Engines of Extinction: Episode I – The End & The Means by Chris Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Chris Martin has spent a lot of time with Special Forces soldiers writing about their exploits, and that shows with this work of fiction. The primary character, written in a first person epistolary format, is a former special forces operator who has got in too deep and regrets it. The setting and character is completely believable, there is a life story narrative for a chunk of the story as the narrator tries to establish enough bona fides for us to believe the story he wishes to leak.

Being the first in a series the whole story isn’t played out, there are clearly more parts to come and this is an excellent hook to get us interested and paint the scene. Personally I found it engaging, there’s a lot of detail packed in and it worked.

Avoiding spoilers, but the thing I most enjoyed about it was a novel take on the adversary being faced by the protagonist narrator. There is a logical progression up from the loose collection of global terror players to a much scarier and more horrific enemy. Also the enemy has an advantage that is clear in effect while difficult to determine until it is too late. Definitely one to add to the reading list.

View all my reviews