A(nother) Year of Orenda – The Evolution of Fear by Paul E. Hardisty

Today Mandie has a review of The Evolution of Fear, book two in the Claymore Straker series by Paul E. Hardisty. I love this series and if you want to know how much, you can find my review here. Here’s what it’s all about:

About the Book

Betrayed. A price on his head. It’s easy to survive, until they threaten her too…

Claymore Straker is a fugitive with a price on his head. Wanted by the CIA for acts of terrorism he did not commit, his best friend has just been murdered and Rania, the woman he loves, has disappeared. Betrayed by those closest to him, he must flee the sanctuary of his safe house in Cornwall and track her down. As his pursuers close in, Clay follows Rania to Istanbul and then to Cyprus, where he is drawn into a violent struggle between the Russian mafia, Greek Cypriot extremists, and Turkish developers cashing in on the tourism boom.

As the island of love descends into chaos, and the horrific truth is unveiled, Clay must call on every ounce of skill and endurance to save Rania and put an end to the unimaginable destruction being wrought in the name of profit.

Gripping, exhilarating, and above all, frighteningly realistic, The Evolution of Fear is a startling, eye-opening read that demands the question: how much is truth, and how much is fiction?

Mandie’s Thoughts

The Evolution of Fear is the second book in the Claymore Straker series and although this book follows on pretty much immediately after The Abrupt Physics of Dying for me it had a very different feel about it. The action is still fast paced and full on, but I think the underlying story is this time more personal for both Straker and those around him. 

Clay now has a price on his head and when he believes he has been betrayed by his most trusted friend he decides he has to track down Rania to ensure her safety, whilst also trying to stay one step ahead of the people who are after him. What follows sees him get involved in conservation of protected wildlife and land grabs. In the quest for the truth and doing what is right, he may just end up paying with his life. 

Throughout this book we learn much more about Claymore Straker, what he has been through and what he would do to protect those that he truly cares about no matter what it costs him, physically, mentally or financially. Still haunted by his past, it is almost as though he is trying to atone for his past wrongdoings in what ever way he can. As you follow him from country to country you have to wonder just how much he can endure and still survive. He may be a prickly character, not quick to trust anyone, but you can’t help but like Claymore Straker and his principles but are equally glad that he has friends who can occasionally temper his recklessness. 

The Evolution of Fear is so much more than an action thriller. Paul Hardisty has once again managed to create a book that actually makes you stop and think about just how much damage people can do in the search for fortune whilst at the same time tapping into the reader’s inner adrenaline junkie.

The descriptions of the different locations draw you in so that you can imagine both the beauty and the devastation at the same time. In a time when travel is so limited being able to see and feel the countries in your mind is the next best thing. I honestly never thought that this type of book would be my kind of read but I am so pleased to have been proved wrongand this is down to Paul Hardisty’s passion and belief in what he is writing about that shines through on every page and I can’t wait to read the next instalment to find out what he has instore for Claymore Straker.

About the Author

Canadian Paul Hardisty has spent 25 years working all over the world as an engineer,
hydrologist and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where he was befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, and was bumped from one of the last flights out of Addis Ababa by bureaucrats and their families fleeing the rebels. In 1993 he survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a, and was one of the last Westerners out of Yemen before the outbreak of the 1994 civil war. Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). He is a sailor, a private pilot, keen outdoorsman, conservation volunteer, and lives in Western Australia.

Author Links: Twitter

Books by Paul E. Hardisty