Time is the ultimate saviour
Following an impossible discovery in East London, archaeologist Dr Samantha Lester joins forces with software developer Adam Bryant to investigate the events that led to the disappearance of his best friend, Jennifer, and to bring down the people responsible – Million Eyes.
Before long, Lester and Adam are drawn into a tangled conspiratorial web involving dinosaurs, the Gunpowder Plot, Jesus, the Bermuda Triangle, and a mysterious history-hopping individual called the Unraveller, who is determined to wipe Million Eyes off the temporal map.
But as the secrets of Million Eyes’ past are revealed, picking a side in this fight might not be so easy.
It's such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Million Eyes II today, many thanks to C.R. Berry and Elsewhen Press for inviting me and for sending me an advance copy of the novel.
I loved the first book in C.R. Berry's Million Eyes trilogy when I read it at the end of 2019 and have been eagerly anticipating the sequel ever since. This complex, clever series should really be read in order to fully appreciate the labyrinthine plot and so I would recommend starting with book one if you're new to the series. However, C.R. Berry weaves reminders of previous events into The Unraveller to bring both returning and new readers up to speed so it is possible to start here.
With new conspiracy theories making the headlines on a regular basis at present, Million Eyes couldn't be more timely. However, the conspiracists may just have worked out the truth here - or have they…? It's difficult to say much about Million Eyes II without giving away key events in the plot and I really want to leave those light-bulb moments where something suddenly clicks into place as a surprise. What I can say, though, is that while the story might raise the hackles of historical purists, it is a hugely enjoyable, rollercoaster ride through an alternative version of history. From unfortunate timing in the prehistoric era to fake news in Biblical times, and from medieval cabals to warnings from the future, C.R. Berry takes us back and forth through time, gradually revealing how everything is connected.
The narrative chiefly follows Adam Bryant, a software developer employed by the powerful Million Eyes corporation, and Dr Samantha Lester, an archaeologist who realises that letters written hundreds of years ago were meant to be read in the present - now 2027. Adam is understandably sceptical at first but a shocking discovery persuades him to consider Lester's claims again. However, this isn't a book that gives up its secrets in a linear fashion and so the characters and readers are drip-fed clues and revelations which make more and more sense as the novel progresses. Even then, it's still not obvious who can really be trusted and although by the end of this instalment, it seems as though at least some of the reasons behind Million Eyes' machinations have been explained, there are still doubts cast which suggest that what we think we know now might just be turned on its head in the next book. The excellent characterisation ensures we care about some characters and are deeply suspicious of others but this is a fiendishly surprising storyline and things are unlikely to pan out as you'd predict!
I'd describe Million Eyes II as Doctor Who and Back to the Future meets The Da Vinci Code. The intelligent, fast-paced plot is packed with shocks and surprises and despite obviously being a far-fetched scenario, C.R. Berry manages to make it all seem scarily plausible. I was a huge fan of the first book and I’m delighted to say that Million Eyes II: The Unraveller is just as mysterious, just as intricately imagined and just as much fun. I thoroughly recommend it and can't wait for the twists and turns which undoubtedly await in Million Eyes III.
Million Eyes II is out now in ebook and paperback. Purchasing links can be found here.
About the Author
After a few years getting a more rounded view of human nature’s darker side, he quit lawyering and turned to writing full-time. He now works as a freelance copywriter and novelist and blogs about conspiracy theories, time travel and otherworldly weirdness.
He was shortlisted in the 2018 Grindstone Literary International Novel Competition and has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Storgy, Dark Tales, Theme of Absence and Suspense Magazine. He was also shortlisted in the Aeon Award Contest, highly commended by Writers’ Forum, and won second prize in the inaugural To Hull and Back Humorous Short Story Competition.
He grew up in Farnborough, Hampshire, a town he says has as much character as a broccoli. He’s since moved to the “much more interesting and charming” Haslemere in Surrey.
Thank you so much for your review Karen! :)
ReplyDeleteLovely to have you on the tour again. :)
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