The long-awaited follow-up to global bestseller I AM PILGRIM – and a massive event publication from Transworld…
If, like Kane, you’re a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA, then boundaries have no meaning. Your function is to go in, do whatever is required, and get out again – by whatever means necessary. You know when to run, when to hide – and when to shoot.
But some places don’t play by the rules. Some places are too dangerous, even for a man of Kane’s experience. The badlands where the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan meet are such a place – a place where violence is the only way to survive.
Kane travels there to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West – but instead he meets an adversary who will take the world to the brink of extinction. A frightening, clever, vicious man with blood on his hands and vengeance in his heart…
Terry Hayes is the mastermind behind some of the biggest blockbuster films of our time, including Road Warrior/Mad Max 2 and Dead Calm starring Nicole Kidman. I Am Pilgrim, his debut novel, was an instant bestseller. There was always going to be a sequel. Now, a decade later, it has finally arrived.
The Year of the Locust is everything I Am Pilgrim was, and then some. Hayes is clearly a master of the genre: he knows how to deliver a gripping, page-turning thriller. The pacing is heart-pounding, with back-to-back edge-of-your-seat action the whole way through.
At the same time, Hayes gives readers plenty to invest in. The characters are fully formed, and there are unexpectedly tender, poignant moments that keep the stakes high and human – which in turn keeps readers gunning for a resolution.
The short chapters are a treat for all you ‘just one more’ readers out there. There’s a physicality to Hayes’ writing that gives away his screenwriting expertise. Punchy, action-driven scenes drive the narrative forward with a cinematic feel that makes the reading experience totally immersive. At over 600 pages long, The Year of the Locust is unquestionably a big read, but when you account for the breakneck speed at which Hayes’ prose will have you turning pages, the length is more than justified.
No spoilers here, but suffice to say the ending is as surprising and satisfying as you could hope for! With such an epic payoff, I think we can all agree to forgive Hayes for making us wait ten years.
If you’re one of the many readers who loved I Am Pilgrim, you’ve no doubt been hanging out for this hotly anticipated sequel… and you won’t be disappointed. If you missed the buzz when I Am Pilgrim was released, or perhaps it’s been languishing on your TBR pile, now is the perfect time to dive in!
How did this book ever get published?
It’s good for the first four hundred pages, or so, and then transforms into a totally different and wildly implausible tale of pure fantasy.
If you liked Terminator and Back to the Future then you will probably like the turn that this book takes. If you prefer your books based in reality then you will only laugh at how a decent story turns into a ridiculous work of science fiction.
Anybody who, quoting one of the characters, has ‘Crossed the Rubicon’, will understand.
How people are rating this book as five stars is beyond me, especially as they are doing so having read only a portion of the book. Those who have since finished it are, most likely, feeling very stupid by now.
Maybe they can travel back in time and change their review, albeit in an invisible submarine.
After 115 pages I was bored to tears.