The Electric Church
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'An exhilarating example of powerful and entertaining storytelling' --Guardian
'A tense, crackling thriller' --Deathray
'Somers packs his techno-thriller debut with enough gunplay and explosions to satisfy a Hollywood producer' --Publishers Weekly
'A tense, crackling thriller' --Deathray
'Somers packs his techno-thriller debut with enough gunplay and explosions to satisfy a Hollywood producer' --Publishers Weekly
Book Description
Welcome to the future, where everlasting life is just an upload away.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book starts with lots of pace and lots of depth, like a real page turner. The story reminded me of "Escape from New York". The characters are well defined, the description of New York very atmospheric. Unfortunately after around 1/3 of the book, the pace drops, the descriptions are repetitive. The finale is disappointing and short. It might work as a movie, but as a book it lacks depth and energy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Set in a near future dystopian New York and London, this high-energy story pits mid-level hitman Avery Cates against the two most powerful forces in the quasi-fascist world. The first of these is the System Security Force (SSF), the totally tricked-out elite troops who keep the peace in the name of the System of Federated Nations. (If is the "SS" in their name reminds you of another group of elite soldiers, it's probably intentional.) Of course, in this class-stratified future, keeping the peace pretty much means keeping the plebes in line and protecting the wealth and health of the upper crust. They don't pay too much attention to small fry like Cates until one of his hits goes bad, and he kills an undercover SSF officer.
Alas, if you kill an SSF officer, all bets are off, and you're lucky if you live 24 hours. As it happens, Cates is incredibly lucky -- instead of being stomped into a pink puddle, he is made an offer he can't refuse and is directed to kill a very high profile target. This brings him up against a sinister religion known as The Electric Church, whose membership is growing at an exponential rate. The reason for its growth may lie in the wild rumors of forced conversion and brainwashing, rumors that Cates' new assignment will prove or dispel.
Jam-packed with fast and furious cinematic action, the book's real distinguishing feature is its colorful cast of characters. Cates assembles a team to help him -- including a weedy acquaintance with mysterious mental abilities, a British techie on the lam, and strange twin sisters specializing in transportation -- and then leads them to London for the big showdown. It's crucial in these kind of stories (or movies) that the hero be likable and his henchmen interesting. Cates, as the hitman with a heart of, well, silver if not gold, is charismatic and flawed enough to carry the story (until the end, when he kind of loses it), and the cast of supporting characters have enough personality and surprises to keep one interested. The overall effect is kind of comic-booky (not in a bad way), and while it's not exactly groundbreaking or earth-shattering stuff, it should fit the bill for those looking for an action-packed futuristic shoot-em-up.
Alas, if you kill an SSF officer, all bets are off, and you're lucky if you live 24 hours. As it happens, Cates is incredibly lucky -- instead of being stomped into a pink puddle, he is made an offer he can't refuse and is directed to kill a very high profile target. This brings him up against a sinister religion known as The Electric Church, whose membership is growing at an exponential rate. The reason for its growth may lie in the wild rumors of forced conversion and brainwashing, rumors that Cates' new assignment will prove or dispel.
Jam-packed with fast and furious cinematic action, the book's real distinguishing feature is its colorful cast of characters. Cates assembles a team to help him -- including a weedy acquaintance with mysterious mental abilities, a British techie on the lam, and strange twin sisters specializing in transportation -- and then leads them to London for the big showdown. It's crucial in these kind of stories (or movies) that the hero be likable and his henchmen interesting. Cates, as the hitman with a heart of, well, silver if not gold, is charismatic and flawed enough to carry the story (until the end, when he kind of loses it), and the cast of supporting characters have enough personality and surprises to keep one interested. The overall effect is kind of comic-booky (not in a bad way), and while it's not exactly groundbreaking or earth-shattering stuff, it should fit the bill for those looking for an action-packed futuristic shoot-em-up.
Format:Paperback
I won't rehash what others have written except to point out that in the last third of the book there seems to be a lot of repetition.
I also note that in the copy I have, each chapter name has a binary number beneath.
My take on this (and I have not figured it out) is that you can work you way through this book in the same way as one of those old multi choice adventure books (The Warlock of Firetop mountain being the first of many).
As the text repeats in a very blatant way towards the end of the book, I think that if you crack the binary code, you can chart a path through the book.
I've googled this and got nowhere, but it is worth bearing in mind if you have more time than me.
I also note that in the copy I have, each chapter name has a binary number beneath.
My take on this (and I have not figured it out) is that you can work you way through this book in the same way as one of those old multi choice adventure books (The Warlock of Firetop mountain being the first of many).
As the text repeats in a very blatant way towards the end of the book, I think that if you crack the binary code, you can chart a path through the book.
I've googled this and got nowhere, but it is worth bearing in mind if you have more time than me.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fast-paced SF action thriller
Avery Cates is lying low after a botched hit resulted in a dead member of the System Security Force (brutal cops who act with impunity). Read more
Published 15 months ago by quippe
Noir Ocean's Eleven
Avery Cates is a Gunner, a survivor living in Old New York. At age twenty seven he is one of the oldest living on the streets, hiding from the System Pigs and trying to make a... Read more
Published 21 months ago by A. L. Rutter
Excelent, action action and more action
Ok, so its not a master peace of writen art, but its a absolutly excelent book. I loved it, I rushed out to get the sequal and I look forward to the Eternal Prison making it to... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2009 by Haydies
It's okay to skip church
The Electric Church mixes cinematic action sequences with a fast-paced plot and a no-frills, utilitarian writing style - and here lies its Achilles' heel in my view. Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2009 by Sanjay Gohil
The Electric Church
Still a relatively fresh-faced arrival on the fiction scene, Jeff Somers brings a brilliantly competent slice of sci-fi action in the form of "The Electric Church", in which the... Read more
Published on 5 July 2008 by David Brookes
Fast Paced Sci-Fi
I picked this one up on impulse after reading the blurb, I started reading Sunday Afternoon and put it down again Monday Evening, after desperately squeezing in time to read it... Read more
Published on 14 April 2008 by C. Hodder
Excellent - please film this !
I did wonder if Dirk Gently inspired this story with its reference to electric monks but in fact this comes across as Bladerunner without the worrying about the cyborgs being... Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2007 by A. J. Sudworth
Somers breaks through
The Electric Church - Jeff Somers
To be honest when I originally read the back of this I was wondering what I was letting myself in for. Read more
To be honest when I originally read the back of this I was wondering what I was letting myself in for. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2007 by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
An Electric Book
I loved this book. I simply devoured it. Normally a very slow reader, I found myself taking every little opportunity to snatch a couple of pages. I'm now missing it. Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2007 by Si
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
