Last Light and Afterlight by Alex Scarrow

Do you know what peak oil is? Me neither - until I read these books by Alex Scarrow. Author of the ubiquitous TimeRider series, in Last Light and its sequel Afterlight, Alex explores the serious question: what happens when the oil runs out?

In true Scarrow style, however, this is not a thesis on consumerism or a dissertation on the technological age. It is a fast-paced, thought-provoking roadmap through suspicion, fear and outright terror as society quickly breaks down.
Using a narrative tool to fast track the denouement of Last Light, Alex Scarrow imagines that all oil production is unexpectedly halted simultaneously around the world. Unlikely, granted; but once you set aside your healthy scepticism and run with it, the implications are shocking. Suddenly armed forces overseas may be stuck there with the enemy because we cannot bring them home; there is no electricity, running water, heating or power in our homes; stores quickly run out of food and water as the supply chain breaks down and hoarding begins (and think how little the UK produces in terms of agriculture etc today...); there is no fuel for private or public transportation so people stuck far from home must take chances and walk; law and order breaks down as the police and other key personnel rush to be with their loved ones. In short, in takes just one week for chaos to reign.

Alex Scarrow

In the midst of this, we follow the members of one family as they struggle survive and find one another in unimaginably difficult circumstances. And then there's the shadowy figures hunting one of them, because she may know who has masterminded the chain of events.

Scarrow, recognising the inherent challenges in moving the story on, deftly avoids them by setting the sequel Afterlight some years later. Not all the family members have survived but those who remain have joined up with other survivors and are now living on a defunct oil rig in the North Sea, isolated, self-sufficient and safe. But just as a mysterious, attractive foreigner shows up in suspicious circumstances, the leader of the group has an accident that renders her too ill to function, leaving a gap that the newest member is only too happy to fill. Meanwhile, some of the young adults in the group are convinced that, somewhere on the mainland, life as they only just remember it must have re-started and three of them set out to find a place where there is electricity, junk food and video games. Instead, they find a world of cannibalism, child soldiers and a ruthless dictator, running out of supplies, intent on invading their oil rig.

Although I feel that Alex Scarrow does chicken out somewhat by relocating the sequel a few years ahead - we never learn how the family met with the others in the group, let alone how they found and colonised an oil rig - I find his explanation (that the novel would be more logistical than narrative) reasonable. What disappointed me more was that we never learn who was behind the halt in oil production, what they hoped to achieve and what happened to them. What I did appreciate, however, was that - unlike some sequential novels - both books were independently outstanding. Reading them both in order obviously improved the reader experience but they could also stand alone.

In addition, the subjects touched on in the novels are not easily forgotten: from our dependence on oil, to whether what we value as a society are the right things, to the resilience of the human condition in the face of adversity and the desire of some elements of society to dominate at the expense of others.

In a sense, these books hold up a mirror to society and shows us the best and the worst of ourselves. Thought-provoking, insightful and well-written, these novels may also be prescient. We just have to hope they are not. For an easy read that intelligently uses a light touch to depict some key topical and eternal questions, you cannot do better than Alex Scarrow's Last Light and Afterlight.

Learn more about Alex Scarrow at http://www.scarrow.co.uk/ or follow him on twitter (@alexscarrow). I read these books on my kobo (www.kobobooks.com)

Shot of Tequila by J A Konrath

Set in the early 1990's, Shot of Tequila is a witty, self-effacing and fast-paced thriller full of twists and turns. Our hero, the eponymous Tequila Abernathy, is a former gymnast who works for the mob as a debt collector, which he justifies to himself because it enables him to pay for live-in care for his older sister who has Down's Syndrome.

But his world is turned upside down when he is accused of stealing $1,000,000 from his boss, Marty the Maniac. Tequila knows he's been framed and sets out to prove it. Dead bodies follow him around and as a result, as well as avoiding his former colleagues, he also needs to hide from the police, including our policewoman heroine, Jack (Jacqueline) Daniels.

Shot of Tequila  is the best form of escapist reading I know: it's so outlandish and outrageous that I can confidently sink into it, understanding from page one what kind of story I'm reading. The author clearly knows this and as a consequence, the book doesn't take itself too seriously; that would have been the death knell for this crime/humour/thriller genre. But the author's light touch and insightful sense of entertainment ensures that the reader is gripped but not weighed down by the novel.

I am a voracious reader and not particularly fascinated by any single genre: I flit from historical fiction to science fantasy and psychological thrillers. What draws me in is the writing style of the author. I adore authors who (apparently) effortlessly inhabit their characters and make me believe - and like - them, even when they are ostensibly unlikeable.

Could the book have explored the challenges of living with Down's Syndrome? Could it have lamented the lack of career opportunities for retired gymnasts? Could it have moralised about the risks of borrowing money from loan sharks?

Yes of course it could. But that was never the intent. One almost feels that the book was simply an avenue for the author to share his own effervescence with us.

And thank god he did.

Learn more about J A Konrath and his other novels at http://www.jakonrath.com/ or follow him on twitter @jakonrath. I read this book on my kobo (www.kobobooks.com)

Predictably Irrational

Have you ever wanted to better understand your colleagues, customers, family and friends? Or even - dare you admit it - yourself?

Subtitled "The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions", Predictably Irrational is a work by behavioural economics professor Dan Ariely. Despite his impressive and somewhat intimidating resume, which includes MIT and Princeton, Dan's writing style is chatty and easy to follow.

Andrew Lloyd Gordon

I was introduced to his theories during a training course at the IDM (Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing) in London by Andrew Lloyd Gordon.

And what a revelation! Although Dan Ariely's field is behavioural economics, there's a strong psychological resonance to his work as well.

Addressing questions like "why does recalling the ten commandments reduce our tendency to lie - even when we KNOW we can't get caught?" and "why do headaches persist after taking a cheap painkiller but disappear when we take an expensive one?", the book explores the idea that, in the modern age, we believe we are enlightened, rational beings in control of our own lives (Nietzsche and Richard Dawkins anyone?).

But are we? From choosing to pay £3+ for a cup of coffee to the obesity epidemic and choosing a romantic partner, we are consistently willing to overpay, underestimate and procrastinate. We fail to reconcile the impact of our emotional responses with our choices. Dan Ariely systematically analyses our decision-making process and reveals the pervasive and predictable irrationality that informs it.

Dan Ariely

Let me share one example of the kind of question that Dan examines: suppose you go around to your mother-in-law's house for dinner. You have a good time. At the end, you pull out your wallet and say "Pam, I had such a great evening. What do I owe you?" Silence falls. You open your wallet and say "Would $300 cover it?" No one says a word and your wife looks daggers at you.


Now let's rework that scenario: suppose you go around to your mother-in-law's house for dinner. You give her the $10 bottle of wine as you enter the house. She thanks you warmly and leads you inside.

Think about this on a rational level: why would your greater gift be offensive? Surely it shows a greater appreciation for her hosting of the evening? But we all know that it would not be perceived that way. And we all know this; ergo, it is predictably irrational.

Described by the Financial Times as "unmissable", this work, published by Harper Collins, is accessible but powerful and will make you look at your life and your choices in a new way. Please, please read it.



Learn more about Dan Ariely at www.danariely.com, the IDM at www.theidm.com and Andrew Lloyd Gordon at www.andrewlloydgordon.co.uk. Harper Collins can be found at www.harpercollins.co.uk and the Financial Times at www.ft.com

Review of Trafficked by Sophie Hayes

I really had to post a review of this book which is an unequalled example of triumph over adversity and of finding inspiration through tragedy.

By way of introduction, we learn that Sophie comes from a middle-class family. She has never felt good enough for her father, who was abusive to her mother, her brother and Sophie herself before her parents separated. She achieved good grades throughout school, although she opted not to go to university. Her first love was deported back to home country and while she dithers about whether or not to marry him so that he can return to England with her, fate takes the decision out of her hands as she is admitted to hospital and is unable even to let him know what has happened. When she recovers, the window of opportunity has passed.

She reconnects online with a good friend she met several years earlier who has since moved abroad. When he invites her to meet him in Paris, she does not hesitate and has a wonderful time. So, when he next invites her to meet him in Italy, she looks forward to it. But this is where her nightmare begins.

Shortly after her arrival in Italy, she is told that her friend owes thousands to drug lords and then she must "work off the debt". Forced into prostitution by someone she trusted, who now threatens her and her family back in England if she doesn't comply, she is psychologically tortured, mentally beaten and physically abused. Told that the police are in his pocket and with him monitoring her phone calls to her family, she has nowhere to turn.

I won't ruin the denouement by describing how she escapes - nor what happens next (let's just say her nightmare is not over even after she is reunited with her family). I do nonetheless want to reassure readers that her story ends on a high note that truly demonstrates that love can triumph over the odds and that the human spirit is more resilient than we can ever comprehend. Sophie is without question one of the strongest and the truly "good" people in this world; even if, to the end, you don't feel that she believes it.

And it is arguably this which makes the book so readable: even in the depths of despair, Sophie is undeniably engaging yet self-deprecating, introspective but realistic, managing to share the details of her ordeal in a way that touches your soul without dragging you down. A fine line to walk but achieved with a mixture of finesse and innocence that makes you want to cry when you think of everything she went through, and how she emerged a sensitive, caring young woman determined to improve the world for other people.

Learn more www.sophiehayesfoundation.org/

Review of Death Bed by Leigh Russell

I must say: I've been a bit of a fan of Leigh Russell for a few years and the blurb on Amazon really says it all: after she burst onto the crime thriller scene with Cut Short in 2009, which was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award for Best First Novel, Leigh Russell has gone from strength to strength. Her follow-up novel Road Closed was published in 2010 and also featured the policewoman heroine Geraldine Steel. Leigh Russell continued the series with Dead End in 2011 and Geraldine Steel became the number one bestelling female sleuth on Amazon Kindle.

As a result, I couldn't resist reviewing Death Bed, the fourth in the Geraldine Steel series, which was released recently, also published by No Exit Press.

With Geraldine still seemingly unlucky in love - there's still no man on the horizon - and her relationship with her sister still awkward after she learned she was adopted, she buckles down to work, hunting for an apparent serial killer with a gruesome fetish.

Set in London with scenic descriptions that evidence the painstaking research of a literary perfectionist, Death Bed starts with the abduction of a girl who's just been out for a night with her friends and is a little the worse for wear. So far, so good - especially when you think about the number of times you've been in that position yourself... and the man who offers to take her home shows her his police identity badge so surely she's safe to accept... But is he really a policeman? And even if he is, does that make him exempt from evil? And more significantly, is it possible to live forever?

An innovative and refreshing take on the psychological thriller, with a strong female heroine who is struggling - just like everyone else - to balance her work and her personal life and muddle through, knowing all the time that every decision she makes could mean life or death.







Learn more about Leigh Russell at www.leighrussell.co.uk or at  www.youtube.com/leighrussellauthor

Review of Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I recently read two books by Veronica Roth. The first is Divergent, the sequel of which is called Insurgent. I thoroughly enjoyed both these books and a third is planned for release in late 2013. They are fast-paced, full of dilemnas and decisions under pressure and feature twists and turns at almost every page while making sure the reader remains gripped. Reminiscent of The Hunger Games trilogy, this collection is surely also due to be a modern classic.


Divergent is set in a  future where everyone grows up as a member of one of five "factions" or communities:
Amity - where people value friendliness
Dauntless - where people value courage
Erudite - where people value knowledge
Candor - where people value honesty
Abnegation - where people value selflessness

Together, the senior members of these factions govern the whole society and viewed by its members as balancing each other out perfectly.

When teenagers finish school, they take an aptitude test to determine which faction most suits them and they then have to choose whether to stay in the faction where their parents are and where they have spent their whole life so far, or whether to move to a new faction, about which they know only stereotypes and generalisations.

The story follows Beatrice Prior, whose aptitude test reveals that she is actually a sixth "type" known as Divergent. This means that she has more than dominant trait and would fit in well in a number of factions. However, Divergents are feared because they could upset the natural balance of this faction-ed society, and are thrown outside the city walls when they are found. She is able to conceal her divergence and chooses to move from Abnegation to Dauntless, to the shock of her family, and changes her name to Triss.

The Dauntless initiation tests are harsh and push her to her mental and physical limits. Anyone who fails is out and becomes factionless, which is seen as a fate worse than death.

She also falls in love with Four, another Dauntless member with a mysterious past...

Just as she's starting to settle in to her new life, one of the factions stages a coup to take over the government of the whole society in the most horrific way, throwing Triss' personal loyalties and feelings into question as she struggles to work out who she can trust and what she should do.

Insurgent picks up the story where Divergent left off - literally - so I have to stress that you need to read these in order or I don't think you will be able to follow. A lot of the situational detail is provided in the first book, and the second assumes that you already know some of the terminology and does not explain it again. For this reason, I also recommend that you read them both in quick succession, so that the information is all fresh in your mind.

Key Questions

Utopian or Dystopian?

I am still struggling with the question of whether these books are intended to describe a dystopian or utopian future. On the one hand, a society where everyone has and knows their place may be a wonderful thing. There would - theoretically - be a perfect balance of inputs and outputs based on aptitude, ability and needs. On the other hand, that's almost a communist ideal and we have seen in real life that that doesn't work. I think the author's perspective is that this is dystopian because such a balance between different factions cannot be maintained - initially it seems that one egomaniacal faction leader has gone insane and that this is the cause of the war, but at the end of Insurgent (the second book) we learn that there may have been good reason.

Does the means justify the end?

During the course of these books, our heroine - and she is clearly a heroine, albeit a troubled one (but doesn't that just make her more interesting?!) - has to act in ways that she sometimes questions: she lies, she kills people, she hurts those who love her. But she always justifies it to herself and therefore, to us, the readers. Whether we accept her explanation or not is another matter.

What would I be?

As a fun aside, I gave a little thought to which faction I would likely end up in. I think I'd probably be Erudite - and I mean that in the best possible way. You'll have to read the books to know what means!

Which faction do you think you would be?