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Halfhead  By  cover art

Halfhead

By: Stuart B. MacBride
Narrated by: Angus King
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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)

What listeners say about Halfhead

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

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

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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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

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brutal in the Best Way

This book masterfully combines elements of serial killer crime drama and conspiracy thriller, presented in a near-future environment that seems both familiar and hauntingly dystopian. The segments written from the killer’s POV are my favorite part, but there are truly no bad parts - provided you can stomach vivid descriptions of death.

Shoutout to YouTuber Nyx Fears for recommending this title!

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