The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes is an international spy thriller with a twist that jumps genres. This book was my most anticipated book of 2024 after reading I Am Pilgrim Terry Hayes’s debut 8 years ago. His follow-up The Year of the Locust is part great international spy thriller and part what the heck is going on here. There’s a huge twist in this book that changes this book into a completely different genre and direction. I’m going to say flat out I did not like this twist and it is really unfortunate because I was enjoying this novel up to this point. I’m not going to give away the twist but I will compare it to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull movie, you know when they involve aliens at the end and your like I don’t know if this fits this action adventure is the same I felt with this book. I just felt like the twist did not fit with the book, there was only one hint in the book and it was one that I bought okay your CIA you would have weapons that do stuff I don’t think is possible, but okay I’m with you. Then Terry Hayes says hold my beer I will show you unbelievable. When the book is about the spy aspect you’ll think Terry Hayes was reading government files because it feels so real and reminded me of early Tom Clancy writing. The pace of the story is good with for the most part small chapters that are easy to consume, some aspects are over-explained but for the most part, they are always interesting. There was a backstory for an HR rep that I’m like is this even necessary and later in the story it is necessary to get him to sign off on the main character’s mission. I will say Hayes tells a well-rounded story where every piece of dialogue and event even after the crazy twist leads you to the conclusion. The ending was great and very intense it relies on the crazy twist and it made me like the crazy twist a little bit more. This book was my hardest to rate I liked well over 75% of this book but the twist was so bad. I will say I read an ARC copy and it seems like my copy is a hundred pages longer than it is listed in Kindle and will take that into account in my rating. I read this book for free in exchange for a review thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books. The Year of the Locust was published on February 6, 2024.

Plot Summary: Kane is a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA, his specialty is getting into the hardest areas and getting out. His mission is to get into Iran rescue an informant and his family and get the information on a new terrorist threat. When Kane is already behind enemy lines does he realize this mission is compromised and has to get out? Kane sees the informant crucified and his wife and two young kids forced to starve at his feet, as members of the terrorist group look on. Kane’s mission is complete once he sees the informant dead and is trained to walk away but he can’t and retaliates killing the group and leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. Little does he know he killed the younger brother of a terrorist who will do anything to kill Kane. Kane gets the information he was hoping for as a thanks for saving the family but he must now escape without the terrorist group finding out that is now looking for retribution. Will Kane be able to escape with his life?

What I Liked: I love when the story is grounded and real which is 75% of it. Terry Hayes can write international spy like no one business when the book is focused on it, it is the best. Al Tundra the villain is great there are a lot of layers to him. His backstory of when he was a child and had to kill for the first time is so good. The soldier trapped behind enemy lines we’ve read a hundred times, the way the escape plan is planned and goes horribly wrong was so interesting and tense. The ending was fantastic it was super tense and very well plotted you could feel the time ticking by second by second as Earth’s last hope fought. The epilogue was good and checked in with every character in the book you cared about.

What I Disliked: The twist was way too much there are two elements, Kane’s and Al Tundra’s if maybe one happened I might have been okay but for both of them together the book jumped the shark. Here’s my biggest issue when the bad guy finds a weapon to increase his strength he gives it to everyone and a war starts just because people are different and stronger. Al Tundra is a terrorist leader who could have made his terrorist group take it and then he would have controlled it, if he viewed it as a gift from God why would he give it to unworthy and infidels? Kane’s storyline I have similar problems why would the government let civilians on a super secret new vehicle, There was no way to predict what the vehicle would do a second time. There was a lot to disbelieve. I did not like how much at the end the focus was dropped off stopping Al Tundra who Kane knew survived.

Recommendation: This story is going to be heavily divisive, if you read and loved I Am Pilgrim I think you will be disappointed like I was that this story is not a cut-and-dry spy thriller. New readers might like it, the twist on the surface is different and even though I did not like it some elements were exciting, if it was a film I would probably be behind the choice a little more, but still layered it in a little bit more. I’m fine as a reader if you prepare me for it to get crazy Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter is a perfect example. I recommend you skip this book if you have read I Am Pilgrim. I would recommend it if you have not read I Am Pilgrim, which I think will introduce you to fantastic writing without disappointment.

Rating: I rated The Year of the Locusts by Terry Hayes 3.4 stars out of 5. Reading this book does make me want to revisit the excellent I Am Pilgrim again. I will give Terry Hayes another shot I hope he does a sequel to I Am Pilgrim next.