John
Collins is seeing things through three people's eyes as he reviews Neil
Vogler's novel...
Before investing your time in a novel, I always feel the premise must be intriguing enough to make it worth the devotion. Thankfully, the novel as a whole lived up to its captivating concept and one that starts the Tripler trilogy on a high note. The plot centres on a virus that infects humans and causes them to generate into two versions of themselves which eventually causes them to go insane.
The protagonist, Harry Allwear, is reminiscent of Rick Deckard from Blade Runner as he is responsible for hunting down and destroying all the triplers. Unlike Blade Runner and Rick Deckard, there will be no three decade debates on whether or not Allwear is a tripler as he becomes one from the very beginning of the novel. Despite this, he maintains his position as his sanity is kept stable through medication and a liking of David Bowie music. However, like all good drama, conflict takes hold and soon a figure threatens to destroy all that Harry knows and his sanity.
Neil Vogler perfectly blends together science fiction with tropes of the psychological and action thriller. Reading the novel is effortless with the prose being accessible and never pretentious. Every chosen lexis to describe a physical or emotional reaction is vivid and clearly well chosen to enhance the audience’s commitment to the story. With Harry’s first person narrative, every description, particularly of an explosion that is a major turning point, helped me not only picture the event but also heightened my sympathy for him in a way other novelists fail to do. It is also the first novel I have read since The Hunger Games trilogy that has a somewhat cinematic quality that could easily result in a film version that would be enjoyable and more original than some contemporary offerings.
A further admiration I have for the novel is the British setting; it’s difficult to describe, but it felt right and would somehow have seemed out of place had it been set anywhere else like America. It is particularly difficult to fully explain the brilliance of this novel without giving examples of various moments to accompany my views. From the beginning I was hooked and remained so through to the very end, leaving you with an interesting twist that has certainly got me excited for the next installment.
There will inevitably be readers put off by the science fiction concept, however I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys an exciting thriller.
Before investing your time in a novel, I always feel the premise must be intriguing enough to make it worth the devotion. Thankfully, the novel as a whole lived up to its captivating concept and one that starts the Tripler trilogy on a high note. The plot centres on a virus that infects humans and causes them to generate into two versions of themselves which eventually causes them to go insane.
The protagonist, Harry Allwear, is reminiscent of Rick Deckard from Blade Runner as he is responsible for hunting down and destroying all the triplers. Unlike Blade Runner and Rick Deckard, there will be no three decade debates on whether or not Allwear is a tripler as he becomes one from the very beginning of the novel. Despite this, he maintains his position as his sanity is kept stable through medication and a liking of David Bowie music. However, like all good drama, conflict takes hold and soon a figure threatens to destroy all that Harry knows and his sanity.
Neil Vogler perfectly blends together science fiction with tropes of the psychological and action thriller. Reading the novel is effortless with the prose being accessible and never pretentious. Every chosen lexis to describe a physical or emotional reaction is vivid and clearly well chosen to enhance the audience’s commitment to the story. With Harry’s first person narrative, every description, particularly of an explosion that is a major turning point, helped me not only picture the event but also heightened my sympathy for him in a way other novelists fail to do. It is also the first novel I have read since The Hunger Games trilogy that has a somewhat cinematic quality that could easily result in a film version that would be enjoyable and more original than some contemporary offerings.
A further admiration I have for the novel is the British setting; it’s difficult to describe, but it felt right and would somehow have seemed out of place had it been set anywhere else like America. It is particularly difficult to fully explain the brilliance of this novel without giving examples of various moments to accompany my views. From the beginning I was hooked and remained so through to the very end, leaving you with an interesting twist that has certainly got me excited for the next installment.
There will inevitably be readers put off by the science fiction concept, however I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys an exciting thriller.
10/10
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