Reviews

Firefly by Henry Porter

zebac's review against another edition

4.0

Entertaining

Thoroughly enjoyable and mercifully not marred by gratuitous violence. Inevitably there are high stakes moments but mostly, great suspense and pace.

searchandrescueteam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

xoemxly77's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

ayeesharbrts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

readinggrrl's review against another edition

4.0

This book is a mad dash from Turkey to Greece, Macedonia and beyond while thirteen year old Naji tries to get to the EU so he can establish a safe place for his family. I think this book would have been better named had they actually used codename Firefly in the beginning of the book instead of halfway through.

Naji has in his possession valuable information on an ISIS cell that could help MI6 avoid an attack.
Resourceful and cunning I found myself cheering for this boy as he ran from terrorists and crossed borders undocumented giving MI6 and Samson a former Lebanese immigrant now a contractor for MI6 a run for his money. Samson's immigrant status and fluency in Arabic help him in trying to win Naji's trust.

Porter did a great job of showcasing what immigrants will go through in order to be safe and how there is now more than ever a distrust and fear of immigrants. This is a very timely book, has great intrigue and is well written.

seanbyrne92's review

5.0

Really enjoyed this thriller by Henry Porter which features British spy Paul Samson, who helps locate kidnapped/missing people. Paul is tasked with finding a Syrian boy named Naji Touma who has left Syria and now the refugee camps in Turkey as he travels across Europe looking for a new home for him and his family. What we uncover is that Naji is no ordinary boy - he is extremely brave and intelligent and has taken something from the terrorists in Syria that has put a target on his back.

The book bounces from the narrative of Naji and Paul which I loved as we got both aspects of the journey throughout Europe. I think I will be keen to read the next installment in White Hot Silence as the character Paul came across as willing to go to great lengths to complete the mission/task in hand and it was conveyed really well in this book.

longtimereader's review against another edition

The boy saved by a dolphin has a long way to go and a huge story in this book. From a refugee camp to heading for Germany, of all places, Naji has a huge twisty journey. He's smart and rather skilled, but he is a kid. That's against him. Also against him is the list of people who want him dead because of what he knows. Things that are good about this book, it doesn't hold back on shining lights on what, who, and how evil ISIS is. It does have twists, turns, and a great deal of suspense, all mixed in with the ugliness that comes from terrorist mindsets and organizations. I also really like the British take on this.

My copy came from Net Galley. This review is my own, left freely.

clairclairmarie's review

adventurous sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

canary20's review

2.0

I had a hard time getting into the book but I am glad that I stuck it through. It wasn't one of my most favorite books in the world but it was well written and there were parts that I just got sucked in. I might try another book of his to see how this series progresses. I would like to have had more background on Paul Sampson and a little less information on how the government is turning its back on everything.

sdownsy's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

A little long and plodding, but I will read the next book in the series.