Review: The Brink by James S. Murray & Darren Wearmouth

Authors: James S. Murray & Darren Wearmouth
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: June 2019

The sequel to the international bestseller (including #1 Sunday Times bestseller) Awakened, by one of the stars of TruTV’s Impractical Jokers and a bestselling science fiction author.

Former NYC Mayor Tom Cafferty has been haunted by the horror of a single day. The opening of the brand new Z-train subway line beneath the Hudson River—the supposed shining moment of his tenure. But the ribbon-cutting ceremony turned deadly when the train carrying Cafferty’s wife and other citizens was attacked by a horde of hyper intelligent, bloodthirsty creatures previously unknown to humanity.

Everything changed for Cafferty, ex-NYPD officer Sarah Bowcut, and tech-expert Diego Munoz that day. They had uncovered the deadly truth: the attack was no accident.

And now the creatures that wreaked havoc underneath New York have spread worldwide, and with a massive cover-up—and a secret organization holding nations hostage with the knowledge of how to kill them—Cafferty’s team must fight against impossible odds to save the entire planet from an apocalyptic scale disaster.

I was really looking forward to reading The Brink, which is the sequel to The Awakened (my review). The Awakened was a pleasant surprise for me, So I had high hopes for this sequel.  The story picks up a few months (I think) after the events of the first book. 

Sadly, this was kind of a disappointment.  One of the things that I loved about the first book was the suspense and creepiness.  That was really lacking in this book.  It felt more like a spy or secret government espionage story instead of horror.  In fact, I was kind of bored.  The villain in the book was over the top comically evil.  Think Dr. Evil on steroids.  The one thing I did appreciate was the background of the creatures and how they were first discovered.  However, it wasn't enough to save the story for me. I'm not sure if there will be a third book. If there is, I may give it a try.