A man comes to on a boat, dragged from an unnatural sleep by a gunshot and the screech of seagulls. He has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there, and he has no idea who the six others onboard - one now dead - are either. Identically dressed, with shaved heads and matching fresh surgical scars, each of them bears a tattoo of a name which could be theirs. As they try to make sense of their situation, they realise that each of them possesses 8expertise and knowledge in different fields - but none of them have any personal memories. Who are they? Why are they here? And what is the unsettling, dense mist which lowers over the river?

Author A.J. Ryan (a pseudonym for best-selling fantasy writer Anthony Ryan's forray into horror) throws the reader write into the story with a flurry of action and information. It took a while to get my bearings, but this cleverly put me in the same headspace as the titular 'red river seven', all of us trying to work out what exactly is going on.

Once we have all oriented ourselves - and the characters have agreed to work together in order to establish the facts of their predicament - a fast-moving adventure through a London of the near future ravaged by disease unfolds at pace. There are clear parallels here with films such as I Am Legend and, of course, 28 Days Later, but Ryan harnesses the power of taking an innately familiar setting and rendering it wrong to eerie effect. The Diseased, when we meet them, are an original conceit, distinct from other works, and I found their descriptions viscerally horrid and frightening.

The story ultimately flounders under the weight of a somewhat unconvincing 'big bad' and a tonne of exposition in the final chapter, but overall I found Red River Seven to be a quick, exciting read and I will look out for more of Ryan's horror writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Seven people wake up on a boat heading towards the Thames estuary. They have no personal memories and the only instructions for their journey are given by a computer voice on a phone. I was definitely curious about what was going on and it builds to a decent conclusion.

i think this concept would be better suited for a visual medium. it's propulsive but somewhat shallow on the page. not awful but could easily be elevated by more creatives

I usually enjoy the author's fantasy novels and was interested in reading another genre from him. Unfortunately this felt derivative. The plot was not exciting, the characters dull. Lucky it is not a long novel.

Reviewed for the BFS by Elloise Hopkins.

RED RIVER SEVEN by A.J. Ryan. Orbit Books. p/b. £9.99.
Reviewed by Elloise Hopkins.

He awakens to a corpse and to the realisation that he does not know his own name. Nor where he is. Nor why. It is a boat. Not large. His neighbour appears to have killed himself. They have things in common. The name of an author tattooed on their arm. Heads shaved. Matching scars. He realises a lot… including that he, ‘Huxley’, and the late ‘Conrad’, are not the only ones on board.

Not a single member of the crew can remember details of their life. The only thing clear is that each has their own particular area of expertise. Beyond that, they have no idea why they are on the boat, where they came from, where they are going, or why. An emotionally detached voice on the other end of a satellite phone is their only connection to the world beyond the vessel and their only guide to the centre of this mystery.

Slowly, Huxley, who it seems may have been a detective before he woke up on the boat, begins to unpick the who, what and why of their mission, and the horrifying reason they have been assembled. They began as seven. How many will survive to the end?

Red River Seven is a fast-paced dystopian horror which drip feeds details of the truth to the reader and to Huxley, who serves as the point of view protagonist, throughout. This is a tension-fuelled page turner with slight echoes of 28 Days Later, centred around Huxley and his struggle with just who or what remains trustworthy in his new existence.

The worldbuilding takes a lesser role when compared to Ryan’s epic fantasies but the level of detail where it matters, the pace, and the narrative flow are handled expertly to prevent the reader from pausing mid-mystery. With morbid fascination, we, Huxley and the team crave explanation, even as part of us shies away from discovering any more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit Books and A.J. Ryan for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Spoiler: dark and twisted met action-packed thriller.

I was so surprised by this book, in the best possible way. The story was so unique and captivating. I was so into it, I was eating it up. With every page I had more questions and was dying to find some answers. I was hooked from the start.

I loved how we, as readers, were in the same state of confusion as the characters. We had no idea who was on that boat, what were they doing there, how did they end up there and what was going on. None of the seven characters had any memories about their previous lives. They didn't even remember their names. From instinct, they were able to guess their previous jobs, but nothing was certain. As if things couldn't get any worse, they soon fond a body on the boat, with a gunshot wound.
A ringing phone was the only source of information we had, and we had no choice but to trust it, because nothing else made sense. As the seven characters proceeded through the river in what looks like England, they started hearing human screams, getting louder the further they went.

The author did such an amazing job at keeping the mystery as thick as the fog covering the world. There are hints here and there, but how could anyone be certain of anything? The descriptions were so vivid and giving off an air of terror and imminent doom.

I found the ending exceptional. We got the answers we were looking for throughout the story, yet the first question was never answered. What was his name? The last phrase made my jaw drop.

The book was truly addictive.

This is a fast paced, gripping book about a group of people who wake on a boat with no memories of who they are or how they got there. Instructions filter through to them, sending them on a thrilling race to save the day.

I found this a decent and fun read. I liked the plot device of the reader learning alongside the characters and the descriptions of the Diseased.

By the time I read this I couldn't remember a single thing from the blurb and I would absolutely recommend going in to this blind.

Anthony Ryan is an author I have had on my TBR for the longest time, so when I heard about this standalone thriller I decided to pick this one up immediately. The story follows a man who wakes up on a boat in the middle of the ocean with no memory of who he is. There are six others there with him all with no memories. When the group receives a mysterious message and is sent on a mission together, they have to use all their unique skills in order to find a way to survive.

Red River Seven is an incredibly fast paced, action packed read. It’s exactly the kind of book I could see being made into a blockbuster movie. It’s a quick read and one that will have the reader on the edge of their seat. Ryan does a brilliant job of creating tension and atmosphere. The story is full to the brim of mystery and there are a few twists the reader absolutely won’t see coming. The story comes to a satisfying conclusion and I really liked the mixture of thriller and horror elements.

There are seven characters aboard the boat and I do wish the story had been a little longer just so we got the opportunity to get to know them a little better and see their personalities develop. I did find sometimes I was unsure which character was which and this pulled me out of the story a little. Ryan did a terrific job of creating the diseased which really leaped off the page. Overall this was an enjoyable read and it has definitely made me keen to pick up more books from Anthony Ryan in the future. If you’re looking for a fast paced read with an intriguing premise, Red River Seven should definitely be your next read.

I am a fan of pandemic novels, however I could not get into this one. I wish I loved it more than I did, however it left me a bit meh in the end.

“Red River Seven” by A J Ryan disappoints as a dystopian pandemic novel. The characters, with their collective amnesia, fail to evoke empathy, and the underdeveloped mystery surrounding their origin adds little intrigue. The lack of a coherent and satisfying resolution renders the novel ultimately pointless, leaving readers unsatisfied and wondering why they invested time in this mindless exercise in brutality.

This was a gothic, haunting and atmospheric story that I couldn’t put down. It was gripping and engaging the whole way through with a level of suspense and unpredictability that added an extra layer to the storytelling. It was a chilling read that has stayed with me since I read it.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if it were in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Arc review

YES, that’s all I can say.
I love this book - the way the plot unwinds and slowly lets you further in and gives you more information! It’s beautiful!
A perfect mix of thriller with a little bit of something otherworldly simmered in.
I did struggle to relate with the characters in this book, but when the premise of a people who have no memory of who they are that’s little to be expected!

I will admit that I’m not normally a fan of pandemic-themed novels. When you’ve lived through a pandemic, reading about them can be a little morose and exhausting. Red River Seven elevates itself above that experience and instead gives the reader a page-turning zombie-adjacent survival thriller.

Seven specialists wake up on a boat with no memory of who they are and what follows is a mission of survival. I found myself eagerly turning the page to uncover the truth of their mission and it did not disappoint.

The memory loss early on was crucial to the plot, and I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did without it. The mystery was intriguing, the hope heart-breaking and the action scenes deeply satisfying. I would happily play this as a video game and I will happily continue to pick up Anthony Ryan’s foray into horror fiction. I loved it.

Fantasy author Anthony Ryan turns his hand to sci-fi/horror in this lean, action-driven novel about a group of strangers who wake up on a boat with no memory and find themselves in the midst of an apocalyptic style military operation against a raging human virus.
The story kicks off in the heart of the action and never lets up, as the group follow a series of orders right into the heart of London.
It's a story that feels written with the big screen in mind, conjuring up shades of Resident Evil, 28 Days and even Soylent Green, along the way but told from a military POV.
The mystery is revealed to the reader in real time, along with the crew, and for the most part is a snappy, enthralling read. Sadly though, this one falls away at the last hurdle with an abrupt and unsatisfying ending that lets the overall story down.

This book was so good! It was intriguing and really drawed me in. I'll be reading more of this authors work.

I enjoyed how fast paced and gripping this story was, however at times it felt quite disjointed and took me out of the story.

I loved the horror in this book. The way that Ryan sets the tone and creates the atmosphere in the story is very well done.

I also enjoyed the characters and their interactions with each other.

I would definitely read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with this arc.

Not the best A.J. Ryan but a good horror nonetheless. Complex, disturbing at times, gripping.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Fast-paced, tense, and full of intrigue!

This story is about seven strangers who find themselves on a boat with none of their memories. I don't usually read books like this but I do love hearing the concepts and want to read many more in the future! The story starts off so intense, with all the characters possessing a gun, and the pace did not slow down!! The plot itself was very clever, suspenseful, and kept me guessing until the end!

Highly recommend!

Too fast and furious for me. It reads like a mix between Ludlum's Bourne and zombies apocalypse in a sort of Covid era (I hate how many stories this Covid thing inspired), with a lot of action, dialogues, and improbable behavioral traits. It seems written to be adapted for the main screen, which would not surprise me.

Even so, it was an enjoyable reading, but I prefer by far his classic fantasy, in which he excels.

This wasn't my cup of tea. The depictions of a dystopian time were quite scary and off putting and I didn't like either the writing style or the characters. The description of the book was what enticed me to read it, but I found I couldn't finish it. Many other reviews loved it, so give it a chance.