#AmReading – The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man

The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man by Dave Hutchinson (Solaris) – Alex Dolan is a down on his luck journalist is hired by a billionaire to help with a pet project.  It’s the largest supercollider project ever, holding the promise of high energy physics breakthroughs.  Once he arrives in rural Iowa, Dolan discovers that there are a lot of secrets waiting for him.  Then an accident changes everything, including Dolan himself.

I have to admit, the title sounded like a ’50s B-movie sci-fi flick.  But I like ’50s B-movie sci-fi flicks, so I thought what the heck?  What I got was a well written, nicely thought out story science fiction story.   The story of a media pro out of work for an extended period time may have also struck a personal chord in this reader as well, lol.

There is a certain “Spiderman” aspect to the story.  Alex Dolan develops supernatural powers following an accident during a science experiment.  Unlike every superhero story, Dolan isn’t sure he wants any part of it all.  Being changed at a fundamental level is, and should be, scary.  When your powers take you places that no one understands, and your control of them is shaky, it’s the only possible sane response.  Hutchinson does a nice job weaving us through the series of events, and personalities that bring Dolan to that point in his life.  The story offers a few well-placed twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Hutchinson has never shown up on my reading radar before but has an established reputation as a solid science fiction writer.  His novel “Europe in Autumn”, described as a “speculative espionage thriller” set in a near-future Europe.  It’s received nominations for awards from the British Science Fiction Association, plus the John W. Campbell and Arthur C. Clarke awards.  I’ll be moving him onto my “Authors to Explore” list.

The end of the book doesn’t offer a resolution to all the plot lines, so I’m assuming there’s a sequel to come.  How an author handles that moment has a huge influence on whether I want to read the next book or not.  For me, the first question is this: does it feel like this has concluded the action of the book I’ve just read?  Or am I left hanging (which I HATE)?  When Dolan collapses into a chair on the last page, it felt like a reasonable place for the book to end.  So it cleared the first hurdle.  The second question has to do with my reaction to the end arriving.  I was sorry the book was over.  I want more about this character, his story and the people that surround him.  So the book was a resounding success for me.

The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man hit the shelves yesterday!

Rating – **** Recommended

This review was done from an Advanced Reader Copy and is consistent with our stated Review Policy.