About the Book
Claymore Straker is trying to forget a violent past. Working as an oil company engineer in the wilds of Yemen, he is hijacked at gunpoint by Islamic terrorists. Clay has a choice: help uncover the cause of a mysterious sickness afflicting the village of Al Urush, close to the company's oil-processing facility, or watch Abdulkader, his driver and close friend, die. As the country descends into civil war and village children start dying, Clay finds himself caught up in a ruthless struggle between opposing armies, controllers of the country's oil wealth, Yemen's shadowy secret service, and rival terrorist factions. As Clay scrambles to keep his friend alive, he meets Rania, a troubled journalist. Together, they try to uncover the truth about Al Urush. But nothing in this ancient, unforgiving place is as it seems. Accused of a murder he did not commit, put on the CIA's most-wanted list, Clay must come to terms with his past and confront the powerful forces that want him dead. A stunning debut eco-thriller, The Abrupt Physics of Dying is largely based on true events.
Gritty, gripping and shocking, this book will not only open your eyes but keep them glued to the page until the final, stunning denouement is reached.
About the Author :
Claymore Straker is trying to forget a violent past. Working as an oil company engineer in the wilds of Yemen, he is hijacked at gunpoint by Islamic terrorists. Clay has a choice: help uncover the cause of a mysterious sickness afflicting the village of Al Urush, close to the company's oil-processing facility, or watch Abdulkader, his driver and close friend, die. As the country descends into civil war and village children start dying, Clay finds himself caught up in a ruthless struggle between opposing armies, controllers of the country's oil wealth, Yemen's shadowy secret service, and rival terrorist factions. As Clay scrambles to keep his friend alive, he meets Rania, a troubled journalist. Together, they try to uncover the truth about Al Urush. But nothing in this ancient, unforgiving place is as it seems. Accused of a murder he did not commit, put on the CIA's most-wanted list, Clay must come to terms with his past and confront the powerful forces that want him dead. A stunning debut eco-thriller, The Abrupt Physics of Dying is largely based on true events. Gritty, gripping and shocking, this book will not only open your eyes but keep them glued to the page until the final, stunning denouement is reached.
Review :
'A stormer of a thriller - vividly written, utterly topical, totally gripping' Peter James 'Paul Hardisty has delivered a thriller of the highest quality - a must read novel for fans of the genre and already Claymore Straker has shown the potential to one day stand in the company of such luminaries as Bond and Bourne. This is intelligent writing that both entertains and challenges' Live Many Lives 'An exceptional debut, beautifully written, blisteringly authentic, heartstoppingly tense and unusually moving. Definite award material' Paul Johnston 'A big, powerful sophisticated and page-turning thriller. Thought-provoking and prescient' Eve Seymour 'a novel that reeks authenticity - a page-turning adventure story that grabs you from the first page and won't let go' Edward Wilson 'From the beginning to the end - both of which are played out at gunpoint - this novel is non-stop action. It's thrilling, but also highly sophisticated' Crime Fiction Lover 'This debut thriller by a Canadian author with a wealth of experience in the Middle East and the oil industry has a ring of truth, but the author's deep knowledge of the settings never slows down the non-stop action, with distant echoes of a more-moral minded Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne. A forceful first novel by a writer not afraid of weighty issues and visibly in love with the beauty of the Yemen and desert landscapes his protagonists travel through' Maxim Jakubowski, LoveReading UK 'So begins a labrynthine journey through the politics and economics of Yemen disguised as a breathless conspiracy thriller. Straker gets wind that the oil company is despoiling tribal lands but when he tries to bring the issue to light, international and local forces try to stop him. A trenchant and engaging thriller that unravels this mysterious land in cool, precise sentences' Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald 'I was a big fan, in 2013, of Terry Hayes's I Am Pilgrim and I hadn't up to now read a conspiracy thriller which came close to it in terms of quality. But Hardisty's book was an excellent read with a similar sweep across the politics of international money-making' Sarah Ward, Crimepieces 'A well-crafted, admirably constructed, and convincing tale of modern corruption, touching on topical issues, The Abrupt Physics of Dying has introduced Hardisty as a serious player in the (eco-) thriller genre, and I expect impressive things from him over the coming years' Charley Barnes, Mad Hatter Reviews 'Hardisty's prose is rich, descriptive and elegant, but break-neck pace is the king - The beatings, bone-shattering gunshot wounds, and his desperate, parched-throat quest through the pitiless Yemen landscape. Set in the run-up to the country's 1994 civil war and against a rising tide of Islamic terrorism, The Abrupt Physics of Dying asks big and often unsettling questions. But above all, it's an exhilarating, white-knuckle ride' Paddy Magrane, Guest Review, Crime Book Club 'The story and setting remind me of Taylor Stevens' series of thrillers starring Vanessa Michael Monroe: international intrigue, sophisticated treatment of non-western cultures - which means neither demonized nor romanticized, abundant gray areas where there are no simple choices, and peopled with the sorts of psychopaths addicted to adrenaline. The science reminds me of Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta novels. All of these similarities are good things but Abrupt Physics is not derivative. This is a modern treatment of a centuries-old conflict between indigenous peoples and usurpers bent on exploitation, us and them' Texas Book Lover 'So what was it that grabbed me about this book? Was it the stunning setting? Was it the beautifully written prose or powerful characterization and the fact that Clay Straker is a man you'd follow to the end of the line? Was it the timeliness of a story that chimes with the fact that we all need to wake up to the importance of nurturing and protecting the planet on which we depend? All of this played with me - I'm a sucker for genuine thrillers with powerful redemptive themes, but what spoke to me more strongly than anything was the courage, integrity and passion with which this novel is written' Eve Seymour, Cheltenham Standard "Just occasionally, a book comes along to restore your faith in a genre - and Paul Hardisty's The Abrupt Physics of Dying does this in spades' Sharon Wheeler, Crime Review 'A fast-moving and compelling story. The intrigue is gripping, the characters complex, the denouement satisfying' Never Imitate 'Thriller? Thriller with a conscience? Eco-thriller? Geo-political thriller? How about bloody good book? It's all of these. In his first book Hardisty has created a thriller as assured, gripping, well paced and finely detailed as they come' Tony Hill, Mumbling About Music 'For The Abrupt Physics of Dying to be a debut novel, a brilliant debut novel, there's surely only exciting things to come from Paul E. Hardisty, starting with next year's sequel The Evolution of Fear - the author writes like you'd expect from an established thriller writer - a protagonist blessed with fantastic characterisation, a detailed setting and twists to boot' Reviewed the Book 'A great page-turner with all the elements that make a cracking thriller. There's plenty of action, twists and turns, skulduggery and an evil oil company - what more could you want?! This is one of those books that makes you want to turn to Google and find out how much is fact and how much fiction' Novel Heights
