Friday 22 February 2013

Bob Moore: Hostile Territory by Tom Andry

He's back! After the chaos of his last adventure Bob Moore, PI, is back in the saddle, so to speak.

I will state here that if you haven't read the previous books then there will be mentions of plot spoilers ahead. Also, why are you skipping to the third book in the series? Seriously, who does that?

Still reeling after his previous adventure it appears at first that our flawed private investigator has found his niche working undercover. The only issue being a slight lack in his accounting skills. However, we should all know by now that nothing is ever as simple as it should be. With the tragedy of Nineteen still on his mind, his new leg and feet being constant reminders of his reasons for hating Supers and an unexpected visit from the United State's Vice President with an offer that he could happily turn down you wonder if this poor man really needs to have people stalking him as well? He really does attract trouble and Mind is no help with her hilariously sarcastic responses and almost constant nagging.

With two ambassadors disappearing from the Supers' newest annoyance to Bob, the Super City, he is tasked with finding out what happened and to do so he must pose as the third US Ambassador. Obviously he's the poster boy for public relations and the like. Put a politician from every country in the world together and there will be squabbles, alliances and behind closed doors pacts made and that is what Bob has been thrown into. Now remember that this is a guy who has annoyed pretty much all the powerful Supers that are left and he's now on a floating city full of them!

You'd think for someone like Bob this would be enough to have him emptying the not so mini mini-bar but no, wait! There's more. Let's just throw in the mere idea of someone from his past that isn't his ex-wife and watch him squirm. Although the squirming around his ex-wife is pretty fun to watch anyway. This is definitely a hint to grab some popcorn and pull up a chair.

Andry has done a brilliant job of pulling together influences from popular culture and blending it with his own unique creativity to really sell the believability of this world and it's inhabitants. The idea of a superhero or main character of a storyline being untouchable was discarded a long time ago and Mr Andry has been sure to keep it in the history books. You have an alcohol dependent, overweight main character, the females leads will never be someone you'll want to mess with or imagine as damsels in distress and, would you believe it, even the secondary characters feel fleshed out and cared for. The Supers are never to be considered as safe, not in these books, and to be the spectator as they realise that is not fun or uplifting but it sure as heck keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series, despite the shortness of the books (quality over quantity), and it's clear that there is a lot of research done to make some of the scenarios more believable (not so much believing I'll see anyone fly past my window anytime soon mind). There are enough plot twists to make you wonder and question your own feelings towards certain characters and, I'll be honest, I even put the book down and refused to believe what I was reading at one point.

I recommend this as a must read for those who like action, adventure and just a bit of an exciting romp through a fantastical world not completely dissimilar from ours when it all boils down to basics.

For Tom Andry's website go here: www.tomandry.com

To buy this book, Kindle edition, click here or for the UK price without working out the exchange rate yourself go here .
For other versions (ie: if you haven't got a Kindle) then here is the Smashwords link!

Seriously, use these links and buy this eBook!!