Changer

This has been a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. I’m already looking forward to book two of KESTREL!

Fun fast moving story. Looking forward to volume II Of the KESTREL team

I really enjoyed Changer. Perfect mix of action, thrills and story. The author does an incredible job of explaining the complex "events" that occur in a simple and clear way. I could easily picture the "changes" happening. Can't wait for more about KESTREL.

Great pacing, interesting characters and a good plot. I'm eager for more!

Five stars for good reading. Some odd flaws—pacing not quite right; "twist" a bit predictable—but lots of fun anyway. Gemmell's style is excellent (want more? His blog is consistently just as good and better), and his minor details are delightful.

This is Gemmell's first attempt at long form fiction and he demonstrates immense chops. The book is a page-turner. It's easy to read but is by no means lacking substance. While some aspects of the writing suggest a fresh-off-the-block somewhat by-the-book style that is perhaps slightly vanilla, he nevertheless nails every page. There is no excess in this book, and yet no lack of poetic detail; each word is deliberately chosen and delivered with intent. This is a great read, no "for his first book" qualifier needed. I look forward to reading his subsequent work as he continues to hone a craft over which he clearly has considerable mastery at this early stage.

Amazing read, my only hope is that the next book in the series is out soon. 👍

CHANGER is a fantastic read if you like suspenseful thrillers. The characters are diverse and well thought out and the storyline is on target. I'm a fan of sci-fi, so this novel was perfect for me. Each chapter moved the plot forward and deepened my connection with the characters. The word "balance" keeps popping into my head. There is a lovely balance between action, character development, and location detail. As with any great book, the suspense made me want to read without stopping causing the joy of the process to end too quickly. I'm very satisfied with the ending yet I'm hungry for more. It's good to hear that Matt has future books planned for these characters. I highly recommend this book. You won't be disappointed.

I'm a picky, fussy reader who lays unforgivingly into minor plot holes and unexplained miracles. I've given more than one action or sci-fi novel a bad review for not convincing me. Fortunately, Changer kept me reading until well into the night (early morning, actually). What I like about author Matt Gemmell's writing on his website is what I like about this book: he likes people, and he seems a lot like a good person. That's important when it comes time to write characters that are likable in addition to whatever other jobs they have in the book. I'm glad there were plenty of hateful people here as well, but I hate books that I come away from realizing there was no one in them I really cared what happened to. Another big problem with a lot of first novels that I've read lately is tortured writing and overwrought use of language, as though each sentence was created to house a noticeable section of thesaurus. Mr. Gemmell doesn't subscribe to that school of writing; his style is descriptive and detailed, but he stays out of the way and lets the story unfold. His clear writing never calls attention to itself, but does properly engage the reader in the story. Well done there. I do have some questions about anti-tachyons and force-duels on chapel rooftops, but in the case of Changers, I'm ok with that. Sometimes hand-wavy insistences that I not think too hard are annoying to me, but I didn't feel that way here. I'm not sure I 100% buy it, but at the same time, the story was solid enough that it didn't bother me much. What I do know for certain is that I want to read more books in this series, and from this author in general. Congratulations on the first novel, Matt. I hope we see the next one soon!

Matt Gemmell’s first novel delivers. A gripping story, well paced, with believable characters and exciting action, definitely hard to put down. Highly recommended.