'Fall of the Suns' is a galloping crime-thriller with large doses of fun.
The story is set against modern maritime backdrop and invigorated with a handful of colourful characters, an ill-conceived weapons deal is entered into, one that will simply not go according to plan: for anybody.
Enter the totally inept Thai criminal, Sun Junior, the bumbling black sheep, whose corrupt Police Chief father has disinherited him. Desperate to win back his father's affection, and after years of failed illegal enterprises, the buffoon gambles his last assets on an ill-conceived weapons deal, one that is built on the back of an overheard but very mistaken conversation.
Over in Lithuania, Ludwig Stanislovas, the extremely suave and self-obsessed arms dealer, is giving himself a routine full-body inspection when his gold-speckled phone disturbs his concentration. The caller is the unknown Sun Junior, demanding a container load of weapons. During this annoying call, Ludwig, who is itching to pull out an elusive strand of grey hair from his otherwise shiny black moustache, reluctantly agrees to a deal, for due recompense of course. However, MI6 come to learn of this and decide to prevent the deal concluding 'at all costs' but cheaply. They dispatch Agent Ray who tries his best, but falling in love, a youthful Thai agent and gut-reaction place large obstacles in his path.
As the sun works its way across the sky events heat-up in cataclysmic fashion: enter the extremely tall Preacher, whose initial intention appeared to have been to get back his own container of 'Golfing Equipment and Bibles', until he unexpectedly pulls the trigger.
The author's experiences at sea are obvious throughout the book along with a tongue in cheek approach. Unexpected and humorously creative situations echo throughout, combining well with the intolerable heat of the day as it drives the players to desperation in a gripping finale.
The obvious tone of the book presents modern portrayal of maritime mayhem: the theme abruptly dragging nautical fiction from the era of sails and wood, to today's steel and rumbling engines. This book is a first: it fills a large gap in fictional writing that only a seafarer could achieve. Ieuan manages this with ease in his debut novel - added and well-dispersed laughter and suspense keeping the reader asking for more.
About the Author: Ieuan Dolby, born in 1967 in Cambridge, England, spent his formative years in Edinburgh, Scotland. He went on to study marine engineering at Leith Nautical and South Tyneside Colleges and spent the next twenty years in the merchant navy, rising to the rank of chief engineer, before moving ashore as a technical superintendent. Latterly, he obtained an honours degree in Maritime Technology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and spent many years as a marine casualty investigator based in Singapore.
Always an avid reader and writer Ieuan embarked on his first novel, 'Fall of the Suns' in late 2014, quickly followed by 'The Pickled Memory of Captain Silas E. Parks' in 2015. He currently lives in Dundee with his wife and two sons.
In his words, "I love the sea, ships and seafarers and I write 'salt'. I don't write sails."
