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Terror's Reach
Bale's novel follows Joe Clayton, an undercover policeman who's lost his job and family due to an assignment gone wrong. Now, under a new name, Joe takes a position as bodyguard to the wealthy Nasenko family. But he realizes his new employers have secrets of their own when their child is kidnapped--an act that proves only the beginning of a dangerous power play.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
Tom Bale
20 books251 followersTom Bale is the author of nine thrillers, published between 2006 and 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 30, 2018
This review is for the audio novel, “Terror’s Reach” by Tom Bale, narrated by Paul Painting.
Audio: 5 stars : This narrator is extremely talented at changing his voice timbre as required for each character, and he easily jumped from one character to another. Mr. Painting was impressive, as initially I was a little put off by his speaking voice and did not expect the powerhouse vocal range that he provided. Definitely a good choice for this read, the narrator was clear, concise and eloquent. His was a voice that I had to adapt to, but he certainly made the novel very easy on the ears!
Story: 2 stars : “Terror’s Reach” is an isolated island community, where the residents are of the extremely wealthy variety. When Joe Carter is assigned to protect the family of high profile resident Valentin Nasenko, he soon becomes the resident’s only hope for survival when a gang of ne’er-do ‘well’s attack.
Boooo. I am so disappointed with this novel, as I loved All Fall Down. Perhaps my expectations were too high after reading his other novels, but this one was a letdown. It was a painful struggle to finish this novel, and I don’t think my opinion would’ve differed if the novel had been in paper form as opposed to the audio version. There were far too many characters, and none of them were particularly likable (Cassie was particularly annoying- her “oh I married a rich man and now I’m unhappy” personality was grating) .
The characters of Joe Carter and Terry Fox spoke to me as a Canadian (great tributes to great Canadians….except Bale does not belong to my Great White North) but beyond that, I felt no attachment to any of the characters or even the ending. I listened to the end of the novel merely because my commute was long and there was nothing else on the radio.
The ending was anticlimactic and predictable, and I really did not take any personal investment in the plot. Essentially this novel was about a bunch of greedy, excessively rich people fighting for more money and power.
I have noticed among the GR community that most readers love some of Tom Bale and not all. I definitely can see why. I will re-read “All Fall Down” to remind myself why I loved him in the first place.
Audio: 5 stars : This narrator is extremely talented at changing his voice timbre as required for each character, and he easily jumped from one character to another. Mr. Painting was impressive, as initially I was a little put off by his speaking voice and did not expect the powerhouse vocal range that he provided. Definitely a good choice for this read, the narrator was clear, concise and eloquent. His was a voice that I had to adapt to, but he certainly made the novel very easy on the ears!
Story: 2 stars : “Terror’s Reach” is an isolated island community, where the residents are of the extremely wealthy variety. When Joe Carter is assigned to protect the family of high profile resident Valentin Nasenko, he soon becomes the resident’s only hope for survival when a gang of ne’er-do ‘well’s attack.
Boooo. I am so disappointed with this novel, as I loved All Fall Down. Perhaps my expectations were too high after reading his other novels, but this one was a letdown. It was a painful struggle to finish this novel, and I don’t think my opinion would’ve differed if the novel had been in paper form as opposed to the audio version. There were far too many characters, and none of them were particularly likable (Cassie was particularly annoying- her “oh I married a rich man and now I’m unhappy” personality was grating) .
The characters of Joe Carter and Terry Fox spoke to me as a Canadian (great tributes to great Canadians….except Bale does not belong to my Great White North) but beyond that, I felt no attachment to any of the characters or even the ending. I listened to the end of the novel merely because my commute was long and there was nothing else on the radio.
The ending was anticlimactic and predictable, and I really did not take any personal investment in the plot. Essentially this novel was about a bunch of greedy, excessively rich people fighting for more money and power.
I have noticed among the GR community that most readers love some of Tom Bale and not all. I definitely can see why. I will re-read “All Fall Down” to remind myself why I loved him in the first place.
August 4, 2023
I just can't get into this. It didn't hook me. I might come back to it, but the writing style doesn't do it justice.
February 6, 2017
3.5 stars
A Tom Bale thriller is always a reliable and entertaining diversion. While this book was not quite in the same league as the others I have read it was still a solid and enjoyable effort.
Joe Carter (an alias) is an ex undercover policeman who is essentially in hiding since his cover was blown and he has a target on his back. He now works providing security for the wife and children of a Russian oligarch on Terror's Reach a very exclusive island.
After an attempted kidnapping of the wife (Cassie) on the mainland, Joe returns to the island to determine if her husband, Valentin Nasenko, had anything to do with the attempt. But what he finds on the island is a whole lot more trouble. Thieves have rounded up the island's few inhabitants and are planning to rob them of their extensive valuables. But as usual, all is not as it seems and Joe is soon in a cat and mouse scenario as he learns of the far more complex and dangerous plan afoot. He is one man against many, so what can he do?
It got very twisty towards the end and quite suspenseful. I just thought the story was a bit 'busy' and the author was throwing in twists to add to the drama. He succeeded in that but I didn't think it was all necessary and the plot, for me at least, wasn't as strong as it could have been. Still pretty good though.
A Tom Bale thriller is always a reliable and entertaining diversion. While this book was not quite in the same league as the others I have read it was still a solid and enjoyable effort.
Joe Carter (an alias) is an ex undercover policeman who is essentially in hiding since his cover was blown and he has a target on his back. He now works providing security for the wife and children of a Russian oligarch on Terror's Reach a very exclusive island.
After an attempted kidnapping of the wife (Cassie) on the mainland, Joe returns to the island to determine if her husband, Valentin Nasenko, had anything to do with the attempt. But what he finds on the island is a whole lot more trouble. Thieves have rounded up the island's few inhabitants and are planning to rob them of their extensive valuables. But as usual, all is not as it seems and Joe is soon in a cat and mouse scenario as he learns of the far more complex and dangerous plan afoot. He is one man against many, so what can he do?
It got very twisty towards the end and quite suspenseful. I just thought the story was a bit 'busy' and the author was throwing in twists to add to the drama. He succeeded in that but I didn't think it was all necessary and the plot, for me at least, wasn't as strong as it could have been. Still pretty good though.
September 7, 2018
This is my second favorite from Tom Bale. I know a few reviewers had a few issues with this story, but I enjoyed the non stop action and craziness that went with this plot. The ending will surprise you, as always with his books, and nothing is as it seems - all the way up to the end. Great read!
September 21, 2024
Terror's Reach is a small island, just off the British south coast, connected by a road bridge to the mainland. Home to a Small community of very wealthy individuals; foreign millionaires, industrialists, and celebrities in lavish mansions. Joe Clayton is a bodyguard for the wife of one of those industrialists that live on the island. Hiding from his own past, Joe had grown close to the family he is protecting. However, on a day Joe's boss, Russian industrialist Valentin is hosting a possible lucrative business meeting between himself and an associate of a rival, who also lives on the island. While this meeting is occurring, an armed group cut communications off with the island and take all the residents hostage. Meanwhile, Joe is guarding Valentin’s wife and children while shopping where there’s an attempt to kidnap her and the children. Hiding them away, Joe sneaks back onto Terror’s Reach to discover the island is locked down by this armed group. Joe now is their only chance, but events turn even more deadly when a betrayal reveals itself.
This was ok. Enjoyable for the most part but lacked too much to make it good and had too much weighing it down. The initial plot is decent and even the twist just over halfway is a nice one, that was a bit unexpected. But the story lacked full fleshed out characters, compelling villains, or a decent amount of action.
The characters, on both sides, had enough to make them ‘serviceable’ for the story to go along, but it is the bare minimum to keep the characters at least slightly engaged in the plot. Joe, the main hero, is an ex-cop carrying the weight of his last case that cost him his career and family. Pretty much a bog-standard action hero backstory. But that’s it. Basically, a cliché turmoil personal history to highlight he's a loner with a painful past that’s scared to get close to people. And that’s about it. Is it serviceable? Yes, but I’d say no more than that. While, in an action movie sort of way, that can kind of work, or at least not rocking the boat.
I think the biggest waste was with the villains. One there’s too many. There's actually more kidnappers than hostages. With the initial gang, you have the leader Liam, Priya; a woman close to the secret backer of this raid and Turner whose a sort of second, plus another 3 or 4 members who are barely more than names. When the reveal/twist comes in, and the one who planned the raid is revealed and the other armed group appears that's another two at least added to the villain roster. But there's hardly anything to them other a basic sentence or trope description. Liam could have been interesting, but you get almost next to nothing about, who he is, how he knew the rest of the gang, why he was picked. Priya is the same. You don’t really how this woman became part of this group or why until late on the story. Far from being out of her depth, she has a murderous streak in her that seems very dark, yet we don’t learn anything of this and seems a strong plot thread that’s never given any further thought. Turner and the rest of the gang are barely explored. When you discover that spoiler Valentin and are the main villains, they are just slightly different versions of rich, greedy corrupt businessmen tropes, with one just being more ruthless than the other one.
The plot itself is fine. The initial attack and the twist are both done reasonably well, with clear motivations for both. Are there plot holes? Yes, but not enough to throw the story off track or bug the reader too much. There's a lot of plot threads that litter the book that fail to get any satisfactory conclusion, such as Priya’s dark killing sprees or rich kid Oliver Felton’s pyromania and his unhinged behaviour to women . These take up a lot of time and go nowhere.
When there’s action, it’s done well with a sense of tension through it. The only problem is that there isn’t enough of it. If the action were littered through the book more or if those scenes were bigger in scale, I think would have really given the book a needed jolt.
As an action/thriller, it does what it says and isn’t a chore to slog through. It’s enjoyable for what it is, but just don’t expect anything special or to leave an impression. More of a Taken 2 than a Taken.
This was ok. Enjoyable for the most part but lacked too much to make it good and had too much weighing it down. The initial plot is decent and even the twist just over halfway is a nice one, that was a bit unexpected. But the story lacked full fleshed out characters, compelling villains, or a decent amount of action.
The characters, on both sides, had enough to make them ‘serviceable’ for the story to go along, but it is the bare minimum to keep the characters at least slightly engaged in the plot. Joe, the main hero, is an ex-cop carrying the weight of his last case that cost him his career and family. Pretty much a bog-standard action hero backstory. But that’s it. Basically, a cliché turmoil personal history to highlight he's a loner with a painful past that’s scared to get close to people. And that’s about it. Is it serviceable? Yes, but I’d say no more than that. While, in an action movie sort of way, that can kind of work, or at least not rocking the boat.
I think the biggest waste was with the villains. One there’s too many. There's actually more kidnappers than hostages. With the initial gang, you have the leader Liam, Priya; a woman close to the secret backer of this raid and Turner whose a sort of second, plus another 3 or 4 members who are barely more than names. When the reveal/twist comes in, and the one who planned the raid is revealed and the other armed group appears that's another two at least added to the villain roster. But there's hardly anything to them other a basic sentence or trope description. Liam could have been interesting, but you get almost next to nothing about, who he is, how he knew the rest of the gang, why he was picked. Priya is the same. You don’t really how this woman became part of this group or why until late on the story. Far from being out of her depth, she has a murderous streak in her that seems very dark, yet we don’t learn anything of this and seems a strong plot thread that’s never given any further thought. Turner and the rest of the gang are barely explored. When you discover that spoiler Valentin and are the main villains, they are just slightly different versions of rich, greedy corrupt businessmen tropes, with one just being more ruthless than the other one.
The plot itself is fine. The initial attack and the twist are both done reasonably well, with clear motivations for both. Are there plot holes? Yes, but not enough to throw the story off track or bug the reader too much. There's a lot of plot threads that litter the book that fail to get any satisfactory conclusion, such as Priya’s dark killing sprees or rich kid Oliver Felton’s pyromania and his unhinged behaviour to women . These take up a lot of time and go nowhere.
When there’s action, it’s done well with a sense of tension through it. The only problem is that there isn’t enough of it. If the action were littered through the book more or if those scenes were bigger in scale, I think would have really given the book a needed jolt.
As an action/thriller, it does what it says and isn’t a chore to slog through. It’s enjoyable for what it is, but just don’t expect anything special or to leave an impression. More of a Taken 2 than a Taken.
September 11, 2019
My second Tom Bale novel the first being One Dark Night My review here(https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
And I found this very similar to the first.
Joe Clayton is a former undercover police detective who now works as a bodyguard to a wealthy Russian businessman They live on the fictitious isolated island, Terror's Reach which is also a millionaires’ paradise set in the south of England which comes under attack by a ruthless gang of thieves set on the heist of a lifetime.
The writing is first class and the plot is good if a little pedestrian at times the characters are well written and Bale creates a very real and tense atmosphere.
The book for me I found it was a bit " predictable "as some of the plot that Bale sets up so far in advance that Bale almost telegraphs what is about to take place.
The pace ramps up towards the end of the book and has some nice twist and turns.
My thinking reading the book was that Bale was in two minds about trying to set up the lead Joe Clayton in a new series as a Reacher type action character and this for me did spoil the book.
Overall a fairly good read worth your time and hard earned cash.
And I found this very similar to the first.
Joe Clayton is a former undercover police detective who now works as a bodyguard to a wealthy Russian businessman They live on the fictitious isolated island, Terror's Reach which is also a millionaires’ paradise set in the south of England which comes under attack by a ruthless gang of thieves set on the heist of a lifetime.
The writing is first class and the plot is good if a little pedestrian at times the characters are well written and Bale creates a very real and tense atmosphere.
The book for me I found it was a bit " predictable "as some of the plot that Bale sets up so far in advance that Bale almost telegraphs what is about to take place.
The pace ramps up towards the end of the book and has some nice twist and turns.
My thinking reading the book was that Bale was in two minds about trying to set up the lead Joe Clayton in a new series as a Reacher type action character and this for me did spoil the book.
Overall a fairly good read worth your time and hard earned cash.
May 28, 2020
This was a bit like Die Hard on an exclusive millionaire's island on the south coast of England. A violent gang of thieves arrives on the island in a military-style operation with the apparent intention of robbing the millionaires who live there, particularly business tycoons, Robert Felton and Valentin Nasenko. However, everything is not quite as it seems...
Joe Clayton, former undercover cop, and now bodyguard to Nasenko's wife, has to use all his experience to keep himself and the hostages alive.
There are lots of twists and betrayals along the way to the book's violent and explosive conclusion. Good fun but not brilliant. Oddly enough, I just didn't find the bad guys bad enough.
Joe Clayton, former undercover cop, and now bodyguard to Nasenko's wife, has to use all his experience to keep himself and the hostages alive.
There are lots of twists and betrayals along the way to the book's violent and explosive conclusion. Good fun but not brilliant. Oddly enough, I just didn't find the bad guys bad enough.
January 17, 2020
I'm not much into thrillers, and I only read this one because it was a gift, but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure I would really have classified it as a thriller, though. It was too technical, too precise to have me biting my nails and shiver in anticipation of the next page, which isn't a negative, just an observation. The plot worked very well for me, but there were a few details that tasted of either neglect, ignorance, or a bad editor, like for instance the fast lane being on the left and the highway exits on the right side. In England. Sorry, that seems pretty unlikely.
February 13, 2021
Amazing writing to keep you wondering, very curious , anxious just to the optimum level ...with so many surprises from the innumerable twists and turns , action all the way ...mix of people in the story some who are monsters and some humane and gentle ...I couldn’t stop reading it until the very end ..
July 23, 2022
This is a romping good tale which reminded me of Christopher Brookmyre's action thrillers. Nothing very taxing on the brain, just one exciting action scene after the next, the sort of book you would want to take on holiday or read for a break from heavier novels. Car chases, lots of hard men stalking other hard men in the shadows and things blowing up, excellent fun!
September 5, 2017
A very good story
Not the best novel I've read of toms, but nether or less a good story with a sound plot I felt. The best novel of toms I've read was all fall down, for that I gave 5 stars.
Not the best novel I've read of toms, but nether or less a good story with a sound plot I felt. The best novel of toms I've read was all fall down, for that I gave 5 stars.
August 22, 2025
Definitely not the best thriller I have ever read the story of Joe who works for Valentin, gets in the middle of their little war against each other and of course saves the day , but this story is just a bit of a drag
September 17, 2022
Ok but not one of his best.
Far fetched . The characters were ok but I was bored by them. . Sorry Tom need more interesting heroes
Far fetched . The characters were ok but I was bored by them. . Sorry Tom need more interesting heroes
January 1, 2023
This is the second of Tom Bales' books that I've read, he does the thriller genre well.
I'd recommend reading these as a sequence as there are a lot of plot references.
I'd recommend reading these as a sequence as there are a lot of plot references.
July 15, 2024
Lots of blood and gore in this one but well done.
July 6, 2024
Der Anfang fiel mir sehr schwer, da eigentlich nicht wirklich etwas Interessantes passierte. Die Kapitel aus der Sicht von Joe waren ja noch einigermaßen in Ordnung, aber der Rest … Für mich begann die Spannung dann erst während den Szenen in der Stadt, doch diese verflog leider auch wieder ziemlich schnell, als sie vorbei waren. Zwischendrin waren zwar immer wieder Stellen, die mir ganz gut gefielen, wie zum Beispiel als Joe zur Insel zurückkehren wollte und dann schwamm oder, wie schon erwähnt, die Szenen in der Stadt, doch leider war das meiste weiterhin uninteressant. Die Geschehnisse nach dem eigentlichen Showdown waren dann noch einmal ein bisschen spannend und das Ende gefiel mir auch gut, aber insgesamt fand ich besonders die Vorbereitung auf alles sehr langweilig. Auch zu den Figuren konnte ich keine besonders große Verbindung aufbauen, wenn dann zu Joe, Cassie, Jaden und Sofia. Vielleicht noch zu Angela, aber es waren für mich auch eben einfach zu viele Charaktere. Teilweise kamen sie dann zudem nicht wirklich oft vor, sagten nur ein paar Sätze und dann waren sie plötzlich tot.
June 19, 2014
NO SPOILERS
Fast paced and a bit different. Definitely recommending this one. A hero to fall for or want to be (depending on your preferences). I read this very quickly as it just gripped me and made me want to read and read.
Like many of these tough man takes on the world books it is remarkably far fetched but Bale manages to make you not care. The characters are fun and believable and you root for the good guys and the victims and love/hate the baddies as you are meant to.
A beautifully crafted book Mr Bale give me more more more......
Fast paced and a bit different. Definitely recommending this one. A hero to fall for or want to be (depending on your preferences). I read this very quickly as it just gripped me and made me want to read and read.
Like many of these tough man takes on the world books it is remarkably far fetched but Bale manages to make you not care. The characters are fun and believable and you root for the good guys and the victims and love/hate the baddies as you are meant to.
A beautifully crafted book Mr Bale give me more more more......
January 19, 2015
It took me a little while to get into this one but I really enjoyed it. This was a well-planned out plot and the characters were developed in a way in which to get you involved in the whole story.
I listened to the audiobook and, in spite of my previous thoughts about his work, Paul Panting made a great job of bringing this story to life.
If you liked this one, then try Seige or Dead Man's Gift by Simon Kernick, whose character Scope is along the lines of Joe Clayton with similar thrills along the way.
I listened to the audiobook and, in spite of my previous thoughts about his work, Paul Panting made a great job of bringing this story to life.
If you liked this one, then try Seige or Dead Man's Gift by Simon Kernick, whose character Scope is along the lines of Joe Clayton with similar thrills along the way.
November 4, 2011
It was an okay read. I found it very predictable and long aticipated the ending.
I found my mind wandering and then coming back, I took no pains to retrace what I had lost, easily moving on from where I "came back" to the story.
If you are looking for an easy read for a plane ride or maybe to even fill in a goodreads book challenge, this would prob fit your bill.
No brain challenge here.
I found my mind wandering and then coming back, I took no pains to retrace what I had lost, easily moving on from where I "came back" to the story.
If you are looking for an easy read for a plane ride or maybe to even fill in a goodreads book challenge, this would prob fit your bill.
No brain challenge here.
October 20, 2013
Ein ziemlich durchschnittlicher, mit Stereotypen vollgepackter Roman. Die Protagonisten sind ziemlich durchsichtig und schablonenhaft. Von Spannung kann man nicht wirklich sprechen. Der Schreibstilb ist ganz ok, die Kampfbeschreibungen ausgenommen, diese sind grauenhaft ausgeführt. Zwei Sterne, weil es dennoch schlechtere Romane gibt
November 25, 2015
A spine chilling tale of greed, betrayal and the terror it can bring. Innocent people caught up in a feud between 2 evil men who think of nothing or nobody but themselves and what they want. It took one flawed but decent man to try and upset their plans and protect the people he had grown to care about.
April 14, 2012
I enjoyed the story, though felt the idea of an isolated island being taken over by criminals did not reach it's full potential, and there were rarely any moments of real tension. I listened to this as an audiobook, and didn't think the narration did it justice, which may have lost it a star.
November 18, 2016
Buckle up!!!
Another great read from this superb author. Couldn't guess any of the plot at all, and I liked that it was unpredictable. Such good characters.....especially Joe. I really enjoyed this book and have just downloaded the next instalment.
Another great read from this superb author. Couldn't guess any of the plot at all, and I liked that it was unpredictable. Such good characters.....especially Joe. I really enjoyed this book and have just downloaded the next instalment.
July 24, 2012
Good stuff. An exciting page turn'er. Will read more of Tom's work.
August 3, 2012
I liked it better than his previous book but there were still a few too many double crosses at the end. Overkill
January 25, 2013
Really good story. Didn't want to put it down.
October 18, 2015
a very good thriller and held my attention, even if one has to accept, like a previous reviewer, that the plot may or may not be totally believable, it did overall keep the suspense going
April 5, 2017
This is a good book that won't tax the brain would be great for a holiday read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews