Book Review: Danger Rising by E.D. Richards

Author: E.D Richards

Title: Danger Rising

Publisher: AuthorBuzz

Date: 2018

Synopsis: All things are not as they seem as Dr. Abbey Bertrand races againsttime, while glaciers threaten and others are after her.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Danger Rising had an interesting premise and tackles an issue that is, unfortunately, a real threat to today’s world. It tackles the idea of what happens when we have pushed the planet too far and even the smallest action could have devastating results for the entire Earth and everyone living on.

When eco-terrorists seek revenge for passed punishments and take it out on the planet, driving it ever closer to extinction, it is up to a select few to not only catch those responsible, but also take drastic action to ensure humanity’s survival.

Although the premise was good, the execution, unfortunately, failed to deliver.

The plot is full of twists and turns. It’s supposed to keep the reader on edge and stop them from guessing what comes next. I found, however, that due to the style of the book where narrations flick quickly between the different characters, I ended up not being able to follow what was going on.

For example, there was one part where the ultimate bad guy was finally revealed. But blame had been flying around for the entire chapter as the author attempted to mislead us. When the big reveal happened, I just blinked and thought I had misread a paragraph and it was only going back to read it again I realised what was going on. It lost the impact and intended effect because I totally missed it.

The characters themselves were also tricky to empathise with. For a while, I wasn’t certain why. Then I realised you never really get any of their emotions. Love, fear, anger… they’re implied in an abstract way, but you never know how the character is feeling. Without that, there is nothing to relate to.

Abbey is the main character. A supposedly brilliant scientist who has helped save the world. The issue I had was that you never see this side of her. Multiple characters mention her brilliance, but you never see her do anything particular astonishing. She is also depicted as being on the edge; she never speaks, everything is a yell or a scream. She is blunt and rude with everyone around her – which may be the circumstances, but unable to compare it to anything else just made her un-likeable. I couldn’t understand why the other characters would put up with being spoken to in that way.

There are a number of secondary characters as well but, as with Abbey, you never connect to how they are feeling. They appear more controlled than Abbey though. Mack was my favourite because you see him actually thinking things through and I felt I could empathise with him a little more.

It’s a fast-paced book – I read it in a couple of hours. It does make you think about the future and the danger of mankind. But as I didn’t care about the characters, the tension fell flat and, as mentioned, the plot left me confused. It was too fast in places.

A great premise that unfortunately didn’t quite deliver.

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