Title: Emergence {Dave Hooper #1}
Author: John Birmingham
Published: Pan Macmillan January 2015
Status: Read from January 17 to 19, 2015 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher)
My Thoughts:
Emergence is a darkly funny, action packed fantasy adventure from Australian author John Birmingham.
An oil rig off of the coast of New Orleans is under attack, not from terrorists, but from a group of terrifying monsters who have clawed their way up from the deep. Dave Hooper, the rig’s safety engineer, is hungover and pissed when he finds a hairless, scabrous ape like creature that calls itself a Hunn snacking on the ribcage of his best mate and in a fit of rage crushes its skull with a splitting maul. Hours later he wakes in hospital and discovers his battle with the monster has somehow triggered super hero like abilities… and now Dave must save the world.
Dave Hooper is an anti-hero, who works hard but plays even harder. He takes his job seriously but he spends his downtime partying with hookers and blow, dodging the IRS and calls from his wife’s divorce attorney. He is a lousy father with a crude vocabulary and politically incorrect opinions. Dave is not a man you could expect to count on, but the world it seems will have little choice.
The fast paced, explosive action sees the military struggling against the frenzied attack of an advance troop of Hunn as they storm their way through the tears in the veil and set upon New Orleans unprepared citizens. It has been centuries since the Hunn last roamed the earth and they don’t expect any resistance from mankind so they are dismissive of what they encounter, for though armed only with primitive weapons and basic armour, the Hunn possess enormous strength, speed and thick hides. As New Orleans threatens to become overrun by the man eating demons, Dave is forced to step up and vanquish the Hunn back to the Underworld.
Emergence won’t appeal to everyone but I found it richly imaginative, hugely entertaining and inappropriately hilarious. I’m looking forward to Dave Hooper’s next adventure in Resistance.
Emergence is available to purchase from
Pan Macmillan I I Booktopia I via Booko
and all good bookstores.
Jan 25, 2015 @ 11:05:27
I’ve still not read anything by Birmingham myself, but this sure does sound like great escapist fun.
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Jan 25, 2015 @ 14:52:37
Not my sort of book but I’m a fan of John Birmingham’s ‘other’ work – his columns and blog etc.
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Feb 22, 2015 @ 21:02:49
I enjoyed it until I got to the end…dammed another trilogy. What wrong with writing & releasing the whole novel. Its as bad as Sir Peter Jackson and LOTR and the Hobbit. Who would probably do a great job putting it into celluloid…sorry digital.
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Feb 22, 2015 @ 22:29:28
I guess they believe all good things, rather than bad, come in threes
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