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This Eden
This Eden is a smart modern-day adventure reminiscent of both the cyber noir novels of William Gibson and the golden age of espionage fiction.'An incredibly fast-paced literary thriller , tricksy & crammed with ideas, beautifully written, occupying its own unique territory somewhere between Graham Greene & William Gibson' Kevin PowerEver felt like you were living in a dystopian tech thriller? That's because you are... Michael is out of his depth. The closest he ever came to working in tech was when he rode a delivery bike for a food app in Vancouver. Yet when his coder girlfriend dies, he is inexplicably headhunted by sinister tech mogul Campbell Fess, who transplants him to Silicon Valley. There, a reluctant female spy named Aoife lures him into the hands of Towse, an enigmatic war-gamer, who tricks them both into joining his quest to save the world, and reality itself, from the deadliest weapon ever invented.Hunted by government agents and corporate goons, manipulated at every turn by the philosophising Towse, Aoife and Michael find themselves in an intercontinental chase which will take them from California to New York, from the forests of Uganda to Jerusalem, Gaza, Alexandria and Paris, and to a final showdown with the truth in Aoife's native Ireland.Fast-moving, exhilarating and tense, This Eden is both a classic spy novel and speculative fiction for the here and the now. O'Loughlin adapts the propulsive thriller form to create a sharp yet passionate account of a world under mortal threat from cyber-warfare, feral money, runaway technology, and a cynical onslaught on truth itself.
400 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2021
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308 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 48 reviews
May 18, 2021
She looked again at the old compressed-air plant. It seemed to her brighter, more electric, than the modern buildings around it, even though it was dark and their windows shone with light. It looked as if it would dissolve into sparkles if you touched it, revealing its secret, a shortcut to the next level of this game, some other Eden in some other multiverse. Maybe Towse was right to worry about the simulation hypothesis. Maybe nothing she could see was real. Was someone, or something, reeling her in? Was it Towse?
What I liked best about Ed O’Loughlin’s last novel (Minds of Winter) was its history-spanning, globe-trotting audaciousness; its fascinating, disparate threads knotting themselves into a thoroughly satisfying tapestry. While his latest, This Eden, is set firmly in the present — the action plays out right up to the moment people around the world start wearing medical masks when they venture outside — it is no less audacious, trotting itself over even more of the globe in a thrilling game of Spy vs Spy while a Doomsday Clock ticks its steady way towards midnight. Fintech, AI, Black Ops, War Games; every Deep State nightmare scenario is playing out at once and even the characters don’t know who the good guys are; please tell me none of this can happen irl. I wasn’t quite as captivated by the characters this time around, but O’Loughlin had me on the edge of my seat through most of this and I will happily read whatever he comes out with next. (Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)
There ’s an old rule of thumb in intelligence: once is happenstance; twice is coincidence; three times or more, it’s enemy action.
This quote is attributed to Ian Fleming, but this isn’t your parents’ James Bond tale. I don’t want to give any of the plot away, so suffice it to say that this is a story of an Everyman who gets caught up in “enemy action” and there are plots and counterplots, unlikely coincidences, betrayals, and subterfuge. O’Loughlin writes gorgeously as he flings his characters around the world — from drizzly Vancouver Island to the rubble-strewn Gaza Strip to the lush junglescape of Uganda and beyond — and the details of the threats to humanity are compelling because they sound all too plausible. The plot: intricate.
Maybe he didn’t understand, as Aoife did, that fictions are also a kind of war game, models that run in the mind of the reader, designed to compute not so much what might happen as how it might feel.
There is much discussion of books and philosophy and the nature of (un)reality. The themes: intriguing and accessible.
And I want for O’Laughlin to do most of the talking here, so I present some more of his big ideas:
• I just wanted to see what would happen next. You have to dabble in empiricism, every now and then, if you want to stay in touch with reality. I still believe there's a reality, by the way. I’m very old-fashioned like that.
• Some day – not, from the look of it, very far in the future – when the American empire is also a legend of decline, like King Solomon’s Mines, or the lost Christian kingdom of the great Prester John, archaeologists will trace its ruin in aerial photos of its overgrown airstrips, buried concrete floor slabs, and the acacias that grow greener over former pit latrines. But for now, burly white men still do weights in moon bases deep in the bush, and Galaxy C-5s thunder skywards from domestic airfields – in this case, Westover Air Reserve Base, near Springfield, Massachusetts – on unlisted flights to Manda Bay in Kenya, Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, or – in this case, again – to Africa Command’s main dark site in Uganda, a fortified compound in Entebbe Airport, on the northern shore of Lake Victoria.
• He believes that some day soon, in a decade or two at most, the surging power of artificial intelligence, combined with the processing heft of quantum computing, will make it possible for those who control the technology to encode their own souls and become immortal, to live on as charges in silicon synapses. He believes you can cast a soap bubble in glass.
• Cash is our last freedom. Without it, whoever controls the machines controls all the money, and controls all of us. In The Handmaid’s Tale, they turned women into serfs overnight by transferring all their money into accounts owned by their men. Soon, that won’t be fiction: they could switch off anyone they don’t like. But as long as there ’s cash, we still have some wriggle room.
I think that O’Laughlin is a very talented storyteller — I couldn’t predict where this was going, and I liked that; the ending felt earned and satisfying — and I can see this having wide appeal.
May 10, 2021
Why aren’t more people reading this book? Let this (the first review on GR) change that. Mind you, this wasn’t an obvious choice for me either, I’m not exceptionally into technothrillers and I’m really not into spy fiction, I don’t normally commit 400 pages of reading to a book by an unknown author and yet there was something very intriguing about this book and I’m so glad I put reservations aside and decided to try it.
The technothriller aspect comes into the plot pretty much straight away, one of the characters, Alice, gets involved with starting up a new kind of cryptocurrency. Michael, her boyfriend, isn’t really into it, isn’t on the same tech savvy or social conscience level to really get into it, but then the events decide things for him. Alice dies, Michael gets recruited to work for a tech giant named Fess and then once again recruited by an Irish spy named Aoiffe to work for a suspicious puppetmaster of a man named Towse. Cue in a globetrotting adventure, serpentine intrigue, taut suspense, the forever changing powers that be and endless manipulation, scheming and sneaking around that one normally associates with spy fiction and voila, this not so Edenic world comes to life in all of its confusingly exciting splendor.
And lo and behold, I really liked it. Might be the first spy book I ever did. The writing certainly had a lot to do with it, from the get go it draws you in with this omniscient perspective done by an unknown narrator. This perspective seems to be accumulated through various data, which is clever in that it immediately establishes the tone for the story, factual instead of emotional, observed instead of experienced, dispassionate in a way and yet strangely compelling at the same time. This remove allows the book to rely on pure plot drivers, requiring structure where every action drives the narrative forward, even as the characters may go around in loops and spirals. But it doesn’t (though it easily might have) leave the character development by the wayside.
In fact, in Michael and Aoiffe you get two very interesting leads, outsiders both though in completely different ways, one raised off the grid by foreign exiles in Canada just wants to have a quiet life, one is a young woman from Ireland who is looking for the right sort of excitement and danger and meaning in her life to make things interesting. And Towse…well, Towse is mainly unknowable as a proper spy master ought to be.
Once the action kicks into high gear, it moves along with all the terrible and awesome gravity of an avalanche, one country to the next, one adventure to the next, one revelation to the next. Until it all so cleverly comes together at the end.
Don’t know if it made me a spy fiction convert or a technothriller fan, but then again it didn’t have to. Because really good books delight irrespective of genre boundaries. And this is a really good book. I enjoyed it very much and it read surprisingly quickly for its size. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
The technothriller aspect comes into the plot pretty much straight away, one of the characters, Alice, gets involved with starting up a new kind of cryptocurrency. Michael, her boyfriend, isn’t really into it, isn’t on the same tech savvy or social conscience level to really get into it, but then the events decide things for him. Alice dies, Michael gets recruited to work for a tech giant named Fess and then once again recruited by an Irish spy named Aoiffe to work for a suspicious puppetmaster of a man named Towse. Cue in a globetrotting adventure, serpentine intrigue, taut suspense, the forever changing powers that be and endless manipulation, scheming and sneaking around that one normally associates with spy fiction and voila, this not so Edenic world comes to life in all of its confusingly exciting splendor.
And lo and behold, I really liked it. Might be the first spy book I ever did. The writing certainly had a lot to do with it, from the get go it draws you in with this omniscient perspective done by an unknown narrator. This perspective seems to be accumulated through various data, which is clever in that it immediately establishes the tone for the story, factual instead of emotional, observed instead of experienced, dispassionate in a way and yet strangely compelling at the same time. This remove allows the book to rely on pure plot drivers, requiring structure where every action drives the narrative forward, even as the characters may go around in loops and spirals. But it doesn’t (though it easily might have) leave the character development by the wayside.
In fact, in Michael and Aoiffe you get two very interesting leads, outsiders both though in completely different ways, one raised off the grid by foreign exiles in Canada just wants to have a quiet life, one is a young woman from Ireland who is looking for the right sort of excitement and danger and meaning in her life to make things interesting. And Towse…well, Towse is mainly unknowable as a proper spy master ought to be.
Once the action kicks into high gear, it moves along with all the terrible and awesome gravity of an avalanche, one country to the next, one adventure to the next, one revelation to the next. Until it all so cleverly comes together at the end.
Don’t know if it made me a spy fiction convert or a technothriller fan, but then again it didn’t have to. Because really good books delight irrespective of genre boundaries. And this is a really good book. I enjoyed it very much and it read surprisingly quickly for its size. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
June 8, 2021
I fell head over heels for This Eden, I love it when an author writes something unexpected. It would be difficult to put this in a genre box so I won't try.
It's kind of about the power of money I guess.
Some wonderful writing here and a group dynamic of characters that I genuinely engaged with. The plot is addictive, a kind of quirky techy spy novel that spins the reader through various locations and incidents and told from a different perspective of sorts that works superbly.
Overall for me this was an excellent read. If you are looking for something outside the box this might well be for you.
It's kind of about the power of money I guess.
Some wonderful writing here and a group dynamic of characters that I genuinely engaged with. The plot is addictive, a kind of quirky techy spy novel that spins the reader through various locations and incidents and told from a different perspective of sorts that works superbly.
Overall for me this was an excellent read. If you are looking for something outside the box this might well be for you.
June 10, 2021
This Eden is a part espionage part techno-thriller part speculative fiction book in the vein of the likes of William Gibson as well as the golden age of panoramic international espionage fiction. Alice and Michael meet at university in Vancouver, she is a young computer prodigy, he is the hapless orphaned son of Iranian immigrants. First love is followed by a rift and then Alice disappears - suicide is suspected. While still processing the trauma, Michael is recruited by a San Francisco tech firm to work for its sinister founder Campbell Fess. But on arrival, he finds himself at the centre of the brilliantly managed con by a reluctant female spy named Aoife, who leads him to her handler, the ragged Towse. Powerless to the turn of Towse's whims, they're coerced into beginning a journey which neither of them understands, always having to keep ahead of Fess, his operatives and main hitwoman, Barb Collins.
Their journey will take them by air and by sea, from California to Manhattan, into the Ugandan rain forest, Jordan, Jerusalem, Paris and finally Dublin. Under surveillance by the shape-shifting government war gamer, Towse, until the revelation of just what Fess is about to achieve is unveiled. Fast-moving, exhilarating and tense, This Eden plunges into an urgent struggle to disarm the deadliest weapon ever invented. Smart and suspenseful, subversive and striking, this is a compulsive and heart-thumping spy thriller but not only does it pack in the action and the thrills but more philosophical, thoughtful ponderings too, which I loved. Hopping from continent to continent from one adventure and mission to the next, the immersive, riveting plot continues apace and keeps your heart thumping as the diverging threads all eventually culminate in a white-knuckle conclusion.
Their journey will take them by air and by sea, from California to Manhattan, into the Ugandan rain forest, Jordan, Jerusalem, Paris and finally Dublin. Under surveillance by the shape-shifting government war gamer, Towse, until the revelation of just what Fess is about to achieve is unveiled. Fast-moving, exhilarating and tense, This Eden plunges into an urgent struggle to disarm the deadliest weapon ever invented. Smart and suspenseful, subversive and striking, this is a compulsive and heart-thumping spy thriller but not only does it pack in the action and the thrills but more philosophical, thoughtful ponderings too, which I loved. Hopping from continent to continent from one adventure and mission to the next, the immersive, riveting plot continues apace and keeps your heart thumping as the diverging threads all eventually culminate in a white-knuckle conclusion.
June 8, 2021
This book started well: Michael Altarian and his girlfriend Alice are living in Canada. Michael is and engineer, his parents, who lived under the radar, were killed in a road crash.
Alice is some kind of IT whizz-kid, and is involved in developing a financial app that only uses cash.
She becomes involved with a company involved crypto-currency.
The first part of the book was very engaging as their relationship developed.
But when Alice disappeared, and Michael ends up in Palo Alto working for the crypto-currency, things just got more and more convoluted.
Aoife is an Irish woman, who started in the police, but now seems to work for unspecified intelligence agencies.
Towse is a mysterious character with myriad contacts, and identities who appears to be controlling what Michael does.
The three of the travelled all over the world, fleeing I’m not sure who. There was mention of sentient money, aliens, something about apes in Africa, and finally, I was just reading to get to the end, not for any enjoyment.
Not a good read for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books. for the opportunity to read this book.
Alice is some kind of IT whizz-kid, and is involved in developing a financial app that only uses cash.
She becomes involved with a company involved crypto-currency.
The first part of the book was very engaging as their relationship developed.
But when Alice disappeared, and Michael ends up in Palo Alto working for the crypto-currency, things just got more and more convoluted.
Aoife is an Irish woman, who started in the police, but now seems to work for unspecified intelligence agencies.
Towse is a mysterious character with myriad contacts, and identities who appears to be controlling what Michael does.
The three of the travelled all over the world, fleeing I’m not sure who. There was mention of sentient money, aliens, something about apes in Africa, and finally, I was just reading to get to the end, not for any enjoyment.
Not a good read for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books. for the opportunity to read this book.
June 10, 2021
I was tempted to read "This Eden" by Ed O'Loughlin by the premise that it was a fast-paced, spy-thriller, in a cyber setting. I thought the first part when Michael and Alice meet at university and their life in Palo Alto, even when Michael gets recruited by the large cyber organisation, all mad sense. Sadly when it became an on-the-run roadtrip/escape from the baddies, I started to lose interest. I've read books before which jump from location to location and the fast-paced nature of the story keeps me interest. There was something lacking here... not 100% for me.
June 2, 2021
In THIS EDEN, by Ed O'Loughlin, Michael is reeling from the death of his girlfriend when he is swept up by a mysterious man, Towse, who is on a secret mission to thwart a world catastrophe. Towse, along with his other recruit, Aoife, drag Michael across the globe in hopes of completing their mission and saving the world. The longer Michael is with Towse, the more it is clear that Towse never really tells the whole truth and Michael has to decide whether their mission really is for the good of everyone, or just good for Towse.
The fun in this novel is in the chase. From the time Michael meets Towse and Aoife, there is not a moment where the enemy is looming behind them. Never being comfortable, plans are often made and adjusted on fly and the reader really feels this sense of spontaneity. As more time is spent with Towse and it becomes clear he is very slow and calculating in what he reveals, the reader can't help but have fun trying to figure him out. The dialogue is challenging at times and the style O'Loughlin uses leaves the reader struggling to keep up with who is speaking. The global travel in the book is fun, but sometimes the geographic descriptions of the areas were hard to understand.
The plot of THIS EDEN is exciting and the finish of the book is a suspenseful and fun, I just struggled to get their wit the clunky dialogue and detailed, and yet muttled, descriptions of all the different settings.
Thank you to Quercus Books/Riverrun, Ed O'Loughlin, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The fun in this novel is in the chase. From the time Michael meets Towse and Aoife, there is not a moment where the enemy is looming behind them. Never being comfortable, plans are often made and adjusted on fly and the reader really feels this sense of spontaneity. As more time is spent with Towse and it becomes clear he is very slow and calculating in what he reveals, the reader can't help but have fun trying to figure him out. The dialogue is challenging at times and the style O'Loughlin uses leaves the reader struggling to keep up with who is speaking. The global travel in the book is fun, but sometimes the geographic descriptions of the areas were hard to understand.
The plot of THIS EDEN is exciting and the finish of the book is a suspenseful and fun, I just struggled to get their wit the clunky dialogue and detailed, and yet muttled, descriptions of all the different settings.
Thank you to Quercus Books/Riverrun, Ed O'Loughlin, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
June 7, 2021
I was exhausted when I turned the final page of this book. It had been a veritable blast of a journey throughout. When I began, the day before, I really wasn't expecting either to get where we eventually ended up, or prepared for the journey to get there.
We first meet Michael Altarian when he is dating Alice, a very skillful coder when the two are still in uni. Alice is toying with her own finance app based on cash but in the mean time, until that is ready to launch, she is working for the opposition and their cryptocurrency app. And then she disappears. And Michael is thrust into the limelight when he is headhunted by the company who Alice worked for. Headhunted through an Irish spy called Aoiffe. And then the plot gets more convoluted than the number of attempts to pronounce her name and we, along with Michael, are whisked off on a techno-thriller adventure. Fast plotted and riddled with peril as our duo endeavour to get to the truth at the same time as trying to stay one step ahead of the enemy and, more importantly, stay alive.
Phew... what a ride this book took me on. And, unlike a lot of this genre book, not too heavy on the techno aspects which meant that this side of things was easy to understand. The plot, which was well executed, got on with itself at a fair lick. Aided by the absence of waffle or padding. And, when we eventually got to the end, did work out making sense! There were a few times along the way that I didn't know what way was up half the time and has to sit with a few things along the way. Not for too long I hasten to add and it wasn't uncomfortable.
The journey took me, along with the characters practically on a world tour spanning multiple countries - an eclectic mix! Leading to an explosive showdown in Dublin of all places. An ending that left me shocked but satisfied.
All in all, a good solid read that I recommend to fans of the techno-thriller genre and thriller fans alike. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
We first meet Michael Altarian when he is dating Alice, a very skillful coder when the two are still in uni. Alice is toying with her own finance app based on cash but in the mean time, until that is ready to launch, she is working for the opposition and their cryptocurrency app. And then she disappears. And Michael is thrust into the limelight when he is headhunted by the company who Alice worked for. Headhunted through an Irish spy called Aoiffe. And then the plot gets more convoluted than the number of attempts to pronounce her name and we, along with Michael, are whisked off on a techno-thriller adventure. Fast plotted and riddled with peril as our duo endeavour to get to the truth at the same time as trying to stay one step ahead of the enemy and, more importantly, stay alive.
Phew... what a ride this book took me on. And, unlike a lot of this genre book, not too heavy on the techno aspects which meant that this side of things was easy to understand. The plot, which was well executed, got on with itself at a fair lick. Aided by the absence of waffle or padding. And, when we eventually got to the end, did work out making sense! There were a few times along the way that I didn't know what way was up half the time and has to sit with a few things along the way. Not for too long I hasten to add and it wasn't uncomfortable.
The journey took me, along with the characters practically on a world tour spanning multiple countries - an eclectic mix! Leading to an explosive showdown in Dublin of all places. An ending that left me shocked but satisfied.
All in all, a good solid read that I recommend to fans of the techno-thriller genre and thriller fans alike. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
June 28, 2021
This Eden by Ed O’ Loughlin was published June 10th with Riverrun (Hachette) and is described as ‘an exhilarating techno-thriller and modern spy novel reminiscent of William Gibson and the golden age of international espionage fiction.’ A cross-the-globe adventure from Vancouver to Silicon Valley to Dublin via Uganda, Jerusalem, Gaza and more, this is the story of Michael, an engineering student, whose hacker girlfriend, Alice, suddenly disappears with no clue or explanation. Alice is a tech prodigy and Michael, the son of Iranian immigrants who tragically lost their lives, is unsure of his place in the world.
After Alice’s disappearance Michael is approached in a rather obscure manner and is very quickly caught up in an extremely high-tech and complex chase across continents. Cyber warfare, complicated technology, fast-talking individuals, and convoluted stories take the reader on a quirky journey.
Speculative fiction is defined as ‘a broad category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, nature, or the present universe’ and it is a genre that I would agree best describes This Eden. It will have its appeal among those who like to read outside the norm, something a little alternative. It is a VERY sophisticated plot, and, in fairness, it probably did go a little over my head. It was fascinating to see the challenges faced in leaving no digital footprint behind. Quite futuristic but also one would have to ask how futuristic?
Kevin Power, author of White City describes This Eden as ‘an incredibly fast-paced literary thriller, beautifully written, occupying its own unique territory somewhere between Graham Greene & William Gibson.’ I expect for those of you familiar with the work of Greene and Gibson, the curiosity might be piqued.
After Alice’s disappearance Michael is approached in a rather obscure manner and is very quickly caught up in an extremely high-tech and complex chase across continents. Cyber warfare, complicated technology, fast-talking individuals, and convoluted stories take the reader on a quirky journey.
Speculative fiction is defined as ‘a broad category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, nature, or the present universe’ and it is a genre that I would agree best describes This Eden. It will have its appeal among those who like to read outside the norm, something a little alternative. It is a VERY sophisticated plot, and, in fairness, it probably did go a little over my head. It was fascinating to see the challenges faced in leaving no digital footprint behind. Quite futuristic but also one would have to ask how futuristic?
Kevin Power, author of White City describes This Eden as ‘an incredibly fast-paced literary thriller, beautifully written, occupying its own unique territory somewhere between Graham Greene & William Gibson.’ I expect for those of you familiar with the work of Greene and Gibson, the curiosity might be piqued.
July 4, 2021
I don’t think I realised that this book would be set in the high tech world but found it interesting and a little unnerving – how true could this be. Alice and Michael meet each other at University in Canada and seem an unlikely couple. They eventually move in together and life is good. Alice is heavily into programming and wants to start up a programme to do with currency on line and Michael is studying to become an engineer which he is finding difficult. Alice is so involved in her project that they eventually begin to drift apart as Michael does not want to become involved in her theories. She becomes more and more interested in finding out what is out there and stumbles across something odd. She continues to probe and then mysteriously disappears. It was put forward as suicide. Michael finds this difficult to believe and realises he needs to take hold of his life His parents, Iranian refugees had made him not trust anyone or anything so he needed to change his world. Michael is then contacted by a tech firm in San Francisco which he does not understand but goes along for the interview. He is very wary and cannot decide what is happening. Whilst there he is recruited by Aoife which it turns out is a spy and then the fun and drama begins. I really enjoyed this part of the book – all the comings and goings, different countries and the character who was in charge Towse who could change his persona at a drop of a hat. They travel by air and sea, sometimes in comfort but more often not. Michael and Aoife go along but do not really understand what Towse is hoping to achieve as he only gives information in small bites. Eventually the story culminates in Dublin and the deed is done – did it work – read to find out. Good story and extremely enjoyable as the characters were great. Another great read from Netgalley, thank you
February 17, 2025
This did not work for me.
I need to stop trusting the blurbs on the back of books. The blurb said this was a "fast-moving" book, but skipping over chunks of time and dramatic geographic hops does not make a book fast-paced. The story was already complex, but then add wordy descriptions of things in the environment that did not benefit the plot, obscure references, and unresolved ambiguities (that I would have expected to be resolved at the book's close)--and it made for a difficult read (for me).
I don't have a problem with authors deciding not to use quotation marks, but I feel that the lack of quotation marks detracted from this story. There were multiple points where I had to reread, and even then it wasn't clear what was happening.
I feel that the choice of no-quotation-marks was linked to the notion that this book was being narrated by a mysterious third party. But because there is only very brief mentions of this omnipotent third-party, it didn't warrant the choice to make the style of this book with that plot point in mind.
There were captivating moments in the book, and I would have enjoyed this much more if there was a payoff, but the ending was so much less interesting than I thought it would be. I am leaving space for the possibility that I just didn't get it too, there are plenty of good reviews for this book. But if you don't like the things I mentioned above, then This Eden might not be for you either.
I need to stop trusting the blurbs on the back of books. The blurb said this was a "fast-moving" book, but skipping over chunks of time and dramatic geographic hops does not make a book fast-paced. The story was already complex, but then add wordy descriptions of things in the environment that did not benefit the plot, obscure references, and unresolved ambiguities (that I would have expected to be resolved at the book's close)--and it made for a difficult read (for me).
I don't have a problem with authors deciding not to use quotation marks, but I feel that the lack of quotation marks detracted from this story. There were multiple points where I had to reread, and even then it wasn't clear what was happening.
I feel that the choice of no-quotation-marks was linked to the notion that this book was being narrated by a mysterious third party. But because there is only very brief mentions of this omnipotent third-party, it didn't warrant the choice to make the style of this book with that plot point in mind.
There were captivating moments in the book, and I would have enjoyed this much more if there was a payoff, but the ending was so much less interesting than I thought it would be. I am leaving space for the possibility that I just didn't get it too, there are plenty of good reviews for this book. But if you don't like the things I mentioned above, then This Eden might not be for you either.
June 10, 2021
*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the publisher.
I have enjoyed plenty of spy thrillers and mysteries in my time, but none quite like THIS EDEN by Ed O'Loughlin which is a mixture of espionage, technical genius, and unusual characters which all work well together to create a unique story.
Michael fell into his relationship and they rubbed together nicely until work and life started to come between them. But when she dies suddenly, Michael's life is suddenly turned upside down. His girlfriend was one of the top coders in the country and now Michael finds himself hired by the top tech company in Silicon Valley even though he certainly doesn't belong. When he is approached by a spy called Aoife and her boss Towse, Michael soon finds himself out of his depth and in a race against time as he travels the world to uncover the truth, which may be far beyond his wildest imagination.
THIS EDEN by Ed O'Loughlin weaves technology, power, lies, and secrecy all together to create a plot that is truly fresh and compelling. I did find the storytelling a little unusual at the beginning but soon fell into its flow and couldn't put it down until I unravelled what had happened. If you're looking for a distinctive story with a technological edge then THIS EDEN by Ed O'Loughlin will be right up your street. I look forward to reading more from this author.
I have enjoyed plenty of spy thrillers and mysteries in my time, but none quite like THIS EDEN by Ed O'Loughlin which is a mixture of espionage, technical genius, and unusual characters which all work well together to create a unique story.
Michael fell into his relationship and they rubbed together nicely until work and life started to come between them. But when she dies suddenly, Michael's life is suddenly turned upside down. His girlfriend was one of the top coders in the country and now Michael finds himself hired by the top tech company in Silicon Valley even though he certainly doesn't belong. When he is approached by a spy called Aoife and her boss Towse, Michael soon finds himself out of his depth and in a race against time as he travels the world to uncover the truth, which may be far beyond his wildest imagination.
THIS EDEN by Ed O'Loughlin weaves technology, power, lies, and secrecy all together to create a plot that is truly fresh and compelling. I did find the storytelling a little unusual at the beginning but soon fell into its flow and couldn't put it down until I unravelled what had happened. If you're looking for a distinctive story with a technological edge then THIS EDEN by Ed O'Loughlin will be right up your street. I look forward to reading more from this author.
August 22, 2021
Ed O’Loughlin’s “Minds of Winter” holds a place on my best novels of the last decade list. On the strength of that work, I eagerly dove into his latest work “This Eden”. It took me a few chapters to come to terms with the fact that it is a very different type of novel and I should not measure it against his earlier work.
“This Eden” is an unusual cross between literary fiction and a classic spy novel. It depicts a world besieged by rampant technology, cyber warfare, cryptocurrency and power hungry technology geniuses.
Michael Atarian, a fish out of water character, is caught in this cyber warfare by virtue of his relationship with his late girlfriend who was deep in the trenches. He is manipulated by both career spy Aoife and the enigmatic Towse who is waging his personal counter attack on the cyber warfare instigators. Their story is narrated in the manner of a true crime story by a shadowy figure whose identity is only revealed, by implication, at the very end.
“This Eden” is certainly a rollicking tale. It has insightful things to say about runaway technology and puts forward the compelling idea that money can take on a life of its own. But the uneasy mix of genres stands in the way of it becoming a top tier work of literary fiction.
“This Eden” is an unusual cross between literary fiction and a classic spy novel. It depicts a world besieged by rampant technology, cyber warfare, cryptocurrency and power hungry technology geniuses.
Michael Atarian, a fish out of water character, is caught in this cyber warfare by virtue of his relationship with his late girlfriend who was deep in the trenches. He is manipulated by both career spy Aoife and the enigmatic Towse who is waging his personal counter attack on the cyber warfare instigators. Their story is narrated in the manner of a true crime story by a shadowy figure whose identity is only revealed, by implication, at the very end.
“This Eden” is certainly a rollicking tale. It has insightful things to say about runaway technology and puts forward the compelling idea that money can take on a life of its own. But the uneasy mix of genres stands in the way of it becoming a top tier work of literary fiction.
September 12, 2022
"This Eden" builds well from an absolutely cracking sprint-start into a rather fascinating tour of the cyber world, fintech, governmental spy organisations and industrial espionage. We step into the waters with a romance and a hint of mystery, then find ourselves heading off the 10m board into a maelstrom of political, economic and moral dilemmas.
O'Loughlin cleverly drip-feeds nuanced info about each of the characters, twisting and changing what we think they're up to and whether we should like them (or not). The early chapters carry an air of a storm approaching and then the novel adopts a darker, more malevolent tone. It's a very fast-paced read, perhaps too quick in places. As we are rushed to long-haul destinations at the drop of a hat, the compressed time-frame becomes a little unbelievable - and that's a shame, because it is a thought-provoking novel as well as being a very enjoyable one.
Bravo Mr McLoughlin for having a good array of female characters, so often not the case where spy/crime fiction is concerned. Oh, and is the taxi-driver modelled on Adrian McKinty?
O'Loughlin cleverly drip-feeds nuanced info about each of the characters, twisting and changing what we think they're up to and whether we should like them (or not). The early chapters carry an air of a storm approaching and then the novel adopts a darker, more malevolent tone. It's a very fast-paced read, perhaps too quick in places. As we are rushed to long-haul destinations at the drop of a hat, the compressed time-frame becomes a little unbelievable - and that's a shame, because it is a thought-provoking novel as well as being a very enjoyable one.
Bravo Mr McLoughlin for having a good array of female characters, so often not the case where spy/crime fiction is concerned. Oh, and is the taxi-driver modelled on Adrian McKinty?
August 19, 2025
this book is precisely as witty as the author who wrote it. i learned about this book because he was a teacher of mine, and it makes perfect sense. i love the prose, though many of the concepts mentioned were unknown to me; many of the references were lost. i think the characters were brilliant, i loved their connection to their respective place. so, so much happened! i really felt like i was equally thrown for a whirlwind as michael was. this is an adept and thorough analysis on its subject matter, of which the author clearly has an extensive knowledge of. while i enjoyed the narrative, i honestly feel like i learned more from this book than anything! it was an experience i felt i had to be fully attentive for; not an easy read, but a necessary one
July 19, 2021
A very much enjoyed reading this...and never quite knew where it was going. From the US, to Uganda and Ireland, the context kept on changing. Some slower paced sections and some page turning parts filled with action and suspense. Mixed in with some key messages - the fact we are moving completely online, the dangers of cryptocurency and the possibilities of biological and digital viruses, it is a poignant and well timed story.
However, it felt like all the different parts of this story came together quite clumsily in places for me to give this a higher rating.
Definitely a fun summers' book though!
However, it felt like all the different parts of this story came together quite clumsily in places for me to give this a higher rating.
Definitely a fun summers' book though!
November 3, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
I did not enjoy This Eden at all. I did read the whole book, but felt it was very drawn out with two dimensional characters. I felt there was a lot of unnecessary globe trotting, and if I wasn't reading the book daily, I would have easily lost track of the story line, this was probably because of the style of writing, which I didn't enjoy.
With this book, I think that it is a matter of style preference, and it just didn't work for me.
This is the type of genre I love reading, and I'm sorry I was disappointed with This Eden.
I did not enjoy This Eden at all. I did read the whole book, but felt it was very drawn out with two dimensional characters. I felt there was a lot of unnecessary globe trotting, and if I wasn't reading the book daily, I would have easily lost track of the story line, this was probably because of the style of writing, which I didn't enjoy.
With this book, I think that it is a matter of style preference, and it just didn't work for me.
This is the type of genre I love reading, and I'm sorry I was disappointed with This Eden.
August 10, 2021
I found the plot a bit thin at times and debated giving this novel three stars. The characters spent too much time traveling between exotic locations for reasons that were poorly explained. On the other hand, the characters were very compelling and I instantly liked the author’s poetic writing style. It was also fun to have the novel evocatively start in Vancouver.
January 1, 2022
This book started well but by the time it was done I couldn't even tell you what it was about.
The characters, especially Towse, are not believable at all. The story gets more and more convoluted (cryptocurrency, computer and human viruses, something to do with apes and genetics...just too much), and together with the author's writing style made it a very meh read for me.
The characters, especially Towse, are not believable at all. The story gets more and more convoluted (cryptocurrency, computer and human viruses, something to do with apes and genetics...just too much), and together with the author's writing style made it a very meh read for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2025
Loved this! So exciting, fast paced, clever, and parts of it surprised me with its sincerity. For me, this struck the perfect balance between having enough complexity to keep me intrigued, and not being too much of a slog to read. I didn't know Ed O'Loughlin before but he can now consider me a fan :)
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June 18, 2021What a terrific book! I wrote a full review on my blog. Echoes of William Gibson, John Le Carre, also Michael Scott Moore's The Desert and the Sea: 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast. And Bacigalupi.
August 8, 2021
I think it's well written and the world building is interesting but I also found it a bit confusing and the story didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
September 13, 2021
Was interesting read in that the way it started was difficult to assess wether fiction of not which I really enjoyed, then the book seemed to alter narrative style then ended back to how started. So for me the middle ran out of steam too with some needs less journeys involved around the globe
September 28, 2021
THIS EDEN by Ed O'Loughlin weaves technology, power, lies, and secrecy all together to create a plot that is truly fresh and compelling. I did find the storytelling a little unusual at the beginning but soon fell into its flow and couldn't put it down until I unravelled what had happened.
September 4, 2022
It's possible I don't have a good enough short term memory for this book, but I was lost most of the time. I was hoping I'd understand at the end, but I didn't. So I didn't like the book, but I think for folks who like a complicated plot and quippy lines, they'd like it.
April 21, 2024
A techno-thriller with a philosophical heart. Jumps from British Colombia, California, New Jersey, Uganda, Alexandria, South of France to Dublin. (I think I got them all!). Memorable characters and an interesting study of the under-belly of the digital world.
December 23, 2024
I wanted this to have an overall better story. The setup and characters are there, but it just never takes off in a way that books by Scalzi tend to do.
2 stars, take it on holiday, but don't turn round if you left it at the hotel
2 stars, take it on holiday, but don't turn round if you left it at the hotel
October 27, 2025
An exciting techno thriller but it’s much more than that.
Who is the narrator? Who is the villain? Who is the hero? Nothing is straightforward.
The standard of the writing is very high. This is a book by an experienced author with a lot of craft. I want to read more by him.
Who is the narrator? Who is the villain? Who is the hero? Nothing is straightforward.
The standard of the writing is very high. This is a book by an experienced author with a lot of craft. I want to read more by him.
June 24, 2021
Great beach book. A mystery that keeps you engaged.
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