Spark

If you're a fan of distopian novels, you'll be a fan of John Twelve Hawks. He puts together compelling characters and fast-paced plots. I read all three books in the Fourth Realm Trilogy and could barely put any of them down. I picked up Spark as soon as it was available and was not disappointed. While there are no parallel universes there's plenty of grit and near-reality to make you contemplate. I usually turn my finished books over to my local thrift shop or hand them over to friends but I've kept this one (and the Trilogy) because I'll be reading them again in the future.

I've read four books by him. He does his homework, the story is compelling, and interesting. His characters are well developed and engaging, I'm hooked from the beginning through to the end.

I just finished Spark and I have to say its a real good book. Its a departure from his prior trilogy but its intense, well written and yes, there seems to be a sequel in our future. I like JTH's writing because it seems to me that its in the first person. Its direct in your face and hold on because you're in for a wild ride. I liked this book but it may not be for everyone.

Easlily read, fluid and to begin with a new and interesting plot. Good drive to the story thru two thirds. Unfortunately the writer succumbs to the trivial plot twist towards the end, where the story goes all politically correct. There seems to be a lot more to this cold, mechanical assassin, and it would have suited the story to have explored this further. I get Twelve Hawks' agenda from his other books. This one has the potential to go even darker and more dystopic, but it falls short in that capacity.

Kind of reminded me of the accountant with Ben Affleck... good book, I enjoyed the traveler series more but love the subtext in this book. Stand up and say no.

The program that The Brethren/Tabula developed to track their employees, is now applied to the population at large. I don't think it will spoil anything to mention that the protagonist is a high-functioning autistic who needs photos on his handheld unit to recognize people's emotions. He also suffers from Cotard's syndrome (which I had never heard of), so he thinks is already dead. Definitely a help if you are a paid hit man. His employer though ups the paranoia factor. The Vast Machine is even vaster now, but it's not an ancient organization of people that want to control humanity by removing randomness. The operators of The Vast Machine ups the paranoia factor. I admit there may be a halo factor at work here. But if I choose to read a book vice get the sleep I need, that usually ends up in a five star review. So introduce more randomness into your life, get an untraceable cell phone, install tor.com on your computer, lock the doors, and read this book. Hopefully John Twelve Hawks will build a whole franchise around this guy, à la Preston and Child with Agent Pendergast.

No one delivers a hot read, suspense, and action better than John Twelve Hawks. He delivers all this in Spark. He also has produced an excellent and serious character study, while raising between the lines some questions that are worth thinking about. I'll always buy John Twelve Hawks books as soon as they come out. I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next one.

This unusual book features a fascinating assassin protagonist who thinks he is dead. Set in a post-apocalyptic near future, the story follows a Ludlum like intrigue plot that pits a global consortium of corporations, banks, governments, and data surveillance networks against ragtag rebels and ordinary folk. The writing is sparse and I'm not keen on the 'shell and spark' meme throughout, but very much worth the read.

Pretty good neck beard nerdiest, entertaining but lacks originality at some level but still good. I'm done, three more words, there.

Ging Schnell, war günstig. Bin zufällig auf das erste Buch einer Trilogie dieses Authors gestoßen und bin jetzt Fan. Mal schauen wie dieses Buch ist.

Great quality can’t wait to read it!

Il libro è bello o brutto? Dipende, se è un trilogia è molto bello, se è uno standalone è sbilanciato, infatti per per la storia inizia dopo il 75% del libro, tutto il resto è introduzione... Se è il primo volume (come credo) ci sta che l'introduzione, che comunque non è affatto pallosa, sia così lunga, altrimenti la storia non funziona. Spero di poter leggere gli altri :D

Excellent story line by a favourite author ! Well recommended !