When you finish reading a good book, there’s often an element of sadness. If there’s a sequel, even if you have to wait for it, the feeling can be tempered by the knowledge that you will soon get another fix of enjoyment. Reading the next instalment is like meeting old friends, in the form of the characters you’ve come to know. Love them or hate them, through the skill of the author, you are invested in their fate.
And then there are the series. The great arcs of storytelling. Not just the famous series like Game of Thrones, The Foundation, Harry Potter. There are just as many that you’ve probably never heard of, by writers who have had the courage to write and publish stories that don’t fit in the mainstream or follow current trends.
The Trusted, by Michelle Medhat, is one of those series. Within its five parts (plus a bonus prequel novella), are more adventure, excitement, twists and turns and audacious plotting than any reader has a right to expect.
Starting as a straight spy thriller, with a terrorist plot to be thwarted, we soon get into the realm of Science Fiction. There are aliens, questions about who controls the universe, the eternal battle between good and evil and the fate of everything. As well as the sumptuous action sequences, there’re emotions on display, love and loss, desire and longing. All handled with panache and resulting in rapid page-turning on my part.
If that makes it sound like a crazy mash-up – well, it is. Don’t let that put you off, at its heart, it’s a relatable story that transcends all attempts to classify it. This is a series that constantly reinvents itself, ploughing a jagged and audacious path across genres yet managing to encompass them all.
Is it Sci-fi, or is it a political thriller? A cautionary tale about the abuse of power or a glimpse into the possibility that we are watched by aliens who will do whatever it takes to keep the universal status quo? In the end, it doesn’t matter, it’s just exciting fiction that grabs you and won’t let go.
The author describes it as “Bond meets the X-Files” and I think she’s got that about right. And, as in both of those concepts, it’s impossible to draw a line between truth and fiction, where the well-researched cutting edge real science stops and pure speculation sets in.
BUT, there’s one crucial thing, IT WORKS. It develops over its parts and it grows. Every step is logical, every plot twist was totally unexpected. It jumps genre yet fuses them together. The whole thing was a joy to read, the end left me feeling satisfied yet bereft. Even though it finished in a perfect place, with every plot point satisfactorily resolved, I still want MORE.
There are no plot details about what goes on in the later books here. As I’ve said before, I dislike publishing reviews of the later parts of long series on my blog. There are several reasons, it’s unfair to give away things that necessity demands you reveal, especially to those who haven’t read the previous parts. Not only that, a review of the fifth book may discourage people from reading the first. Once they know what will happen in the end, the whole element of discovery is lost.
You can read my full review of part one HERE.
My reviews of the other parts will be placed on the appropriate Amazon pages.
All you need to know is that if you like breathtaking action and adventure, a story that leaps between genres and something that will keep you reading, desperate to know what happens next, you should try this series.
It’s the work of a writer at the top of their game. Five stars for each part from me.
Did I forget to mention, the prequel is free, once you’ve read that, you’ll be hooked. You can find it by clicking the link below.
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