Friday 7 September 2012

Review - Project Overkill by Alan Shaw

Happy Friday! It is very dreich up here in Hamilton today - seems like November.
Now, here is by far my most controversial review yet. And wait until you see the interview questions next week! Hoping not to scare Alan, as he hasn't actually received them yet, but let's just say they are no holds barred!
But, without further preamble, check out my review for Project Overkill below.


I was asked to review this book by the author and was provided with a review copy.

Let me just start by saying that this is not the type of book I would normally read and I am not particularly its target audience. However, I have rated this book as if it were a genre I would usually read.

On having read the synopsis, I think I was expecting a Chris Ryan type read, with a bit of magic thrown in. I really enjoyed the beginning, the parts set in Kosovo, how sensitive Mike was and how although he was a loner, he made wrong decisions for the right reasons. Plus I liked all the army assault course stuff!

Then when we moved to the IT side, I could also relate to a lot of that, including all of the metrics and project meetings which are part and parcel of being part of a large company. It tickled me that the name used for the company, was actually the name of the IT company I worked for in the past!
However, what I did have a gripe with and although some readers would love this aspect, I think it would be very off-putting to others, was some of the graphic and quite shocking sexual scenes early on. I understand that where there is the occult, sex is often linked. But quite frankly, I think it could have been alluded to, rather than blatantly thrust in our face (no pun intended) and I do think some readers would be downright offended and stop reading. On the other hand, the sexual scenes between Mike and Marcia were generally relatively subtle and well written, in my opinion.
The twists and turns and magical elements, the discovery of Marcia's powers and the ending itself were very well done, if the ending was a little gory for my taste.
I could visualise where the characters were and what they were doing, and to my mind that is a sign of a novel well written. And on that note, I did find that the prose and the dialogue were well written overall.
I have rated this novel 4 stars. However, it's not possible to give half star ratings, or I would have rated it 3.5. I would have deducted the half star, due to some of the sexual content, which I think detracted from the novel a little.
If you are a fan of witchcraft and the occult, with contemporary themes, this book is for you.


Product Details
You can buy Project Overkill on Amazon - http://amzn.to/OUPUdJ (UK)
and http://amzn.to/Q3v9i6 (US & other .com)

I'll be back on Sunday with a new Six Sentence Sunday from Sign of the Times. Haven't done that for a while, so be sure to check in!

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