Halfhead

By: Stuart B. MacBride

Narrated by: Angus King

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

Terrifying serial killer thriller set in the gritty Glasgow of the near future, from the best-selling author of the Logan McRae series.There are worse things than the death penalty….

They call them halfheads: convicted criminals, surgically mutilated and lobotomized by the State, then sent out to do menial jobs in the community so everyone will know what happens when you break the law. There are no appeals, no reprieves, and no one ever comes back. Until now.

Dr Fiona Westfield, one of the most prolific serial killers Glasgow has ever seen, is waking up. Surrounded by blood and death and darkness.

William Hunter has risen through the ranks since putting Westfield away; now he’s Assistant Network Director, in charge of police actions. But a routine murder investigation is about to embroil him in an appalling conspiracy.

The vast connurb blocks on Glasgow’s deprived south side are ready to explode. Eleven years ago the VR riots killed millions – now someone wants to start them all over again. And Will is being dragged back into a past he desperately wants to forget….

©2011 Stuart B. MacBride (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Slick, gruesome and brutally intelligent, this is bare knucklesthriller-writing." (Michael Marshall)

"Compelling." ( SFX)

MacBride can tell a story!

I'm a huge fan of His Beardiness' and didn't know what to expect from this foray into sci-fi of his. Hooked me from the first page and I could NOT put it down. There's something in the way MacBride grabs me with his characters, dialogue and very dark humor that lets me accept a level of creepiness and violence that would turn me off of other authors. His very human heroes get really really scared, which gives their heroics more weight, and keeps me biting my nails. The cliffhanger ending seemed like a setup for a follow up visit to this dystopian world. Hope so. Still never read a MacBride book I didn't chow down like candy. Angus King does a brilliant job bringing it all to life.

Too much going on, had to repeat certain parts in order for the story to make sense.

Very compelling and dark

Definitely one of his most brutal.books but really good. At times the plot and actions of the characters was very tough to listen through. A great new cast of characters.

Too much like Zombies

If you could sum up Halfhead in three words, what would they be?

I liked it okay and was entertainined but I am getting tired of the whole zombie thing. Zombie, halfhead, same thing.

What does Angus King bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great narrator

Worrying!

The theme is nightmarish! Criminals are lobotomised and have their lower jaws removed. However in one case it went wrong. The scariest of the villains is regaining her memory and wants to rebuild her shattered face and body. Then she wants revenge. I started to cheer for the villain. The world that is portrayed is so grim that the reader starts to sympathise and identify with a psychopathic murderer. That is scary!

Great read

Really enjoyed the book, kept me listening right to the end and hope there will be anothet

Futuristic local storytelling

If you could sum up Halfhead in three words, what would they be?

Futuristic detective story

What other book might you compare Halfhead to, and why?

Cold granite by Stuart MacBride, gritty, dark humour Scottish detective storytelling.

Have you listened to any of Angus King’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Haven't heard Angus King before but did enjoy his storytelling. For me he has a pleasing and listenable voice with good character interpretation.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There wasn't any particular moments in the book but it all presented a Glasgow of the future which was bleak and polarised with criminals being used for menial duties to serve the rest of the population.

Any additional comments?

Having listened to a couple of Stuart MacBride books i enjoy the gritty and dark humour in his stories. Its nice to have stories from Scotland that are from areas i have visited and can relate to. Ok they are very dark but is that not what happens in real life and in some cases humour can come from that and as human nature being what it is we laugh.

👎

Sorry I just can't listen to this anymore, I hate zombie stories, and I wish I had never listend to start with, it's nothing like Stuart's other story's.

Disappointing

I didn't finish this. I love MacBride's other novels but this was a venture too far.

Disappointing

Only because I had listened to all Logan Macrae series and was expecting similar didn’t enjoy futuristic setting

not his best

Struggled to get past the first half of the book, bit too sci-fi for my liking.
Didn't like the narrator very much either, which didn't help.
Not a typical Stuart McBride book, I love his other work.

Not his usual calibre...

Love Stuart MacBride usually, but in thi new persona of Stuart B MacBride, for me he's lost his way a bit. Didn't enjoy the failed attempt at sci-fi or the formulaic partnering of lead man (can't remember his name) and his (anti-)Steele strong woman sidekick. I'd sooner have the original Macrae/Steele partnership.
If it's too long in the tooth to keep them going then perhaps an entirely different formula might be in order.
I had trouble getting this to run from download in the first place - kept just getting the soundbite. Then when I did get it to load, it went off in the middle of a scene and I had to re-download it.
Never finished it so couldn't comment on the (already) daft plot.
Disappointed to have to return it.

A rare unworthy read

I am a recent newcomer to this author, having never indulged in his particular genre.

Narrators voice was drab

To be frank, I didn’t listen to much of it, not really my type of story, but if it had been the reader put me off, he just droned on and on.