The Execution Channel is a strange and compelling read with the most bizarre ending which bites you in the ass in the last seven or eight pages. It reads like a modern day spy thriller (ala Wolstencroft) but in typical KM fashion reality is shifted half a notch to the left; Gore won the 2000 Presidential elections, a different pair of towers were collapsed on September 11th 2001 and the familiar is somewhat unfamiliar. I'm also quite pleased I read this after reading The New Cold War by Edward Lucas because the book extrapolates a possible and plausible near future depiction of political interplay between France, the UK, Scotland, the US and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation). Martin probably sums up the book far better than I can, but the last eight pages definitely left me with a 'WTF!?' look on my face.

A great romp at 7/10.