The Coming Darkness – Greg Mosse
Paris, 2037. Global warming and pandemics have torn through the fabric of society. And Alexandre Lamarque of the French external security service is hunting for eco-terrorists. Experience has taught him there is no one he can trust. Experience has taught him there is no one he can trust – not his secretive lover Mariam, not even his old mentor, Professor Fayard, the man at the centre of the web. He is ready to give up. But he can’t.
In search of the truth, Alex must follow the trail through an ominous spiral of events, from a string of brutal child murders to a chaotic coup in North Africa. He rapidly finds himself in a heart-thumping race against chaos and destruction. He could be the world’s only hope of preventing the coming darkness…
I was invited to join the blog tour by Midas PR and I received a review copy from the publishers for the purpose of sharing this review.
I never quite know how to label books correctly, this is a cracking thriller which is set a few years into our future, it references actual people from our past and has spy story elements, action sequences and global consequences. Is it speculative fiction? A futuristic thriller? Dystopian even? I genuinely don’t know – but what I can say is that I would class it as “highly recommended” fiction as I had a blast reading The Coming Darkness.
Our main focus through the story is Alexander Lamarque (Alex). He works for a division of the French security services and early in the story he confronts two suspected terrorists, trying to stop them reaching their intended target and to dissuade them from continuing their dangerous mission. Dangerous to the establishment that is. Beleiving he can talk sense into the pair Alex finds events get away from him and the couple are more than just a pair of idealistic children. Blood is shed and lives lost. Alex is shaken by the incident and questions his current role.
Alex decides he wants to get away from his life and change careers, however, his employes place too much value on his skills – it seems they feel he has an extraordinary talent for identifying problems or opportunities. It’s almost a supernatural intuition he brings to his role so his employers do not wish to lose that skill. Alex is asked to assess the networks which connect the world – can he find weak points which could be targeted and determine where problems may arise. It will bring problems even Alex could not have foreseen. But he does know there is a darkness coming…something looms. Something bad.
One of the elements I enjoyed most about this book was the development of the characters around Alex. His relationship with his mother is a big factor to his peace of mind but she doesn’t seem well. There is talk of viruses which sweep the city and when Alex goes to visit her she is showing signs of ill health. He asks a friend to look after her but the pair have history and their relationship is another fascinating focal point through the story.
I found The Coming Darkness to be an engaging read. The story nips along at a good pace and there are pleny of action points to keep readers engaged with the story. The overlap with fictional (hopefully fictional) future events and the reality of the world we know was smoothly done and made me a little fearful for where the world may be heading. There are sinister forces working in the background of this book and their actions will pit them against Alex. You can see the two forces on a crash course and you want to know how it pans out.
This book took me a little out my comfort/familiarity zone but I had a great time with it and suspect you would enjoy it too.
The Coming Darkness is published by Moonflower Publishing and is available in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-coming-darkness/greg-mosse/9781919618753