Synchronicity by Michaelbrent Collings

Written Insomnia Press, 2021

ISBN: 38744369R00197

Availability: paperback, Kindle edition ( Amazon.com )

Synchronicity, the newest thriller from Michaelbrent Collings, succeeds in most areas, while missing in a few.  His trademark skill of writing action sequences and maintaining a fast pace is on full display, but the story does skimp a little on fleshing out the plot for the reader.  It’s a decent read, just not quite to the level of excellence of his most recent novels.

“Book” Malcolm is a small-time pickpocket and thief who drifts through life, taking what he can.  One day, unknown people try to kill him on a subway platform.  With their light-speed method of fighting, abnormal healing powers, and the ability to shift consciousness from one body to another, they resemble the characters in The Matrix.  Then, Book is on the run, pursued by some and aided by others, as he struggles to answer the question: “why me?”  Later, Book becomes aware of his own powers, and tries to stop the villains from using the consciousness-shifting device to achieve world domination.

Collings has always been good at making a story move quickly and providing plenty of action along the way, and Synchronicity continues the trend.  As always, it starts off fast; the destruction on the subway platform happens in the first few pages, and the pace never lets up until the end of the story.  The numerous action sequences (and there are a LOT) are well detailed and thought out, and show the author’s usual flair for bone-crushing intensity, as well as violent gunfights.  In terms of a straight thrill ride of a story, Synchronicity hits the target dead-on.

However, it takes more than just breakneck speed to engross some readers start to finish, and that’s where Synchronicity falls a bit short.  It’s almost too fast, and doesn’t allow the plot enough time to breathe, in terms of explanation.  It’s written so the reader never knows more than Book himself throughout the story, and that’s good for character development, but frustrating for the reader.  There is little backstory or dialogue between other characters to give readers some explanation prior to the big reveal at the end.  This makes it harder to get interested in the characters, since you don’t know much about why they are acting like they are.  It’s a shame, because the reason behind the consciousness-jumping technology is quite clever, but it doesn’t get much page time.  More breaks from the hyper-speed of the narrative to detail the plot would have gone a long way.  It’s a good action book, just a little more one-dimensional than Collings’s usual writing.

Synchronicity will probably keep his legions of fans entertained, but first-timers might want to start with Scavenger Hunt or the Stranger series instead, to get a better perspective on his writing.

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson