The enemy took New York, Chicago and Los Angeles in one night. Tom Riley must find out who or what the enemy is. But first he must survive his mission inside enemy held Manhattan and face an unimaginable enemy. Since that fateful night more than three years ago, America is at war with an unknown enemy it cannot understand. Lieutenant Tom Riley has only a few days to learn to use his new Personal Battle Tank before he and his team are dropped into Manhattan. The team's clandestine mission can go sour in an instant and then Riley and his team will find themselves in an alien, hostile city unlike anything they have ever seen before. But the lies surrounding the enemy and the mission may prove the deadliest things yet. An original and daring book This is an original and daring book, in which you will see Manhattan as you've never seen it before. Join the team in this one of the kind adventure. 'Mechanical' is a military science fiction action thriller from the author of 'Dragon Over Washington', 'The Fire At The Gates' and 'Automatic Rebellion'. Scroll up and grab a copy today.
It all started twelve years ago when I was in Spain with a friend, traveling across the country. We hiked in Pico De Europa, a beautiful mountain range. So, there I was, climbing the mountains, a river gurgling beneath me, the mountains all around me and gray clouds blocking the sky above.
And then I saw it. A wing tip appeared first, than the great belly, the long neck and the gargantuan jaws. A huge dragon flew above us, its clawed feet almost touching the mountain sides, filling the air with the fire burning in its lungs. It disappeared a few seconds later but the sight was incredible.
No, I did not went mad. The dragon flew only inside my mind but the image was so strong and the mountains were so wild that the dragon's flight was burnt into my soul forever.
I had to write it down. I knew I had to write about dragons. There was no other choice for me.
But I was (and hope I still am) quite a normal and rational person. I have a computer science degree, had a good job and led quite ordinary life. So I resisted the impulse to write.
Nobody will read it. I will be wasting my time. I can't write anyway. I'm not an author, I don't have the right mindset for it. It would never work. What would my PARENTs say ?
I managed to resist for a few days till we went to Parc Guell in Barcelona. There I gave in, bought my first notebook and started writing, right there and then. Thus was born Dragon Over Washington, my first full length novel.
Later on I wrote a few short stories and then Mechanical, my best (I think so ...) book to date ...
And just a short update - I am now working on the sequel to Mechanical, tentatively called: Hunter Killer.
This story would have made an excellent short story, but I had a difficult time getting in tune with the characters. I hate to admit it, but I skimmed most of the story. It just did not engage me.
The author needs an editor! This book is replete with typos and grammatical errors. The writing is very repetitious and spelling errors abound. The plot is an interesting one and worth exploring, but only after a significant amount of editing.
The story was very good. The characters could have been very good if developed more. The writing was below par for my taste. There were numerous grammatical errors, not normally a show stopper for me, but combined with a lack of polish on the story telling brought the rating down by two stars.
The story itself is one that I enjoyed. It did get tedious and frustrating to the reader when one of the major plot issues becomes obvious to the reader, but the main character struggles for most of the book with what the author made clear to the writer early on.
In several of the scenes, particularly action, it becomes obvious that either the author had never experienced anything close to it, or had a very difficult time writing it. The action scenes were labored and jerky, not entertaining. Maybe a little more experience will give the skills to the author so he can produce a more polished work. I hope so, there is potential in this story.
An interesting premise, however the delivery was somewhat lacking. This book felt very much like it was the first book written by the author. The story tended to move a little more slowly than desired and there were quite a few places where the wording was, for lack of a better word, amateur. Quite often, the narration had a very casual tone, one that felt too casual to be taken professionally. Also, I found a number of typos, especially as you got towards the end. I don't think I'll pursue sequels.
Full-length military sci fi adventure, complete with fighting robots, tanks, explosions, lots of excellent firefights, and good action, undertaken by a not-particularly-bright intelligence officer who really frustrated me as a reader. Lt Tom Riley never quite got it until the end, which is unfortunate because the reader gets it far sooner. That said, I can't deny that the book kept me reading, long into the night and when I should have been working.
The book would also benefit from an additional round with a good editor and a proofreader. Love + frustration = three stars, the best I can give this story.
Just finished reading this book and thought it was outstanding. It was a combination of sci fi and military once I started I couldn't put it down. If you like sci fi and military this is a must to have.
Interesting idea, but poor execution. I don't think I've ever been as annoyed by the protagonist as I was during this book. And there were pages after pages that I skimmed just to get past them due to the pace.
Fast paced; up there with Crichton. 3 military men are selected to help take down the enemy in the '12 States War,' where the enemy has never made contact nor been seen. They must integrate themselves into machines of war that the military has created.
Interesting idea, but poor execution. I hate to admit it, but there were multiple pages in the mid range I just skimmed rather than fully read completely due to the terrible pacing. This man needs an editor!!
Strengths: good story, enjoyed the twists, characters were different enough that I didn't get them confused.
Weaknesses: as noted in other reviews, the pacing was off enough to knock down a star but the story was good enough I stayed with it. The editing/typos others noticed didn't bother me