The Coming Fire by Greg Mosse

The Coming Fire by Greg Mosse

The Coming Fire by Greg Mosse is the final novel in a trilogy. The two previous novels are called The Coming Darkness and The Coming Storm. I would describe this book as Dan Brown meets Bond, with an environmental theme. Set mainly in the near future of 2037, the story shifts from France to North Africa and Haiti, narrated through various characters.

It begins with Alexandre ‘Alex’ Lamarque, ‘The man who saved the world’ in the previous two books, crash-landing on Haiti with Davide, son of the villain, Aurélien Castile. Aurélien Castile has decided to wipe the world’s slate clean by removing excess human population and digital interconnectedness to create a simpler world. He resides in his safe stronghold on Haré Island near Haiti, where he plans to be self-sufficient in the post-apocalyptic future. The ‘Fire’ of the title is a computer virus released by him, intended to cause chaos in the world’s digital infrastructure. Castile hopes to make Alex the figurehead leader of his new world.

The story is told through various characters, mainly the good guys of the French Security Service and North African governments as they try to prevent the plan from coming to fruition. Claudine Poiret, a high-ranking French security official, heads to Haiti on board a naval frigate, which she accidentally destroys due to the virus causing a malfunction. Though she manages to get ashore in Haiti. Alex’s girlfriend Mariam survives a dam burst caused by Castile in France that destroyed her family. She flies with her colleague Paul to Haiti in search of Alex. Todor Kladonov, the creator of the virus for Castile, goes to work on Haré Stronghold but soon regrets his decision. African characters, Faroukh and Zenia, race across Africa to pass on vital information from Alex to their leader. The threat from an asteroid impact and the use of a nuclear space weapon called ‘God’s Thunder’ add to the tension. Meanwhile, Alex is found and kidnapped by the local bandit leader in Haiti, who hopes to ransom him. The story converges on Haré Island for the final showdown.

The good points, in my opinion, are that the story is not the typical American–centric story but gives a fresh take with French and African characters. It is well-researched, but at times it wore it too much on its sleeve with characters explaining technical information to each other. The future is created with light touches on future technology, such as comm. watches and auto-drive taxis, and a more female-positive world. Even though there are many characters, it kept me reading right to the end.

The risks from AI and technological advances for both good and bad are explored. The characters’ experiences reflect a broader commentary on the consequences of our technological dependency in modern society. Overall, I found the story captivating, informative and thought-provoking.

c) Helen Broderick

Helen Broderick was born, reared and now lives in county Kerry. She comes from a long tradition of storytellers in her family. She is a member of Listowel Just Write writing group and Inkwell writing group. She has been published in four short story and poem collections and won prizes for her writing. She had a degree in Marketing and MA in Screenwriting. She loves to write entertaining stories and take the reader on adventures into exciting worlds full of interesting characters. She has written three children’s novels and a cozy crime novel, which she hopes to publish.