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James Hider

Goodreads Author

Born

London

Twitter

jimbohider

Member Since

May 2013

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I have always been fascinated by what you might call the pathology of ideas -- how they mutate as different societies inherit, steal or are infected by foreign concepts, customs and gods. How a Disney character can become an icon of Islamist martyrdom, how we invent gods because we are afraid of dying, then end up dying for these invented gods. Having seen at first hand, and all too often, the most extreme results of these ever-warping ideas, I sat down and tried to write about them in "Spiders of Allah," the result of seven years covering conflict across the Middle East. Because the history of the region stretches back so far, the ideas that have come out of it have had millennia to warp and twist. You can see front lines that date back th ...more

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James Hider’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 194 ratings · 64 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Spiders of Allah: Travels of an Unbeliever on the Frontline of Holy War 3.80 avg rating — 155 ratings — published 2009 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cronix 4.08 avg rating — 39 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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James Hider's Blog

ethical dilemma

I had a piece of shrapnel go straight through my left arm during one of the many, endless battles for Fallujah a decade ago. The wound left almost no scar tissue at all. Three months ago, a vicious but very small bee stung me on almost exactly the same spot on my��right arm, and there’s still a big red mark there. So should I tweak the truth and present the bee sting as the battle scar when dro...

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James Hider liked Elisabet Cairo's review of The Spiders of Allah: Travels of an Unbeliever on the Frontline of Holy War: "I thought this was an anti-Islam book and the title certainly does suggest that so I did not plan to read it. I read it as research for a story I am writing and found the book is about the spiders of God (Allah means God and the word is not partic..." Read more of this review »
Jan 25, 2017 08:49PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Spiders of Allah by James Hider. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Spiders of Allah by James Hider <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Hider and 1 other person liked Nick's review of Cronix: "I just finished reading Cronix and loved it. It was very difficult to put down. The author takes us through a possible future (with some suspension of disbelief) with as a starting point a recognisable world with believable characters; and riffs th..." Read more of this review »
May 23, 2016 09:44AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Cronix by James Hider. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Cronix by James Hider <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Hider liked Brian's review of Cronix: "Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. "There was one other thing the messenger said before it vanished. It said that for millennia, god had lived in the minds of people. Now it would be the other way round.” - C..." Read more of this review »
Nov 12, 2015 04:18AM · see review
James Hider rated a book it was amazing Pines (Wayward Pines, #1) by Blake Crouch (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I ripped through all three books in this series in a couple of weeks -- absolute page-turner thrillers with great twists and turns and some epically eerie scenes, such as the moment when five hundred phones ring at the moment in the all-too-perfect l ...more
Sep 26, 2015 10:15AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Pines by Blake Crouch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Pines by Blake Crouch <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Hider wants to read Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire by Peter Hopkirk	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 14, 2015 05:38AM · like
James Hider rated a book it was amazing The Last Town (Wayward Pines, #3) by Blake Crouch (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 13, 2015 06:09PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Last Town by Blake Crouch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Last Town by Blake Crouch <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Hider rated a book it was amazing Wayward (Wayward Pines, #2) by Blake Crouch (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 13, 2015 06:09PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Wayward by Blake Crouch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Wayward by Blake Crouch <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Hider finished reading Wool (Wool, #1) by Hugh Howey (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 15, 2015 08:24AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Wool by Hugh Howey. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Wool by Hugh Howey <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">