Alan Cork, The Greater Bad

The Greater Bad echoes classic conspiracy thrillers with its motifs of a reluctant hero and innocent man on the run, but brings things firmly into the 21st century with high-technology and power-hungry multi-nationals.

The novel features many twists and turns, deceptions and double-crossings but at just over 100 pages never becomes overburdened or convoluted. The compelling plot is always moving forward, assisted by the MacGuffin of the flash drive.

Narrated retrospectively in the first person, The Greater Bad has a certain noir feel about it. Comparisons can also be drawn with the James Bond films (sharp one-liners and memorably chilling characters), the works of William Gibson (speculative technology and corrupt corporations) as well as Dan Brown (a dangerous cult), Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels (vintage pulp fiction), and Preacher-writer Garth Ennis (the supernatural).

Though the main storyline comes to a satisfying close, the author has chosen to leave certain threads unanswered, opening the door for a sequel or spin-off.

The Greater Bad is, surprisingly, a real page-turner for a first-time author packed with mystery, suspense and gritty violence.

It does have its faults - the writing style is not as finely polished as you would get with a mainstream title and some of the secondary characters are not that well drawn out - but you make allowances for this on the strength of the story. It whisks you along so you don't have time to worry about its pulp nature.

The Greater Bad should appeal to fans of the thriller genre as well as those interested in speculative and supernatural fiction.