I Ain't "Lion"! It's a page turner!
Written: Jun 24 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cat-and-Mouse suspense
Cons: Shifting point of view seems to delay the action
The Bottom Line: Read "Plum Island" first, then take on "The Lion's Game."
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| aamaycock's Full Review: Nelson Demille - The Lion's Game |
Two summers ago, I got hooked on Nelson DeMille, and read three of his books in a short time. The strongest title, "Plum Island," held me until the last half of the last act, where I felt suddenly let down. But DeMille is a master of the macho character who somehow knows his confidence is his biggest weakness.
John Corey, formerly with the NYPD and the main character in "Plum," returns in "The Lion's Game," and continues to be the kind of guy that you love to hate. You read along, kicking yourself for liking this guy. He tells you how much he dislikes CIA and FBI types, tells you his feelings on his ex-wife, current girlfriend, and current love interest, and somehow you take his side. You know deep down that if you were in a meeting with this fella, you'd resent his cocky attitude and his knowitall demeanor. But inside his head, he's great.
Anyway, Corey is now part of the ATTF (the fictional Anti-Terrorist Task Force) in New York, and is on an operation to escort a Libyan defector from JFK to the central ATTF office near the airport. Sounds easy, but in typical DeMille fashion, nothing goes right.
One person outsmarts another, and eventually a Libyan terrorist is loose in the United States, but no one knows where he is or what he's planning. Corey spends a good half of the book in his office or in meetings, trying to figure out what's going on.
I kept thinking of the Bruce Willis "Die Hard" films, where one hero has the bad guy's MO down and prepares to go mano a mano while the rest of the establishment tells the hero that he's out of his element and should just sit down and not do or touch anything. Corey is a little like that; he's the new guy on the team, and his thinking is deemed "untrained" by a lot of his colleagues.
But different from Mr. Willis, Corey doesn't fire a shot in this novel, though he does finally get in on the action when he figures out the plan of the Libyan terrorist.
The first two-thirds of the book switches off: one chapter from Corey's point of view, the next following Asad Khalil, the terrorist. This is interesting because DeMille is able to sympathize a little with Khalil, especially when he questions some things about American traditions. Khalil has been trained by a Russian named Boris, who points out to him all kinds of oddities of American life. Khalil doesn't understand our quirks, but he must be exposed to them so that he doesn't seem so out of place. Khalil is in America to kill each member of the squadron that nearly took out Khadafi's camp in the mid-80's. Khalil's family was killed in the raid, and he is exacting his revenge.
Two-thirds through the book, we stick with Corey's point of view, losing sight of Khalil.
The switching-off serves two purposes. First, it clues us in on the terrorist's motive and agenda, which we would only be able to speculate on if we were left in a conference room with Corey for the duration. Second, it builds up some sympathy for the terrorist so that we don't just think of him as a stock madman from the Mideast with no emotion or reason for his actions.
Too many people in the novel take a moment to acknowledge the terrorists' difficult background, even when Americans are being brutally murdered in their homes. It's enough for the reader to begin to identify with Khalil through his own chapters without having the NYPD, CIA, FBI, and ATTF characters reflecting on the hard time the guy must have had when the Americans raided his home and killed his family. DeMille doesn't need to reinforce this as much.
John Corey, the main character, is enough reason to read this novel. He is politically incorrect, hardheaded, and chauvanistic, but he knows it.
A side note: there's a nice touch when Corey, on a airplane, refers to a movie starring John Travolta as a CID guy. This reference is to "The General's Daughter," a film based on a novel by DeMille himself. In the passage, Corey goes on to shoot down a critic of the film without ever getting out of character. It's a great little touch.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
aamaycock
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 6 members
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