REVIEW
The Coming Fire by Greg Mosse
The finale to this sci-fi climate and technology based dystopian trilogy told in six parts is dynamic, fast-paced, and action packed. As I read, I had the feeling of being a little bit lost as I was introduced to characters vaguely remembered from book one. It took me till the end of the book to realize I had only read the first but not the middle book of this series so that might explain why I felt as I did. In fact, I missed all “The Storm” and now wonder what the details I missed might have provided to flesh out the finale.
The book starts with the plane Alex is on crashing and then him trying to survive as his prisoner manages to escape. He then has to deal with renegade criminal types until rescue arrives. Next, we are given a bit of a recap of previous events in part two. This is followed by catching up with Mariam, Alex’s romantic partner plus more, who is near Aswan dam and in a dicey situation. Then a check to see how some people in Paris are doing and what is happening there. Just before the finale the reader is suddenly in North Africa with others who are dealing with issues of their own. And finally, all of the puzzle pieces come together with both good and bad characters finding themselves in the same place together and ready to do what they believe is required to achieve their personal goals for the future of the world. No matter which side ultimately wins…there will be losers.
I admit that I skimmed from time to time when technical, scientific, military, and climate specifics were shared but avidly read to find out what would happen to Alexandre, Mariam, Madame Poiret, Gloria & Emmeline, and a few others that I considered “good” while also wanting to see how “evil” Davide and his father Aurelién would fare.
This is a book I enjoyed but feel I would have enjoyed more if I had read book two too… SO…I highly encourage any who are drawn to this book to read all three books in order.
Thank you to Moonflower Publishing and the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4 Stars
BLURB
Greg Mosse’s debut novel The Coming Darkness, was chosen as The Times Thriller of the year and was Waterstones Thriller of the Month 2022. The second novel in this chilling dystopian trilogy, The Coming Storm received rave reviews and now, Mosse’s third novel, The Coming Fire sees the return of his anti-hero, French special agent Alex Lamarque to tackle his greatest challenge yet... Will prevent a future clouded by treachery and defeat his rivals before they bring the world to the brink of destruction?
FIRST CAME THE DARKNESSTHEN THE STORMNOW IT’S TIME TO FACE THE FIRE
Following a fighter jet crash in the Haitian hinterland, special agent Alex Lamarque is taken captive by a violent, drug-addled gang, the only authority in this lawless territory.
Unknown to Alex, his lover Mariam Jordane escaped the deadly flood of her home valley in the Pyrenees. But Mariam, along with Alex’s mother Gloria, is trapped on the wrong side of the world, facing a crescendo of dangers: the AI viruses crippling the digital state; the breakdown of law and order; and unexpected, terrifying news from a Paris observatory. Four thousand kilometres to the south, in the remote Sahara, the consequences of the cataclysmic events at the Aswan dam continue to reverberate throughout the world.
With the woman he loves presumed dead, his mother in danger, and no hope of rescue, Alex must tackle his greatest challenge yet: break free from the gang, uncover the truth, and finally face the perpetrators of the global conspiracy that’s seemingly hellbent on destroying the world. Can he –and the people he loves –escape the coming fire?
By 2037 the world’s been torn apart by rapidly evolving global circumstances, destructive technological advances, environmental degradation and viruses. Against this turbulent setting, French special agent Alex Lamarque is hunting terrorists attacking global systems causing widespread shutdown. A massive new talent in British fiction, Greg Mosse’s storytelling is complex and finely crafted, combining twisting plotlines, intelligent dialogue and ambiguous characters, all skilfully brought together in an epic climax. Never before has dystopian fiction been so chillingly real
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Theatre director, playwright and actor Greg Mosse is the founder and director of the Criterion New Writing programme at the Criterion Theatre in London, running workshops in script development to a diverse community of writers, actors and directors. His creative writing workshops are highly sought after at festivals at home and abroad. Since2015Greg has written, produced and stage 25 plays and musicals, in which he also created an array of traditional, VR and augmented reality story-telling experiences.
Greg set up both the Southbank Centre Creative Writing School-an open access program of evening classes delivering MA level workshops -and the University of Sussex MA in Creative Writing at West Dean College which he taught for 4 years.
Husband of international bestselling novelist Kate Mosse, Kate’s hit novel Labyrinth was inspired by a house that Greg and his mother bought together in the French medieval city of Carcassonne, where the couple and their children spent many happy summers. Following the success of Labyrinth, Greg created the innovative readers-and-writers website mosselabyrinth.co.uk. The first of its kind, Mosse Labyrinth was the world’s first online accessible 3D world, and the inspiration for Potter more-the popular Harry Potter website.
A multilinguist, Greg has lived and worked in Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Madrid and has worked as both an interpreter at a variety of international institutions and a teacher in the UK.Greg and Kate now live in Chichester, where Kate’s parents founded the Chichester Festival Theatre.
