Reviewed By: Carl Brookins - RAM
The Reckoning
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Jeff Long
Class/Genre: Mystery Fantasy Thriller Supernatural
Pocket Star Books, July, 2004, 351 pages $7.99
This is a terrific novel if you like moody, dark querulous writing that grabs you and doesn't easily let go. You'll have more questions after you put this one down than you probably had before you read it.
Molly Drake weasels her way onto a team trying to locate several MIAs from the Vietnam war. It's her chance to break out in the world of journalistic endeavor. Specifically the team is looking for an American pilot downed in Cambodia. First they discover a helmet from an American pilot but it's among the remains of victims of the Khmer Rouge slaughters. The clue goes nowhere.
Frustrated by the local military and convoluted rules, Molly and several strange characters pack up to go home. It's hot, sticky and there's a gross lack of facilities. A mysterious expatriate abruptly shows up and persuades Molly and her two companions, people I wouldn't go into a dimly lit alley with, to take a midnight ride to a place where other MIAs are likely to be found.
What then unfolds is part dream, part reality and part fantasy. Readers will have to sort it out. Inside the novel other stories are wound like jungle vines around the central plot, supporting and restricting the struggles of the characters. The army patrol that becomes both target and resolution, ultimately helps Molly exorcise some of her demons.
But in the end it's still hot, fetid, sticky and real. Or maybe not.
Carl Brookins - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carl Brookins - RAM
Please visit Carl's website at http://www.carlbrookins.com/
If you enjoy this website, a link would be appreciated. |