Published: February
2011
Chronology: Pike
Logan #01
Genre(s): Military,
espionage, thriller
Kitch’s Rating: 7.5/10
I’m an unashamed fan of the sort of military/terrorist
thriller that involves a few key elements:
- a terrorist wanting to wreak all sorts of havoc on the United States
- a current or former special forces guy who, as a covert operative, is an unsung hero generally working for a covert agency that very few people other than the president know exists
- Some political entanglement, and sometimes a bad American who wants to use a terrorist incident as a way to elevate his or her own position
- plenty of military talk
- a nice dose of violence, often including torture of a bad guy or multiple bad guys.
Vince Flynn, Tom Clancy (and the writers who have advanced
the Jack Ryan franchise since the original author’s untimely death) and Brad Thor
are the best exponents of this genre, and I love them all. Yes, you figure
that, in the end, the bad guys are going to die – often violently – and the bad
politicians will meet their comeuppance in some manner, but they’re still fun,
exciting and easy to read. Kinda the equivalent of a big action film: you don’t
need to concentrate too hard.
Former Delta Force operator Brad Taylor has entered the
genre with One Rough Man, and I really
enjoyed it. His hero, Pike Logan, is a bit of a grumpy guy after losing his
family to a home invasion – there’s more to it, but Pike doesn’t know it yet –
and finds himself ousted from the military community and the top-secret ‘Taskforce’
he was working with. He’s now a washed-up drunk, forgotten by the men he used
to serve with.
Yet, trouble manages to find him, in the form of Jennifer
Cahill, whose cantankerous uncle has somehow uncovered a kind of ancient weapon
of mass destruction whilst searching for a Mayan temple in Guatemala. The existence
of that weaponry attracts unwanted attention to Professor Cahill, who manages
to send vital information to his niece before he is killed.
Two Arab terrorists, intent on setting off WMD in Israel and
using fake evidence to frame Iran, hence starting World War Three, are on the
trail, as is a gangster-type guy, who works with a British henchman. A Washington-based
politician, Standish, hopes to use the situation as a way to advance his own
career and fight terrorists the way he believes they should be fought. Of
course, that means he has to kill off a lot of people so the planned attack can
happen. That means Pike and Jennifer and some others, and that causes problems
because Pike isn’t easily killed.
To be honest, Pike is a bit of a jerk at times, unpleasant
to the plucky Jennifer, but begins to soften up as the plot thickens. The two
main characters have good chemistry. The ‘flawed hero’ concept is a common one
now, but Taylor – whose debut novel is pretty strong – manages to separate
Logan from the other similar characters. His back-and-forth with Jennifer makes
me wonder if they’ll eventually end up a couple?
As with first books, the early part is a little dry, with
the characters being set up, back-stories explained, and that sort of thing, but
the last half flies by – right up to the closing chapters, where the terrorists
begin to unleash their attack. As is often the case in these novels, they’re
not as clandestine as they thought, and Pike is on the scene to foil their
nefarious plot.
By the final page, all loose ends are tied up, though it’s
not a case of happily ever after, as Pike regains his status as a member of the
Taskforce, setting up further adventures.
Overall, a fun read, not perfect, but good, and I imagine
Taylor’s work will only get better as new installments come.
The only thing that annoyed me was his propensity to use
third-person narrative for everyone other than Pike. I’m a big believer in
third-person all the way through, but will read first-person if it’s always
first-person. Having a little of both makes for a mildly-confusing read.
No comments:
Post a Comment