Review: Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros Amazon UK HC
Colin Forbes
Class/Genre: Mystery Thriller
Simon & Schuster; 2000; £16.99; 471 pp
Classification: Adult fiction (thriller)

Grave things must be happening in the publishing world. Colin Forbes, a long-time author with Macmillan has defected to Simon & Schuster for the publication of his latest Tweed novel.

Never one to vary from formula, in this novel, Forbes has Tweed and his team are rushing across Europe, battling the Elite Club and guerrillas in order to try to defeat a group that intend to run the world through dictatorships. Can Tweed succeed or is he finally at the end of the line?

Although 'Rhinoceros' is incredibly formulaic, Forbes' writing has changed somewhat. Instead of the danger coming from the East, he now chooses refugees from the Balkan as the real problem. In fact, upon reading this, I thought that the book could be deemed racist and discriminatory, as the author pulls no punches in his criticism of the asylum policies and the refugees themselves. He needs to realise that this type of discrimination is not suitable in a thriller of this ilk.

He also goes to great lengths to show that he has a grasp of modern technology and for the first time, mobile telephones and the Internet feature in his work. However, although he has grasped mobile technology, he still seems to have some way to go in looking at the Internet. Whether or not his own thoughts are mentioned here is unclear, but one character refers to the Internet as 'evil' and it makes one of the focal points in the story. Forbes does not mention the good points and how useful it can be, presenting a very one-sided view.

He puts in his customary plot twists and even phrases that he always uses, such as the verb 'to rap back'. There are new elements in it, such as members of Tweed's team actually facing real danger for a change, and a bit of romance in the air. The familiar faces pop up repeatedly, but overall, Forbes does seem to be trying to break his mould and for this reason, 'Rhinoceros' is an improvement on some of his previous novels. However, he has a long way to go before it can be said that they are 'original'.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Book Review: Rhinoceros