I struggled with this one. I - like millions of others - absolutely adored I Am Pilgrim. It's still up there for me as one of the best thrillers I have ever read, and so was extremely excited to read The Year of the Locust. However, it fell flat for me. Unnecessarily long and convoluted, the final third I found extremely messy.

I think the wait for this book completely ruined the delivery.
It was a great story and.I really enjoyed it but it wasn’t as good as I am pilgrim and I think that’s because I’d built up the first book so much the second was never going to be able to beat it.

This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

Absolutely impossible to give an adequate review to a book that defies a genre label, moves across several storylines and drains the reader of every possible emotional journey. Every page is a masterpiece of less is more. One mans journey through an impossible experience from undercover spying, racial warfare, a short section on time travel (a first for me, suspended belief, went along for the ride and thoroughly enjoyed) and finally a story outlining a fight to the death for a belief in family, allegiance to country and one man’s battle to overcome and destroy a corrupt and depraved individual of demonic capabilities. A five star read that just kept on giving. The second book I have read by this author and he has not disappointed. Cannot thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC which has set the bar extremely high for any future 2024 new publications.

My god, what a disappointment. What a waste. I’ve actually held of reviewing this for a few weeks because I wanted to forget all about it. Its terrible.

I Am Pilgrim was a masterful thriller, and like many others, ive waited for years to get my hands on this. I wish I didn’t. The plot makes now sense, and far from being a thriller, it goes off tangent half way through to become some silly sci-fi novel that doesn’t fit into the story at all. Its honestly like someone else has written the second half of this book.

I wont waste anymore time reviewing it. Ergh.

What a long - really long shaggy dog story this was. So full of detail and diversions away from the main plot as well as a seriously strange final section which was pretty bemusing.

But I was totally engrossed and captivated and just had to finish what is perhaps the thriller of the year.

On the fence about this one. After reading I am pilgrim with my book club in summer and surprisingly loving it I was optimistic about this one. The first 3/4 was really good, with a fast pace, short chapters and intense, but the last quarter felt almost like a genre change? It twisted so much it felt a little jarring personally. That being said it was overall really well researched and written.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the next instalment from Terry Hayes. I loved I am Pilgrim and have been eagerly waiting for this one. I didn't like the freaky futuristic element in the middle but it all worked out well in the end. If you want a rip roaring story - try this one !

This is the best thriller novel with an espionage/murder theme by a British-born writer I think that I have read for a long time. It is a real block-buster. Absolutely sensational.

. Kane is a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA. Working with his team to plan missions, he is then a lone wolf put into almost impossible situations in the most unwelcoming places. We join him as he travels into Iran to get information about a potential "spectacular" (a huge terrorist atrocity) which a potential asset says is planned in the near future. While there he has many choices to make about his mission and he comes across a heinous enemy leader who will haunt him on a chase across the globe.
Whilst there our protagonist has many adventures and is involved in many different situations..

Although this is only his second novel, this author has massive experience of creating the screenplays for Road Warrior/Mad Max 2, Dead Calm and other films and TV, after a journalistic career in Australia. He has written an extremely gripping and highly imaginative story in second book with very well described characters and a plot which I don't think I'll forget for a very long time.

This is an absolutely tremendous book which, while it is rather long, covers much ground and the many adventures of the protagonist and his enemy. I do not think in view of this it could be any shorter. I was gripped and spellbound until I finished it in about five days! I'm looking forward to further books from this very talented writer. Extremely enjoyable and well recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House U.K, Transworld Publishers for an early copy.

The story was gripping enough in the first half, as you'd expect from the author of I Am Pilgrim. Sadly the plot lurched out of the realms of possibility/feasibility and I felt like I was reading science fiction. Scarcely credible. Was disappointed

This is probably my longest anticipated book ever. I read I am Pilgrim years ago and I was craving a sequel immediately. I (among many others) had waiting so long for the release of The Year of the Locust, that I had forgotten it was coming.

What I had forgotten about Terry Hayes' writing, is the sheer amount of detail that goes into his stories. It's completely understandable that they take so long to write. Also explains why this book took me so long to read. This was in no way, shape or form a quick read. Every page was crammed with small intricate details and it took a lot of concentration for me to keep up. I don't say this in a negative way. It's impressive to me.

I loved Kane so much and I really enjoyed seeing a softer, more vulnerable side to him. The stakes for him were far higher during this book, given the developments in his personal life. Some of the other character probably used that as fuel to doubt his abilities, but of course, he was as able as ever.

The one thing that surprised me about this story was the addition of an almost sci-fi theme and a touch of dystopia. I didn't see it coming and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I spent many chapters questioning the plot, myself and the characters and it was an adventure of epic proportions.

It took me nearly a whole month to finish this book and I feel somewhat accomplished now that I have. Did I love it as much as I am Pilgrim? Probably not, but I think that has more to do with the development of my own reading preferences than anything else. Would I recommend it? Most definitely. But buckle yourself in.

Worth the wait! As gripping as you’d expect, powered through this one and was hooked from the first page.

What can I say? I’ve waited about ten years for Terry Hayes’s follow up novel to “I am Pilgrim”and sad to say this new one is not nearly as good. First of all it is far too long and could have really done with some judicious editing. It’s roughly 1000 pages- for me a 15 hour read according to my Kindle and sadly it wasn’t so compelling that I couldn’t put it down. I really had to force myself to pick it up at times.
It felt like it was several books rolled into one and was thus quite disjointed in places.
The first section was good- the search for a terrorist leader and our agent narrator’s lonely journey in enemy territory, using his special skills to survive. I thought that this part was much like the earlier novel and fun to read although violent in places as one would expect in this genre.
The middle section just seemed to meander on and I couldn’t really see the relevance to the plot- a mission to find another enemy that really didn’t seem to link to the first section although it was quite exciting in places.
By section three I was flagging and the plot twist at this point took some get used to. I’m not really sure how I felt about it. It was different, that’s for sure! I won’t go into what happens as I don’t want to spoil it for you!
The final section seemed to return to the theme of part one with a final search for the terrorist leader who seemed to have caused all the trouble throughout the novel.
There were some great parts to this extremely long book and to be fair I did finish it. I liked the first person narration by Ridley, the CIA agent. I think if it had been much shorter I would have enjoyed it more. My favourite genre of novel is thriller and although this was one it wasn’t as realistic as Hayes’s earlier book which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I’ve given it 3 stars but it was definitely a bit of a hard slog! This is of course my own view and I’m sure many readers will have a different opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

This book was ten years in the making. I've had it on my wish list since 2018. I even downloaded a sampler (which incidently bears no relation to the final product).

The blurb for this promises a spy action thriller much like its predecessor (one of my favourite books – which makes this review so much harder).

Now, for the first half of the book, the blurb plays by the rules. Think 24 meets Mission Impossible. Even despite a line 25% through that thoroughly removes any tension for the remainder of the book.

The first half takes up Parts 1 and 2 of this very long novel. Part 3 meanders slightly into Hunt for Red October territory as hero Kane heads up a Submarine… complete with cloaking device. And it's here where the author starts to go boldly where no author has gone before.

Halfway through part 3 you can almost hear The Fonz putting on his waterskis. And as we progress deeper into part 4, Fonzy scratches his head and says “You want me to jump the shark here?”

What follows is a genre jumping mess. We go from spy-fi to sci fi in one giant leap. It's messy. It's Planet of the Apes meets Lord of the Rings meets Quantum Leap meets The Time Machine.

Now I love sci-fi as much as anyone but this was never pushed as sci-fi.

My final feelings on this before I move on? I feel insulted. And deceived. And let down. And very very very disappointed.

Huge riproaring action novel - if you want a big, chunky novel that pans across from action to a touch of sci fi, with an brave hero and a spot of romance, then this is one for you.

No plot spoilers here, just to say it kept me on the page, I loved the characters and thank goodness...oops, sorry, that's a plot spoiler - deleted!

There are some gruesome/harrowing scenes in the earlier part of the book - by the time you're half way through, well, it's mostly action violence, which is what's expected.

It did feel a bit of a slog to get through - Pilgrim was long, this maybe is a bit too long also.

One final note - the teaser chapter for this book that came out (many) years ago doesn't appear anywhere - I wonder what the original draft was that the teaser came from - perhaps Hayes could talk about this and why the book was so delayed in an author interview?

Having thoroughly enjoyed I am Pilgrim, I was really excited to have been approved and couldn't wait to start this book…. Regretfully, this wasn't the book for me.

I absolutely loved I am pilgrim and like many other fans of this book have been waiting for I am Locust for many years!

I loved the first part of the book but the third part onwards was very strange! I read recently that Terry cut thousands and thousands of words from the book and I think that it shows.

The last half seems very rushed and very like “and now everything was ok”

5* for the first part 2* for the 2nd half!

Spoiler alert! I did not like this book at all. Such a disappointment after the thrill that was I am Pilgrim and then the insufferably long wait for this novel. The first third of the book was ok, a Pilgrim like story of a CIA spy sent to rescue an informer and his family from Iran. He instead comes across a terrorist that they thought dead but now is the leader of The New Islamic Army of the Pure, formed out of the demise of Isis. The usual break neck action and pursuits take place. The middle of the book seemed to drag with a repeat of the first part just a different location, then in the final third the book took a giant leap in a different direction with our spy going through a time warp and leaping ahead 24 years.
There is a lot of action in this book, a lot of suspended disbelief (well it is fiction) but some of it is too silly for me. Hey I can live with the time warp…..after all I loved Stephen Kings 11.22.63, but when the main character gets repeatedly hurt with life threatening injuries that are bleeding out but continues on running and fighting and taking on the enemy, well for me it just got tiresome. The advance technology was kinda interesting but I felt the book was 3 stories blended into one long novel that could have been edited better.
Be interesting to see how it sells. Unfortunately I won’t be recommending it but then I won’t deter people who want to buy it.

#TheYearOfTheLocust. #NetGalley

Hayes, second book has been a long long time in the waiting., his debut novel, I Am Pilgrim was an international bestseller and I have , like thousands and thousands of others have been waiting over a decade on this, his second book. The publication date was pushed back numerous times over the years and finally its here. I know nothing about the man personally or his circumstances but I cannot imagine the pressure one must feel to write a second book after your first sells so many copies.

So The Year of the Locust..... Its a hefty tome that pulls the reader in and races along at a breakneck speed telling the story of Kane, a Denied Access Area spy with the CIA. I do enjoy the occasional espionage/ spy thriller but I am not knowledgeable on military and action terminology so it took me a little while to get used to that but the characters and plot sucked me into the story quickly. Kane travels to the most dangerous places in the world on on missions , a modern master agent who meets a Bond worthy type adversary and the plot races along with excellent twists and turns , pulsating with tension and action for about 500 pages. I didn't always fully understand the ins and outs of the spycraft - satellites and weapons etc but you know it was holding my attention and entertaining me . I am going to avoid spoilers but roughly 70% in, the book completely changes tack. Some readers will love this twist, others will hate it. I was indifferent , so many elements stretched the bounds of reality up to this point I was willing to go with it. However what happened after this twist was the stretch that broke me. Had the book finished up before this point, this would have been an another twisty epic thriller of a read but alas for me, it flew too close to the sun although it did claw its way back to a safer and more satisfying conclusion.
I have no doubt this will be another bestseller and will be under numerous Christmas trees next month.
I am finding it hard to rate this one, it was steady four star read with flashes of five star action and then waves of 1 and 2 starness ridiculousness. He weaves a good yarn though.

If you were a fan of I Am Pilgim, you will read this, I will be interested to hear others thoughts on it.

After throughly enjoying I am Pilgrim, I was excited to read this novel. Unfortunately, I found it did not live up to my expectations and I really struggled to get into it. It is a huge book and seems to go off track quite often which meant I lost the plot thread. I’m sure fans of the spy genre may love it, but it wasn’t for me.