to read this on its own, without having done so.

You will, however, be missing out on large parts of the background of the story, including just *why* Mickey has buried the anti-matter bomb where he has, and the first contact (for want of a better descriptor) with the Creepers of the planet on which this is set.

Kudos

Merissa (14116 KP) rated The Heart (Ice Dragons Hockey, #2) in Books

Dec 17, 2018

The Heart is the second book in the Ice Dragons Hockey series, and we reunite with Alex, aka Simba. Some time has passed since the end of The Code and the Dragons are on a losing streak. Alex calls for a meeting which goes on until early hours of the morning. On his way home, he and Ryan spot a car accident, and Alex is able to save both the baby and her father, although he is injured in the process. Jo is a firefighter on probation and the one who saves Alex.

This is a great story, with a humorous start in the kitchen between Jo and Alex. Jo has her own reasons for not wanting a relationship, the same as Alex does, but that doesn't stop them from being attracted to each other, and wanting more. There is an air of suspense with this book too as Jo has to deal with different situations all connected by a bomb. With additional stories involving Gooley, and the twins, there is definitely something here for everyone.

Very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow, this is a wonderful addition to the series. Definitely recommended by me, and I'm looking forward to Gooley's story which is coming next.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Kudos

AT (1676 KP) rated The Warehouse in Books

Mar 14, 2020 (Updated Mar 14, 2020)

The Warehouse

Rob Hart | 2019 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller

8.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

I didn't love The Warehouse. It was fine, but I hated the end. Not the actual ending, itself, but what was solved. First of all, I was concerned when I reached the halfway point in the book, and not much had happened, and it didn't seem like anyone was going to get to what they were searching for anytime soon. It's difficult to wrap up a novel with less than half of the book left when there is a big unknown lingering around. I think the book either could have stood to be even longer for better explanation, or at least not seem like it was being wrapped up quickly with random details. I felt like it was wrapped up with sudden major, unrelatable situations, just to put an end to the story. I guess it's personal preference. I just think I would've enjoyed it more had the ending had different details. I don't want to give a spoiler, so I don't want to say what the details were that I didn't love, but if you read it, you'll know what I mean. Maybe you'll like it, though. I still gave it a 7, because I don't think it deserves a bomb at 6. I just didn't love the end. The story, itself, was a smooth, easy read, at least. It was fine for me up until a certain point. Interesting environment, that's for sure.