Customer Reviews

Severed

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maybe it depends on what you're looking for in a book but I agree with another reviewer (on Amazon.co.uk) who mentioned there being a lot of snobbery around reading. There's nothing wrong with reading a thought provoking book...but neither is there anything wrong with enjoying a fast moving thriller that doesn't take up too much of your brain power. Depends what mood you're in. This is the latter and I ended up staying up until the small hours reading it.

I wasn't sure about the book being written in the first person as it tends to remind me of those American private detective sketches but to be honest the story moved so fast that I didn't mind it at all.

Best read on a weekend or long journey so you don't have to put it down!

I have only read one other book by this author which was titled Relentless. That book was a different style to this one, Relentless was more of a Harlan Coben style novel and if that is all you're after you may be disappointed with this different genre novel. If however you also enjoy fast paced albeit a little unrealistic action thriller, well trained ex army guy who rights a wrong type reads (such as say David Morrell's novels then you'll also love this one.

Severed is a fun read, there's enough action plus the having to guess who's behind it all factor in each chapter to keep you turning the pages. The main character Dan Tyler, is well written as are the supporting ones, including the villains.

Basic plot, Dan Tyler an ex British soldier who has served in most of the recent wars including Bosnia and Northern Ireland has moved on from that life and now runs a successful BMW dealership. He couldn't be happier having just met Leah, a beautiful woman who he thinks he will have a nice long future with. Unfortunately one day he awakens in a strange room beside her corpse, which even though it is missing the head he instantly recognises. He can't remember how he got here and notices a DVD player with a note on top telling him to press play. He does and witnesses a man who looks like him (and who Leah calls by his name) brutally murder her while she's tied to the bed. Shocked he is not fast enough to react to a needle entering him from behind and awakens lying in the back seat of a car to a ringing mobile where he is told the DVD and other evidence such as the murder weapon which contains his prints will be handed over to the police if he doesn't exchange a briefcase in the car for another at an address he is told to go to. Knowing he has no way of tracking down the killer, especially since it's highly likely he'll be behind bars, Tyler decides to do what the caller asks until he has time to turn the tables!

I have enjoyed both books I've read by this author and will definitely check out his other work.

Severed is no literary masterpiece, but it is non stop action from start to finish. I enjoyed it because it read very much like an action movie. The chapters are short and usually end in a decent enough cliffhanger to keep you interested.

If you're looking for something believable then this is best avoided, but for sheer fun it's a good shout. Easy to read and very entertaining. The author's previous book "Relentless" is probably better though.

I enjoyed 'A Good Day to Die' so much that I ordered three other Kernick thrillers. But where 'Good Day' was relentlessly efficient and highly polished, 'Severed' shows haste and immaturity on every page.

One example. A blackmailer hires three bodyguards he doesn't know or trust. They decide to steal the blackmail money as soon as it's delivered. They turn out the lights and lie on the floor pretending to be dead. The blackmailer draws his gun and looks around for the killer. But surprise! His bodyguards pop up shooting!

But... they're his bodyguards. Any one of them could put a bullet in him when his back is turned. And why don't they wait until the man who delivered the cash is gone? Why take on two armed men instead of one?

'Severed' is full of ill-conceived and badly executed scenes. Dialog is obvious and repetitive. There are more plot holes than plot.

Try 'A Good Day to Die' instead.

Mr Kernick's previous book was entitled Relentless ,and that is a pretty good description of this book when it comes to iots speed and drive .This is an action movie in print -sparse ,lean and economical prose and lots of macho action and violence in its plot

Tyler is an ex British army paratrooper now successful used car salesman .In the opening scene of the book he awakens in a strange room in a bed covered with blood .The blood comes from a headless female corpse ,puroprting to be a woman named Leah who he had met and fallen in love with a few weeks earlier .There is a DVD which seemingly shows him killing Leah and he receives an anonymous phone message -he must act as courier ,taking a briefcase to a given address .If he agrees the evidence will be given to him to destroy -refuse and the police will be shown ther evidence

Tyler knows he is being set up and resolves to strike back ,calling in a former Army buddy Lucas ,now a PI .Cue mayhem as a series of chases ,armed violence and arson are set in train .The plot involves people trafficking ,and before the case is resolved the body count is high and the violence racked up to pretty graphic levels .Tyler is resourceful hero but not an especially likeable one and he has serious character flaws including a high degree of self centredness but he learns a lot about himself during the book ,coming to realise that he has been t some extent the cause of his being singled out for his ordeal .Its a testosterone heavy book and will appeal mostly to men I suspect but there are two strong female characters ,in Adine ,his lawyer and ex wife ,and a mysterioius enigmantic Eastern European .Alannah.

This is violence heavy and high octane .Read it if those are your bag .It is not suitable for those who like cosy mysterious and object to quite graphic depictions of death and mutilation .Its a good travel read for aiplanes or long train journeys