I admit, this book wasn't on my radar...at all. I hadn't heard of Matthew Reilly or his previous works.  But then the world of the internet decided to intervene into my happy, little life. Leah Wasielewski, a marketing manager from Simon and Schuster, sent me an email 5 weeks ago asking about a possible book promotion. I almost insta-deleted the email because it was addressed to 'Dear Dirty Dog Stink" which is spam 99.9% of the time. It was obviously a form letter, but something about it made me read further.

Leah...here's some constructive criticism: It would have been nice if you had taken the time to find out my real name [not very hard since I sign every single post] and address the email properly.

Oh well, I read the email and did a quick search on the book and author. I really enjoy thriller/spy novels so the material looked interesting enough for me to reply to her with "ok, I'll bite." In a nutshell, she sent me the book (for free) and I made the time to read it. So here are my thoughts....

My review is going to seem harsh, but I actually enjoyed and recommend the book. Odd perhaps, but oh well. Honestly it just didn't grab me from the start. I had to force myself to read the first 100 pages, mostly due to my verbal [email?] commitment.

As to why I had to force myself, well primarily because it felt like I was being spoon fed all of the facts and details. Matthew's writing style is very direct and detailed, but doesn't really seem to use the reader's imagination. Kind of like reading a history book.

For instance, everyone had a codename. Everyone. Or more like...everyone? Does everyone really need a codename? Keeping 10+ characters straight can be tough enough without having to decipher a codename for every single one of them. This was more of a chore for me than an enjoyable story attribute. I almost opened up Excel and created a pivot table to keep track of who's who.

Also, there are some pretty implausible and unbelievable storylines [that I won't reveal] that just made me groan out loud with something like "what freakish world is he living in where that would ever be possible?" Remember this is supposed to be based [at least loosely] on reality, similar to Robert Ludlum. Super combat skills, that's cool. Cutting edge weapons, sweet. Uber-tech gadgets, awesome. [Plot line I won't reveal goes here], wtf?

Interestingly enough, this writing characteristic is even called out on his Wikipedia entry.

Reilly is well known for his style of writing, which focuses entirely on Hollywood-style action scenes, relegating drama and character development to second priority.

Now having said what I disliked I must admit that it took awhile, but I finally became invested in the characters and wanted to know what happened to each of them. Once I got used to his writing style and accepted the fact that that was just the way it was going to be, I really started enjoying the story.

In a nutshell, I would describe this as a light, somewhat spoon-fed, yet enjoyable thriller. It's like watching Die Hard versus The Departed...both enjoyable movies, but very different experiences. So I recommend the book, but with a qualifying statement that you suspend some of your reality-checkism [hey, new word!] and just enjoy the story. Like going to see a Jackie Chan flick [which I love!].

Full disclosure: I did not purchase this book. It was provided to me free of charge by Leah Wasielewski of Simon and Schuster who asked that I review the book here. Clear enough for ya?

Bonus: For those of you who actually read this far, I'll mail my copy of the book to the first person who emails me. Completely free. I'll even pay for the shipping [only in the continental U.S.]. Yes, I'm paying it forward. I got to read it for free, as will one of you [the 3 or 4 non-family readers ]. Enjoy!

~tod

PS: Of course I did a search for Leah online to find out who I was dealing with and lo and behold, I found this. I'm sure she'll appreciate my link to it. Ha! You never know what you'll get when publicizing outside of the mainstream.