Afterburn

Much of Afterburn is well-written, yet somehow it is kind of a dreadful book. The much-discussed-in-this-space sex and violence werent the problems for me -- I thought the sex scenes were fun and the violence genuinely harrowing -- hey, its a thriller. In a better conceived story they would have helped, not hurt, the narrative.

But when you turn the final page, theres little else to remember: the "climax" basically consists of endless pages of description of a random number scheme, the book ends with a thud, and you realize theres been precious little story involved, even from the outset.

In some misguided quest for realism or spasm of self-indulgence, the author seems to have forgotten that hes writing a pulp thriller. How do we know this? Hes got pulp characters, pulp situations, pulp dialogue. Pulp sex and violence. Good ones, at that. But he has no story to give them shape and resonance, just a long, long, set-up and then a depressingly random series of events that conspire against (almost) everyone. And every bit of it, from Vietnam to prison to Manhattan to the above-mentioned number scheme, eventually becomes alarmingly over-detailed. Many self-conscious Dickens references dont make for a Dickens novel.

Yes, you can abandon story in literary fiction, but in pulp, no matter how well-wrought, without it all you have left is, well, sex and violence.

I didnt appreciate the authors determination to punish, re-punish, and then re-re-punish Charlie...for what? Vietnam? Yes, I wonder too what vets think of it.

Then of course, Charlie had to be punished (no...TORTURED) some more for his first-time stray into adultery at age 58, and for wanting another child, and for making the $8 million by the death of a Chinese superbillionaire. UNFORGIVABLE. Charlie was apparently a worse person, in the authors judgement, than Tony Verducci who skipped out of the story at the end untouched by any of it - he even got his money back. And of course, no one actually RESPONSIBLE for Vietnam was highlighted and punished. God is often cruel, it seems to us, so when you play God by writing a novel, you outta be nicer than God, not meaner, you silly (expletive deleted).

God at least has a Plan, and strange cases of fairness and retribution in the right corners crop up all the time in real life, courtesy of FATE. Colin Harrison had no plan after all, except to create in order to pointlessly destroy. BUMMER is too good a word for the ending, so is SUCKS; yet it doesnt rate more careful words than those.

Some brilliant reviews here, a handful of incredibly stupid ones by readers who dont know fantastic characterization when it oozes off the pages, but most of you are on the mark far as this reader is concerned. Ill strictly avoid this author hereafter and forevermore. Got to read something better SOON to clear my head of this fine literary atrocity.

As for Mr. Colin Harrison...hell read our reviews (these writers do read our comments, avidly!) and persuade himself to be proud that he wrenched from us such reactions, even if the reactions are terribly negative. And hell be kidding himself.

For the record, I am female. For the record, I liked Rick almost as much as Charlie, and hated Christina.