Featured Review: The Expansion by Christoph Martin

[Karina Nowak]

Wow. Did not expect the review to be about that. You rarely ever hear people talk about all the corruption in engineering even from a fictional standpoint.

[Emy Katherine]

A fast-paced story with several plot twists! Sounds a grippig read for fans of crime thrillers books! Added this book to my TBR list even though I am not fond of cliffhangers! Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the detailed review!

[Bles]

I love fast-paced novels. The Expansion by Christoph Martin seems like one kind of novel a reader will stop at nothing to get and read it. Great review.

[Ngozi Onyibor]

Quite considerate of the author to put in something for everyone without raunchy sex scenes.

[AntonelaMaria]

The premise of this book is really great. I love that your enthusiasm and enjoyment of the book is evident in this review. Good job.

[woz303mom]

This book sounds interesting. While I am not a fan of thrillers per se, this book sounds like it has several areas of interest. Congrats on BOTD.

[Tim Terry]

An exciting review about what sounds like an action packed book foiled with absorbing detail. A thriller like this that manages to convey information about deals like this, and make you feel that you are actually witnessing it in reality is always good to read. A bit of romance also sounds nice and I like the fact that it is kept there, without explicit detail or scenes. And yes, this sounds good to take for a quick read when you have to wait somewhere, such as an airport.

[skindrukas]

I don't usually read crime and thriller books but this one has got my attention with being "not readily obvious". The Panama canal expansion sounds like a perfect object to build a good sorry around.
By the way, great review!

[Kajori Sheryl Paul]

This thriller about the expansion of Panama Canal seems interesting.

Thank you for the great review.

[evraealtana]

Yuck! Cliffhangers are so unnecessary If I were to get into this one I would have to wait until after the sequel comes out. Thanks for the warning, and for a great review.

[Washboard]

I am constantly on the hunt for short, but exciting books for when I travel. I will have to add this one to the list. Thanks for the review!

[Abacus]

It's a great page turner. Love the emotion. The end is a real copout.

[Sanju Lali]

A glimpse into the cutthroat business world and continuous corporate espionage can be got from the book "The Expansion" by Christoph Martin, which follows a British geomatics engineer, Max Burns,who embarks on the opportunity to be a part of a British company which tries to win the contract to expand the Panama Canal. The plot appears quite entertaining.

[Florence Nalianya]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Expansion" by Christoph Martin.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Have you ever pondered about how a massive, internationally sought after engineering project gets off the ground? Have you ever realized that when many nations are competing against each other not only to win a bid like this but maintain their national interest in an area, tensions are extraordinarily high? Christoph Martin, the author of this book, most definitely has and he uses this (and more) to set the stage for his exceptional thriller, The Expansion. This book dips the reader's toe into the cutthroat business world, the sleaziness of corporate espionage, the intrigue of clandestine agencies, and centers it all on the expansion of one of the most influential waterways in the world: The Panama Canal.

Although the book is written from multiple perspectives, the story line mainly follows a British geomatics engineer, Max Burns, as he embarks on the opportunity of a lifetime. Leaving a steady job (and his future wife) behind, Max Burns makes his way to Panama where he has been given the opportunity to be a part of a British company's bid for the contract to expand the Panama Canal. Although they are not the only company putting in a bid, Max collaborates with his long-lost childhood friend to lead a top-notch team in the presentation of a winning submission. Unfortunately, things are not as straightforward as they may seem. Plans for another canal in Nicaragua put into question the motives of the Chinese, the Americans have vested interest in the Panama canal and may do anything to ensure their continued influence, intelligence agencies are monitoring all involved, and back-door deals are a dime a dozen.

This book has a lot of amazing things going for it. I loved how in the first chapters, the main character(s) backstory is given to the readers in order to provide context. Additionally, it is a fast-paced novel that keeps you on your toes from a very early on. The author easily sucks you into a story based on the actual competition towards winning the Panama canal expansion bid, keeps you interested when all of the intrigue is introduced, glues you to the pages as the heat is turned up on all of the characters, and leaves you wishing for more as you finish that last page. Finally, the author is able to bring all of the "main elements" of a novel to the reader without going overboard. For example, for the first time in a long time I read a romantic element within a story without being subjected to the author's raunchy description of a sex scene. What I liked the best, however, was that there were several plot twists that keep you guessing. Unlike many of the thrillers on the market these days it is not readily obvious in this book what the final solution is going to be. Martin has created a situation so explosive that any plot twist you can think of could potentially be the reality.

The only issue at all that I have with this book is the blatant cliffhanger left at the end of the novel. I understand that all of the money in literature these days is in series and sequels, but I am not a fan of the implicit hook at the end of a novel which essentially all but states, "to be continued." That being said, this is a relatively short (~300 page) book and there is ample room for additional tales within the same character base/plot. A sequel would not be unwelcome.

This book was a pleasure to read and is an exciting story, for that reason I have no qualms whatsoever giving it 4 out of 4 stars. This book is meant for a wide variety of audiences including those who love crime/thrillers, those that like a short "airport book", and those that simply like a fast paced novel that keeps them glued to the pages. There are very few readers that wouldn't enjoy this book, but if you are inherently against the C/T/M/H genre, this clearly fits within it, and would therefore not be for you. When Christoph Martin comes out with the sequel to The Expansion I can tell you right now that I will be chomping at the bit to get a copy.

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The Expansion
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Like Scerakor's review? Post a comment saying so!

Great review.Whenever I come across this genre I run like crazy.Its interesting that you have invested me in this.Congratulations.

[Laura Ungureanu]

Although the subject is not one I'm interested in, I think that the author does a great job at captivating the readers.