There has been a surge to the far right across Europe, followed by political instability and financial insecurity. In Britain this has led to riots, racial tension, repatriations and clamp downs, culminating in a take over by the military and a coup.
The military is in control. Tight control. Media is censored, movement restricted. There are re-education camps for trouble makers, repatriation camps for non-nationals. Jake, Brian and Suze, three idealistic young journalists, are used to hiding as they try to keep their online news channel open. They publish the truth about the repatriations, the corruption and the deceit.
New Dawn, the feared security force, is closing in yet again. The trio run, yet again. This time, however, they are pursued with a relentlessness, a brutality which seems far too extreme for their ‘crimes.’
A trail of death is left in their wake as they try to escape New Dawn and find out what is really behind this hunt. They are drawn into a web of human trafficking, child abuse and murder. Only it’s closer than they think. Much closer.
Who would you trust?
I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.
To Retribution is a dark tale set in a dystopian version of the United Kingdom. With a sudden anti-immigration surge sweeping the country, foreigners are being rounded up, placed in internment camps or extradited back to their home nations. The government is plagued by corruption, and it uses its own special forces, New Dawn, to run roughshod over scared, nervous people, herding them to hate those who are different to themselves.
With current events around the world at the moment, To Retribution struck me as a very relevant, timely novel while also being a dark, terrifying portent of things that may yet be to come. Throughout the story, we follow Jake and Suze as they try to expose corrupt politicians and celebrities and the awful acts they commit through a secretive website.
Constantly on the move, New Dawn seem to be getting closer to them, leading to them fleeing their latest bolt hole, and ultimately leaving London. Their situation becomes dire when someone in a position of power sets out to defame the young pair, and ultimately remove them from the situation, thus ridding themselves of a significant nuisance.
Attempts to silence the pair by killing those closest to them, and forcing their hand fail until a chance accident leads to Suze being captured and interred in a reeducation camp. But before long, she finds herself free, and working to uncover the shady dealings going on. To Retribution brings happiness and heartbreak in equal measure with a pacey, well developed narrative and plenty of twists and turns. Dark revelations, and vengeful acts lead to a fantastic ending that doesn’t fully answer all questions, but at the same time finishes the story nicely.
My rating:
