Heather’s Bookshelf: The Anshar Gambit
Author: Ian G. McDowell
Released: 12/17/22
Genre: SciFi Thriller
‘“Yes. Because last night, we successfully transferred Anshar, a city-sized metallic asteroid, into Earth orbit.” Alice paused to let the words sink in. “So either four highly improbable meteor strikes happened within minutes of each other, or some lunatic is dropping space rocks on world capitals. Our space rocks.”
“The Anshar Gambit” is part of the Alice Knight Series though it can be read as a stand alone story. The story is told through three POVs- Alice, Julian & Marcos and is set in the near future. Alice is an engineer and head of asteroid mining for a program called Space Core owned by Aiden Lynch. Julian is Alice’s son and Marcos is a career soldier.
When a catastrophic event hits London, Alice finds herself trying to get to safety with Robert, the cofounder of Space Core. But when the helicopter they’re on is sabotaged, she finds they may be more connected to the disaster than she originally thought. Meanwhile, Julian’s taken hostage by people working for the same individuals who tried to kill Alice and Robert.
Marcos is working for a military/security company in Myanmar when the compound he is stationed at is attacked. Though injured, he manages to survive and finds his way to safety and in debt to Weizza, the founder of another weapons/tech company who isn’t exactly known for her ethics…but the enemy of my enemy…
Trigger Warning: violence, adult language, murder, reference to human trafficking
Overall, I found this book to be a little of a mix for me. It is nonstop action from page 3 and the pacing is therefore, fast-paced. It is told through 3 POVs: Alice, Julian, and Marcos each with their own voices, motivations, and faults. Alice’s was by far the most intriguing, complex, and enlightening of the three. I’m not sure if Julian’s POV was especially necessary or if it added much to the tale. I found his character to be judgmental and moody, like a rich spoiled kid. Along with him, Nadeja was a little too convenient of an addition for me. On the other hand, I enjoyed Robert (and his many flaws) along with his interactions with Alice as one of the more intriguing relationships. Marcos was also a little one note for me, though I did enjoy his little quips when he would have them. I did not feel the connection I probably should have with a majority of the characters. The story’s world was well built, incorporating aspects of current life with tech and social issues that could be of the near future easily. The tech was especially intriguing and added a different dimension to the story, especially the spider robots. The ending was again a little of a mix for me. Some of it was well done, surprising, and heart breaking while other parts felt rushed and incomplete. Alice Knight is absolutely an interesting enough character for a series and I would be interested in learning more about her other adventures.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A SciFi Thriller that’s non-stop action throughout but loses a little on the connection to some of the characters along the way.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Ian G. McDowell
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