Martin Treanor's 3 favorite reads in 2023

So, we’ve reached a future where the climate has finally broken down, and the world has decided a dictator is what’s needed to fix things. AI is the norm. As is neural/advanced VR communication. Yet, even in the midst of crisis, politicians are doing what they always do… trying to manipulate the situation for their own ends.

I loved this technothriller – it’s a fantastic read. The characters are relatable and nuanced. The story is a gem. I was gripped so quickly; if I didn’t need to do ‘life’ stuff, I would’ve finished it in one day.

I read quite a few non-fiction books in any given year, and this book had me totally gripped (this is SS O’Connor’s fourth and final book in his Secrets of Life series).

Referencing back to the arching themes of the first three books: the gene’s challenges with the second law of thermodynamics, Game Theory, and many other theories of how we got to where we are all the way from the Big Bang, the author highlights how human behavior and the concepts of free will, trust, and cooperation are natural processes in the future evolution of humankind… and how things mightn’t be as black as they’re painted.

Yes, there is some pretty heady stuff in here. Still, the writing never gets stodgy, and O’Connor’s use of humor and well-placed anecdotes always makes for an entertaining and definitely interesting read.

I thoroughly enjoyed the collection and look forward to anything this author writes in the future. Everyone really should read the whole series.

I have read a few of this writer’s books before and, because I had finished them in a matter of days, was drawn to The Piper’s Children – his first novel in The Unsolvable Crimes series – and was in no way disappointed.

The guy is a superb wordsmith. He always knows how to pace a story and hooked me from the first sentence. The characters are, for want of a better word, cool. The story, leaning on an old folk tale, is intoxicating. And the crime/s and investigation/s are nicely constructed to keep you guessing.

There is nothing trite here. The book reads as it plays out. I loved it and immediately moved on to the second in the series.