The Road to Hell

by Peter Cawdron

How do you solve a murder when the victim comes back to life with no memory of recent events?

In the 22nd century, America struggles to rebuild after the second civil war. Democracy has been suspended while the reconstruction effort lifts the country out of the ruins of conflict. America's fate lies in the hands of a genetically-engineered soldier with the ability to move through time.

The Road to Hell deals with a futuristic world and the advent of limited time travel. It explores social issues such as the nature of trust and the conflict between loyalty and honesty.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 24, 2011

Reviews

[Red Tide]

Rating: minus 5 on a scale of minus 5 to plus 5.

This title is up for rewrite. I only scribbled notes to myself before the Goodreads angry comment madness crested. Since arrogant morons thought me an Intellectual based on scribbles, these rewrites should drive them mad.

Before I continue, I must visit YouTube as a reward for the effort. This next was made possible by Doctor Who/They Break My Heart - RecklessGirl100, Maggie Mae Fish, LuckyBlackCat, What a Day, Red Glasgow, ScaredKetchup, The Stitchery, Sanna Vaara, Munecat, UATV English, New Enlightenment with Ashley, Brittany Page, Sailing Melody, Cindy's Villa, Ship Happens, Ben and Emily, Naughty Nana DUZ, Novara Media, Reese Waters, Agro Squirrel Narrates, Welcome to Ukraine, Owen Jones, RevolutionarythOt, Blossoms and Greens by Chloe, Hoots, Weirdo Book Club, LydLoves, Ukraine Calling, Silicon Curtain, Kyiv Independent, CTV News, What Vivi did next, Kady 2.0, With Cindy, Reads with Rachel, Ellie Dashwood, Gary's Economics, The Gaze, NFKRZ, Russian Media Monitor, Mynameismarines, Kelly Loves Physics and History, The Great War, Ukraine Matters, Verilybitchie, Skip Intro, Answer in Progress, Ash L G, The Ritual Kitchen with Laura May, Slaggy Book Club, Times Radio, Gingers are Black, UNTV, Peter Stefanovic, Ukraine Calling, Mandy, Bobbing Along, Ula and Josh, Books N Cats, Think Ukraine, Geo Girl, The Closet Historian, Kirkpattiecake, The Cosy Creative, Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, Terrible Writing Advice, May, RFU News, Planarwalker, Gutsick Gibbon, Depressed Russian, Miranda Mills, Jen the Librarian, Scallydandling About the Books, Shaun, Dahkota Tyler, Arvin Ash, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, The Cold War, Benjamin's Bookclub, Fit 2B Read, Planet D, Russian Dude, Lily Simpson, Combat Veteran Reacts, Royal Institution, Malinda, Springtime for Elon. Dr Moiya McTier, Queen Penguin, Sabine Hossenfelder, CBC News, Dr Ben Miles, Isaac Arthur, Philosophy Tube, Narrowboat Pirate, Eugenia from Ukraine, Sort of Interesting, British Museum, Operator Starsky, Cold Fusion, Gemma Dyer, Haropones, Bernadette Banner, Foster on the Spectrum, Unlearning Economics, Grungeon Master, Dungeons and Discourse, Jess of the Shire, Professor Tim Wilson, Abbie Emmons, Democratic Penguin Republic, Amanda the Jedi, Hej Sokoly, Keffals, Artur Rehi, Ana Fern, Just in Time Worldbuilding, Words in Time, FAFO, Simply Sitcoms, It ain't half hot mum, Desta Reacts, Nicole Chilaka-Ukpo, Writing with Jenna Moreci, Natasha's Adventures, Dig it with Raven, Gingers are Black, TallGirl6234, Institute of Art and Ideas.

I watched Bodkin, Carol and the End of the World, Kim's Convenience and Landscape with Invisible Hand. Not all endings are happy or even pleasant, they simply are.

After one idiot who whilst insulting a wonderful essayist, complained to her that I list trans female creators, I conceded that a Trigger Warning is warranted. To that idiot and his ilk, among the channels which I list there are hobbyist, astrophysicist, bi, redhaired, anarchist, trans, Irish, older, primatologist, gay, activist, comedian, military historian, asexual, communist, German, gamer, veteran, queer, writer, sewist, intersex, boater, Kenyan, model, WOC, married, tall and other female creators who are referred to as Women by the sane. Not content with that travesty, I include channels with fashion historian, other LGBTQ+, Scottish, economist, ginger, anarchist, other BIPOC, philosopher, science educator, Danish, modeller, fiction critic, anthropologist, Australian, artist, neurodivergent, satirist, anthropologist, futurist and other creators who are thought of as Human Beings by the sane. If the voices are not stilled, seek emergency therapy, develop a hobby (not to include assaulting women which is mental illness) or our Catholic exorcism. Writing these can be tedious but I remind myself of an early days interview interview with a middle aged teacher, who organised and led her civilian anti-tank team bunting Russian armour North of Kyiv. With that example how can I not continue. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the Heroes. Crimea is Ukraine.

The first problem is the world building. There is no history for this society and the universe seems to consist of a single city surrounded by Wild Lands. I had no inkling by book's end if this was Earth in the far future, some colony planet or what. The city provides goods/services and the Outlands are home to those who choose to live without either. That is not a background universe.

The vast majority are designated middle class, accepting the possibility of murder by police squads for wrong thoughts or complaints about government services.

The wild lands are a dystopian Hollywood setting with few goods, no services, no governing bodies. Grinding poverty is described as a choice by misanthropes and the criminally inclined, who combined are a small minority of the population.

The internal politics rest on the simplistic portrayal of a democracy whose policies depend on the approval of the middle class masses, yet the ruling class are described as an openly fascistic oligarchy. This government can be toppled by a news story explaining to the citizenry that the elections are not fair? This news will be broadcast by Oligarchic controlled news media? This is a society with no independent news sources and to organize a protest merits a death sentence.

People who are content to submit to a cabal, whose legitimacy rests on naked force, do not spontaneously rise up. A revolt is an isolated battle in response to an event that finally tips the balance between fear of reprisal and rage against an intolerable present. Revolutions are different in that they are a war. They require time to create popular support for an ideology which seems to promise desired changes, develop organization, planning, logistics and cadres.

The only decently written characters were a noire detective and his secretary. They disappeared from the story within a chapter or two, apparently their only purpose was as exposition dump. Their mystery case also disappeared. The few citizen characters are the murder squads, whose actions are treated as normal modern policing. They do not express any doubts towards their bloody work and remind me of proud SS troopers or US ICE agents.

The middle class are the Neoliberal myth that the working classes do not exist. There are only those who choose poverty and the somewhat more comfortable majority.

The major characters are the remorseful, dying senator, the conscience lacking murder squad leader and the widow of a murder squad trooper.

The senator is the model "good" oligarch. The murder squad leader is "just following orders". The widow's non-reaction demonstrates that even psychopathic policemen have loved ones.. All are derived from bad Hollywood dystopian scripts.

What is most offensive is that this empty, disjointed book was written specifically for a US audience by a writer who has done much better work in the past. It speaks to US publishing standards (Amazon is a publisher) and their contempt for US readers.

I need watch YouTube again before continuing. This section is brought to you by Doctor Who/Be Kind - Reality Genre Studios, AllShorts, Vidya Mitra, Mia Mulder, Ukraine Today, The Dark Side of Russia, Sailing Melody, Liz Miele, Dark Brandon, Some More News, Mercado Media, Christian Keller, Sophie from Mars, Sumatha Reads, Owen Jones, Ember Green, Mrs Betty Bowers, Kyiv Post, Think that Through, Verilybitchie, Steve Shives, Book Furnace, Think Ukraine, Certifiably Ingame, Deerstalker Pictures, Kazachka, Mia Asano, Squire, Bookpilled, Authors Behaving Badly, Roomies Digest, Raw News and Politics, Tale Foundry, The Green Wrapper, Tank Museum, ConeOfArc, Dan Davis History, Fall of Civilisations, Historia Civilis, Ben and Emily, Dominic Noble, Angela Collier, Bookish Realm, Tanya Fiona, Cruising on the Border, NFKRZ, Natasha's Adventures, Stanzi, Mandy, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Anna from Ukraine, The Katie Halper Show, Ivie Anita, Gabi Belle, Ro Ramdin, ATP Geopolitics, MechWest Show, Bobbing Along, UNTV, The Juice Media, Honest Ads, TIKHistory, physicist Dr Fatima, Lady Knight the Brave, Sanctioned Ivan, The Mindful Narrowboat, Subha Reads, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, Sarah Millican, Invicta, Outlaw Bookseller, AuroraTrek, DUST, No Justice, Lily Alexandre, Star Wreck, Lynn Saga, Petrik Leo, Leeja Miller, Vlad Vexler, DW News, Tara Mooknee, AllShorts, Emma Thorne, Amie's Literary Empire, iWriterly, The Bands HM Royal Marines, EarleWrites, Bobbing Along, Omeleto, Inside Russia, Engineering Knits, The Closet Historian, Mynameismarines, With Cindy, The Hat Historian, Karolina Zebrowska, Lisa McLeod, The How and Why of Mathematics, Morgan Donner, Brigitte Empire, 3rd regiment SOF, Willow Talks Books, Songs and other Magic, The Kavernacle, Peter Stefanovic, Kat Abughazaleh, Patrick(H)Willem, Wizards and Warriors, Connor Stompanato, Hej Sokoly, World Anvil Worldbuilding, Alina Gingertail, Whitney Avalon, Liz Webster, Novara Media, Parkrose Permaculture, Eileen, HBomberGuy, The Confused Adipose, Books and Things, Quinn's Ideas, Media Death Cult, Jill Bearup, J. Draper, Veritas et Caritas, Kings and Generals.

I admit that for the first time, I watch my fiction. The streaming services or YouTube channels offer better science fiction than the low end print.

I am happy that I finally watched YouTube three years or so ago. I was actually looking for fan film and commentary. The hobbyist, film criticism and essayist channels were pleasant surprises but the book channels were love at first sight. 😍 The creators foster communities of thoughtful readers in love with all of the bookish experience. I promise that the communities hosted are opposite to whatever Goodreads have become.

Consider treating this as a potentially dangerous site. 🤔

Goodreads discourse does not exist. As example, three years ago I wrote a very short negative review of Powers of the Earth, an unremarkable, poorly written salute to the sociopathic January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran. He self-described as Libertarian and advocate for the return of chattel slavery, a supporter of Putin, US veteran, employee of an unnamed US agency. He would be today, a perfect MAGA moron. He and six other freedom lovers spent almost a year writing insane comments demanding a response. These patriots were incensed by my communist opinion that glorifying the overthrow of the US government with the aid of the military in order that a rich twat not pay inheritance taxes, was dangerous and unhealthy. My failure to engage was labelled narcissism. I hate irony.

Finally Claes Rees Jr aka cgr710 now ka Clayton R Jesse Jr wrote a comment declaring that They had "won" (?). They had launched a flood of vile sexual and racist comments against channels which I mentioned, which continues still. They failed to impress the German particle physicist, the Oxford astrophysicist, the book channel creator, the film critic and the many other female creators. Despite that failure, the world's overabundance of ugliness was increased and They did broadcast a more accurate portrait than ever I could of the snowflake (twisted, vicious US man-child) to a multinational audience. This was a Victory. Goodreads discourse, Yay ?? USA, Yay ??

My YouTube picks of the moment.
AllShorts, Art by Annamarie, Alex Fleev, The Mindful Narrowboat, Maggie Mae Fish, Lady of the Library, Supertanskiii, History of Everything, The Great War, Real Time History, Cambrian Chronicles, Amazing Lucas, Dark Brandon, Mom on the Spectrum, Belinda Strnad, FAFO, Red Viburnam Song, Munecat, Verilybitchie, Ben and Emily, The Juice Media, Yoyomi, Books and Things, Lena Down Under, Roisin's Reading, Amie's Literary Empire, Mercado Media, The Stitchery, Snappy Dragon, Break N Remake, Shannon Makes, Mia Mulder, Jean's Thoughts, The Narrowboat that James built, Lily Simpson, Foster on the Spectrum, Owen Jones, Jormungandr, Cossack and Caucasus Sword Dance, Leena Norms, Reese Waters, KernowDamo, Malinda, Book Furnace, Tom Nicholas, Tom Powell, Activist Witch, The Ritual Kitchen with Laura May, Mr Newberger's AI Funnies, The Marsh Family, ScaredKetchup, Hoots, Lee Francis, Offizier Amira, Yugopnik, Think That Through, TimeGhosr History, Ancient Americas, Diary of a Ditch Witch, Norse Witch, Bitchuation Room, Annamarie Forcino, Biz, Owen Jones, Tom Powell Jr, Shitty Book Club, Sunny Book Nook, A Cup of Nicole, Interior Design Hub, Irish Medieval History, Answer in Progress, Autumn's Boutique, Valhalla Drums, NerdForge, Cecilia Blomdahl, Just in Time Worldbuilding, Skip Intro, Britta Bohler.

Ominous music begins. 🙂 There are member cliques who organise to attack the one star reviewer, which persecution includes stalking, doxxing and threats against reader, family and others. As Amazon do not acknowledge these incidents, punish writers who sometimes lead them, discipline members or dismiss employees who enable them, it is impossible to determine the numbers. Romantasy and Romance gangs are ad hoc groups defending everything from poor prose through racist, ableist and other anti-human elements. The science fiction mobs are more persistent, guided by lurkers in defence of US hegemonic worldbuilding, US ethno-supremacy, ethnic and gender stereotypes. The attack streams I stumbled upon had little opposition other than my own.

Amazon shared my limited message history with these nutcases. The corporation finally attempted violation of my privacy by way of the Australian government. A secret clearance holder was able to request through Pine Gap Centre that Australian Intelligence interrogate the one friend whom I messaged occasionally. The attempt to discover my personal history failed and we are both angry with Amazon and his government. It only became a concern to Amazon after we publicised this event, at which point all visible evidence of their harassment of me disappeared.

Recently the seventh EBay ex-employee who had been the Chief of Global Security or some such, was sentenced for harassment of a couple whose small ecommerce channel was deemed unkind to EBay. They were awarded millions of pounds. Data corporations have developed twisted cultures. Something to think about.

To protect yourself until such time as you are able or ready to switch to a safer, non-Amazon product, these are my suggestions.

Remove personal information from profile and avoid messaging. Remove lurkers, those who never post. They are monitors not admirers. With the Goodreads penchant for Altering customer pages with no explanation, the screenshot of the odd, ugly and threatening is quite useful.

Do Not use Kindle Files, Calendar, Email and Contacts. I was not surprised to discover that Amazon read emails without permission or notice. All Silk searches should be innocuous and non-critical. Once targeted, the site employees will facilitate any vendetta, accepting no responsibility and expecting no consequence. The employees who harass are the same who are tasked with responding or not, to any query. I have not received a response in over four years.

These small precautions will make you safer though not Safe and will not cost anything to implement but to not might well do. These animals, members and employees are not bound by any non-Randian morality, claim to speak for all readers and are US patriots with all that suggests. Ominous music ends. 🙂

Be safe and may we all enjoy Good Reading. 😊

Some of my favourite YouTube channels.
NCMI, Sarah C M Paine, TVP News, Joe Blogs, Northern Narrowboaters, Sailing Melody, Munecat, Some More News, Tara Mooknee, History with Cy, Kings and Generals, Bobbing Along, Eileen, Jean's Thoughts, Roomies Digest, Munecat, Double Down News, Valhalla Drums, JingXuan, Rachel Hardy, The Katie Halper Show, Adiemus - Carmina Slovenica, Northern Narrowboaters, Nomadic Crobot, Philosophy Tube, History with Kayleigh, Planarwalker, Geo Girl, Engineering Knits, Tom Nicholas, Hello Future Me, UATV, Ash L G, Evelyn Wood, Reedsy, Reads with Rachel, The How and Why of Mathematics, Plato's Cave, ThePrimeChronus, MWG Studios, Dr Becky, RobWords, ConeofArc, The Great War, May, Deerstalker Pictures, Cambrian Chronicles, Between the Wars, The Confused Adipose, Swell Entertainment, Jay Exci, The Pioneer, Chloe Stafler, Mr Sci-Fi, Autumn's Boutique, ATP Geopolitics, Yarmak, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, Lilly's expat life, Hello Future Me, Charge of the Australian Light Horse, Hoots, Jabzy, IzzzYzzz, What Vivi did next, Brittany the Bibliophile, Ana Fern, Merphy Napier, Rebecca Watson, The Pen and The Sword Reflections, Rowan J Coleman, Fit 2B Read, TheClosetHistorian, Yanis Varoufakis, Alizee, Anka Daily News, NFKRZ, Alice Cappelle, France 24, Authentic Observer, A Clockwork Reader, The Blazing Redcoat, Red Viburnam Song, Smarter Everyday, Knowing Better, Tibees, Skip Intro, Philosophy Tube, Cruising Alba, Tiny Wee Boat, Cruising the Cut, Cruising Crafts, The Mindful Narrowboat, Holly the Cafe Boat, Travelling K, Sarah Z, Karolina Zebrowska, OliSunvia, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Zoe Baker, Three Arrows, May Moon Narrowboat, SciFi Odyssey, World Anvil Worldbuilding, Depressed Russian, Books and Lala, Serena Skybourne, Ana Psychology, Tulia, History in the Dark, Told in Stone, Ancient Americas, S.A. Barnes, Ben and Emily, Cruising Crafts, Well deck Diaries, Jessie Gender, We're in Hell, The Juice Media, SciFi Odyssey, Brandon Fisichella, Voices of the Past, Prime of Midlife, World of Antiquity, Camper Vibe, Pentatonix, 2 Cellos, Historia Civilis, Kings and Generals, SandRhoman History, World War Two, A Cup of Nicole, Your True Shelf, The Paranormal Scholar, Lady knight the Brave, Rowan Ellis, Media Death Cult, Dakota Warren, Books Are My Social Life, Parody Project, Thistle and Verse, Bernadette Banner, Cari can Read, Hailey in Bookland, Petrik Leo, Eileen, Earle Writes, Kris Atomic, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, Katy Montgomerie, Alt Shift X, Quinn's Ideas, Spacedock, Sabine Hossenfelder, Event Horizon, Nomadic Crobot, Mom on the Spectrum, Petticoats and Prose, Vidya Mitra, A Very Casual Librarian, Linguoer-Mechanic, Engineering with Rosie, Paleo Analysis, Business Basics, Daniel Rubin, Double Down News, With Olivia, Jake Broe, Girls Rock Asia, JMS WW2, Jacobin, Boat Time, History of Everything, Tank Encyclopedia, Abney Park, Zoe Bee, Biz.

I wish you a sunny day, a glorious afternoon, a wonderful evening, a pleasant night and may we all continue learning.

Empathy is the measures of Humanity.
Meditations, Nineteenth Route Trade Fleet

[John Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike Hammer in a dystopian society after the second civil war of the United States in the 22nd century. That's the best short description of this book that I can think of. It is Peter Cawdron's first novel, so yes, it is not as well written as his subsequent stories; he was dipping his toes in the writing waters. There are editing issues and one plot hole that I found, but that wasn't enough to keep me from finishing what I thought was a very entertaining story with decent character development, good pacing, a good plot, and a storyline that kept me interested for the entire read. For his first book, I think this novel was an excellent indication that this was a budding author with a lot of talent. Ten years later, I consider Peter Cawdron to be one of the best science fiction authors on the planet, and his stories and writing ability only get better. This shows he CAN write about something other than First Contact and still be entertaining.

[Frau Blücher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hm... gibt es zwei Peter Cawdrons? Oder hab ich jetzt das volle Leistungsspektrum in zwei Stories präsentiert bekommen, Top und Flop für jeweils 0 Euronen? Umso neugieriger bin ich auf das nächste Buch, da werd ich wohl eher klassische SciFi anpeilen, die kann er ja zumindest in Kurzform ganz famos. Es bleibt spannend...

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently Peter Cawdron’s first book and the prelude to many excellent books which followed. A book which illustrates the ongoing and difficult battle between loyalty and honesty/truth.
Whilst a daemon is central to the story and it is set in a future, very different, America it is not really a SF/Fantasy book more a detective novel.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this nearly as much as Cawdron's other books that I've read. It was very didactic and that annoys me when I'm trying to read a story. The story itself is fine, as are the characters.

[Davey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as Cawdrons other books. Its a bit to weak… wraps up to quick and the “a ha” moment seems like he was under a deadline to wrap it up. Prefer his othets books .

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank goodness for the internet. After finishing my twenty-seventh Peter Cawdron book I thought that I had read everything he had written. But then the WWW popped up The Road to Hell which he wrote back in 2011.

Cawdron is one of my favorite science fiction authors for a number of reasons. First and foremost is that his sci fi is based on actual science. After what must be an incredible amount of research and reading to gather all of the science together, he uses this data as the firm foundation for his books. Weaving together his immense writing skills, creative imagination, and three dimensional character development, he always puts together an engaging story.

The Road to Hell is an apocalyptic novel of life in New New York following the second US Civil War. Part private detective novel and part political narrative, this book has far less science than his other novels. Instead, we have a fast paced, action packed book with some fascinating characters. But, mixed in with all of the action Cawdron manages to weave in some philosophical musings and an interesting take on the negative effects of loyalty.

Unfortunately, with so little science and the lack of strong female characters, The Road to Hell is not in the top half of my favorite Cawdron books. Still, it was very entertaining and definitely worth reading.

[Lucien · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. Only about four pages and when I ran into this gem:

“”You fight like a pussy,” Johnson cried. “But then, Special Branch always was for girls.””


Not reading another word. Life is too short for sexism and lazy writing.

[Chuck Woodbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typical Cawdron

Not first contact, but an interesting tale of loyalty and honor in the post civil war period of a far future America. Characters are well drawn as always and I loved the homage to the stainless steel rat and deathworld sagas. Always liked Harry Harrison.

[Paul Triller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story! Gritty, fast-paced, and oh so very entertaining!

[Andy Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:

Not his best. It ended up being a mediocre story with some overused tropes about the future of our country. There's a strange new form of government, but that really isn't discussed. There's some new types of technology, but it's not really about that either. There are characters with the ability to travel a bit in time, but since they're not the main characters, they get little "screen time".

That was the frustrating part of reading this book: what about the time travelers? We all saw Next, with Nicolas Cage running around knowing what will happen within the next few minutes. I thought we were going to have a characteristically-Cawdron take on this phenomenon and find new ways of making it awesome. But instead, we get a fairly predictable story, following three unlikable characters. What gives?

With so many better stories told by this author, I'd skip this one. You aren't missing out on anything and there's only so many reading hours in a day!

Skip it!

[Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars from me. This was a very good story, but not as "sciencey" as a lot of Cawdron's other work. A very action packed, quick paced story, "The Road to Hell" will have you deeply invested in the characters in no time. Harry was like a futuristic throwback to the noir detectives of old. Smooth, thoughtful, and gruffly charming, he made the story very enjoyable. This story was entertaining, with wall to wall gunfights and strategy, but not as cerebral as I am used to with this author. Very reminiscent of Minority Report or Blade Runner and well worth a read!

[Jessica Criscuolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter consistently delivers

I’m a very big fan of Peter’s First Contact series, and this separate novel outside those efforts delivers a terrific punch with a great storyline. His under-theme of Trust is a great display of truth and his insight into relationships between characters, along with people’s fundamental ability to change their perspectives and views over time. Great read, I’d recommend it to anyone who appreciates semi-hard science fiction with a solid story and excellent characterization.

[Felipe Macia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounding up for independent authors
All over the place. Cool concepts, but boy, plot holes, disjointed plot threads, relentless storyline pace for no real reason. The whole "trust" element of the story was rammed down your throat when it didn't make any sense. It could have slowly built, but no. The political hit job was again all over the map, without much making sense.
Again, cool concept, but the whole business was just ALL over the place.

[George Martinelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noir detective story with a sci-fi flavor. Well done, good characters, action & mystery. As with all of Peters books it's easy reading that moves along well, yet filled with wisdom's. Also subtly has something to say about the current political division that is currently tearing at our social fabric. It takes place in the United States after a second civil war has brought down our democracy. For my taste Peter Cawdron is the best writer currently practicing the art.

[Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of Time is a cracking good science fiction detective tale. It's set in a dystopian future where legitimate society lives above an underworld. The characters have to fight through ethical dilemmas and there are a few excellent twists and turns I never saw coming! I can recommend this book because I loved reading it.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking

Fast-paced novel of a United States in the future, warped away from the democratic republic we know. There are some grammatical and spelling errors but they are not so glaring as to detract from the story. I quite enjoyed it and will look for more of this author's work. He has kindly made his stories free during the pandemic, so look for them.

[Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another win for Peter Cawdron. A fast paced adventure into a derailed government with many delightful twists and turns. As always with Mr. Cawdron there is a lesson to be learned and this book is no exception. I will never look at loyalty the same again. A powerful book about the lies and truths in government and a book I will not soon forget.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Reader - First, if you’re not reading Peter Cawdron then you’re missing out. Second, I finished all the available First Contact books and decided to test the waters of a decidedly different genre by the aforementioned author. Third, I found this book to be a cross of a Raymond Chandler and PKD tale. It’s very good and suggest you, Dear Reader, read it.

[Stuart Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good read

I’ve been following this author for a while now, and have read all the books in the first contact series so this came as quite a surprise. Excellent story, great characters have a good read.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all of Peter Cawdron's books, the premises, plot, and characters are believable and have depth

[Bette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not wasting my time. Love this author but not this one

[Jolanta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Very interesting and thought providing. I liked the explanations to the historical references, also liked to shadows science fiction element.