Binary Storm. Book Review

Binary Storm by Christopher Hinz
Angry Robot, p/b, 496pp, £8.99
Reviewed by Martin Willoughby

A novel in which the pace rarely lessens, there are twists and turns, some satisfying fight scenes, bad guys by the dozen and an anti-hero more heroic than Thor.

Okay, that last part isn’t true. He isn’t an anti-hero. Alright, he’s not more heroic than Thor either. What is true is that this is a long book that doesn’t feel like one.

Nick Smith is new on the block. After being put into Cryo at the beginning of the 21st century, he’s awoken a few decades later to find a much changed world, one which is on the brink of global catastrophe as it reaps the whirlwind of climate change. Another of humanity’s ego-laden creations are the Binaries, two bodies with a single mind and soul, ruled by an elite group, a royal caste.

Who is to take them down? Nick. Humans on their own have failed many times, so he puts together an alpha team of mercenaries with one extra addition: a turned Binary.

Separating a binary from its twin is dangerous and the first experiment fails. The second experiment, however, goes well, mainly due to who the binary is. That part I shall not reveal, but it comes as a great surprise and works very well.

What Nick is also fighting are the Binaries who have infiltrated the human world and its organisations. From them, the royal caste know all they need to know in order to undermine human society as it plunges towards its self-made destruction, ensuring that humanity doesn’t survive.

E-Tech is an organisation that, while not against technological change, seeks to limit it to a decent pace so as not to overwhelm society any more than it already has. It also has a new head after the assassination of the previous one by a pair of the most feared binaries.

As if that wasn’t enough, they discover a caste mole inside E-Tech. Who is it? Nick and the new head of E-Tech have to find out.

The story turns and twists and has enough going on to leave you a little breathless, but not so much to leave you exhausted. The ending is bittersweet for Nick and his new ally, but still wholly satisfying, tying up all loose ends, but leaving you wanting more. The characters are excellently crafted and the world well drawn in a wholly believable situation. There are areas of this devastated world that have, with the aid of technology, created a perfect environment for the rich, while the poor eke out an existence, only being allowed into these areas as skivvies.

All round, an excellent read.