Nomad (The New Earth Series Book 1)

For the first book: 3 starsFor the series: 2 starsI started these books after reading Matthew Mather's first Atopia book - which I thought was excellent and showed him as a really talented writer. Very quickly after starting this, I realised Nomad was not going to following in those footsteps. However, it did look like it might be a decent, plot-driven thriller.It's not.If you're reading the first book and thinking: this seems okay, maybe the follow-ups will be even better - my advice is stop right now. The first book, which is three stars if we're being generous, is the best of the series - and it's still highly flawed. As another reviewer noted, the draw is all in the impending interstellar disaster affecting the earth; the novel, however, somewhat bizarrely chooses to focus on a rather stupid and boring side story involving a family blood feud that only serves to distract from the main events.Saying that, the first book is certainly not terrible and the science behind it is both fascinating and well-researched. This was what led me to continue with the follow-ups. I won't give away any spoilers, but, unfortunately, the following three books are very, very poor. They feel lazy and rushed, highly repetitive and are littered with typos. They don't seem to have been edited, the characters are one dimensional (evidenced most strongly by the fact that every single person in the whole book speaks in exactly the same manner). I can honestly say that if any of the characters from the smallest all the way up to the main character had been killed at any point, I would not have cared in the slightest. These three books should have been condensed into one volume - and then there might have been a semi-decent two part series.As it is, we have one not very good book, followed by three lazy and rambling follow-ups. Even if you liked the first book, I'd recommend stopping at its end as you only have disappointment waiting.

I so wanted to give Nomad a five star rating. The thesis of the possible threat to earth is both feasible and terrifying, the science behind it well researched and described clearly so even I could understand it. The author writes in a pleasant, easy to read style and I liked the periodic inclusion of survivor inserts which showed the devastation being sustained. If only Mr Mather had confined himself to what is otherwise a stunning disaster story.But he didn't. For some reason he had to introduce the secondary story (which actually came to dominate the book) of Jess, a beautiful, wilful 20 something, a keen extreme sport and mountaineering one legged, apparently emotionally retarded, woman, running away from a failed relationship, the police - and pretty much everything else that came along, who was in Italy with her mother in the hope that she would be able to restore her parent's failed marriage of many years simply by reuniting them in the town in which they had spent their honeymoon. Please! I found her totally unbelievable, her story silly and so irritating I found myself skimming the pages to avoid any more Jess nonsense.Such a pity.So no five stars, but still three for the excellent concept and work that must have gone into the research. Yes, such a pity...

Is this the end of the world or will mankind survive in sufficient numbers to recover and rebuild. The science behind this story is pretty gripping, drawing the reader in, making them question how they would feel and behave. Would they even want to know.Domesday hurtles towards them and only a few know what that reality could be. Earth could be totally destroyed or any survivors could be subject to unknown horrors, a true fate worse than death.Astronomer Ben Rollins gets drawn into tracking the unseen, 'the Nomad', working to narrow down the horrors that await. His daughter Jessica gets drawn into the scientific maze. Will Ben find a way to save humanity, even a small number of individuals, or will all his efforts prove worthless.I really enjoyed this book. The narrative was compelling and the characters drew me into their world.I look forward to the follow-up.

I've had this ebook for a while and at last got the chance to read it. It was certainly worth reading and the science was explained nicely so didn't detract from the real story. For me the inserts of people who had gone through the event before it had happened was a bit distracting from the flow of the story. If it wasn't for that I might have given 5 stars as the book was good and certainly a warning for the future.

Got this as a freebie. Didn’t hold out much hope but it was ok. Not so much sci fi as human drama really, a few unbelievable moments, some underdeveloped characters and some bad writing that makes it read more like a home published job than a properly edited novel, evidenced in a couple of repetitive sentences. But I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

A very enjoyable read - clever science, believable characters, good dialogue, loads of action - and it pulls no punches - this is proper Armageddon mash-up stylee. I took this down to the coast with me, and apart from enforced time in the pub, I never put it down. A total page-turner.There have been hundreds of similar-looking plots ... asteroids and wot not, heading towards earth, oh dear, what do we do ... but not many as good as this one, and with as many plot twists. It is the human angle that kept me gripped, with personal and global disasters all running in parallel, then changing orbit and starting to dovetail, to collide. Cannot wait for part two.Well done Mr Mather!

Not a bad book, pretty frightening really if Nomad really does exist. The science was well researched and very convincing, the characters were well rounded and with a storyline running parallel to the science. It has all the hallmarks of a winning combination, this is my first foray into Mathew Mathers work and it does not disappoint. The best part it's a freebie on Amazon download it and scare yourself silly. Fab