Dylan J Morgan – October Rain Review

Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

This is the second book by Dylan Morgan that I’ve had the pleasure of reading.  After reading The Dead Lands I was hooked and I thoroughly enjoy his style.  After reading The Dead Lands I remember telling Dylan how much I loved it and asked when the sequel was due.  Of course I knew it would be a bit of a wait since it had just been released.  Although I spend most of my time reading Horror I still love science fiction so I was thrilled when asked if I was interested in reading October Rain.  Again Dylan Morgan gives us a great science fiction thriller this time set on mars in the distant future.

Steele a bounty hunter is sitting at the welcome terminal on Mars.  He has three names left on his government contract list to find and eliminate.  He sees Charlotte a known druggie and associate of the men he is after.  With some quite coxing he extracts the information from her and continues his search before time runs out and the contract expires.  Steele needs to find Preston, Hawkes and Pierce and fast, he only has one day left.  He learns from Charlotte that Preston is at the Museum of Human History and quickly pursues his target.  Dylan fills in the backdrop of Mars with such clarity you can see it easily in your mind.  The strange pink glow in the atmosphere and the near dead and dying city that was once a busy place filled with hope and promise.  Now all that is left is people looking for another new and thriving place to live.  Mars has lost its appeal and only a fraction of citizen remain living here.  The city of Olympus is now a shell of its former self, still beautifully constructed but equally empty in comparison of its former days.  Dylan builds a picture real enough to walk through while looking out at the strange Martian landscape with its constant storms and tinted red soil.  It doesn’t take long for Steele to find Preston but he is just one name on his list and he needs to find Hawkes and ultimately Pierce.

This is the last night on Mars for Steele and his family.  They will be leaving for their new home on Titan, a small moon orbiting Saturn.  Little does his family know about Steele’s real job, his wife knows he works for the government and his work is top secret.  Lucky for Steele he is able to conceal his real profession, killing men for the government who have been deemed a threat.  His only goal is to finish this last mission and leave Mars for a new and better life.  You can really feel for Steele and the internal conflict he has at having to kill these men while hoping to keep his family remains safe and hoping they never know the truth.  Steele hunts down Hawkes and finds the clue he needs to locate Pierce.  Steele finds him hiding in the mines of Mars, a deserted place rumored to be extremely dangerous.  Shortly after Steele finds Pierce Dylan reveals a major twist in the plot that made this final mission really interesting.  I loved the way Dylan turned the tables on Steele and us as the reader.  Dylan twists the knife in Steele and rips his heart out.  All Steele is left with is crushing desperation and a slim chance to save his family.  October Rain is a great fast paced science fiction mystery.  If you haven’t read Dylan Morgan yet do so, his stories are filled with action and are fast paced reads.  I highly recommend The Dead Lands as well.

Rating 5/5

Book Info

Length:  79 Pages

Release date:  February 29, 2016

To Purchase October Rain Click Here

The human race teeters on the brink of extinction in a solar system choking under the glare of a dying sun. An assassin for the Martian Interstellar Correction Agency, Steele has one more assignment to complete before a big payoff and the chance of a new life: a job that will reveal the true horrors of man’s futile existence and threaten the very people who make his life worth living.

As mankind draws its final breath, what would you do to save your family?

Dylan J Morgan, biography

Now living and working in Norway, Dylan J. Morgan was born in New Zealand and raised in the United Kingdom. He writes during those rare quiet moments amid a hectic family life: after dark, with limited sustenance, and when his creative essence is plagued the most by tormented visions.

A member of the Horror Writers Association, he has published 8 books, all available on Amazon.