Book Review: Boom

What would you do if you woke up and realized you had a strange tattoo on your arm that you don't recall getting? Even worse, what if you realized the tattoo was changing by the minute, counting down the time until the final word - BOOM!

That is the premise of Boom, the latest novel by author Jim Brown (@JimBrownBooks on Twitter).


It was through Twitter that I first got introduced to this novelist back in March of 2011. I popped over to his website (click the link to go to www.jimbrownbooks.com), signed up for his free newsletter and was getting a weekly drop from this book in PDF format (twenty four installments in total, if you find you can stand the wait between deliveries - if not, Jim has a way to buy the book in a printed format). To say I was instantly hooked within the first pages would be a major understatement! Jim knows how to fully engage his readers right from the start, as all the best authors do, and keep them turning page after page.

I am not going to spoil this novel for you. I think the teaser paragraph at the start is enough to get readers curious about this book. Trust me though when I say that if you love action-thrillers with lots of roller-coaster twists and turns that you will absolutely enjoy Boom.

As an amateur writer myself, I have to praise Jim Brown on one of the many things that I appreciate in his writing: Jim does an outstanding job when it comes to character creations. When he introduces a new character, he quickly lets you know everything you need to get that character right out of the gate. Now, you don't know if this character is going to be a long-term player in the book or if their time on the pages are brief. But it doesn't matter. Jim treats them all as if they are full-developed individuals. Even if it is someone who ends up a casualty in this grand chaotic scheme, you as the reader will care about the character. And that is a great gift in my book.

I definitely plan to seek out his other books 24/7 and Black Valley as well.