I love fast-moving books that sweep you along with them, pulling you into moments of instant action and intractable situations, and ‘The Hitman and The Thief’ is just one of those books. I absolutely loved it. High velocity action, humorous dialogue, shady but fascinating characters, and of course, beautifully twisted plotlines that had a propensity to confound my initial theories, but in a delightfully refreshing way.
The story is set far, far into the future. Mankind has colonized the galaxy through interstellar travel, and trans-light propulsion systems are used to propel humans around the planets, and are accepted by people with the offhanded casualness as if they were taking a bus or train. As a reader, these distant worlds described in the book feel authentic, and are, to a certain extent analogous to countries we have on Earth. Fallop for instance, has distinct echoes of North Korea. Fallop’s people are kept isolated, denied access to the hyperweb, and are outsiders banned from entry. All information is filtered and sanitized, propaganda is rife, secret police are everywhere, and everyone has to believe that their mysterious leader Kalindra Dallin is great, merciful and all-seeing. The place is an unending landscape of paranoia, subjugation and fear. But despite knowing this, the Federation Council chose to look the other way as Fallop provides a service that no-one else wants to do: mining and foundry of metal ores into hypersteel and recycling of plastics into polymer beads. The planet is a dystopian nightmare, polluted and dirty, filled with disenchanted but terrified inhabitants, but its place in the Federation is maintained without incident and the contracts that flow from Federation planets make the rich friends of Kalindra, richer. An uncomfortable truth writ large.
Mr Dee’s writing connects at so many levels that, as a reader, you have to step back and admire the environmental sub-text, that although powerful, doesn’t detract from the central story of the hitman trying to get back into his boss’ good books after a hit goes wrong, and all the escapades with the thief that follows.
The technology in the book has been sympathetically developed. At its core, it is not too off from what we have today, but it’s still advanced enough to have a clear place within a world of the far, far future. Use of nanotech bio-trackers, self-heating food packs, electromagnetic conductive cars and pulse energy burst weapons are featured within the story, and from a scientific standpoint, aren’t that far away from being realized today. And that makes this book so authentic and easy to read as a sci-fi novel with a thrilling, but believable edge.
Reading this book, you’re immediately catapulted into worlds where criminals control planets, but legitimately run their operations through massive corporations that have a finger in every sector, not least in starship transportation. It is alluded to within the story, that terrible wars have been fought throughout the Federation, and therefore, perhaps, this vacuum of power on various planets enabled the criminal fraternity to take hold. It’s clear that everyone knows that Fliss Bauer, the woman who runs Gallix is a criminal, but there’s an tolerance of her by the Federation. Our hero, (or anti-hero depending your point of view) - Dan Jones is her Mr Fix-it. A corporate trouble-shooter, with the accent on shooter! He’s a ruggedly good-looking chap with a past (special forces-style airborne soldier), and thus, he’s tough, no-nonsense and logical. In the book, he’s a planner, a strategist and he solves problems. Hits don’t go wrong if he’s the one with his finger on the trigger.
When Fliss gives him a job to take out the illustrious leader of Fallop, Kalindra Dallin, who has shown up, unannounced on Gallix, he’s confident it’ll be just a straight in, shoot and out.
Except, it’s not. And that’s when the real fun and games kick in. A totally unexpected moment hurtles Dan’s life into a tornado of tumultuous events, each one blasting him into another situation where the hit proves ever more difficult to achieve. Hampered by a thief, a pretty woman named Lydia who is happy to hustle and blag her way out of scrapes, and even though things get dicey for Dan, much to his annoyance, she still doesn’t let up on her pilfering habits. Things get more complex for Dan, when Lydia suddenly gets interested in him. He’s in a steady relationship with the beautiful Hesta (Fliss’ second in command, and not a woman you trifle with), but this isn’t something Lydia is that bothered about. Needless to say, matters fire off with all parties, and scenes ignite that had me flying through the pages, reading as fast I could, until I came to the breath-taking denouement. A fabulous book and one that I highly recommend.
Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
-
Apple
-
Android
-
Windows Phone
-
Android
To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
![The Hitman and the Thief by [Richard Dee]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Avp7bAzhL._SY346_.jpg)
Follow the author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
|
Amazon Price
|
New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobooks, Unabridged
"Please retry"
|
£0.00
|
Free with your Audible trial | |
- This title and over 1 million more are available with Kindle Unlimited
-
Audiobook
£0.00 - 1 New from £7.99
Women's Prize for Fiction '21
Customers who read this book also read
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customer reviews
Top reviews from United Kingdom
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2021
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2020
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 September 2020
Verified Purchase