Sunday 13 March 2011

The Lost Relic

I was so chuffed when I spotted this at the library.  And my excitement was not displaced.  This is a gripping next instalment in the Ben Hope trilogy, this time involving art thieves and much excitement.  Well, the much excitement is pretty well a given in these books.  Also, a brilliant side plot (but not resolved!), involving Ben's ongoing relationship with his girlfriend and issues therein.

Well written, gripping, and they feel authentic too (in spite of the fact that, as far as I can see, the author has no real experience in the military...  Do correct me if that's wrong). 

I'm not quite sure what else to say.  It's worth keeping an eye out for certainly, and I'll probably get myself a copy as soon as I see it second hand (this is nothing against the book, I'm a student--there are only a handful of books I'd buy new as soon as they come out).  Also, space limitations at home mean this is probably a pretty good indication.  I'm not sure where I'd fit it if I got a copy...  I'm sure I'll manage somehow.  I'm going to have a college and a home collection of books I think.  Being a fast reader, who enjoys rereading, has disadvantages.

To conclude: read it!

Polar Quest

I am now more confused than ever about what sort of order (if any) Tom Grace's series is meant to go in.  Certainly, they don't seem to have been published in anything vaguely resembling chronological order.  That said...

It's brilliant.  Quite similar to the Ben Hope series (temporarily forgotten author's name, but I've reviewed loads of them), though with more of a science/technology base rather than a more historical one.  Lots of action, and a decent plot that's sufficient to support it without it seeming like gratuitous violence/action.  There's not, perhaps, much character development in this book, but the supporting characters are well evoked, some familiar faces (Grin) return, and Nolan Kilkenny (the hero, if that's not too old-fashioned a word to use to describe him :) ) is convincing enough.  There's just not a lot of inter-character relationship going on, but I guess that's somewhat inevitable if you want to have space for a tight, gripping thriller.

I have to recommend it.  Don't bother reading the series in any order, since it hasn't been published, as far as I can tell, in any real order, but do read them whenever you spot 'em.  Great fun, and I certainly hope there's more.  At the moment, my mental classification scheme puts Tom Grace as: brilliant writer of  small number of thrillers, and he fits next to Scott Mariani (Ben Hope series, just remembered!) and James Twinning (the ones about the ex-thief).  I'd like to see more, from all those authors in fact, and most definitely from Tom Grace :)