Zero World by Jason M. Hough - Review

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I won an ARE copy of Zero World by Jason M. Hough through the Goodreads First Reads Program.

Peter Caswell, a technologically enhanced superspy who gets his memories deleted after completing a mission, has just been assigned to the most interesting mission he will ever forget. A spaceship that disappeared twelve years ago has been found with every crew member - except one - dead. It appears that the missing crew member escaped and fled through a wormhole that leads to an alien planet which appears to mirror 1950s Earth. It's Caswell's job to find her on this dangerously alien world with no support and only days to complete his mission. His skills will be put to the ultimate test because everything he knows will be challenged.

Zero World is everything I never knew I wanted - think Christopher Nolan's Inception starring James Bond thrown into a pulse-pounding mission on a parallel yet very alien planet - if that doesn't sound amazing, I don't know what would. I was unbelievably lucky to have won this Goodreads giveaway because this is by far one of the coolest sci-fi books lead by supremely badass main characters that I've read in a long time.

Our two main P.O.V. characters, Caswell and Melni, a Southern Gartien spy, complement each other well and they are every bit equals. Both are fully fleshed out people who each lead the story in their own right. The settings and world-building are also brilliant. The story is very visual with the level of detail that the author treats us to in regards to characters, Earth, technology, action, Gartien (mirror Earth), and many other spoilery things. I felt like I was watching everything play out on the big screen and I would love to see this properly adapted, by the way!

Without going too far into spoiler territory, I cannot recommend Zero World by Jason M. Hough enough! It is a marvelously action-packed, white-knuckle thriller that will keep you up all night dying to find out what happens next! I hope we get to see these characters again and after that ending I hope the wait isn't too long!

I am sharing the love by giving away this ARE copy of Zero World (plus a sampler of Uprooted by Naomi Novik) to one lucky winner - if  this sounds like something you would be interested check it out here!


I read this novel from June 20 - July 3, 2015 and my review is also on Goodreads.