An Al Qaeda
terrorist cell plots to attack a nuclear power plant in the US heartland. Only
one man, James Becker, can stop disaster happening.
What’s the
point of a thriller? Well, I guess the clue is in the word itself. Unfortunately
there were many issues with The 19th
Element from a contrived plot (an Al Qaeda attack on a nuclear power
plant?!) that never got out of second gear, to weak characters, and odd
dialogue.
First is
Becker himself who failed to convince me of his credentials. He’s ex-secret
service, but then describes himself as wealthy because he invented a new bullet
that can kill people at 1.5 miles (great!). He also has an unused degree – this
and the money mean he’s been able to change profession and still act undercover
(although independently of the government) but seems able to call in favours at
will, like bringing in two Apache helicopters to take out the bad guys at just
the right moment.
The writing
isn’t bad, it’s just overly descriptive and ponderous. It’s ‘tell’ instead of
‘show’, observation instead of participation. For example, Becker gets into a
fight at one point, it felt like I was watching the process from afar. When Jack Reacher fights, he fights, you feel
every punch, every injury, adrenalin pumps. Unfortunately not with Becker. I
wanted to put on my pyjamas and go to bed with a hot water bottle.
There were
quite a few examples of this over use of tell. Remember the unused degree and
new job. From the following, can you guess what Becker does?
‘Today was
Wednesday and I was at my office. Becker Law Office. James L. Becker,
Attorney-at-Law.’
Um, I think
he’s an attorney? But I could be wrong.
On occasion,
there were long, bulleted and descriptive lists. Once Becker described
everything he was carrying on a mission. So what? Then there was the whole set
of instructions to take off in a B-24. Why?
Then there
were continuity errors. Most, but not all, chapters started with some or all of
the time, date, and location. In the early chapters, the date jumped around. It
was May 8th, then the 6th, back to the 8th,
then the 7th, then to 1979 (this chapter didn’t have a date
description though!). It was difficult to keep an eye on. Sometimes you’d be
informed that it was 3 am, then be immediately told this again the first line
of the chapter. Or you’d be told you were on the plane, it’s obvious. We know
where Becker is because he hasn’t moved. Tell, not show.
Also, a
couple of sub-plots seemed thrown in. A Mongolian, part of a gang Becker took
down in his past, follows his daughter on campus. He races to save her. There’s
also some Al Qaeda observer early on that’s explained away at the end, tied
into the Mongolian.
Finally,
the style changed in some chapters. When in the nuclear plant scenes all of the
dialogue is written as if it’s a screenplay. Why? For interest perhaps. If so,
it didn’t work. It made the dialogue clunky.
So overall
a disappointing read. The 19th
Element promised much but failed to deliver. I needed much more ‘thrill!’
and a lot less ‘er?’
Rating? Two
Stars
Would add this to my bookshelf? No
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