Nomad

If, like me, you've read a lot of Andy McNabb / Chris Ryan etc. then this will fall WAY short of your expectations. It's like a cos-playing imitation. I think it suffers from too much action in the sense that there's not really anything else, there's limited back-story, limited character development or emotional value. That flatness starts to become tiresome. It hits all the notes that a standard thriller should, but it at no point goes above and beyond. I won't be bothering with this series or this author again.

Many years ago a friend showed me a short story he had written. It was based in a West Midlands town and was about gangsters and, in particular, the drugs trade. Sadly, because my friend had no experience of drug dealing or gangland culture, it was a less than convincing read.I was reminded of his story when I read Nomad. This, too, is a story that totally lacks authenticity. In addition, page after page is filled with tired similes, overworked metaphors and, generally, sloppy writing. I suspected, as soon as I glanced at the first sentence - ... still the heat fell like hammers - that I wasn’t going to like this book. I was right and am unlikely to finish this comic book ‘thriller’. Nomad is a very long way from I Am Pilgrim in terms of its writing, plot, authenticity and characterisation. Don’t waste your money.

As much as I have enjoyed some of the Authors other work, this was a big letdown.Spoiler Alert :-Mission goes wrong - checkSole Survivor - checkTurns himself in - checkHis story isn’t believed - checkEscapes from custody to prove his innocence - checkA lost list of cliches I’m afraid and I might have added more. I don’t find him particularly likeable as he’s just another hero who, despite protests to the contrary, finds he can actually do anything and so any limitations the author allegedly bestows upon our hero, are soon exposed as falsehoods.I’m glad this was so cheap as despite really looking forward to the book, I just couldn’t find much to enjoy in it.Pretty forgettable I’m sorry to say. However, if you enjoyed it and thought it was good then that’s an opinion you are rightly entitled to.Just not for me.

When I originally looked at purchasing this book, it was classified in the same league as "I am Pilgrim". Anyone who's read I am Pilgrim will know what an excellent book that was.Nomad duly arrived with a sticker saying "For fans of I am Pilgrim".Sadly Nomad is no "I am Pilgrim".Whilst NOMAD is not a bad book it was well below my expectations.I will not reveal and ruin the plot here other than to say our hero is classified as a "techie" called Marc. Now Marc no matter how hard the baddies try simply cannot be killed. We have special Op's agents trained to kill, however, computer programmer Marc seems to be able to evade all and even get the better of our highly trained soldiers who are born, bread and live to kill !!!. It's called suspension of belief, I simply could not believe what I was reading, therefore, stopped enjoying the book. I guess I was comparing it too much with "I am Pilgrim".In all the book's an OK read but not much more. Sadly I had sky high expectations which were not met.

Nomad is a great spy thriller.The first thing I liked was that Marc Dane felt like a very real character, not just an unstoppable Bond or Bourne but a real person with flaws and limits. The author does a great job toeing the line between impossible situations and believable escapes. The plot moves quickly and the switches between characters worked really well.Overall a great read and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series!