It's my turn on the BlogTour Dark Energy by Tom Boles.
About the Author
Tom Boles has discovered more supernovae (exploding stars) than any other person in history.
Tom is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a past President of The British Astronomical Association. He was awarded the Merlin Medal and the Walter Goodacre Award for his contribution to astronomy. The International Astronomical Union named main-belt asteroid 7648, Tomboles in his honour.
He has published many scientific papers on supernovae and written numerous articles for popular astronomy magazines. He has made many television appearances ranging from BBC's Tomorrow's World to The Sky at Night. During recent years he has given Enrichment Lectures on astronomy aboard Cunard liners, mainly their flagship QM2.
During these trips he had designed and presented shows using the ship's onboard planetarium. His experience as an astronomer inspired his novels and help mould his hero, Brad Willis. He published Dark Energy in June 2021 and Shades of White in November of that year. His third book, Murder comes by Limo was published in July 2022.
He lives in rural Suffolk where he enjoys dark skies free from light pollution. Follow @boles_tom on Twitter, on Instagram @tomboles2021
About the book
Brad Willis is an unlikely investigator, and an even less likely spy. He is a scientist, not a hero, but when it comes to finding technical solutions, there is none better. That’s how MI6 uses him; that’s how he lands himself in trouble.
Members of the scientific community around the world are being systematically murdered, and for no obvious reason. Who is killing them and why?
That is until Willis uncovers a mystery. The largest research facility in the world has made a huge discovery but not reported it. Why not? Why would someone want it hidden?
His travels take him across four nations where he forms liaisons with a Russian General and an oligarch. Can he trust either? If he chooses badly, he is as good as dead. He suspects everyone, so can trust no one…
And will need to risk his life to find out …
Review
Although I think it is fair to say one has to be on one's toes when it comes to the science, laws of nature and the general use and whereabouts of certain objects and buildings in this story - grey cells shall be used most frequently, I assure you.
It all starts out with a peculiar phone call. Brad isn't even entirely sure it isn't a hoax, and yet he believes it enough to warn a colleague, just in case the warning he received is indeed true. Next thing he knows said colleague is nearly killed.
It's a fast-paced speculative extravaganza with an astronomer come hero. I bet when he took that unexpected phone call, he didn't think he would become both the catalyst and instrument of destruction all at the same time. It's a bit like having a completed puzzle - the knowledge we have - and someone taking a piece of it bit by bit. Everyone wants a piece of it, which is how Brad ends up contending with the likes of foreign and homegrown spies.
If you take the aspect of science and replace it with hidden treasure or archaeology, and cast a very driven astronomer, the result would probably be a very captivating action hero who searches the stars and saves the world at the same time. Sounds like a series I would absolutely read.
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