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Terror Firma
If you're a cynic, you're a sucker. 'They' want you to believe in aliens and goblins and UFOs and ghosts, because if you go chasing lies, you never get to the truth. A paranoid public is a pliant public. And that's just how 'they' like it. 'They' are an ultra-secret all-powerful world 'Committee' of shadowy individuals -- the real decision makers who tell governments what to do, dictate which way the stock market's heading, start up a few wars to settle old scores. They've had five centuries' experience of running the world to know that nothing spreads a rumour faster than a carefully worded denial. The truth is, there's nothing worth meeting out there. There are no aliens. Well, actually, that's not quite true. The all powerful ultra-secret 'Committee' think there are none, but they've been so busy manipulating the entire globe they haven't realised that they themselves are being manipulated. Besides, they're too inbred nowadays to see past the end of their noses let alone into the skies. From opposite sides of the globe, former US commando Frank Becker, and UFO enthusiast Dave Anderson, are about to stumble on the biggest conspiracy theory of all. And it's a discovery that threat
437 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 18, 2020
I do enjoy a good conspiracy theory, as whilst I don’t tend to subscribe to them, the flights of fancy and leaps in logic that lead to them are often amusing. When you combine the general amusement of a conspiracy theory with the humour Matthew Thomas showed in his debut novel “Before & After”, a combination like this is always likely to be worth a look.
In Thomas’ second novel, “Terror Firma”, Dave is the editor and only employee of “ScUFODIN Monthly” a magazine catering to UFO enthusiasts that somehow has more money than its circulation would expect. Frank is a former black ops soldier who has managed to beat the Government to the recovery of a crashed alien spacecraft and has made off with its pilot and a book he was carrying, which is the diary of a man called Becker. Becker is an enforcer for The Committee of 300, a group which is behind virtually everything on planet earth, from industry to politics to wars and it is his job to ensure the populace believes what the Committee wants us to believe.
It seems the world is getting crazier by the moment, as Elvis Presley’s comeback show at Glastonbury ends abruptly thanks to a sniper in a black helicopter. The world has once again descended into war, but this time with Urgistan, a landlocked country with no obvious financial or mineral deposits, but which has somehow managed to invoke the ire of the United Nations, despite no-one, including the Urgistani president, having any idea what they have done. After many years serving the Committee, Becker is starting to feel as if their Chairman is about to maker her final move towards worldwide control, a suspicion which is strengthened following the theft of his memoir and the sudden and grisly deaths of the few members of the inner circle of the Committee he had managed to get onside.
Much like his debut, “Terror Firms” is an entertaining read, ranging from the Nevada deserts to the Himalayas, with stops on a television confessional show and a cult party headquarters along the way. It’s a story designed to keep the reader slightly off balance, which makes Dave the ideal narrator for such a story, as he spends most of the time not having a clue what is happening to him and about the only thing he is sure of is that he’s not really enjoying himself. Like Dave, the reader feels like a passenger in the whole thing, which is exactly what the Committee wants you to feel like, as to understand is to risk taking control. Whilst this is good for the narrative voice, it’s not quite as good for the reading, as it does mean there is little for the reader to cling on to and this is a novel that you always feel slightly on the outside of, as there isn’t anything to really draw you into the story.
Whilst the story is perhaps less familiar and thus less involving than the debut, I feel that Thomas’ writing has improved between the two novels. He doesn’t feel the same need to hammer home his every joke and reference to be sure that the reader has got it. It does move a little slowly in parts, but Thomas has gotten better at letting more of his humour speak for itself and whilst it means the novel this time is slightly more farce than comedy, there is still plenty here to amuse, although some of the fictional names used are a little too close to real people to be anything other than thinly veiled references that don’t always hit the mark. Indeed, it’s when things become a touch more serious and the links between the characters come to light that it seems to suffer most from the drop in pace and humour. Whilst I realise these sections were vital for the story, they did take some of the edge off the farcical nature of the whole thing and took me out of the moment a touch.
“Terror Firma” is at once better in some areas and not quite so convincing in others when compared to Thomas’ debut. The writing and the slightly lighter hand on the humour tiller are a marked improvement, but the idea doesn’t seem to have quite the same legs and doesn’t draw the reader in quite as deeply as the debut did. That said, both novels are easy to read and have a decent level of humour and ridiculousness than I have enjoyed and it’s a shame that it has been so long since this novel to see how Thomas might have continued after this early promise.
In Thomas’ second novel, “Terror Firma”, Dave is the editor and only employee of “ScUFODIN Monthly” a magazine catering to UFO enthusiasts that somehow has more money than its circulation would expect. Frank is a former black ops soldier who has managed to beat the Government to the recovery of a crashed alien spacecraft and has made off with its pilot and a book he was carrying, which is the diary of a man called Becker. Becker is an enforcer for The Committee of 300, a group which is behind virtually everything on planet earth, from industry to politics to wars and it is his job to ensure the populace believes what the Committee wants us to believe.
It seems the world is getting crazier by the moment, as Elvis Presley’s comeback show at Glastonbury ends abruptly thanks to a sniper in a black helicopter. The world has once again descended into war, but this time with Urgistan, a landlocked country with no obvious financial or mineral deposits, but which has somehow managed to invoke the ire of the United Nations, despite no-one, including the Urgistani president, having any idea what they have done. After many years serving the Committee, Becker is starting to feel as if their Chairman is about to maker her final move towards worldwide control, a suspicion which is strengthened following the theft of his memoir and the sudden and grisly deaths of the few members of the inner circle of the Committee he had managed to get onside.
Much like his debut, “Terror Firms” is an entertaining read, ranging from the Nevada deserts to the Himalayas, with stops on a television confessional show and a cult party headquarters along the way. It’s a story designed to keep the reader slightly off balance, which makes Dave the ideal narrator for such a story, as he spends most of the time not having a clue what is happening to him and about the only thing he is sure of is that he’s not really enjoying himself. Like Dave, the reader feels like a passenger in the whole thing, which is exactly what the Committee wants you to feel like, as to understand is to risk taking control. Whilst this is good for the narrative voice, it’s not quite as good for the reading, as it does mean there is little for the reader to cling on to and this is a novel that you always feel slightly on the outside of, as there isn’t anything to really draw you into the story.
Whilst the story is perhaps less familiar and thus less involving than the debut, I feel that Thomas’ writing has improved between the two novels. He doesn’t feel the same need to hammer home his every joke and reference to be sure that the reader has got it. It does move a little slowly in parts, but Thomas has gotten better at letting more of his humour speak for itself and whilst it means the novel this time is slightly more farce than comedy, there is still plenty here to amuse, although some of the fictional names used are a little too close to real people to be anything other than thinly veiled references that don’t always hit the mark. Indeed, it’s when things become a touch more serious and the links between the characters come to light that it seems to suffer most from the drop in pace and humour. Whilst I realise these sections were vital for the story, they did take some of the edge off the farcical nature of the whole thing and took me out of the moment a touch.
“Terror Firma” is at once better in some areas and not quite so convincing in others when compared to Thomas’ debut. The writing and the slightly lighter hand on the humour tiller are a marked improvement, but the idea doesn’t seem to have quite the same legs and doesn’t draw the reader in quite as deeply as the debut did. That said, both novels are easy to read and have a decent level of humour and ridiculousness than I have enjoyed and it’s a shame that it has been so long since this novel to see how Thomas might have continued after this early promise.
January 17, 2025
Didn't like it at all. It was so boring that I couldn't keep my head with it.
Didn't like the short chapters, going from person to person, situation to situation.. seems rushed and hectic. It was quite a struggle to finish this, and I only finished this because I like to finish what I started.
Also the humor was way to simplistic. Easy puns. I wish half a star was a choice.
Didn't like the short chapters, going from person to person, situation to situation.. seems rushed and hectic. It was quite a struggle to finish this, and I only finished this because I like to finish what I started.
Also the humor was way to simplistic. Easy puns. I wish half a star was a choice.
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November 4, 2021This was freaking AMAZING.....
Matt Thomas is definitely a fantastic author, and again. this one was different from the other two books I have read, and Frank McIntire... is possibly the same guy from Anthrecite... datum ;)
Matt Thomas is definitely a fantastic author, and again. this one was different from the other two books I have read, and Frank McIntire... is possibly the same guy from Anthrecite... datum ;)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews