I, like many, have been waiting years to read Year of the Locust. At approximately 1000 pages, it is a long but fast paced read though took me almost two weeks to complete. Full of twists and turns, but the reader must suspend belief two thirds in. Very filmic as befits the authors screenplay background, it is a spy thriller with a difference. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

⭐ ⭐
The Year of the Locust
by Terry Hayes

It's no secret I hated "I Am Pilgrim" with the heat of 1000 suns. It gave me the total ick with it's lascivious voice, overblown drama and cheap thrills but it has such mass market appeal that it was very tempting to see what Hayes spent the next 10 years devising.

I was totally shocked to be approved for an advance copy, given my outspoken opinions, but gleefully dived in hoping to have my mind changed, but Friends, I'm sorry to say, this was a total miss for me, not unsurprisingly. Especially when the 400 page novel I requested turned out to be almost 1000 pages. Ugh! I knew from the first few pages it was not going to work, but felt a responsibility to give it my best shot. I have lost days of my life to this, but am delighted to say I made it to the very tidy and saccharine end.

There's so much I really didn't like about this that a list is in order.

- Too long
- Boring
- Repetitive
- Ridiculous twists
- Flat stereotypes
- Clichés
- More overblown drama
- Dumbed down writing
- Overexplaining
- Preposterous genre bending

Honestly, if it wasn't my kindle, it would have been through the wall.

What I liked about it:

+ Outstanding sense of place
+ Some decent rising tension
+ The author's much more respectful portrayal of women
+ No children with Down Syndrome were exploited in this book

A bit Dan Browne, a bit Arnie, a touch of 007, throw in some Will Smith in Independence Day, give the narrator a jaded hero, false modest, know-all voice and I've no doubt it will have a decent amount of mass market appeal. Perfect Christmas gift for your dad.

Publication Date: 9th November 2023
Thanks to #NetGalley and #randomhouseuk for the thrill of being approved as an early reviewer despite my unfiltered opinions

#theyearofthelocust
#terryhayes
#iampilgrim
#thriller

A big fan of this book ….. until about 70% through. I will explain…
The first 500 or so pages a great read completely in the style of I am Pilgrim. Undercover US agent, on a mission to track the worlds most dangerous terrorist who is planning an attack like 911. Ridley is undercover in the Middle East on the trail of a man who the world thought was dead. Dodging death himself, Ridley is a proper action hero. Great pacey writing, and great characters….
And then you have to totally suspend belief as we go on a totally different path… I can’t say much without spoilers…. However it has made the final quarter of the boom totally unreadable for me and I’ve had to abandon / skim read.
I know we’ve all waited a long time for this book. Was this part of the book what has caused all the delays? If so, I’d have waited even longer to not have had to read this section. At 700 or so pages long it didn’t need this final part. And I think readers will either love or hate the way it goes.
I’m just gutted I’m in the latter group. It’s a 5 star read for the first 70% and a 1 star for the rest.

Did I just get a copy of a book I have been waiting many years for? Yes. Was it worth the wait? Oh Hell yeah!!! Mr Hayes you have done it again and this was such a top tier read that I had to re read immediately after I finished as I missed many things the first time because of my overexcited. Run don't walk to get your copy and be blown away.

I'm not sure that Terry Hayes wasn't secretly laughing at everyone when he wrote this book. It's pretty boring spy fare alternating with 5-star action sequences and the twist at the 70% mark defies serious description. I moved from boredom to tension to roll-on-the floor laughter at the coincidences and sheer make-believe. It's the mix of genres that doesn't work, either would be fine on its own but I can't say any more without major spoilers.

4.5* Like many people I loved I Am Pilgrim, Terry Hayes debut novel and I've been waiting almost a decade for the promised follow up The Year of the Locust. Wowsers. It's an epic roller coaster.

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.

The Year of the Locust is long await and it is epic, ambitious and (due to Terry Hayes' incredible skill as a writer) effortlessly easy to read. To be back with Kane is an utter pleasure.

For the first 70% of the book I was confident that I would be recommending it as one of the best (if not the best) thrillers I have ever read. Told in an almost linear recollection of missions, the detail layers up the complexity and it is an absolute thrill ride. However, there is a bonkers (some may call it inspired) genre jumping section of the book which takes the story down a very different track, before we return to Kane in the field, doing what he does best. For me this twist took a little bit of the shine off, but didn't spoil my huge enjoyment.

While my advance e-copy didn't have page numbers, I suspect this may tip over 1000 enjoyable pages. I can only suggest that you strap in for the ride. Once you are in with Kane, you are there for the journey and it is utterly engrossing. You might want to cancel plans for at least a week.

Huge thanks to Random House, Transworld and Netgalley for an ARC. It was an utter thrill to get a copy and I put everything aside until I got to the end.

I almost gave up waiting for this book, having had it in my pre order list for years! Thankfully I have been given the opportunity to read it in advance ( thanks Netgalley) was it worth the wait? Absolutely, for me (and I know that is alway subjective) this is better than I am pilgrim, which I also thought was outstanding

Code named Kane is the best protagonist I have had the pleasure of reading about - I can’t give anything away as we have all been waiting a long time for this book.
As well as the thrills of an action packed book we get background information on how the American Intelligence Agency works, histories of the main actors on stage and a love story.
It has it all and if you enjoy spy thrillers including I Am Pilgrim - you will love this book and may want to read it twice!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House U.K, Transworld Publishers for an early copy.

You get plot twists in books and then you get The Year of the Locust!!
Never have I seen twists like this and it left me speechless!

The writing is absolutely superb! Terry is a master storyteller combining his background as an investigative journalist with his movie script-writing abilities thus giving us a visual and informative read that will stay with you for a long time.
It felt like I was sitting at the feet of a master storyteller telling me his life story and this is really what this book is about.

The action is so real that you find yourself holding your breath even though you know the main character is narrating the story.

This is a book for a Terry Hayes fan more than an I Am Pilgrim fan but you have to read it to understand what I mean by saying this. You also have to go in very open-minded.

The Year of the Locust is a story of bravery, hardship, sacrifice, endurance, evil and finally succeeding against all odds.


The spiritual meaning of locusts is often interpreted as a symbol of transformation, regeneration.......

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for this very special treat in exchange for my honest opinion.