Sean Randall reviewed SWIFT by James Follett
Review of 'SWIFT' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Follett can write thrillers. As with [b:The Doomsday Ultimatum|1466918|The Doomsday Ultimatum|James Follett|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183895828s/1466918.jpg|1457831] this kept me going and more so than that one totally kept me guessing. Yes, I admit it, "And then they overlook something so incredibly obvious that any high school kid would've spotted it right away." And I didn't spot it. I stopped reading for a while, sat in silence, pondering what "it" could be. I had all the facts, and yet I failed to click, which of course just made the ending that much sweeter.
In the foreword to my edition, Follett writes that the book is "a little dated". I see what he means, but it's firmly set in its era and all the stronger for it. I like the technology; buffer stores and line printers, phone line access to databases and microdisks. It all fits so well, that it's hard to credit some science fiction …
Follett can write thrillers. As with [b:The Doomsday Ultimatum|1466918|The Doomsday Ultimatum|James Follett|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183895828s/1466918.jpg|1457831] this kept me going and more so than that one totally kept me guessing. Yes, I admit it, "And then they overlook something so incredibly obvious that any high school kid would've spotted it right away." And I didn't spot it. I stopped reading for a while, sat in silence, pondering what "it" could be. I had all the facts, and yet I failed to click, which of course just made the ending that much sweeter.
In the foreword to my edition, Follett writes that the book is "a little dated". I see what he means, but it's firmly set in its era and all the stronger for it. I like the technology; buffer stores and line printers, phone line access to databases and microdisks. It all fits so well, that it's hard to credit some science fiction novels relied on "tapes" for everything, even decades into the future.
Well, as I've already mentioned, I didn't see the end of this one coming. The characters are all very unique, if a little cliquey and stereotypical in their accustomed wealthy lifestyles, and the action is brisk and rewarding. One of Follett's best for me.