Toll
Toll, the second book in Matt Gemmel’s series about KESTREL, is a thoroughly enjoyable yarn featuring a villain that, despite everything, the reader could sort of sympathize with.In a sense, Toll is more straightforward than Changer, the first entry in the series. Changer felt a bit more fantastical, and I was tempted to suggest to Mr. Gemmell that he let his KESTREL team run into someone from The Laundry1.
It was also interesting to note the technical aspects of Toll: it’s better written than Changer. Not that Changer was badly written by any measure, but reading Toll, it struck me that Mr. Gemmell seems more confident as a writer. It flows just a bit smoother, the prose a tad more elegant.
Anyway, I’m happy to recommend Toll for anyone looking for a solid techno-thriller series.
1 By fellow Scottish writer Charles Stross.