Book Review: The Fear Index

I've had this book on my shelf to read for over a year, since having it given it to me as a Christmas present. I was so desperate to read it I even got the hard back, rather than wait for the paperback to be released. But then I couldn't quite bring myself to actually read it. I had enjoyed Robert Harris' other books so much, especially Archangel that I wanted to keep this as one to look forward to, rather than read it.

But after struggling through some pretty average offerings from James Craig in the past few weeks, I couldn't delay any longer. As I replaced the book on the bookcase after finishing reading it I had two thoughts. Firstly, why didn't I read this the day it was given to me, and who can I give this to next so that we can compare notes on how awesome it it.

The basic premise of the book is Alex Hoffman, physicist and social loner has created a computer programme which helps bypass the human elements of trying to make money on the stock markets. However it quickly becomes apparent that the programme is going a little beyond its original plan, with consequences that I didn't see coming at all.

Like Harris' historical fiction, Imperium and Lustrum, this book doesn't claim to be based on a real story, but it never feels like it is a work of science-fiction. Throughout the book I found myself thinking 'This could actually happen'. I think that is one of the most chilling aspects of it.

There is enough technical information in the book to lead those who are completely feckless when it comes to computers to believe that everything has been thoroughly researched but without going into the kind of over the top detail you might find in  Tom Clancy book which leaves me glazing over about the capabilities of tanks and ranges of bullets.

There is a point in every good book where you simply can't put it down and have to keep going until you finish reading. That moment in Fear Index was around page 150 for me, just over halfway through. Luckily it came about on the weekend so there was no problem. There are enough twists to keep you guessing but not so many that they become tiresome.

If you like Robert Harris, you've probably already read this book, but if you haven't then you really should, it's a masterpiece. 

Book review: The Circus

Those of you who have read my previous book reviews will know that although I started off loving James Craig’s work, especially his first book London Calling, I have recently started to lose interest. I downloaded his latest offering The Circus partly as a last chance and partly because I feel some kind of loyalty to the main character.

One of the main appeals of the Carlyle series has been the clear influence of real events. In the first book there were two brothers vying for the leadership of the country, albeit not in the Labour Party and trying to cover up murders as they went. The second book deviated slightly but still had references to the London riots of 2011 and more historically the miner’s strike of 1984. The next instalment, Buckingham Palace Blues tackled an issue too often swept under the carpet, child trafficking, although in featuring a member of the Royal Family I don’t think it was too close to reality.

The Circus has taken the idea of using contemporary events to influence the fiction and really run away with it. In the middle of a crisis involving a Sunday newspaper hacking the mobile phones of celebrities, the political establishment attempt to interfere in the investigation to avoid making their own relationship with the media public. In the midst of this a teenage girl disappears from her family home, but the police are not too concerned as they know she has still been checking her voice mails (who else is now groaning). It gets worse, when I read that the ex-Eton educated Prime Minister was caught riding the horse of a newspaper editor which actually belonged to the Met I stopped reading for a while. 

Overall I never really decided whether the book is entirely satirical and therefore probably quite clever, or whether Craig has run out of ideas and therefore just writes what he sees on the news and changes the names. 

The most annoying aspect of the book is undoubtedly how rushed it feels. With 10 pages left there are still a fair few serious threads from the story to be tied up, but rather than taking time to finish the book properly or even carry some plot lines through to the next book everything came together in such a hurry. This is the second book in a row where one of the main players in the story suffers from a severe medical emergency, and this time Carlyle even says “That’s convenient” which is largely what I imagine Craig’s editor said when he got the manuscript to her on time.

James Craig was obviously in a rush to get this book out before the Carlyle bubble bursts, but producing sub-standard work is just speeding up that event. The next instalment doesn’t come out until September, so hopefully the longer break will lead to a stronger book. 

Book review: Walk on Part

I know that when you see the title of this blog, regular readers, two questions will immediately spring to mind. Firstly, how do I have time to knit a pretty awesome jumper for a baby, read a trashy crime novel and read a volume of political diaries all while training for the Brighton Marathon. Secondly, if the training is going incredibly well, am I still able to sponsor him.  Well the answer to the first question is having two books on the go at once, one fiction and one not, which means you can read regardless of your mood. The answer to the second question is very much you can. In fact many of my friends and family are proving themselves to be nothing short of fantastically tight, so any spare cash would be gratefully received at www.virginmoneygiving.com/russellwhiting1   

Anyway, on to the matter in hand. The third volume of Chris Mullins’ diaries curiously published out of order (chronologically it should have been vol 3, 1 then 2) which doesn't detract too much from the reading as we obviously know what happens anyway. For me though it would have been much nicer to have had them published in order, as this one felt slightly like a tag on to try and make the last few quid out of the series. The fact that so much time has passed between the events described in the book which starts on the day John Smith dies and finishes in July 1999 also make it seem somewhat distant, though that may simply be down to my age at the time.

There are aspects of the early days of the diary which seem completely foreign to us these days, including trips to visit security workers being paid less than £3 an hour and mass sackings days before the entire workforce is rehired on a much lower salary. It's just a shame that we don't get to see the introduction of the minimum wage in this volume.

There are times when it seems to me that Mullins is slightly overplaying his own role in many things, but then it is a certain type of person who keeps a diary. The constant health fears, some of which are well founded in fairness, do become slightly tiresome. Those who are not greatly interested in political detail won't necessarily find the heavy detail on Labour Party meetings in Parliament, and even for those of us for are so inclined there isn't anything in here we didn't already know. As with all diaries the real gold is in the human elements of life, and the short section describing the period immediately before the death of Joan Maynard did bring a tear to my eye.

I like the Mullins as a writer, and greatly enjoyed the other two volumes of his diaries and A Very British Coup which I've read a couple of times, but this one just didn't have the same spark for me. It's hard to explain why, but it felt a little like those prequels to the Star Wars films which came out after the original films. Important texts for students of political history they may end up being, but for now it seems to be the final breath of the 'franchise'.

Book review: Buckingham Palace Blues

This is the third Inspector Carlyle book from James Craig in the last two years, and not for the first time the rush in writing is beginning to show in the end product. The main character remains incredibly likable and believable, but the plot is starting to lose some of the latter.

For those of you who haven't read the first two you can read my Amazon reviews of London Calling (warning: definitely not for the squeamish) and NeverApologise, Never Explain. This book largely follows the same formula of loveable cynic policeman John Carlyle discovering a case which would ordinarily be well out of his league, running into all sorts of madness along the way before everything settles nicely in the end as he walks away to fight other day (the next novel is being released later this month so I hope he’s ready!)

As with the other two books the issues tackled are both topical and push the boundaries of acceptability. 

The tone is set pretty early on when Carlyle finds a child wandering in Green Park and quickly suspects that there might be a link to Buckingham Palace. This takes him on a whistle stop tour of the corrupt workings of the upper echelons of British institutions which most people would imagine are infallible, or at least very good at not getting caught.

Another similarity with the other book is the clearly transparent disguise given to those in the book to hide their real-life equivalents. While the first book had the brothers vying for political dominance the second featured the ‘accidental Mayor’ with no political nous but good PR skills and this one has a young Prince doing things behind closed doors he shouldn't be (obviously when you read the book they are much more extreme things than any real-life Prince might be indulging in).

New characters are brought into the book and then disappear almost as quickly, sometimes only to reappear 50 pages later which means you can spend some time flicking back and forth trying to remember where it all fits together. The end also seems incredibly rushed, the way that everything ties up together is just too convenient (one loose end is tied up with the conversation “What happened to him” “Oh, he died of a heart attack” “Oh good”)

The best aspect of the book, as with the others is the attention to detail given to describing London. That said the number and nature of comments about everything from the Mayor to the transport system leaves me with the impression that the author is just as cynical as his creation. I’ll still be reading the next offering when it appears on my Kindle, but I’d be happy to wait a couple more months if it meant the end product was even better.