I received this book free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Brink by James S. Murray, Darren Wearmouth Series: Awakened #2
Published by Harper Voyager on June 18, 2019
Pages: 240
Genres: Horror
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
Goodreads
Also by this author: Awakened
The sequel to the international bestseller (including #1 Sunday Times bestseller) Awakened, by one of the stars of TruTV’s Impractical Jokers and a bestselling science fiction author.
Former NYC Mayor Tom Cafferty has been haunted by the horror of a single day. The opening of the brand new Z-train subway line beneath the Hudson River—the supposed shining moment of his tenure. But the ribbon-cutting ceremony turned deadly when the train carrying Cafferty’s wife and other citizens was attacked by a horde of hyper intelligent, bloodthirsty creatures previously unknown to humanity.
Everything changed for Cafferty, ex-NYPD officer Sarah Bowcut, and tech-expert Diego Munoz that day. They had uncovered the deadly truth: the attack was no accident.
And now the creatures that wreaked havoc underneath New York have spread worldwide, and with a massive cover-up—and a secret organization holding nations hostage with the knowledge of how to kill them—Cafferty’s team must fight against impossible odds to save the entire planet from an apocalyptic scale disaster.
An explosive and thrilling international adventure, the stakes are even higher in the latest book from bestselling duo James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth!
Awakened Series
Awakened (Awakened #1) by James S. Murray & Darren Wearmouth [Review]
‘We stand on the edge of extinction. The brink, if you will.’
After surviving the subway attack in New York City, NYC Mayor Tom Cafferty and fellow survivors have teamed up to take on the Foundation for Human Advancement, the secret organization that maintains control of the creatures that could wipe out the planet. For decades, the Foundation has demanded funds from world leader’s in exchange for their continued survival but following the subway attack and information uncovered about the Foundation and its leader, Albert Van Ness, no one is willing to comply anymore.
The Brink picks up where the first installment, Awakened, left off with a race against time to stop a madman from destroying the world with bloodthirsty creatures that live beneath the Earth’s surface. Discovered during the end of WWII in Germany, Van Ness’ father discovered the way to control the creatures and has been using them as blackmail since. When Albert took over following his father’s death, he continued working towards achieving his dream of purifying humanity. Much like the second-half of Awakened, the story devotes much of its focus to the political drama and conspiracies rather than the actual creatures. Personally, I found the creatures to be of far more interest than anyone in this cast of one-dimensional characters. The creatures are only featured in a few scenes and they were horrific and thrilling but the authors placed much more focus on their laughably evil villain. It’s pretty disappointing when humans are more monstrous than the actual monsters.
The book is a very short read, however, I’m sad to say the dialogue is inept, the storyline is banal, and the ending was so ridiculous that it removed any interest I had in completing the trilogy. Disappointing that the exciting world these authors created with Alien-like creatures ended up being backseat drivers to a story about a Hitler-esque villain.
“My God,” Cafferty said.
“No, not God,” he replied. “Albert Van Ness.”
The Line That Held Us by 
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by 
Nightflyers by 