This book, Breakthrough, by Michael C. Grunley, was such an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Yet again, I bought on the basis of a Kindle ad (they’re working for and on me!), taken by the premise of the book and the many, many good reviews – and I was not in any way disappointed.
A combination of action-adventure, sci-fi and techno-thriller, with a large cast, Breakthrough starts by seguing between different scenarios and different characters – from a nuclear submarine beneath the Caribbean, to Antarctica, the Pentagon and a research group studying dolphins and interspecies communication. Incredibly cinematic in style, the narrative holds your attention, gripping you by the throat at times, as the various locations and the people in them are slowly brought together, united by an amazing and potentially deadly revelation.
There are those closest to power who want to act rashly before all the intelligence required to understand what is happening to the world can be gathered. Instead of listening to experts and accepting that their solution presents an even greater and catastrophic problem, there are those who think they know better and refuse to heed any warnings, regardless of the consequences or who they might hurt in the process.
The race is then on to save the planet and the global population, not so much from an outside threat or the inevitable consequences of drastic climate change, but from their very own – people they trust to act in their best interests.
Fast-paced, engaging, with charismatic and relatable characters (including the dolphins!), this is a terrific book that was hard to put down. It was also difficult not to substitute certain characters for well-known figures in contemporary politics which served to add a particular frisson to the narrative.
Enjoyed this so much, I downloaded the sequel (yay! A sequel) and am enjoying it immensely too.