Book Review | The Chimera Vector

Title: The Chimera Vector

Author: Nathan M. Farrugia

Series or standalone: First in the Fifth Column Trilogy

Genre: Sci-fi/Thriller/Action

Publication Date: May 1^st 2012

Format: ebook

Source: Author

Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

The Fifth Column: the world’s most powerful and secretive organization. They run our militaries. They run our governments. They run our terrorist cells.
Recruited as a child, Sophia is a deniable operative for the Fifth Column. Like all operatives, Sophia’s DNA has been altered to augment her senses and her mind is splintered into programmed subsets.
On a routine mission in Iran something goes catastrophically wrong. Bugs are beginning to appear in Sophia’s programming and the mission spins out of control.
High-speed chases, gun fights, helicopter battles, immortal psychopaths, super soldiers and mutant abilities are all in the mix in this edge-of-your-seat action-packed techno-thriller.
Perfect for fans of Matthew Reilly, THE CHIMERA VECTOR melds sci-fi with sizzling espionage action.

REVIEW:

Firstly I want to thank the author for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although I didn’t give this book the highest rating, I still think that other people may LOVE this book, but it just wasn’t for me. It’s been said to be a lot like Matthew Reilly’s works, but as far as I can tell, the only real similarity was the action. Throughout the book, I couldn’t help but compare it to Reilly’s work (who is one of my favourite authors) and there were some major differences. I feel as though Matthew Reilly’s characters are fleshed out a lot and I felt like I knew them inside and out, but with these characters I felt so detached from them and I just didn’t know them at all.

The plotline itself was interesting, but a lot of the time I couldn’t keep up. It was just too confusing and there were so many scientific terms that I had no idea what any of it meant, so it was really hard to grasp the concept of it. I also found that there were whole paragraphs dedicated just to how someone would reload their gun and a lot of the writing was very matter of fact, for example, “Jay did this. Damien did this. Then Sophia did this”.

One thing I loved about this book was that there was an awesome main female lead who was sooooo badass. I love strong, female leads and I think it’s so great that we’re seeing more of them in the action/adventure genre.

To be honest with you, I think people who love science and genetics and actually know their stuff would LOVE this book. But unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. So if you like action and lots of scientific stuff, this one’s for you!

Plot: ★★.5

Characters: ★★★

Writing: ★★.5

Romance/Feels: ★
Ending: ★★★
Overall Enjoyment: ★★★