Good or bad, reviews are like life blood to authors – for three reasons:

• Reviews give feedback. And feedback of any kind lets a writer know that their words are being read (and that’s the main objective). A hardy writer can take criticism on the chin and learn from a reader’s comments. They also provide an insight into which parts and aspects of the story touched the reader – and, of course, which bits they’d rather the writer had left out.
• Reviews are like advertising boards, catching the eyes of other potential readers. Those little orange stars next to their thoughts declare that this book is worth looking at in more detail than just the snazzy cover, and even a purchase might be in order.
• Reviewers generally know their genre back to front. If they like it, they’ll say so. If they don’t, they’ll say so too. Reviewers are a writer’s silent partners; they’ll spread the word about your book behind the scenes, generating more interest in the wordy stuff, which will hopefully lead to more readers reviewing.

First, here’s what my readers have to say about my crime thriller ‘Killing Hope’
and, secondly, my sci-fi novel ‘Uth’ …

 

 “KILLING HOPE”

“Wow. Just Wow.” – January 1, 2012 By Roger Waterhouse (Calgary, Alberta Canada)

This is my first ever Amazon review. I read a lot, mostly detective type novels and sciencefiction. Mark my words, we are seeing theemergence of a major new talent here. I read this book straight through and enjoyed it immensely. If you enjoy detective stories,

buy this book. You will not be disappointed.

Thanks Keith. I will be buying Uth as soon as I finish this review. Will we be seeing Gabe again? I sure hope so.

“Excellent” -  30 Nov 2011
By Patricia

I just had to review this book a fantastic read I loved it, gripping story and what an ending. Cannot wait for the next.

“Fast Paced, hard to put down” – 29 Nov 2011 By Mike Gibbons

Killing Hope, I am not a crime drama book kinda of a guy but a friend recommended the book to me. I have spent the last three days engrossed in the story. Within the first several chapters you begin to like Gabe, rough, worn down by his past. So many times I thought a had something figured out, and then bam…totally wrong. The characters you meet in the book, some you love and some you HATE kinda bounce around in your head like old friends. No spoilers, but the ending will completely stunning you. I completely recommend this book to any fan of crime drama and even to you that like me are not a big fan of criminal drama.

“Gripping!” – 27 Nov 2011 By LD

I never usually write a review but I was so enthrawled by this book that I just had to!
Killing Hope is a gripping story that has you hooked within the first few pages, Couldnt put it down! A must read!!!

“What a book! Fantastic read!”- 25 Nov 2011 By Gemma

I fell in love with ‘Gabe’ from page one. I was right by his side all the way through the book. I really felt every emotion. Its not very often that I relate to a character like I did with him. That aside, I adore every aspect of this crime thriller. The quick pace, punchy dialogue and juicy descriptions meant that I never got bored. You get a lot for your money with this meaty book and every penny is worth it. Like the last reader said, I cannot wait for the sequel!

“Well Thought Out” - December 11, 2011 By A. Burbank “idiopathicone” (Waltham, MA United States)

This story is very well done. The action is continuous and the ending is quite good — it caught me off guard completely. The characters are complete without being oppressive and the narrative is engrossing.
Some of the scene shifts are a little jarring and the author is British so expect the Queen’s English spelling dropped in here and there. It doesn’t distract from the overall story and environment, though. This is a first rate serial killer novel, and although I don’t usually read thrillers like this I’m glad I picked this one up.

“Amazing book!!!”- December 13, 2011 By J. Phillips

I agree with all the other reviews…this book was absolutely FANTASTIC and I LOVED every second of it!!! I had an extremely hard time putting this book down but since I have the Kindle app on my phone, I was able to sneak in as much reading as possible wherever I went.

I also fell in love with Gabe’s character right away. There were somany twists and turns in this book. The ending especially blew me away and had my head spinning! I read a lot of crime thrillers so I usually figure out a good bit of what will happen and how things will turn out. But with this book I had no idea what would happen from one page to the next and I was downright shocked all the way to the end. There were certain points where I just couldn’t believe what was happening! The way the clues were laid out had me dying to know how everything would come together. I also really loved the style of writing that another reviewer referred to as movie-like.

A lot of crime thrillers are good but forgettable…I will not soon forget “Killing Hope!” I can’t wait for the next book! It can’t come soon enough!!!

“Wow!!” – 22 Dec 2011
By Mr G.P. Hillyard “Glenn” (Northampton, England)

This is the first book I’ve read by Keith Houghton and it certainly won’t be the last. After reading the other reviews I can only reiterate what they’ve already said. Killing Hope is a fast-paced serial thriller that has your attention from the very first chapter. Extremely well written, it has a very short, sharp style that packs a lot of punch. Some great characters – move over James Bond, Gabe is my new hero!! And an ending that you’ll never guess!!
I strongly urge you to download this. You will not be disappointed.

 

“UTH”

“Leaves itself open for a sequel” – December 3, 2011
By A. Burbank “idiopathicone” (Waltham, MA United States)

Quite a good story. Witty dialog, interesting characters, and “lost civilization” adventure keep the plot moving along briskly. The plot twists are handled smartly and it has a satisfying (if not storybook) ending. This is ideal reading for sci-fi fans looking for something familiar to read from a new author.

“Great Far Future Sci FI reminiscent of Ian M. Banks and Niven” – December 2, 2011 By A. Gold (Irvington, NY)

I really enjoyed this world and welcome the introduction of a sentient talking cat to the world of Sci-FI! This novel draws heavily from Larry Niven’s Ringworld, with its extensive descriptions of man-made habitats of awesome scale. There are also great similarities in to Banks’ “Culture” novels, with both based in a far-future human civilization with characters drawn from a pan-galactic spy agency. But where the Culture novels feature artificial intelligence, the only AI in UTH is the agency itself-Alieen Interventions! Instead, UTH introduces sentient animals that are the product do gene-manipulation. Rin, the smart-assed talking cat, is hilarious. I look forward to future works exploring the moral and practical issues raised by elevating our erstwhile-pets to sentience. Such issues provided a remote backdrop to UTH, but no deep exploration of the issues ever gets off the ground. That is fine, however, as the story and characters are captivating enough.

“Entertaining tale” – November 30, 2011 By Sixiron

Very far ranging tale that covers an amazing amount of ground. The story and exploits are riveting. It rarely bogs down in trivia and weaves mysteries within mysteries that keep the pages turning. Its very well written, perhaps too well written. Not that you need a thesaurus or anything but unusually formal. Read the first chapters and you’ll see what I mean. If you can get by that, then by all means buy the book, its a good yarn.

“A Solid Entry” – November 29, 2011
By John French (Vermont, USA)

This is a Sci-Fi novel that is accessibly smart. The style blends the adventure and imagination-inciting verve of Patrick Lee and Greg Iles with the zany, grin-inducing wit of the late Douglas Adams. Sharply written and smartly told, Uth is an adventure more concerned with the relationship between a man and a cat than with exploring the cliches of space-based science fiction.

In exchange for a relentlessly driving plot, the novel forgoes keeping more than a handful of memorable instances of reflection and thorough detail. This is not the kind of novel that would likely be found next to one of Aurthur C. Clarke or David Weber’s tomes; rather it enjoys steady companionship with the works of Michael A. Stackpole and the aforementioned Lee, Iles and Adams. Yet the smarts with which the writing oozes betray an ambition for the likes of Weber et al. The shortcomings of the novel are not based on it’s quality so much as it’s quantity. Given the story that it wishes to tell, this book could only benefit from a few hundred more words in which to tell it.

Uth is certainly worth a read, and doesn’t even require an interest in Sci-Fi to yield a good time. This novel has firmly put Keith Houghton on my radar as an author.

“Rin Rules!” – October 5, 2011 By Mermaid

Uth is an engaging easy read. The author’s descriptions of the ‘other worlds’ are hypnotyic. His characterization is fabulous. The dialogue is sharp and witty, especially the banter between the protagonist (Grask) and his antagonist (Rin). The story is well worked out, with a pace and plot that draws you from one page to the next, which is the skill of a good writer. Uth is a big novel, covering grand panoramas and even grander ideas. But the author works hard to keep your attention focused. There are plenty of action sequences, separated by thought-provoking journeys. And the twist at the end was the icing on the cake for me. All in all I think anyone who wants a bit of sci-fi escapism in the traditions of Larry Niven and Iain M. Banks will appreciate Uth for the great read that it is.

 

Both Uth and Killing Hope are now available for the Kindle and iPad.
See the ‘Where To Buy’ link at the top of the page.