Review by Themysteriouskitten -- Shifting Sands

[Themysteriouskitten]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Shifting Sands" by Barry Litherland.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Philip Tyler is a typical obscure journalist in a stale newspaper. He likes writing crap stories about boring people with ordinary lives. Only thing not so ordinary about him is the company he keeps and the fact that he can't stand injustice in any way, shape or form. So when a slippery friend prattles about a chance encounter with a disoriented naked man covered in gel and electrodes wandering down a country lane at two in the morning and whimpering for someone called Bunny and how he got out of there without calling for help, his interest is piqued. And when his imperiously brilliant editor Liz shows interest in the story and ends up praising him, he throws himself into the dangerous world of investigating journalism. His prying leads him to Logram research, a company shrouded in mystery and who just happens to be supposedly planning on running a rehabilitation center for the rich and the infamous in the Westleigh hall but would not divulge any information about who really is behind Logram research. Sensing something fishy he keeps on scouring for more information and that's when he comes across Wendy, a soul wereched by the past and from here begins the extraordinary saga of Philip's exploits where he's dodging powerful people behind Logram who would go to an unimaginable length to protect their ungodly secrets.


Set in tourist-ridden town of Sefton, Shifting sands by Barry Litherland is thrilling page turner that keeps the reader enthralled with its deviant futuristic conjectures and takes them on a wild speculating ride and doesn't spoil the suspense it creates till the climax.


What I liked most about this book was it's ability to make us question reality. After all who is to say that right at this moment what we are experiencing is real and not just a figment of our imagination? That we are not just somewhere hooked onto machines and gadgets dreaming about a life that is well lived and while being forcefed experience as someone else deemed fit?


Also something that I admired a lot about this book was it's use of dialogues in keeping the narrative going and holy hell, they were funny. I did not expect to laugh out while reading a suspense thriller but I did!


Since the book is written in first person it does not really leave space for the reader to be aware of other characters thought process. I would have liked to know which character was thinking what in certain instances particularly Wendy. Although the characters are quite well developed they still managed to be a little cut off from the reality, for example, Winston leaves a friend behind saving his ass but puts himself on the line again for the same friend. Why?


Also there is no information about the man Winston saw except for his name and that he had exceptional talent. This left me with a lot of questions and as they all were unanswered, I thought that the book might have have a part two!


Since I just noticed two typos and no grammatical error, I am inclined to say that this was well edited. Also as this book has some mild sexual content and explicit swearing, I will suggest young and sensitive people to steer clear of it. But otherwise this book is a fantastic read. If you favour books where David takes on Goliath and makes him pay, this right here is the book for you. Also since I finished the book in just one sitting, I will like to warn you off. It's addictive, gripping page turner which you will not be able to keep down. Period.


I will rate this book 3 out of 4 stars as I indeed was having fun reading it. The suspense, the protagonist's self-depricating humour and the thrill of finding out what happens next kept me going. Only point this book losses is over the lack of insight into other characters life and thought process.

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Shifting Sands
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