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Halfhero #1
Children of the Deterrent
The new novel by the author of the best-selling The World Walker series.
'My name is Daniel Harbin, and I'm a child of The Deterrent.'
What if a superhuman turned out not to be so super...or even human? Britain's superhero, The Deterrent, was unveiled to the world in 1979 and disappeared two years later. The truth about his origins has never been revealed. The rumours about his children - those that survived - and their mysterious abilities have never been confirmed. Until now.
Armed with a diary that reveals everything about The Deterrent's early years, Daniel Harbin - discovering powers of his own - finds himself dragged into the same secretive government department his famous father worked for. Can a halfhero be a better superhero than his father, or is Daniel making a terrible mistake? When the wrong people know what you're capable of, no matter how powerful you are, you're still in danger....
'My name is Daniel Harbin, and I'm a child of The Deterrent.'
What if a superhuman turned out not to be so super...or even human? Britain's superhero, The Deterrent, was unveiled to the world in 1979 and disappeared two years later. The truth about his origins has never been revealed. The rumours about his children - those that survived - and their mysterious abilities have never been confirmed. Until now.
Armed with a diary that reveals everything about The Deterrent's early years, Daniel Harbin - discovering powers of his own - finds himself dragged into the same secretive government department his famous father worked for. Can a halfhero be a better superhero than his father, or is Daniel making a terrible mistake? When the wrong people know what you're capable of, no matter how powerful you are, you're still in danger....
Audible Audio
Published February 15, 2018
287 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Ian W. Sainsbury
28 books219 followersIan W Sainsbury is a musician, composer, writer, comedian and puppet wrangler (yes, that's a real job). Obviously, he doesn't know what to do when he grows up and - now that he's in his forties - he's resigned to the fact that he probably never will.
His first novel was published in 2016.
Subscribe at http://bit.ly/1VSg2tT for a copy of the unpublished prologue from The World Walker.
email Ian: ianwsainsbury@gmail.com
His first novel was published in 2016.
Subscribe at http://bit.ly/1VSg2tT for a copy of the unpublished prologue from The World Walker.
email Ian: ianwsainsbury@gmail.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
February 10, 2021
Promising start, disappointing middle... you get the picture.
June 6, 2018
The best thing about this story was the narration. The plot started well, sagged in the middle and ended indifferently. Although it was adult fiction it had a YA feel to it, possibly due to a lack of emotional depth to the characters.
December 25, 2017
Good start to a new series
I enjoyed reading this. This book has a new angle which sets it apart from your average superhero story, making it a more intriguing read. I have only given a 4 star rating purely due to the fact, that when I compare this to the phenomenal world walker series (yes I am aware this is not the same genre, but it's difficult not to compare) it just lacks something. However, this is only the first edition and I'm sure that their are plenty of twist, turns and revelations to come. I for one can't wait for the next book and if you haven't already read the World Walker series then what the hell are you waiting for! Go buy all 4 books now, they are fantastic.
I enjoyed reading this. This book has a new angle which sets it apart from your average superhero story, making it a more intriguing read. I have only given a 4 star rating purely due to the fact, that when I compare this to the phenomenal world walker series (yes I am aware this is not the same genre, but it's difficult not to compare) it just lacks something. However, this is only the first edition and I'm sure that their are plenty of twist, turns and revelations to come. I for one can't wait for the next book and if you haven't already read the World Walker series then what the hell are you waiting for! Go buy all 4 books now, they are fantastic.
September 22, 2018
See this review and more on Books and Ladders!
DNF @ 11%
If I had to listen to another second of this, especially about male puberty, I was going to cry. How does this have such a high rating on here? Plus an attempted rape.... no thanks
DNF @ 11%
If I had to listen to another second of this, especially about male puberty, I was going to cry. How does this have such a high rating on here? Plus an attempted rape.... no thanks
May 27, 2025
A different take on a superhero story. Just not sure that this is the series for me, as I don't have a real urge to continue the series. Didn't expect the turns of events at the end.
June 30, 2018
What do an amorphous blob of slime and a fat kid have in common. Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.
June 16, 2018
Abit more sombre of a" superhero " story, it's a good alternative.
The events are oddly arranged and that's the beauty of the book, with diary entries of the earlier years in 1979 and then jumping to offspring accounts of events. They are armed with mysterious abilities and tying to avoid the government hunting them down
The events are oddly arranged and that's the beauty of the book, with diary entries of the earlier years in 1979 and then jumping to offspring accounts of events. They are armed with mysterious abilities and tying to avoid the government hunting them down
June 17, 2018
Very interesting take on the superhero story and much darker than I would have expected. I really enjoyed the narration in the audiobook.
June 7, 2018
An excellent book that deserves far more attention. Given that it is ostensibly a "superhero" book, I expected a rather light pulpy read. That's not what this is. It's a serious look at what the world might do to a being with "super-powers".
The book has some weak points, but these can be overlooked as they are minimal compared to the strength of the ideas.
Well worth the read!
The book has some weak points, but these can be overlooked as they are minimal compared to the strength of the ideas.
Well worth the read!
June 27, 2018
Oh, this is a hard one to rate. I'm quite sure others would give it more stars and it's a bit of a toss-up between 2 and 3 for me. It definitely deserves more (4 perhaps) for the narration, which is excellent.
This reminds me of the Wild Card books (of which I have struggled through one). It sits in the subgenre of superhero fiction which some would, I'm sure, describe as 'realistic' and I describe as depressing. I honestly believe that, had I been reading this myself, I'd have dumped by the midway point because nothing good happens for the first 5 hours or so. Things pick up a little after that, but it's a bittersweet novel throughout and I'm rather glad to get to the end of it. I seriously need a comedy after that. This is a grimdark superhero novel. It's what you'd get if George R. R. Martin was writing for DC (oddly, Martin is the editor of Wild Cards), minus the incest.
I also happened to suffer from some shattering of immersion at times. One of the instances of that comes very early on when our hero crushes a car. In a straight-up comic book, I would have accepted the description, but this book tries to be sort of realistic, so it came across as physically ridiculous. Basically, if this lad could do what was described, he'd be cracking the pavement with every step he took. You try leaning on the roof of a car; doesn't matter how strong you are, you'll lift yourself before you flatten the vehicle. There were a couple of other descriptions which just bounced out as wrong without warning, jarring me out of the narrative.
So, if you like superheroes and Game of Thrones, this might be a good choice for you. Otherwise, you still might like it, but you have been warned.
This reminds me of the Wild Card books (of which I have struggled through one). It sits in the subgenre of superhero fiction which some would, I'm sure, describe as 'realistic' and I describe as depressing. I honestly believe that, had I been reading this myself, I'd have dumped by the midway point because nothing good happens for the first 5 hours or so. Things pick up a little after that, but it's a bittersweet novel throughout and I'm rather glad to get to the end of it. I seriously need a comedy after that. This is a grimdark superhero novel. It's what you'd get if George R. R. Martin was writing for DC (oddly, Martin is the editor of Wild Cards), minus the incest.
I also happened to suffer from some shattering of immersion at times. One of the instances of that comes very early on when our hero crushes a car. In a straight-up comic book, I would have accepted the description, but this book tries to be sort of realistic, so it came across as physically ridiculous. Basically, if this lad could do what was described, he'd be cracking the pavement with every step he took. You try leaning on the roof of a car; doesn't matter how strong you are, you'll lift yourself before you flatten the vehicle. There were a couple of other descriptions which just bounced out as wrong without warning, jarring me out of the narrative.
So, if you like superheroes and Game of Thrones, this might be a good choice for you. Otherwise, you still might like it, but you have been warned.
May 20, 2018
Alien superhero has babies with ladies. All kind of tomfoolery ensues. Vastly entertaining.
April 3, 2018
Full of Surprises - Not just "another superhero story"
I stumbled across this book and thought I'd give it a read...
Amazing!
Everything about this book was fresh - at no point could I predict what would ensue over the 4/5 hours spent reading it. Each character was well-defined (which is hard from a book mostly consisting of diary entries), and I genuinely cared about each of them.
The book was just the right length - not too long, but not too short either.
I eagerly await Book #2.
I stumbled across this book and thought I'd give it a read...
Amazing!
Everything about this book was fresh - at no point could I predict what would ensue over the 4/5 hours spent reading it. Each character was well-defined (which is hard from a book mostly consisting of diary entries), and I genuinely cared about each of them.
The book was just the right length - not too long, but not too short either.
I eagerly await Book #2.
March 8, 2018
Some books are a simply great read. And some are even better when you listen to them. The audiobook version of this is a true delight with the female narrator reading Cressida’s character so perfectly, I frequently laughed out loud.
I thoroughly enjoyed his book, even more so knowing it is only book one.
I thoroughly enjoyed his book, even more so knowing it is only book one.
December 30, 2017
This is the sort of book you can get lost in, it takes you to another world and you are hanging on every world, well worth a read, I cannot wait for the next one, I just love the way this author writes.
December 31, 2017
“Another brilliant book! Sainsbury's best yet. His character development and ability to surprise you just get better with each book. This one is SO up to date it even has a homage to BBC's Blue Planet Racer Snakes! Totally brilliant and cannot wait for the next instalment.”
January 13, 2018
Another clever gripping original story!
Love this writer and loved this book. I'm so happy he's ridiculously prolific with his writing and full of brilliant ideas as it won't be long till the next one - yay!
Love this writer and loved this book. I'm so happy he's ridiculously prolific with his writing and full of brilliant ideas as it won't be long till the next one - yay!
March 4, 2018
Awesome
Devoured in one session, and writing this at 3am. That weirdness mentioned in the afterword doesn't only happen during the writing, it occurs whilst reading, too. A cracking good story, once again!
Devoured in one session, and writing this at 3am. That weirdness mentioned in the afterword doesn't only happen during the writing, it occurs whilst reading, too. A cracking good story, once again!
July 14, 2018
Πολύ καλό στο είδος του, αν και οι χαρακτήρες είναι μάλλον δισδιάστατοι, αλλά όχι του γούστου μου.
Very good for its kind, just not very much to my taste. The characters were somewhat one-dimensional.
Very good for its kind, just not very much to my taste. The characters were somewhat one-dimensional.
December 21, 2017
A great start to a new series. Packed with interesting ideas and a little humour too. Looking forward to the next one.
December 29, 2017
A twist on Super heroes
Strange but compelling read on Super heroes, well worth a read and I doubt you'll be disappointed.
Don't like to say much more as it may spoil your fun
Strange but compelling read on Super heroes, well worth a read and I doubt you'll be disappointed.
Don't like to say much more as it may spoil your fun
January 10, 2018
Captivating
Unusual and/but captivating. The character development is well done and the mechanics of it fun and a bit different. I’m looking forward to the next novel.
Unusual and/but captivating. The character development is well done and the mechanics of it fun and a bit different. I’m looking forward to the next novel.
January 11, 2018
Cor! Blimey.
Written with fluidity,smooth yet rippled.
Sucking reader along,a sweet special honey yarn.
If the next is as good I may have, buy it.
Written with fluidity,smooth yet rippled.
Sucking reader along,a sweet special honey yarn.
If the next is as good I may have, buy it.
April 1, 2018
Wow that was great. Different for a Superhero story.
August 21, 2019
Overall this book was, well, interesting. Such a cliché word befits this well. Just some "problems" I suppose. At least from my listening/reading perspective (review of Audible edition here so...). I will say that I didn't much care for the back-n-forth narration. Through gender and time itself it was awkward. Kind of like puberty which Daniel detailed for quite a while. Least the anticipation of it especially initially. Felt like Judy Blume could very well have written this section. Are you there God? It's me. Daniel. I must note, however, that even though sort of irrelevant to the story in so many ways, well, it was presented amazingly well. Still gotta wonder "Why bother?", however. Criseda(sp?) was far too often an annoyance. Talk about a clichéd character. My god! Anyway, all of this was outright duldrum for at least the first half of the book. Not a telling of a story. But a monotonous accounting of the facts. Such would bode well I suppose in a significantly longer book. In this I was seriously considering a mere 3-star rating (not common for me to delve below 4 stars with books I have personally "researched" and chosen and purchased for myself). Well, the book made a dramatic turn-around. Eventually. Taking far too long to occur when the book is a mere 9 hours in length (the trilogy a mere 25 or 26 hours total). Regardless, at some point, despite its dry accounting-style still mostly in effect, it elevated itself to a piece of actual literature and not just "some book which managed to get published". It was elevated into what was 5-star writing. NO doubt!! Something not easy to pull off I'm sure considering the still similar style of it. And so I must acquiesce and assign this one 4 stars. The writing and more in the latter third or so was pretty well brilliant and masterful I suppose considering little divergence in writing style. Personally with such I often have felt that an author seems to instill poetry within the prose. Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles is a phenomenally brilliant example of such. Well, I have already moved onto book 2 as I write this. Potentially a third through it already. Suppose I should save any "commentary" for a review of that should I feel compelled to bother. One thing I must say is that I truly suspect this could easily have been a far more lengthy series. Perhaps doubly so. Oh, well. BTW, I thoroughly enjoyed the World Walker series from this author. Interesting how the writing styles seem to vary so dramatically. I suspect some of this, however, to be attributed directly to the affect of the narration. Well, overall... THIS IS ALL GOOD.... WORTHWHILE READING... and short enough that if you overall STILL aren't drawn into what is underlying, well, little time would have been spent with such pursuit. I personally feel this time was and still now is in book 2 presently TIME WELL SPENT!!
July 6, 2022
This one just barely missed 3 stars for me.
It does something I always find incredibly frustrating where it has two POVs that switch back and forth each chapter but many of the chapters end on a tension-peak/cliffhanger.
I just don't understand why so many authors think this is necessary.
If your story is so dull that you feel you need a cliffhanger every other chapter for your readers not to abandon the book then you are doing something wrong. Instead of a cliffhanger how about you improve your chapter to be less boring so this bs becomes unnecessary?
Beyond that, it suffers from ill-defined power levels, especially towards the end.
This is something I don't always mind but this book initially seemed like the type of book that would communicate power levels very precisely but the strength of the superhuman aspects seem to shift around sometimes by multiple magnitudes depending on what is necessary to create tension.
There are quite a few much more obvious plot holes too that don't just suffer from vagueness.
My final big complaint is how the book never really defines any sort of goal. It begins with the MC going through a discovery phase of his new abilities. And I very much enjoy these kinds of stories in books and they don't really need a goal or a bad guy or anything of the sort. But then the author rather abruptly ends this chapter of the story and after that, it feels somewhat aimless.
There are interesting events but there is no interesting story and/or no interesting characters.
Neither of the two plot lines ultimately leads anywhere.
The only real plot is essentially just this generic evil secret government organization breeds super soldiers bs that was already unoriginal 30 years ago.
But it doesn't seem like this is what the book was meant to be about but in the end, it just didn't come up with anything more interesting than that.
This book had a lot of opportunities for greatness but it just missed all of them.
It does something I always find incredibly frustrating where it has two POVs that switch back and forth each chapter but many of the chapters end on a tension-peak/cliffhanger.
I just don't understand why so many authors think this is necessary.
If your story is so dull that you feel you need a cliffhanger every other chapter for your readers not to abandon the book then you are doing something wrong. Instead of a cliffhanger how about you improve your chapter to be less boring so this bs becomes unnecessary?
Beyond that, it suffers from ill-defined power levels, especially towards the end.
This is something I don't always mind but this book initially seemed like the type of book that would communicate power levels very precisely but the strength of the superhuman aspects seem to shift around sometimes by multiple magnitudes depending on what is necessary to create tension.
There are quite a few much more obvious plot holes too that don't just suffer from vagueness.
My final big complaint is how the book never really defines any sort of goal. It begins with the MC going through a discovery phase of his new abilities. And I very much enjoy these kinds of stories in books and they don't really need a goal or a bad guy or anything of the sort. But then the author rather abruptly ends this chapter of the story and after that, it feels somewhat aimless.
There are interesting events but there is no interesting story and/or no interesting characters.
Neither of the two plot lines ultimately leads anywhere.
The only real plot is essentially just this generic evil secret government organization breeds super soldiers bs that was already unoriginal 30 years ago.
But it doesn't seem like this is what the book was meant to be about but in the end, it just didn't come up with anything more interesting than that.
This book had a lot of opportunities for greatness but it just missed all of them.
July 2, 2018
I found this a compelling audio-book; extremely well narrated and absorbing characters in a believable yet occasionally darkly humerus world.
Very British in both genre and humour without the 'kitschy' elements that grate on ones senses.
I love a book that can throw in a few 'geek' or 'fan-base' references without them overpowering the 'feel' of the narrative. There was just enough to convince me that the protagonist could have been the boy next door.
Also, the juxtaposition of the two timelines that thread through the narrative add a wonderfully 'historic' authenticity to the work. Kudos to the author for highlighting the technological disparities between the main characters environments.
The overall 'feel' of the genre was to me reminiscent of a cross between 'The Imitation Game' and 'Zenith'.
It is amazing yet everyday, dark and yet hopeful, factual yet inexplicable - I loved it!
I have not read the author's previous works but shall probably do so now as I impatiently await the next book in this series.
Very British in both genre and humour without the 'kitschy' elements that grate on ones senses.
I love a book that can throw in a few 'geek' or 'fan-base' references without them overpowering the 'feel' of the narrative. There was just enough to convince me that the protagonist could have been the boy next door.
Also, the juxtaposition of the two timelines that thread through the narrative add a wonderfully 'historic' authenticity to the work. Kudos to the author for highlighting the technological disparities between the main characters environments.
The overall 'feel' of the genre was to me reminiscent of a cross between 'The Imitation Game' and 'Zenith'.
It is amazing yet everyday, dark and yet hopeful, factual yet inexplicable - I loved it!
I have not read the author's previous works but shall probably do so now as I impatiently await the next book in this series.
October 6, 2018
Yep it's ok this book, fun
The concept, the concept is really good and the outline of the story is really good and when you read the authors notes at the end you realise yep, you had a few decent messages to get across. So all in all a good through away book easyish reading. But oh man it could of been so much more especially with that concept and some of the situations, points in history the characters find themselves at.
The book skins loads it never deep dives so the characters are never fully fleshed out, there is no commentary about motivation of the antagonists or hero's except a tiny bit about George but not enough.
The action ain't great either which it sort of should be in a superhero story as a minimum. The author sets up some great stuff during chapters but never his down the rabbit hole. Brixton riots, Daniels missions, And missions, Corstairs backstory there is loads more.
The concept tho it sort of books you well it some even with the 2d characters. I'll be getting the next book so look forward to the story telling development
The concept, the concept is really good and the outline of the story is really good and when you read the authors notes at the end you realise yep, you had a few decent messages to get across. So all in all a good through away book easyish reading. But oh man it could of been so much more especially with that concept and some of the situations, points in history the characters find themselves at.
The book skins loads it never deep dives so the characters are never fully fleshed out, there is no commentary about motivation of the antagonists or hero's except a tiny bit about George but not enough.
The action ain't great either which it sort of should be in a superhero story as a minimum. The author sets up some great stuff during chapters but never his down the rabbit hole. Brixton riots, Daniels missions, And missions, Corstairs backstory there is loads more.
The concept tho it sort of books you well it some even with the 2d characters. I'll be getting the next book so look forward to the story telling development
September 13, 2018
I downloaded this book from audible as it sounded quite good – but I didn’t realise that it was the first in a trilogy at the time!
This book is about Daniel, a guy who sort of figures out he has super-human powers. It was done in a really good way – I’ve read a few books where super-powers were made to be unbelievable but it really works in this book. Along with Daniel it also jumps back to the 1970’s to a young girl called Cressida. It did take a little bit of getting used to with the double narration but it soon led me to try to work out how the two of them were interlinked – and it took me a while to work this out – it wasnt as obvious as first thought.
This book was both very well written and very well narrated and I’ve already downloaded part two of the trilogy to listen to asap! I can’t seem to find part 3 on audible just yet but hopefully it will be released soon as the first book was really good!
This book is about Daniel, a guy who sort of figures out he has super-human powers. It was done in a really good way – I’ve read a few books where super-powers were made to be unbelievable but it really works in this book. Along with Daniel it also jumps back to the 1970’s to a young girl called Cressida. It did take a little bit of getting used to with the double narration but it soon led me to try to work out how the two of them were interlinked – and it took me a while to work this out – it wasnt as obvious as first thought.
This book was both very well written and very well narrated and I’ve already downloaded part two of the trilogy to listen to asap! I can’t seem to find part 3 on audible just yet but hopefully it will be released soon as the first book was really good!
November 8, 2018
I liked that Sainsbury didn't pull any punches with this tale. People that have dedicated their lives to scrambling for as much power as they can get, are just the sort to covet what a super-human might provide. The question is, how would they go about obtaining this new power, and then controlling it.
At times there seemed little hope for any of the decent people who provided the reader with their separate points of view. I'm glad that a light finally appeared at the end of the tunnel, even if we only get a brief taste of what lies beyond.
I'd go so far as to say this novel is a must read for any who call themselves aficionados of the meta-human genre. It's not as cynical as "The Boys" and certainly not the saccharine take from the 1940's. Rather, we get a realistic look at the likely result of modern political and military thinking, as it is faced with comic-book powers. Not pretty.
At times there seemed little hope for any of the decent people who provided the reader with their separate points of view. I'm glad that a light finally appeared at the end of the tunnel, even if we only get a brief taste of what lies beyond.
I'd go so far as to say this novel is a must read for any who call themselves aficionados of the meta-human genre. It's not as cynical as "The Boys" and certainly not the saccharine take from the 1940's. Rather, we get a realistic look at the likely result of modern political and military thinking, as it is faced with comic-book powers. Not pretty.
February 6, 2021
Very enjoyable characters, I especially liked Cressida's sections. The book alternates between her diary of the past and the pov from Daniel in the present. I found this worked very well and I was taken with both storylines. There are a lot of well known tropes here, the evil military secret department abusing the creature/alien/? and only thinking to make ridiculous weapons; the sole woman in the 60s lab is overlooked and frustrated but actually the heroine; the loner loser bullied kid is granted with powers and a secret bloodline... but each cliche is like an old friend. I see them, acknowledge them and they're welcome because they worked well. I liked that ABOS felt actually alien and they couldn't quite pin down the emotions or motivations.
I'm eager to see what the rest of the trilogy is like.
I'm eager to see what the rest of the trilogy is like.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews