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Sunfail
Dogs howl in the streets, running wild. Birds fall dead from the sky. Even the sun itself is failing. As darkness descends all hell breaks loose, terrorists strike hard and fast, taking out the army base at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.
Jake Carter, formerly Special Forces, is now an NYC subway electrician who finds himself dragged into a world of conspiracy and menace by a woman he hasn't spoken to in over a decade. When Carter finds two young men spraying graffiti across the subway station walls, he realizes these marks aren't gang tags or band names, they are a message, a call to arms spelled out in a lost language. The Hidden are communicating with each other.
Carter must now answer some impossible questions: How do you fight an enemy you cannot see? How do you stop some of the richest and most powerful men in the world when they own the shadows? And most important of all, how do you stay alive when the world around you is dying?"
From Akashic Books's Infamous imprint comes Steve Saville's Sunfail (Nov.) which stars New York City subway electrician and former Special Forces soldier Jake Quinn as he fights a conspiracy by the world's richest men to destroy the world."
-- Library Journal
"Steven Savile's fear-inducing novel of apocalyptic proportions, Sunfail, will no doubt inspire the next generation of street-corner crazies wielding The End Is Nigh signs. Prepare yourself for a wild ride. Next stop, the end of the world."
--Jeremy Robinson, author of Island 731 and Uprising
"Darkly foreboding and all too plausible, Savile's writing explodes off the page like a shark hunting through deep water; by the time you can see it clearly, it is far too late to get away."
--Joseph Nassise, New York Times best selling author of The Heretic
"Sunfail is the most entertaining novel I've read in the last twelve months...by a mile. Beautifully written, well paced, but above all just a cracking story. A book you can get lost in. Sunfail delivers on every single page."
--Sean Black, author of the Ryan Lock series
"Savile has forged a world of shadow conspiracies that are all too real. Packed with hold-your-breath writing that pushes the characters into one tense cut-the-blue-wire scene after another, Savile lands raw punches that connect explosively. This is thriller writing at its grittiest, and finest."
--Nick Cole, author of Soda Pop Soldier
Praise for Steven Savile:
"Savile has a flair for finding beauty in the macabre."
-- Guardian (UK)
"Move over, Dan Brown!"
--Stel Pavlou, best-selling author of Decipher
Jake Carter, formerly Special Forces, is now an NYC subway electrician who finds himself dragged into a world of conspiracy and menace by a woman he hasn't spoken to in over a decade. When Carter finds two young men spraying graffiti across the subway station walls, he realizes these marks aren't gang tags or band names, they are a message, a call to arms spelled out in a lost language. The Hidden are communicating with each other.
Carter must now answer some impossible questions: How do you fight an enemy you cannot see? How do you stop some of the richest and most powerful men in the world when they own the shadows? And most important of all, how do you stay alive when the world around you is dying?"
From Akashic Books's Infamous imprint comes Steve Saville's Sunfail (Nov.) which stars New York City subway electrician and former Special Forces soldier Jake Quinn as he fights a conspiracy by the world's richest men to destroy the world."
-- Library Journal
"Steven Savile's fear-inducing novel of apocalyptic proportions, Sunfail, will no doubt inspire the next generation of street-corner crazies wielding The End Is Nigh signs. Prepare yourself for a wild ride. Next stop, the end of the world."
--Jeremy Robinson, author of Island 731 and Uprising
"Darkly foreboding and all too plausible, Savile's writing explodes off the page like a shark hunting through deep water; by the time you can see it clearly, it is far too late to get away."
--Joseph Nassise, New York Times best selling author of The Heretic
"Sunfail is the most entertaining novel I've read in the last twelve months...by a mile. Beautifully written, well paced, but above all just a cracking story. A book you can get lost in. Sunfail delivers on every single page."
--Sean Black, author of the Ryan Lock series
"Savile has forged a world of shadow conspiracies that are all too real. Packed with hold-your-breath writing that pushes the characters into one tense cut-the-blue-wire scene after another, Savile lands raw punches that connect explosively. This is thriller writing at its grittiest, and finest."
--Nick Cole, author of Soda Pop Soldier
Praise for Steven Savile:
"Savile has a flair for finding beauty in the macabre."
-- Guardian (UK)
"Move over, Dan Brown!"
--Stel Pavlou, best-selling author of Decipher
300 pages, Paperback
First published October 9, 2015
58 people are currently reading
549 people want to read
About the author
Steven Savile
247 books250 followersSteven Savile (born October 12, 1969, in Newcastle, England) is a British fantasy, horror and thriller writer, and editor living in Sala, Sweden.
Under the Ronan Frost penname (inspired by the hero of his bestselling novel, Silver) he has also written the action thriller White Peak, and as Matt Langley was a finalist for the People's Book Prize.
Under the Ronan Frost penname (inspired by the hero of his bestselling novel, Silver) he has also written the action thriller White Peak, and as Matt Langley was a finalist for the People's Book Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
November 22, 2015
Review copy
I went into Sunfail fully expecting a great read. I'm sorry to say, it just didn't work out that way.
When the author wrote, "They even had a hashtag for it on Twitter, #sunfail. It trended for six days. On the seventh day there was no internet." I really thought we were in for some post-apocalyptic fun.
Part of my problem with Sunfail is there were a lot of nice little scenes, but in many ways they failed to connect to one another. Even a story with fast-paced global action and the occasional James Bond quality stunt was not enough to overcome the disconnect. The use of a number of conspiracy theories could have been great, but it seemed as if they were just thrown in and never fully developed. As a matter of fact there were a number of seemingly important storylines that never quite paid off.
And then there was the story's end. It just didn't work for me at all. It almost seemed it was setting up for a sequel, but I don't think it's likely, and if it does happen I don't think I'll be reading it.
Unfortunately Sunfail is not a book I can recommend.
Published by Akashic Books, Sunfail is available in e-book, paperback, audible, and MP3 CD formats.
Steven Savile has written for Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval, Stargate, Warhammer, Slaine, Fireborn, Pathfinder, Arkham Horror, Rogue Angel, and other popular game and comic worlds. He won the International Media Association of Tie-In Writers award for his novel, SHADOW OF THE JAGUAR, and the inaugural Lifeboat to the Stars award for TAU CETI (co-authored with International Bestselling novelist Kevin J. Anderson). Writing as Matt Langley his young adult novel BLACK FLAG is a finalist for the People's Book Prize 2015. His latest books include SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MURDER AT SORROWS CROWN, published by Titan and PARALLEL LINES a brand new crime novel coming from TITAN in 2016.
I went into Sunfail fully expecting a great read. I'm sorry to say, it just didn't work out that way.
When the author wrote, "They even had a hashtag for it on Twitter, #sunfail. It trended for six days. On the seventh day there was no internet." I really thought we were in for some post-apocalyptic fun.
Part of my problem with Sunfail is there were a lot of nice little scenes, but in many ways they failed to connect to one another. Even a story with fast-paced global action and the occasional James Bond quality stunt was not enough to overcome the disconnect. The use of a number of conspiracy theories could have been great, but it seemed as if they were just thrown in and never fully developed. As a matter of fact there were a number of seemingly important storylines that never quite paid off.
And then there was the story's end. It just didn't work for me at all. It almost seemed it was setting up for a sequel, but I don't think it's likely, and if it does happen I don't think I'll be reading it.
Unfortunately Sunfail is not a book I can recommend.
Published by Akashic Books, Sunfail is available in e-book, paperback, audible, and MP3 CD formats.
Steven Savile has written for Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval, Stargate, Warhammer, Slaine, Fireborn, Pathfinder, Arkham Horror, Rogue Angel, and other popular game and comic worlds. He won the International Media Association of Tie-In Writers award for his novel, SHADOW OF THE JAGUAR, and the inaugural Lifeboat to the Stars award for TAU CETI (co-authored with International Bestselling novelist Kevin J. Anderson). Writing as Matt Langley his young adult novel BLACK FLAG is a finalist for the People's Book Prize 2015. His latest books include SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MURDER AT SORROWS CROWN, published by Titan and PARALLEL LINES a brand new crime novel coming from TITAN in 2016.
September 12, 2018
Tämä piti laittaa kirjaston paskakirjanäyttelyyn, mutta en muistanut kirjan nimeä. Onneksi muistin antaneeni kirjan lahjaksi (!) ystävälleni Hannalle, joka Suomessa käydessään selvitti kirjan nimen ja lähetti vielä otteita kirjan parhaista kohdista. Huhhuh... Ahdistava machoilumeininki yhdistyy epäuskottavaan toimintaan ja ennalta-arvattavaan juoneen. Lisäksi mahtavia oivalluksia kuten "The train was as dead as Tupac and Biggie".
November 13, 2015
Things are falling apart in a big way. The earth's magnetic poles are reversing, and as a result birds are dropping from the sky and packs of dogs are howling through the streets of New York . . . although apparently no one's dropping dead from the high-energy particles that the world wouldn't be shielded from during the turnaround. A secret group of extraordinarily ruthless and ultrarich egomaniacs, The Hidden, is using the disruption as a cover for its attempted takeover of, like, everything. Luckily Jake Carter, ex-Special Forces black op now working for the New York subway, and two of his ex-lovers, Sophie Keane and Finn Walsh, are prepared to help him . . .
I found quite a lot to like about this book, and Savile (as I knew) is obviously a talented writer, but overall it seemed a bit, well, shallow: I felt as if I were reading the text equivalent of a Bruce Willis movie, where I could have fun watching the pyrotechnics and the OTT stunts while at the same time, because I didn't really believe any of it, being totally unaffected by the action. Adding to my unease was the fact that Sophie and especially Finn seemed to me far more interesting characters than Jake, yet they got far less of the pages.
And then there was the excessive use of the noun, verb and adjectival (and, for all I recall, adverbal) forms of the word . I have no particular objections to the word itself (I use it frequently myself, especially when addressing my computer, and I'm certainly not afraid to use it in my own fiction), but I do get bothered about the depletion of the language, and the laziness of writers, when it seems to be taking over as the default, all-purpose term. There are moments when the usage seems to achieve a sort of Shakespearean , as in , and the even more pared-back . To be fair, to show that he's not a one-trick pony, Savile does use the word whenever his overuse of the "f" key has stunned it into malfunction.
As I say, there's really quite a lot to like here, and Savile's wonderfully fluid writing style means that the pages keep turning at a great rate; the book's ending implies that there's a sequel on the way, and there's every chance I might read that sequel . . . just like I watched the Die Hard sequels. At the same time, though, I know Savile can do so much better, and I wish he'd done so in this instance.
I found quite a lot to like about this book, and Savile (as I knew) is obviously a talented writer, but overall it seemed a bit, well, shallow: I felt as if I were reading the text equivalent of a Bruce Willis movie, where I could have fun watching the pyrotechnics and the OTT stunts while at the same time, because I didn't really believe any of it, being totally unaffected by the action. Adding to my unease was the fact that Sophie and especially Finn seemed to me far more interesting characters than Jake, yet they got far less of the pages.
And then there was the excessive use of the noun, verb and adjectival (and, for all I recall, adverbal) forms of the word . I have no particular objections to the word itself (I use it frequently myself, especially when addressing my computer, and I'm certainly not afraid to use it in my own fiction), but I do get bothered about the depletion of the language, and the laziness of writers, when it seems to be taking over as the default, all-purpose term. There are moments when the usage seems to achieve a sort of Shakespearean , as in , and the even more pared-back . To be fair, to show that he's not a one-trick pony, Savile does use the word whenever his overuse of the "f" key has stunned it into malfunction.
As I say, there's really quite a lot to like here, and Savile's wonderfully fluid writing style means that the pages keep turning at a great rate; the book's ending implies that there's a sequel on the way, and there's every chance I might read that sequel . . . just like I watched the Die Hard sequels. At the same time, though, I know Savile can do so much better, and I wish he'd done so in this instance.
March 8, 2017
I like good apocalyptic tales.......this wasn't that. Started out okay, but petered out pretty fast. Wasn't crazy about the writing style and skimmed parts to get through it. I was given a copy of this in exchange for a review. Wish I could give it a better one, but there you have it.
April 11, 2017
While I am waiting for Gold to come out I gave this a shot. Plenty of action in Europe and NYC. Assassins, thugs, no power, secret society, and so on. Sets things up for further adventures.
July 30, 2017
i borrowed this book from the library. on page 191, a previous reader lost their patience. "Jesus Christ!" they wrote. "too hard to google? saran = wrap, sarin = nerve gas." there are at least two instances where the author used 'saran' to refer to "sarin,' and honestly i feel like that's a pretty big thing to miss in the editing process.
the characters were bland, but they weren't really the focus, so they served their purpose i guess. personally i didn't care for the grand conspiracy angle, (i like my anti-capitalist critiques to b plain and clear), nor did i care for the rather smug political rants that occurred every now and again, but to each their own i guess.
the characters were bland, but they weren't really the focus, so they served their purpose i guess. personally i didn't care for the grand conspiracy angle, (i like my anti-capitalist critiques to b plain and clear), nor did i care for the rather smug political rants that occurred every now and again, but to each their own i guess.
November 11, 2015
Every time I read a new Steven Savile release I seem to say the same thing 'this is his best book yet' and I'm afraid I have to repeat myself after finishing Sunfail. It has everything you'd expect; a fantastic storyline, smooth writing with believable characters and an ending you won't see coming. It will leave you begging for more. Thankfully if you buy and read the ebook, at the end it gives you details of how you can get a bonus short story...I jumped at the chance because I need more Jake Carter.
February 29, 2016
This latest book from Steven Savile is a great ride. The story starts out with a bang as we meet Jake Carter under less than perfect circumstances in a New York City without power. I liked this character, as well as the woman from his past, Sophie, and the woman he recently met, Finn. These are two strong female leads with completely different roles in the story.
The story moved at a fast pace and kept me reading late into the night. I look forward to more adventures with Jake Carter.
The story moved at a fast pace and kept me reading late into the night. I look forward to more adventures with Jake Carter.
February 5, 2016
A book that is definitely worth reading. A little hairy at times, but then that's what makes it. The storyline reads like todays headlines do. Its so..........now. Although after having read it, I'm not so sure I should have. I really liked Jake, he's one determined dude. One of those people who will get to the bottom of a problem some way, somehow. And I also hope there will be another book about this sometime in the future. I'd also recommend reading this to everyone, even YA's.
October 19, 2015
ByMiss Lyn on October 9, 2015
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
This dark and thrilling book just amazed me. Jake is drawn into a world where dogs run in packs howling in the streets,birds fall from the sky and a mysterious message from someone he hasn't heard from in years leads him into darkness,conspiracy and danger.
This is such an excellent book!
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
This dark and thrilling book just amazed me. Jake is drawn into a world where dogs run in packs howling in the streets,birds fall from the sky and a mysterious message from someone he hasn't heard from in years leads him into darkness,conspiracy and danger.
This is such an excellent book!
November 16, 2015
A really fascinating idea is central to this apocalyptic thriller that belts along. I'd like to know more about the lost city and more about Alom, which would have been great in this book, but maybe that will come in future stories? A great mix of apocalyptic prophecy, archeology and modern thriller.
November 22, 2015
A series of events occur throughout the entire world, all electronics have gone haywire with birds falling from the sky, is this Armageddon? Then two special agents try to determine the cause of these events, one from New York City and the other from Paris, their efforts will result in what our future existence might be. An interesting story line with a below average climax.
June 1, 2015
Excellent semi apocalyptic action thriller combining internet sabotage, Mayan prophecy, Deadly assassin's and global mayhem. Mr S has written a top notch tale that is fast paced , believable (referencing many current issues in the world today) and ferries the reader along on a wave of excitement.
February 9, 2016
Scary and bits of truth
Sunfail takes us on a trip through London, New York, and the ocean on an action filled journey to deal the possible end of the world. Lots of the issues are current, but the enemies are hard to decipher. I look forward to a sequel.
Sunfail takes us on a trip through London, New York, and the ocean on an action filled journey to deal the possible end of the world. Lots of the issues are current, but the enemies are hard to decipher. I look forward to a sequel.
July 17, 2017
Ok so I get books for my Kindle from the local library online, so I do a lot of judging books by their covers. Every once in a while I see someone who paid for a really great sci-fi cover and think to myself, aw yess, this is going to be a great book about science or space or something.
Well! This guy's cover budget was off the charts and his writing ability really does not live up to the cover. I'm about 70% through and I'm probably going to give up and not finish it because too much dumb stuff keeps happening.
What kind of dumb stuff, you ask? Here we go:
1. Scuba diver dives down to 200 feet and is able to see things WITHOUT his flashlight, then turns the flashlight on for more clarity. That's not a thing. Said scuba diver sees something at 200 feet, likes what he sees, heads directly to the surface in "one minute." So basically everything that comes from this diver's discovery in the book is illegitimate because that scuba diver went directly to the hospital with the bends rather than reporting his discovery.
2. Guy finds a bank of computers he doesn't want anyone to access because there is a dangerous program on them. So he employs his hacker skills of using the wrong password to lock out anyone who isn't an administrator on the machines, as if the hackers didn't have admin permissions to install the program in the first place. Sure, they're all dead, but you know the bad people got at least the login info from them before shooting them. I don't know if it would have been worse for him to spontaneously grow hacking skills even though logically he wouldn't have them, but the satisfaction he congratulated himself with after performing a completely worthless endeavor was embarrassing.
3. Lady finds a bank of computers that have had a dangerous program installed. She busts out HER hacking skills to annoy the computers so much with fucking up that they angrily restart themselves and ask her if she wants to restart on the old, balanced system. She says, YES! and the computer rolls itself back to before it had a virus and THE DAY IS SAVED. Even though computers and modern day malware suuuuuuper doesn't work like that.
4. Lady is consistently annoyed by her male coworkers flirting with her but thinks nothing of a woman coworker coming up to ask her intrusive questions about her sex life and speculate on dongs together. Hello, man author, real women who really care about sexual harassment in the workplace would file that conversation as inappropriate for the workplace as well and be equally annoyed.
5. Lady fights another lady, takes a mouthful of super-poison and spits it at other lady's eyes. Other lady starts dying immediately from the poison, uh oh, you got her, woohoo, it's absorbing through the skin, red lines, she's a goner. But what about you, original lady? You got that poison all up in your mouth, presumably an EVEN MORE ABSORBY AREA. But you're not dying until she stabs you with a syringe of the same stuff? Huh.
6. Ex-military half-assed hacker man has the ability to identify missing art stolen by Nazis. Not just that something SEEMS LIKE it might be Nazi-stolen art, but specifically the artist for each and the name of the painting. Suuuuuuuuuure.
That last one did it for me. This book is too stupid even to read by the pool.
Well! This guy's cover budget was off the charts and his writing ability really does not live up to the cover. I'm about 70% through and I'm probably going to give up and not finish it because too much dumb stuff keeps happening.
What kind of dumb stuff, you ask? Here we go:
1. Scuba diver dives down to 200 feet and is able to see things WITHOUT his flashlight, then turns the flashlight on for more clarity. That's not a thing. Said scuba diver sees something at 200 feet, likes what he sees, heads directly to the surface in "one minute." So basically everything that comes from this diver's discovery in the book is illegitimate because that scuba diver went directly to the hospital with the bends rather than reporting his discovery.
2. Guy finds a bank of computers he doesn't want anyone to access because there is a dangerous program on them. So he employs his hacker skills of using the wrong password to lock out anyone who isn't an administrator on the machines, as if the hackers didn't have admin permissions to install the program in the first place. Sure, they're all dead, but you know the bad people got at least the login info from them before shooting them. I don't know if it would have been worse for him to spontaneously grow hacking skills even though logically he wouldn't have them, but the satisfaction he congratulated himself with after performing a completely worthless endeavor was embarrassing.
3. Lady finds a bank of computers that have had a dangerous program installed. She busts out HER hacking skills to annoy the computers so much with fucking up that they angrily restart themselves and ask her if she wants to restart on the old, balanced system. She says, YES! and the computer rolls itself back to before it had a virus and THE DAY IS SAVED. Even though computers and modern day malware suuuuuuper doesn't work like that.
4. Lady is consistently annoyed by her male coworkers flirting with her but thinks nothing of a woman coworker coming up to ask her intrusive questions about her sex life and speculate on dongs together. Hello, man author, real women who really care about sexual harassment in the workplace would file that conversation as inappropriate for the workplace as well and be equally annoyed.
5. Lady fights another lady, takes a mouthful of super-poison and spits it at other lady's eyes. Other lady starts dying immediately from the poison, uh oh, you got her, woohoo, it's absorbing through the skin, red lines, she's a goner. But what about you, original lady? You got that poison all up in your mouth, presumably an EVEN MORE ABSORBY AREA. But you're not dying until she stabs you with a syringe of the same stuff? Huh.
6. Ex-military half-assed hacker man has the ability to identify missing art stolen by Nazis. Not just that something SEEMS LIKE it might be Nazi-stolen art, but specifically the artist for each and the name of the painting. Suuuuuuuuuure.
That last one did it for me. This book is too stupid even to read by the pool.
December 14, 2019
Not a very good book. At all.
When the book is titled something as cool as SUNFAIL and there is an eclipse and a pyramid on the cover with a review on the cover using the words 'fear-inducing' and 'apocalyptic proportions', then I am expecting something more. A lot more actually.
Is there any 'fear inducing' going on? Not really. Loss of electricity in the winter. That is it. Anything 'apocalyptic'? Packs of dogs and birds falling out of the sky. That is it.
The pacing is WAY off. I am not sure how so many pages were used up for the amount of action/plot movement that actually took place. For characters constantly moving, not a lot of ground was covered moving the plot forward. Then, in the last 10 pages, everything sped up and we received more information than all of the pages before it. And the last 3 pages crammed weeks of time into them and we essentially see the hero 'give up'.
Characters? Unremarkable. Once we get over the fact that they just happen to be of two completely separate and unique skill sets that just happen to be what this plot requires. And though books and movies are littered with this plot device, an ex-marine working as a tunnel engineer and the scientist who specializes in ancient symbols that happen to have a one night stand with each other and whose paths cross at the exact time an underwater pyramid with those exact symbols (that she is one of a couple of people in the world that can read) and nefarious deeds being done by a shadowy organization using these exact symbols, it all comes across as just a bit thin. Man, it was exhausting even writing that sentence.
When I said earlier that the hero 'gives up' at the end, he does and he doesn't. It appears to be a setup for future novels and if that is the case then he doesn't really give up. But since I have no desire to read any more of this story, then the hero's arc for me does end with him giving up. Either way, it is a very anti-climatic ending.
I am tired of writing this review. If the story fulfilled even a fraction of the promise made by the title and the cover, I would have enjoyed this book more. It did not, so I did not.
End.
When the book is titled something as cool as SUNFAIL and there is an eclipse and a pyramid on the cover with a review on the cover using the words 'fear-inducing' and 'apocalyptic proportions', then I am expecting something more. A lot more actually.
Is there any 'fear inducing' going on? Not really. Loss of electricity in the winter. That is it. Anything 'apocalyptic'? Packs of dogs and birds falling out of the sky. That is it.
The pacing is WAY off. I am not sure how so many pages were used up for the amount of action/plot movement that actually took place. For characters constantly moving, not a lot of ground was covered moving the plot forward. Then, in the last 10 pages, everything sped up and we received more information than all of the pages before it. And the last 3 pages crammed weeks of time into them and we essentially see the hero 'give up'.
Characters? Unremarkable. Once we get over the fact that they just happen to be of two completely separate and unique skill sets that just happen to be what this plot requires. And though books and movies are littered with this plot device, an ex-marine working as a tunnel engineer and the scientist who specializes in ancient symbols that happen to have a one night stand with each other and whose paths cross at the exact time an underwater pyramid with those exact symbols (that she is one of a couple of people in the world that can read) and nefarious deeds being done by a shadowy organization using these exact symbols, it all comes across as just a bit thin. Man, it was exhausting even writing that sentence.
When I said earlier that the hero 'gives up' at the end, he does and he doesn't. It appears to be a setup for future novels and if that is the case then he doesn't really give up. But since I have no desire to read any more of this story, then the hero's arc for me does end with him giving up. Either way, it is a very anti-climatic ending.
I am tired of writing this review. If the story fulfilled even a fraction of the promise made by the title and the cover, I would have enjoyed this book more. It did not, so I did not.
End.
November 12, 2016
This is the epitome of a book you can't put down. It kept me company during a bad chest cold when I couldn't sleep. I read it Election Week; some pages were so topical it was difficult to believe it was published in 2015. Contemporary political intrigue mixed with Dan Brown level intrigue, with a dash of science.
In the beginning, it follows the stories of 3 people that have met in the past & put that past firmly behind them. Jake is ex military; after the service, private security paid better. He met Sophie at the job & lost her there too as they parted ways. Jake didn't know that Sophie was a high-level assassin for the shadow group The Hidden. 10 years later, he gets a cryptic call from Sophie. During those years, he meets a few other people that invite him to exclusive parties. A one night stand with Finn is forgotten until her academic expertise is exactly what he needs to help figure out the reasons behind Sophie's frantic message. Finn is working on a project that an underwater puzzle with history making consequences.
This intriguing story is filled with current events, conspiracy theories, and great action sequences. Mr Savile steps right into Dan Browns footsteps as a great thriller novelist!
In the beginning, it follows the stories of 3 people that have met in the past & put that past firmly behind them. Jake is ex military; after the service, private security paid better. He met Sophie at the job & lost her there too as they parted ways. Jake didn't know that Sophie was a high-level assassin for the shadow group The Hidden. 10 years later, he gets a cryptic call from Sophie. During those years, he meets a few other people that invite him to exclusive parties. A one night stand with Finn is forgotten until her academic expertise is exactly what he needs to help figure out the reasons behind Sophie's frantic message. Finn is working on a project that an underwater puzzle with history making consequences.
This intriguing story is filled with current events, conspiracy theories, and great action sequences. Mr Savile steps right into Dan Browns footsteps as a great thriller novelist!
August 6, 2017
Not what I expected, but that was not the author's fault. The copy I read was from the library, and some librarian mis-classified and shelved it as science fiction instead of mystery/thriller based on the cover art rather than knowing anything about the book.
February 18, 2019
A Wasted Effort
Such a fantastic lead up to such a sellout ending. Did you get tired of writing or did you never have a clue for an appropriate finish? I had already earmarked your other works for future reading. Disappointingly, unnecessary now.
Such a fantastic lead up to such a sellout ending. Did you get tired of writing or did you never have a clue for an appropriate finish? I had already earmarked your other works for future reading. Disappointingly, unnecessary now.
June 24, 2023
Different
Different in the beginning, but ended unresolved. Not completely plausible, but possible. Not really interested in the rest of this series... just not my type of story.
Different in the beginning, but ended unresolved. Not completely plausible, but possible. Not really interested in the rest of this series... just not my type of story.
November 13, 2015
It is not a big secret that I am a huge fan of Steven Savile’s. I collect his books as if they were lost treasures from the Orient. Suffice to say, he’s my favorite writer.
Before Sunfail was released, I was one of the first in line to get my hands on the book. I recently moved to New Zealand and was dismayed that I would have to wait longer than I wanted in order to receive my new little treasure, but I endured and finally, it arrived in the mail!
Of course, the first thing I did was smell the book. All book lovers participate in this time-honored tradition so if you’re wrinkling your nose, be gone! It was divine and I eagerly opened the cover to read every inch, front to back. I could not wait to slowly revel in the sumptuous perfect phrasing of words to which I have become accustomed when reading Savile’s works.
Boy, was I in for a surprise. I was sorely mistaken as the book had no intent of allowing me to take it “slow”. The thing took off at a hundred miles per hour, and by the time I pealed myself off the couch and put the book down – mostly due to a headache from hell as I had forgotten to put on my glasses – I had passed the 100 page mark! I believe I actually had to rearrange my wind-blown hair as I staggered off down the hallway in search of a stiff drink to accompany me when I returned to my ride.
Sunfail is non-stop action. Heart pounding, adrenaline inducing, sweaty oh-God –I- cannot-put-it-down mania that grips you until you realize that the book has ended and you’re left with nothing but the dismay that the ride is over. It took me two days to finish. I realize it could have been one, but honestly, the children had to eat at some point.
Now, I’m sure you’re probably thinking “She loves the writer, so automatically she gave him 5 out of 5 stars. She’s biased.” Not true. I am incredibly fair when I review. Let me tell you that this book is not my favorite genre, however, with writing so beautifully crafted, the plot so brilliantly laid out, the pace – well, we’ve talked about that, haven’t we? – the entire book was so well written, that it thoroughly deserves 5 stars. Savile, yet again, did not disappoint. And that left me clambering for his next work – which I will eagerly toss more than enough money at to get my hands on.
Well done, Mr. Savile, well done!
Before Sunfail was released, I was one of the first in line to get my hands on the book. I recently moved to New Zealand and was dismayed that I would have to wait longer than I wanted in order to receive my new little treasure, but I endured and finally, it arrived in the mail!
Of course, the first thing I did was smell the book. All book lovers participate in this time-honored tradition so if you’re wrinkling your nose, be gone! It was divine and I eagerly opened the cover to read every inch, front to back. I could not wait to slowly revel in the sumptuous perfect phrasing of words to which I have become accustomed when reading Savile’s works.
Boy, was I in for a surprise. I was sorely mistaken as the book had no intent of allowing me to take it “slow”. The thing took off at a hundred miles per hour, and by the time I pealed myself off the couch and put the book down – mostly due to a headache from hell as I had forgotten to put on my glasses – I had passed the 100 page mark! I believe I actually had to rearrange my wind-blown hair as I staggered off down the hallway in search of a stiff drink to accompany me when I returned to my ride.
Sunfail is non-stop action. Heart pounding, adrenaline inducing, sweaty oh-God –I- cannot-put-it-down mania that grips you until you realize that the book has ended and you’re left with nothing but the dismay that the ride is over. It took me two days to finish. I realize it could have been one, but honestly, the children had to eat at some point.
Now, I’m sure you’re probably thinking “She loves the writer, so automatically she gave him 5 out of 5 stars. She’s biased.” Not true. I am incredibly fair when I review. Let me tell you that this book is not my favorite genre, however, with writing so beautifully crafted, the plot so brilliantly laid out, the pace – well, we’ve talked about that, haven’t we? – the entire book was so well written, that it thoroughly deserves 5 stars. Savile, yet again, did not disappoint. And that left me clambering for his next work – which I will eagerly toss more than enough money at to get my hands on.
Well done, Mr. Savile, well done!
October 22, 2015
Does fiction get much darker than the sun going out forever? Not in my book—or Savile’s either! In this atmospheric little dystopia the sun is dimming, weather is changing, and regular people are getting weirder as time goes on, banding together to “protect their homes and livelihoods from looters and thieves.” Jake Carter is an ex-special forces guy now working as an NYC subway electrician. Hey—is it part of the pension package that if you’re among the planet’s most talented and highly trained killers you need to take a job as an electrician, a gentle retiree (Sam Dryden in Runner, etc.) or a probable hobo (Jack Reacher)? Just wondering. Strange as it seems, people still need to get to work even in desperate, near-apocalyptic times with walking dead spotted in Weehawken and Hoboken. With the city streets “…jammed hood to tail to hood,” subways are still a viable option for getting around. Jake puts two and two together when some sort of terror attack blitzes Brooklyn and he recognizes some mystical signs and graffiti as signals that the shit is going to hit the fan even harder. He springs into action as a one–man city savior, running here and there deciphering ciphers, helping railcars get moving, saving busloads of nuns and orphans. Chapters alternate viewpoints between Jake and his ex-gf Sophie Keane, who was a cog in the wheel of evil behind all this before having a change of heart. Sophie turns to Jake for help hiding from her former employers who are behind a lot of this nuttiness, a group of megalomaniacs known simply as “The Hidden.” Savile lavishes attention on words to excellent, sense-heavy effect; New York is a “beaten city” with “weeping bricks.” Deliberate and creepy, this taps into genuine human traits like fear, greed, and stupidity. VERDICT Those who can recite this spell: “Powers of disbelief: SUSPEND!” will find a fun, darkly distinctive ride. Just don’t look for things to make too terribly much sense.
Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
October 18, 2015
The sun seems to be failing.
Power is lost in New York City, Paris, London.
Cars, computers, internet and phones are down.
Dogs running in packs.
Birds dropping dead from the sky.
A newly discovered ancient city in the ocean.
Street gangs writing ancient letters/symbols
The world is thrown into utter chaos as three major cities come to a standstill. Jake Carter becomes the unexpected hero. A retired Special Forces, he currently works for the NYC subway as an electrician. Jake has a conscience and can't let go of the evidence that the events happening are not natural events but manipulation... but by what person or group.
Thrown into the mix is a cryptic message from Sophia, an old Special Forces friend. "I am not what I seem to be." The two never connect by phone or person but she does leave him clues from London that help he and Finn, a professor.
Jake puts his life in danger as he navigates the darkness of NYC to find those responsible. He not only put his life in danger but that of Finn and his friend Ryan.
In order to save them all..... he sells his soul to the enemy.... or did he really?
Sunfail will grab you from the very 1st page. It is a roller coaster of thrills, dangers, twists and turns. I could not put the book down and when forced to..... I was thinking about it. Sunfail is all consuming. What is most frightening, is that this book is so believable in the world that we live in today.
This review does not really give justice to the writing of Steven Savile but I didn't wan't to give to much away in this review.
While I have loved all of Steven Savile's book, Sunfail is the best he has every written.
Sunfail is an absolute must read for any fan of thrillers.
Power is lost in New York City, Paris, London.
Cars, computers, internet and phones are down.
Dogs running in packs.
Birds dropping dead from the sky.
A newly discovered ancient city in the ocean.
Street gangs writing ancient letters/symbols
The world is thrown into utter chaos as three major cities come to a standstill. Jake Carter becomes the unexpected hero. A retired Special Forces, he currently works for the NYC subway as an electrician. Jake has a conscience and can't let go of the evidence that the events happening are not natural events but manipulation... but by what person or group.
Thrown into the mix is a cryptic message from Sophia, an old Special Forces friend. "I am not what I seem to be." The two never connect by phone or person but she does leave him clues from London that help he and Finn, a professor.
Jake puts his life in danger as he navigates the darkness of NYC to find those responsible. He not only put his life in danger but that of Finn and his friend Ryan.
In order to save them all..... he sells his soul to the enemy.... or did he really?
Sunfail will grab you from the very 1st page. It is a roller coaster of thrills, dangers, twists and turns. I could not put the book down and when forced to..... I was thinking about it. Sunfail is all consuming. What is most frightening, is that this book is so believable in the world that we live in today.
This review does not really give justice to the writing of Steven Savile but I didn't wan't to give to much away in this review.
While I have loved all of Steven Savile's book, Sunfail is the best he has every written.
Sunfail is an absolute must read for any fan of thrillers.
August 26, 2016
I've been reading through a number of apocalyptic novels recently and Sunfail fell into the list as being a break from the horror-themed or heart-wrenching approaches I'd just finished before it. It promised action, thrills and suspense, which there was plenty of.. but believability was thrown out the door.
The 'very-convenient' characters are written nicely. They're smart, resourceful and dangerous (and exceptionally lucky on numerous occasions) but the environment wasn't fleshed out as well as I'd expected. The atmosphere of this being set in a looming end-of-the-world scenario just never fully gelled with me.
Halfway through and all was enjoyable enough to keep me invested but concerns were raised that, by the current speed of pace, there was unlikely a way to conclude this in a satisfying way at the same level of detail. I feared a lead in to a second book (which it didn't precisely do, but the universe has certainly been left open for more adventures) because as the story progressed into the second half it began getting noticeably rushed, with some arcs being almost completely abandoned. The ending is, ultimately, very anticlimactic. It's a pity. I wanted to like this book more but I won't be investing in any follow-ups if they appear on the horizon.
The 'very-convenient' characters are written nicely. They're smart, resourceful and dangerous (and exceptionally lucky on numerous occasions) but the environment wasn't fleshed out as well as I'd expected. The atmosphere of this being set in a looming end-of-the-world scenario just never fully gelled with me.
Halfway through and all was enjoyable enough to keep me invested but concerns were raised that, by the current speed of pace, there was unlikely a way to conclude this in a satisfying way at the same level of detail. I feared a lead in to a second book (which it didn't precisely do, but the universe has certainly been left open for more adventures) because as the story progressed into the second half it began getting noticeably rushed, with some arcs being almost completely abandoned. The ending is, ultimately, very anticlimactic. It's a pity. I wanted to like this book more but I won't be investing in any follow-ups if they appear on the horizon.
December 20, 2015
I am nearly done with one third of the books and I start wondering what an apocalyptic thriller should be. What I have read so far is a listless compilation of basic themes everyone has seen on TV: Hacking into the New York Stock Exchange for instance.
In another plotline a woman is chased by evildoers. Pages of meaningless action copied from Mission Impossible.
Then there is that annoying underwater city which is pretended to be 50,000 years old. Come on, buy a book about palaeo-anthropology. The scientist character believes that the owl-hieroglyph represents an owl in Old-Egyptian (that's stupid) and that she knows the Olmecian language (even more stupid for that language is not attested at all).
To sum up: It is like the author would have spent a weekend on Netflix and decided to write a book. He thinks he could let run a couple of empty and cryptic plotlines along and the reader would take these empty words as suspensful questions to solve.
PS: Of course, birds do not fall from the sky and do not die, when the magnetic field of the earth vanishes.
In another plotline a woman is chased by evildoers. Pages of meaningless action copied from Mission Impossible.
Then there is that annoying underwater city which is pretended to be 50,000 years old. Come on, buy a book about palaeo-anthropology. The scientist character believes that the owl-hieroglyph represents an owl in Old-Egyptian (that's stupid) and that she knows the Olmecian language (even more stupid for that language is not attested at all).
To sum up: It is like the author would have spent a weekend on Netflix and decided to write a book. He thinks he could let run a couple of empty and cryptic plotlines along and the reader would take these empty words as suspensful questions to solve.
PS: Of course, birds do not fall from the sky and do not die, when the magnetic field of the earth vanishes.
January 12, 2016
The dogs seemed to be first, running through the streets howling. No one knows why. Terror strikes New York again and it is left in ruins. A ex-Special forces electrician finds himself at the center of it all and everyone seems to be coming after him.
Jake Carter has received a message from an old acquaintance - Sophie Keane: I’m not who you think I am.” Considering they way they had parted, he didn’t think so. Sophie on one continent and Jack in the US race to fix things before they get worse. Can they??
A well-written novel by a writer who I’ve read a lot of over the years: Steven Savile. You may not know the name, but if you were/are a fan of Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval, Stargate and others, you will really like this one. Excellent plot and characters and I hope to read more.
April 2, 2016
I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.
Meh, this book really did not live up to what I expected from it.
The main draw for me was the post-apocalyptic theme, but there really wasn't much to recommend it in this area.
The storylines also didn't merge together very well. I felt like I was reading Mission: Impossible, then National Treasure (without Nic Cage to make it interesting), then one of those Shia LeBeouf movies where he's runnning from someone trying to kill him. Weird, but not interesting.
I also didn't get very much out of the characters themselves, which is fine if there's a great plot but no.
This book in one word: underwhelming.
Meh, this book really did not live up to what I expected from it.
The main draw for me was the post-apocalyptic theme, but there really wasn't much to recommend it in this area.
The storylines also didn't merge together very well. I felt like I was reading Mission: Impossible, then National Treasure (without Nic Cage to make it interesting), then one of those Shia LeBeouf movies where he's runnning from someone trying to kill him. Weird, but not interesting.
I also didn't get very much out of the characters themselves, which is fine if there's a great plot but no.
This book in one word: underwhelming.
January 2, 2016
I had to read this twice to answer the many questions it raises. Some are still not answered, hopefully there is a second book to answer them.
The end of the world or so it seems. Are the top one percent controlling these end time events?
Jake Carter former special ops sees graffiti being sprayed on walls. He grange call from someone from the past for help. Jake determines to get to the bottom of what is going on. Getting in deeper than he could ever imagine.
The story was okay. Found it too drawn out and an ending that left questions. Not enough action as in other end of the world stories.
The end of the world or so it seems. Are the top one percent controlling these end time events?
Jake Carter former special ops sees graffiti being sprayed on walls. He grange call from someone from the past for help. Jake determines to get to the bottom of what is going on. Getting in deeper than he could ever imagine.
The story was okay. Found it too drawn out and an ending that left questions. Not enough action as in other end of the world stories.
November 7, 2015
It started with the dogs howling...I love a book that gets my attention from the first sentence.Steven Savile also kept my attention till the end.In this conspiracy thriller natural events wreak havoc on the world and the rich and powerful use it to their advantage.Quick moving,action packed and entertaining.
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