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The universe is empty. The stars are dead. The worlds are no more.
The last humans struggle to create a god to save them from the utter end. In the shadow of this colossus Max Ocel rescues a beautiful stranger from the clutches of an insane giant, and sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to wipe out mankind itself.
Invincible battleships bear down on the ancient city of Metacarpi. Assassins stalk the stone tower of his childhood. Alien creatures gather in the darkness. Max faces the realisation that he must sacrifice everything he holds dear to save humanity.
Thumb - the first volume in The Book of the Colossus, a gripping fast-paced science fantasy series of incredible imagination.
The last humans struggle to create a god to save them from the utter end. In the shadow of this colossus Max Ocel rescues a beautiful stranger from the clutches of an insane giant, and sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to wipe out mankind itself.
Invincible battleships bear down on the ancient city of Metacarpi. Assassins stalk the stone tower of his childhood. Alien creatures gather in the darkness. Max faces the realisation that he must sacrifice everything he holds dear to save humanity.
Thumb - the first volume in The Book of the Colossus, a gripping fast-paced science fantasy series of incredible imagination.
- GenresScience Fiction
372 pages, Paperback
First published April 22, 2013
300 people want to read
About the author
John Guy Collick
9 books14 followersJohn Guy Collick was born in Yorkshire, England. When he was 10 years old his grandfather gave him a copy of A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and from then on he was hooked on science fiction and fantasy. He worked for Scotland Yard before moving to Japan for ten years to lecture in literature and philosophy, teaching courses on Science Fiction and Futurology. Ragged Claws is his second novel. As well as writing SF he is the author of a book on Shakespeare, essays on literature and several screenplays.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 9, 2015
I read "Thumb" because I won a goodreads giveaway for "Ragged Claws", which is the following book to "Thumb" in the series "The Book of the Colossus".
Fantasy mixed with science fiction is not what I usually choose for reading. Normally I read hard science fiction, especulative science fiction or "space opera", and sometimes I venture myself with books that are a little out of these parameters. The authors I like the most are Asimov, Clarke and Pohl.
"Thumb" has nothing to do with it. It is completely different from anything I have read in the past. When I read the sinopsis and the first two paragrafs of the book, I remained quite impressed and felt eager to read more, to find out what was all that madness about. At first it seemed to me that "Thumb" was a book of pure fantasy, but then when I went forward in the story I realized that was not so accurate, I think it is a mixture of science fiction and fantasy in a meassure that fits very well for my taste.
The general idea of the book is very interesting and it was the first thing that caught me. In a universe in which all the stars have become extinct and the planets are gone, mankind has no other choice but to build a God, so that God can guide them towards a new universe full of life and energy. This idea may sound a little crazy at first, but it is developed over the course of the chapters and at the end I believe the result is very interesting and highly creative. One person could write a book itself only by developing this idea, but that is only a small part of the story in "Thumb", the book is about many other things. "Thumb" is an accumulation of many good ideas that the author had, gathered all together in one book.
In the next paragraph I develop some parts of the story. I think I don't mention anything that that can ruin the reading, but just in case I place them between sopiler tags:
Another of the strengths of "Thumb" are the characters. Every single character resulted very interesting to me. The personality and the character of each one of them are very well marked and I think the author worked them correctly while the book progressed. There are some characters that are very enigmatic and contributed a lot to make the book more enjoyable. Since it can not be otherwise, in parallel with the events described in the preceding paragraphs, there are stories of friendship, love and hate. More than once, I have read some passage from the book that turned me very emotional.
Finally, the book made me think about how we, the mankind, behaves towards ourselves and other living creatures. It made me consider the question of whether we deserved a second chance to be saved.
I didn't have any expectations about the book before reading it. To be honest, I was afraid that it didnt caught me because it's not the kind of reading that I'm used to, but I must confess that it turned to be a very enjoyable reading and I am very grateful for being chosen as a winner in the "Ragged Claws" giveaway, because otherwise I never would have come to read Thumb.
I gave it five stars and I strongly recomend it.
As a minor detail, I would like to add that the chapters's length are relatively short and they usually ends with some mystery or twist, causing the reader wanting to continue to the next one. I find that a very good thing, it reminded me of the way "Maze Runner" by James Dashner is written.
Fantasy mixed with science fiction is not what I usually choose for reading. Normally I read hard science fiction, especulative science fiction or "space opera", and sometimes I venture myself with books that are a little out of these parameters. The authors I like the most are Asimov, Clarke and Pohl.
"Thumb" has nothing to do with it. It is completely different from anything I have read in the past. When I read the sinopsis and the first two paragrafs of the book, I remained quite impressed and felt eager to read more, to find out what was all that madness about. At first it seemed to me that "Thumb" was a book of pure fantasy, but then when I went forward in the story I realized that was not so accurate, I think it is a mixture of science fiction and fantasy in a meassure that fits very well for my taste.
The general idea of the book is very interesting and it was the first thing that caught me. In a universe in which all the stars have become extinct and the planets are gone, mankind has no other choice but to build a God, so that God can guide them towards a new universe full of life and energy. This idea may sound a little crazy at first, but it is developed over the course of the chapters and at the end I believe the result is very interesting and highly creative. One person could write a book itself only by developing this idea, but that is only a small part of the story in "Thumb", the book is about many other things. "Thumb" is an accumulation of many good ideas that the author had, gathered all together in one book.
In the next paragraph I develop some parts of the story. I think I don't mention anything that that can ruin the reading, but just in case I place them between sopiler tags:
Another of the strengths of "Thumb" are the characters. Every single character resulted very interesting to me. The personality and the character of each one of them are very well marked and I think the author worked them correctly while the book progressed. There are some characters that are very enigmatic and contributed a lot to make the book more enjoyable. Since it can not be otherwise, in parallel with the events described in the preceding paragraphs, there are stories of friendship, love and hate. More than once, I have read some passage from the book that turned me very emotional.
Finally, the book made me think about how we, the mankind, behaves towards ourselves and other living creatures. It made me consider the question of whether we deserved a second chance to be saved.
I didn't have any expectations about the book before reading it. To be honest, I was afraid that it didnt caught me because it's not the kind of reading that I'm used to, but I must confess that it turned to be a very enjoyable reading and I am very grateful for being chosen as a winner in the "Ragged Claws" giveaway, because otherwise I never would have come to read Thumb.
I gave it five stars and I strongly recomend it.
As a minor detail, I would like to add that the chapters's length are relatively short and they usually ends with some mystery or twist, causing the reader wanting to continue to the next one. I find that a very good thing, it reminded me of the way "Maze Runner" by James Dashner is written.
May 27, 2013
Thumb is like nothing I’ve read before, and I absolutely loved it. If this is steampunk, I’m a convert, but if you are already a fan, don’t expect steam-powered horses and musketeers taking potshots at airships. The atmosphere is more like the original Star Trek series, complete with polystyrene scenery and murky colour, but instead of being set in a studio, the playground is an immense dull orange wasteland littered with waste building materials, stretching thousands and thousands of miles, punctuated by wormholes stretching back millions and millions of years. This immensity is broken by man-made monuments that soar high above the clouds, secured and protected by chains and gun installations of colossal proportions, but higher, bigger, more colossal than anything imaginable is God. Or rather God’s body. For this wasteland strewn with rubbish is the table on which God is slowly but surely being constructed.
Into this vastness, in the shadow of God’s left thumb, John Collick has set his handful of characters. Each is a brilliantly-drawn, real human being, Max and Abby are both tough and hard-bitten, funny and a bit gauche, with enough of the little child searching for a lost affection to be terribly endearing. Even when the story veers from Indiana Jones type adventure to surreal horror, it never loses its tenderness and humour. The not so endearing characters are true products of an immense, impersonal world, cold and relentless as machines.
In this flat singularity, rolled out in space like a giant workbench, there seems to be nothing but machines. And, of course, God. Ever-present, too colossal to see, the carcass of God fills the world, the atmosphere and beyond. After a million years of work, God is almost complete; all he needs is his mind. The construction of God’s mind though, is proving a far more hazardous enterprise than all the rest, and not everything in the universe is happy about the idea of God’s completion. Max and Abby find themselves at the centre of one of the most original concepts I have ever read in a fantasy story: protecting the creatures who each possess a part of God’s mind, from the villains, human and alien, who want to destroy them. To say any more would spoil the story.
This is a remarkably creative piece of writing, highly recommended to anyone who enjoys sci-fi/fantasy, steampunk, or 1960s TV space operas.
Into this vastness, in the shadow of God’s left thumb, John Collick has set his handful of characters. Each is a brilliantly-drawn, real human being, Max and Abby are both tough and hard-bitten, funny and a bit gauche, with enough of the little child searching for a lost affection to be terribly endearing. Even when the story veers from Indiana Jones type adventure to surreal horror, it never loses its tenderness and humour. The not so endearing characters are true products of an immense, impersonal world, cold and relentless as machines.
In this flat singularity, rolled out in space like a giant workbench, there seems to be nothing but machines. And, of course, God. Ever-present, too colossal to see, the carcass of God fills the world, the atmosphere and beyond. After a million years of work, God is almost complete; all he needs is his mind. The construction of God’s mind though, is proving a far more hazardous enterprise than all the rest, and not everything in the universe is happy about the idea of God’s completion. Max and Abby find themselves at the centre of one of the most original concepts I have ever read in a fantasy story: protecting the creatures who each possess a part of God’s mind, from the villains, human and alien, who want to destroy them. To say any more would spoil the story.
This is a remarkably creative piece of writing, highly recommended to anyone who enjoys sci-fi/fantasy, steampunk, or 1960s TV space operas.
August 10, 2016
I must admit that after a friend recommended me this book, I wasn't
that
thrilled to start reading it.
The first few sentences of the blurb made me think of a sci-fi/fantasy book with only metaphors about how we humans need our gods when there's no other way to save ourselves. (Not that I have something against religious fiction, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.)
I was happy when I realized that I was wrong and that the book wasn't like that... but as soon as I heaved a sigh of relief, I was left confused trying to figure out what to do with the giant, the wormholes and all the issues that the main character has with the people in his life.
At that point I just couldn't do anything more than read, because I needed to know what was going to happen next.
I don't want to spoil the story, so I just going to say that it was so much better than what I expected... There's a lot going on, not only in terms of the plot, but also in the interaction between the characters (I really liked Abby, by the way).
The funny thing is that, at the end, it left me thinking about two things: if we know in whom we trust and if we, as race, deserve to be saved and have a second chance.
(Completely random: I liked the detail about the pomegranate seeds)
The first few sentences of the blurb made me think of a sci-fi/fantasy book with only metaphors about how we humans need our gods when there's no other way to save ourselves. (Not that I have something against religious fiction, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.)
I was happy when I realized that I was wrong and that the book wasn't like that... but as soon as I heaved a sigh of relief, I was left confused trying to figure out what to do with the giant, the wormholes and all the issues that the main character has with the people in his life.
At that point I just couldn't do anything more than read, because I needed to know what was going to happen next.
I don't want to spoil the story, so I just going to say that it was so much better than what I expected... There's a lot going on, not only in terms of the plot, but also in the interaction between the characters (I really liked Abby, by the way).
The funny thing is that, at the end, it left me thinking about two things: if we know in whom we trust and if we, as race, deserve to be saved and have a second chance.
(Completely random: I liked the detail about the pomegranate seeds)
June 23, 2013
I was provided an ebook version of Thumb in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I've never been one to judge a book by it's cover, which I think is a good thing because there a many covers that don't turn me on. Like Thumb's cover. It is a representation of a scene in the book, but it doesn't draw me in or make me want to read it.
I was intrigued by the blurb though, so I thought I would give it a go. In the beginning I started to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. I started to think the book was going to be religious fiction disguised as science fiction - it is not. I was also initially put off by the long and repeated names of places and titles of some of the characters which is common to a lot of fantasy books.
But I persevered. I'm really glad I did. Honestly, at this moment I can't tell you exactly what did draw me in - actually maybe I can. I think it started for me when the giant got inside Max's head but that wasn't really enough for me, yet I kept reading anyway. I was about half way through the book when I realized I now needed to read it. I needed to know what was happening.
There is so much going on in this story! There is the relationship between Max and his distant and autocratic father. Max's unresolved issues over his mother's death when he was very young. The relationship between Max and his best friend Abbey that might just be more than friendship. The cruelty that men (not males in particular - man - humans - in general) can inflict on each other out of ignorance - even the smartest of men. Betrayal by those you trust most. And in the end, hope that dreams for the future are not completely shattered.
This is an epic fantasy and when I finished it I felt ever so satisfied, yet wanting for more. What else could you ask for?
I've never been one to judge a book by it's cover, which I think is a good thing because there a many covers that don't turn me on. Like Thumb's cover. It is a representation of a scene in the book, but it doesn't draw me in or make me want to read it.
I was intrigued by the blurb though, so I thought I would give it a go. In the beginning I started to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. I started to think the book was going to be religious fiction disguised as science fiction - it is not. I was also initially put off by the long and repeated names of places and titles of some of the characters which is common to a lot of fantasy books.
But I persevered. I'm really glad I did. Honestly, at this moment I can't tell you exactly what did draw me in - actually maybe I can. I think it started for me when the giant got inside Max's head but that wasn't really enough for me, yet I kept reading anyway. I was about half way through the book when I realized I now needed to read it. I needed to know what was happening.
There is so much going on in this story! There is the relationship between Max and his distant and autocratic father. Max's unresolved issues over his mother's death when he was very young. The relationship between Max and his best friend Abbey that might just be more than friendship. The cruelty that men (not males in particular - man - humans - in general) can inflict on each other out of ignorance - even the smartest of men. Betrayal by those you trust most. And in the end, hope that dreams for the future are not completely shattered.
This is an epic fantasy and when I finished it I felt ever so satisfied, yet wanting for more. What else could you ask for?
December 30, 2013
If God did not exist, mankind would have to invent him. Literally, in the case of the remarkable book Thumb, by John Guy Collick.
It is the far, far, far future. So far into the future that the universe is dying. Stars are burning out and hope is dead, buried and forgotten.
An essentially unchanged mankind, basic humanform bodyshape still intact with a recognizably human consciousness, will meet the heat death of the universe. They are resigned to it.
Until the discovery of a white hole of sorts that leads to a newer, more energetic universe that can still support life for billions of years more. There’s only one problem: the only way through the white hole is to be carried by God. And humanity doesn’t have one.
Enter the Black Rose, an alien race with appallingly advanced technology. This enigmatic race creates a singularity, a work floor on which humanity can build God. To create God in this energy-poor universe would be unthinkable. So the Black Rose drills timewells, which allow access to the deep past, filled with material and energy.
...read more at UndergroundBookReviews(dot)com
It is the far, far, far future. So far into the future that the universe is dying. Stars are burning out and hope is dead, buried and forgotten.
An essentially unchanged mankind, basic humanform bodyshape still intact with a recognizably human consciousness, will meet the heat death of the universe. They are resigned to it.
Until the discovery of a white hole of sorts that leads to a newer, more energetic universe that can still support life for billions of years more. There’s only one problem: the only way through the white hole is to be carried by God. And humanity doesn’t have one.
Enter the Black Rose, an alien race with appallingly advanced technology. This enigmatic race creates a singularity, a work floor on which humanity can build God. To create God in this energy-poor universe would be unthinkable. So the Black Rose drills timewells, which allow access to the deep past, filled with material and energy.
...read more at UndergroundBookReviews(dot)com
August 19, 2013
I honestly gave up on this book. I never do that, but I just couldn't get a handle on the story or the main characters. Perhaps it just isn't the book for me.
June 19, 2013
Firefly meets the end of the Universe, with just the slightest hint of Jason Bourne. A well written page turner with each chapter building to a crescendo that makes you want to continue reading.
Want to read
July 19, 2013This. Sounds. Awesome.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews