Published by Orion,
11 October 2012.
ISBN: 978-1409135999 (PB)
Bill Moore works for
Shore Realtry. He has a good job selling condos in the Florida
Keys. He is happily married
to Stephanie, who is successful in her own right. They have a beautiful home, but Bill has a
five-year plan to achieve super success, and the five-year plan is now in its
sixth year. Bill decides to be pro-active and arranges a meeting with his
immediate boss Tony Thompson to jig things up a bit. Things go reasonably well.
Returning to his office Bill finds a card on his desk, black
with white lettering, just one word printed ‘Modified’. He mentions it to his
colleague Karen who says it’s probably an advertising gimmick. He drops it in the bin and doesn’t give it a
second thought. But odd things begin to happen to him, at first he manages to
deal with the fall-out, but slowly Bill’s good life begins to spiral out of
control.
Unbeknown to Bill there are two fractions at work and
neither are initially aware of the other, but Bill is caught in the
cross-fire. Eventually, with people
dying around him, in order to survive he has to fight back.
This is a terrifying story, and with the technology
available today quite possibly happening, hopefully, to a lesser degree. I do not want to spoil the convoluted,
fascinating plot, but sufficient to say, it is a real heart in the mouth page
turner.
The story is narrated in the first person by Bill Moore, but
interspersed by the third person narrative of a man bent on revenge. Of course there is a moral, Bill was
struggling to climb the ladder of success, earn more money, and be ‘someone’ in
his chosen way of life. But now an
unknown hand is trying to take from him all that he had. Can Bill Moore stem
the tidal wave of events that is engulfing him? Can he save the life he has
built up with Steph, of which he now realises the value – but is it too late?
Scary but compulsive reading, this book is highly
recommended.
-----
Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes
Michael Marshall was born in 1965 in Cheshire, UK.
Michael spent much of his early life abroad, growing up in the United States, South
Africa and Australia
before returning to England.
He read Philosophy and Social and Political Science at King’s College, Cambridge. During his
university days, he became heavily involved with the famous Cambridge
Footlights as writer and performer, including participating in international
tours. Before becoming a full-time author, Michael co-wrote and performed two
award-winning series of BBC Radio 4’s cult comedy And Now, In Colour. Since the first of his 10 novels was published
in 1994, he has earned widespread recognition, huge sales and international
accolades. His fourth novel The Straw Men
became a massive international bestseller, featuring on the Sunday Times, New
York Times and European bestseller lists. Further titles released under Michael
Marshall name include The Lonely Dead,
Blood of Angels and The Intruders (currently in development
with BBC Worldwide in LA).
He is also an accomplished and
award-winning short story author, the only person ever to win the British
Fantasy Award for short story four times. He has won many other awards,
including the August Derleth and Philip K. Dick for Only Forward, six British Fantasy Awards, the International Horror
Guild Award, and the Prix Morane in France. Travelling frequently
between Los Angeles and London
to work on screenwriting projects, Michael has homes in Brighton,
England, and Santa Cruz, California.
He lives with his wife, Paula — a medical herbalist — and their seven year old
son.
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