Tipping Point by Terry Tyler #BookReview #NewRelease

How would we cope if all social media disappeared followed by Google and the whole internet, if family and friends fell ill and died and public utilities ceased to function?

“Only Twitter, the domain of conspiracy theorists, anarchists, artists and writers clung on.”

I have always enjoyed Terry Tyler’s character driven contemporary stories about realistic people I felt I knew but I was unsure of how I would react to a post-apocalypse novel, which is not my usual choice of genre. Well, I was blown away by how compelling I found this story. There are thrilling, edge of the seat events, a very likeable heroine and a convincing plot.

What struck me early in the story, when young mother, Vicky described events leading up to the “tipping point,” in August 2024, was that the book addresses the concerns we have now, of intolerance, reduction of public services and the burden of providing for an increasing population.

Vicky lived in a small Norfolk town on the coast with her partner Dex and teenage daughter, Lottie. Dex, a college lecturer, is concerned about covert Government intelligence agencies and advises Vicky not to give away too much about her private life, online. He belongs to an organisation called Unicorn who distrust government motives and action. As a new social networking site called Private Lives, promising absolute security, replaces the established websites, there is news of a lethal epidemic in Africa, which might spread.

After Dex disappears, Vicky soon loses her naivety and she and Lottie become closer as they escape military forces trapping them in their home. Travelling to a “Safe House” in Tyne and Wear where they hope to see Dex, they find themselves in extremely dangerous situations and have to make judgements as to whom they can trust. In the Safe House, a group of disparate individuals must learn to live together and become aware that twenty first century life is never going to be the same again.

In other chapters, we meet Travis and Aria, who have been working for the government on “Project Renova,” but discover that they too are trapped, partly as a result of the actions of a socially inadequate individual who has deliberately created chaos. There is also Wedge, an escapee from a high security prison who is the last person any of them would wish to meet.

This is a story of how we can stumble blindly into disaster, not just as individuals but also as a nation. It is highly relevant to the present day where we are only concerned about our own small world. It is also a damn good read with the feel of a film script where we are both observers and closely involved in the experiences of Vicky and Lottie. A must read and ….. there will be more to follow.

You can find Tipping Point on Amazon UK