Cuba

Having just written about how much I enjoyed Forest Mage, I now have to admit I really don't know why I bothered to finish this book. It merits maybe half a star only by virtue of the fact it was an interesting idea. It looked like the sort of thing that could challenge Tom Clancy as master of the political thriller type things (you know, the ones that deal with the fates of nations, large scale thrillers). Cuba's dictator was dying, did die in fact. There would be a power vacuum. People were vying to fill it. There was gold involved, and a character who should have proved a heck of a lot more interesting than he did. I've complained about the fact that I sometimes feel a bit cheated by the way Tom Clancy has used Mr Clark (as a chauffeur!!!). Well, I felt very cheated by the way this CIA, supposed hero was used. Oh, the biological weapons were interesting, and should have provided a brilliant plot. Unfortunately, there were too many random characters who really served no purpose other than to bulk up the rest of the narrative. That guy's brother, the baseball player? What was all that about? I'm afraid I can't even remember his name. In fact, I can't even remember the CIA guy's name. I was incredibly disappointed in this book, and in the poor characters. I'm afraid I honestly didn't care when the CIA guy got killed (nowhere near the end, I'm not spoiling anything--not that there was anything to spoil in the first place). My only concern was that now my only hope of a nice juicy bit of action to redeem things was gone. Humph. And I found the ending idealistic and unrealistic. So, steer clear. I have to admit, I've seen one of Stephen Coonts other books in the library, and been tempted, but given how disappointed I was with this, I honestly don't think I'll bother. Once bitten twice shy and all that. The overall conclusion? Just don't bother even picking up this book. You'll end up reading it because it has potential, unfortunately the potential never gets realised.