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Terror
Have you ever felt that society consciously tries to undermine you?
In a society where everyone strives for growth, where everyone tries to build towards the heavens, there are some who wish to bring it plummeting down.
Terror is a thriller in which three people from different walks of life find a common enemy in the contemporary world. Yet, unlike most, they decide to do something about it.
Milton Haynes, a military man, is forced to see a psychiatrist following a fellow soldier’s death as he waits to appeal his dishonourable discharge. Ally Winston, one year after being viciously assaulted, struggles to slot into the life her father has laid out for her, while Nestor Frings returns to Boston to find his parents have sold their home due to financial issues.
The three initially voice their pains through non-violent means, however, they soon find their efforts futile. In a world where outsiders are considered dangerous and are not to be trusted, it will be the insiders who do the damage. Follow Milton, Ally and Nestor as they come to, what they perceive to be, the inevitable conclusion: they must commit a terror attack.
In a society where everyone strives for growth, where everyone tries to build towards the heavens, there are some who wish to bring it plummeting down.
Terror is a thriller in which three people from different walks of life find a common enemy in the contemporary world. Yet, unlike most, they decide to do something about it.
Milton Haynes, a military man, is forced to see a psychiatrist following a fellow soldier’s death as he waits to appeal his dishonourable discharge. Ally Winston, one year after being viciously assaulted, struggles to slot into the life her father has laid out for her, while Nestor Frings returns to Boston to find his parents have sold their home due to financial issues.
The three initially voice their pains through non-violent means, however, they soon find their efforts futile. In a world where outsiders are considered dangerous and are not to be trusted, it will be the insiders who do the damage. Follow Milton, Ally and Nestor as they come to, what they perceive to be, the inevitable conclusion: they must commit a terror attack.
336 pages, Paperback
Published April 29, 2017
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Eamonn Hickson
4 books69 followersEamonn Hickson is an Irish author. He has published three novels, including The History Maker (2012) Angel of Death (2013) and Terror (2017).
He currently works as a news journalist in County Kerry, Ireland.
He currently works as a news journalist in County Kerry, Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 14, 2017
How do "homegrown" terrorists come to be? What is someone's breaking point? What drives someone to want to carry out a terrorist attack? What happens when you decide to act on your impulses? What could be so bad that it would cause you to take such actions? What indeed!
Milton is dishonorably discharged from the Military and has been under the care of a psychiatrist but soon his treatment ends. He is unhappy and feels let down by the system. Ally was assaulted a year ago while getting off a train. Her attacker claims to not remember attacking her and she can't let go of what happened to her. She also feels let down, this time by the criminal justice system. Nestor returns home and finds that his family has sold their home, and no one told him. How did his life come to this?
Ally has previously met Milton and the two of them have been thinking of committing an act of terror. Then Ally meets Nestor as she is staying in the home once owned by his family. Ally decides to tell Nestor about the plans she has with Milton and Nestor agrees to join them in carrying out a terrorist attack.
These three characters really have nothing in common with the exception that all three feel they have been let down by the system, by society, etc. That are not likable - we may pity them at times (mainly, initially when we are first introduced to them) but I never liked them. One is dishonorably discharged from the military, one has been assaulted, one has learned his family sold their home due to financial issues. Initially I felt for their individual plights but really - life is not a fairy tale. People have bad things happen to them, not everyone decides they need to destroy the lives of others to get their point across. But isn't that the point? That they are not likable and that they are homegrown terrorists.
Yes, the terrorist attack is carried out but is that the most terrorizing part? Or is it the fact that three people felt this was their only option - why was this even an option at all? The real "terror" lies in realization - what occurred because of their actions. What happens when you do what you imaging doing?
Actions do have consequences.
It took me some time to get into this style of writing. It took me a very long time to get into this book. The writing is solid but different from what I am accustomed to reading. Perhaps I am not the target audience. I often find when I don't really care for any of the characters, it hinders my ability to enjoy the story. What happens when things in our life change us? Do things change us or do we allow them to change us? I believe change is a choice, so I had a hard time buying that these characters, although flawed, could make the decision they did.
Speaking of characters, I think they are well drawn and I believe that the Author didn't really want us to like them. The descriptions of this book are clear, vivid and detailed. Because they are detailed, some of the scenes in this book may be difficult for some to read. Although slow to start for me, this book did pick up.
This is a modern tale set in the streets of Boston.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
Milton is dishonorably discharged from the Military and has been under the care of a psychiatrist but soon his treatment ends. He is unhappy and feels let down by the system. Ally was assaulted a year ago while getting off a train. Her attacker claims to not remember attacking her and she can't let go of what happened to her. She also feels let down, this time by the criminal justice system. Nestor returns home and finds that his family has sold their home, and no one told him. How did his life come to this?
Ally has previously met Milton and the two of them have been thinking of committing an act of terror. Then Ally meets Nestor as she is staying in the home once owned by his family. Ally decides to tell Nestor about the plans she has with Milton and Nestor agrees to join them in carrying out a terrorist attack.
These three characters really have nothing in common with the exception that all three feel they have been let down by the system, by society, etc. That are not likable - we may pity them at times (mainly, initially when we are first introduced to them) but I never liked them. One is dishonorably discharged from the military, one has been assaulted, one has learned his family sold their home due to financial issues. Initially I felt for their individual plights but really - life is not a fairy tale. People have bad things happen to them, not everyone decides they need to destroy the lives of others to get their point across. But isn't that the point? That they are not likable and that they are homegrown terrorists.
Yes, the terrorist attack is carried out but is that the most terrorizing part? Or is it the fact that three people felt this was their only option - why was this even an option at all? The real "terror" lies in realization - what occurred because of their actions. What happens when you do what you imaging doing?
Actions do have consequences.
It took me some time to get into this style of writing. It took me a very long time to get into this book. The writing is solid but different from what I am accustomed to reading. Perhaps I am not the target audience. I often find when I don't really care for any of the characters, it hinders my ability to enjoy the story. What happens when things in our life change us? Do things change us or do we allow them to change us? I believe change is a choice, so I had a hard time buying that these characters, although flawed, could make the decision they did.
Speaking of characters, I think they are well drawn and I believe that the Author didn't really want us to like them. The descriptions of this book are clear, vivid and detailed. Because they are detailed, some of the scenes in this book may be difficult for some to read. Although slow to start for me, this book did pick up.
This is a modern tale set in the streets of Boston.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
December 8, 2017
Reviewing Terror intrigued me a lot. Because the author chose Boston as the city for this fictional terror attack. I was also intrigued because of the blurb. So I agreed to review it. I am glad I did because this book was fantastic. The author did a great job pulling me into the book and not letting me come up for air.
Terror’s plot was compelling and showed how homegrown terrorists come to be. The book focuses on 3 people and how events in their lives drove them to carry out a terrorist attack. One was dishonorably discharged from the Army. One was the victim of a brutal beating the year before. One returned home to find his parents gone and their house sold due to financial issues. Each person had a reason to be angry with the government, judicial system and financial system. That breeds the perfect environment for a terror attack.
Milton had served his country with many tours overseas. His military career came to an end when his friend died in the line of duty. Milton was under the care of a psychiatrist when he finds out that he is being dishonorably discharged. Shortly afterward, the psychiatrist stops seeing him. I felt bad for him up to this point. Then he started talking of a terrorist attack with Ally and all my sympathies went away.
Ally was assaulted the year before as she was getting off the train. She relives that beating every time she goes to court. The judicial system was a joke, though. Her attacker claims to have no memory of assaulting her and is out on bond until the trial. Ally feels like she has no control over anything. Then she meets Milton. As with Milton, I felt bad for Ally, at first. My sympathy disappeared after they started planning the terror attack.
Nestor had left home after a fight with his family. He returns to find his family gone and the house sold. He tries to find his parents but hit a dead-end everywhere he turns. He goes to the bank for answers, only to get no answers. He meets Ally, who is staying with the new owner of Nestor’s parent’s house. Nestor gets involved with the terror attack because Ally invites him. I had some sympathy for Nestor in the book and held on to that sympathy until the end. Then my sympathy went away big time.
The terror attack itself wasn’t until the end of the book. To keep this spoiler free, I won’t say where. I will say that I wasn’t surprised at the site or the time of year it happened. I have always thought that place would become a point of interest for terrorists to strike. To see if used as one in the book brought chills up my spine.
The end of the book, which included the terror attack, was explosive. I couldn’t put the book down because I needed to see if it went through. I also needed to see what Ally, Nestor and Milton’s reaction was to the destruction. While I was expecting the terror attack to be bad, I wasn’t expecting what happened to happen.
Terror is an in-depth look at how homegrown terrorists are created. The plot was very well written and gripping. The characters, while not likable, are very well written. This book was also a great look at how situations can turn people into the things that they once hated and feared. This is a book that I would read again.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Language and violence. Not sex. There are several graphic murder scenes, a scene where Ally’s attack is relived and of course the terror attack.
I would like to thank Eamonn Hickson for allowing me to read and review Terror.
All opinions stated in Terror are mine.
**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**
Terror’s plot was compelling and showed how homegrown terrorists come to be. The book focuses on 3 people and how events in their lives drove them to carry out a terrorist attack. One was dishonorably discharged from the Army. One was the victim of a brutal beating the year before. One returned home to find his parents gone and their house sold due to financial issues. Each person had a reason to be angry with the government, judicial system and financial system. That breeds the perfect environment for a terror attack.
Milton had served his country with many tours overseas. His military career came to an end when his friend died in the line of duty. Milton was under the care of a psychiatrist when he finds out that he is being dishonorably discharged. Shortly afterward, the psychiatrist stops seeing him. I felt bad for him up to this point. Then he started talking of a terrorist attack with Ally and all my sympathies went away.
Ally was assaulted the year before as she was getting off the train. She relives that beating every time she goes to court. The judicial system was a joke, though. Her attacker claims to have no memory of assaulting her and is out on bond until the trial. Ally feels like she has no control over anything. Then she meets Milton. As with Milton, I felt bad for Ally, at first. My sympathy disappeared after they started planning the terror attack.
Nestor had left home after a fight with his family. He returns to find his family gone and the house sold. He tries to find his parents but hit a dead-end everywhere he turns. He goes to the bank for answers, only to get no answers. He meets Ally, who is staying with the new owner of Nestor’s parent’s house. Nestor gets involved with the terror attack because Ally invites him. I had some sympathy for Nestor in the book and held on to that sympathy until the end. Then my sympathy went away big time.
The terror attack itself wasn’t until the end of the book. To keep this spoiler free, I won’t say where. I will say that I wasn’t surprised at the site or the time of year it happened. I have always thought that place would become a point of interest for terrorists to strike. To see if used as one in the book brought chills up my spine.
The end of the book, which included the terror attack, was explosive. I couldn’t put the book down because I needed to see if it went through. I also needed to see what Ally, Nestor and Milton’s reaction was to the destruction. While I was expecting the terror attack to be bad, I wasn’t expecting what happened to happen.
Terror is an in-depth look at how homegrown terrorists are created. The plot was very well written and gripping. The characters, while not likable, are very well written. This book was also a great look at how situations can turn people into the things that they once hated and feared. This is a book that I would read again.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Language and violence. Not sex. There are several graphic murder scenes, a scene where Ally’s attack is relived and of course the terror attack.
I would like to thank Eamonn Hickson for allowing me to read and review Terror.
All opinions stated in Terror are mine.
**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**
December 15, 2017
I had a very hard time getting into this story. The three main characters were well drawn. They had each experienced a difficult situation..They were real and rang true. I did not like them. The fact that I couldn't find any sympathy with the characters made it difficult for me to care about their story. Then again, if these people and their problems were real, and no one cared, what might they, in their desperation do, to get revenge on a society who didn't care? Therein lies the question we should ask ourselves.
We worry about foreign terrorists and outside influences. Maybe homegrown terrorists are not always connected with those influences. Maybe they feel angry and desperate, thinking they have been betrayed by their own society and are seeking a way to make a statement no one can ignore. This beautifully written book forces us to look honestly at how certain situations can cause otherwise rational people to commit irrational acts. I'm very glad that I didn't give up on this book too soon. The story will stay with me for a long time. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
We worry about foreign terrorists and outside influences. Maybe homegrown terrorists are not always connected with those influences. Maybe they feel angry and desperate, thinking they have been betrayed by their own society and are seeking a way to make a statement no one can ignore. This beautifully written book forces us to look honestly at how certain situations can cause otherwise rational people to commit irrational acts. I'm very glad that I didn't give up on this book too soon. The story will stay with me for a long time. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 5, 2017
Terror by Eamonn Hickson takes the reader on a scary journey through the city of Boston when three people who have tried to get thru life anyway they can in adverse conditions. These three individuals come from different backgrounds but share a common theme - they have suffered losses and are trying to get back on their feet. But society and other issues keep them from attaining their goals - so now they have to try other methods -
"it aint gonna be pretty"......
Hickson really knows how to explore the urban terrain and the characters are real, their emotions raw, and you can feel their frustration. This is well written and comtemporary in today's times.
Plot is suspenseful without being overbearing. Good ending....
"it aint gonna be pretty"......
Hickson really knows how to explore the urban terrain and the characters are real, their emotions raw, and you can feel their frustration. This is well written and comtemporary in today's times.
Plot is suspenseful without being overbearing. Good ending....
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews