Rules of Deception
by Christopher Reich
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Book Reviews of Rules of Deception
Book Review: Gave up half way through
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm not sure that this book is that terrible (it isn't laughably silly or anything), but I stopped reading half way through (well, technically I stopped 'listening' half way through - it was an audio book). I'm mystified by the positive reviews for this book and the praise that has been lauded on the author. There's just nothing here to engage the reader. The biggest problem is the flatness of its characters, particularly the leading man Dr. Jonathon Ransom. Reich's characters aren't just one-dimensional, they're lifeless and uninteresting.
True, it's possible to enjoy a novel with cardboard characters but the author has to bring something else to the table. A unique story concept, an intriguing plot, white knuckled suspense, or a healthy dose of humour are all examples of qualities that can overcome poor characterization. But Reich offers none of these things.
The story concept is nothing new. The plot is plodding and predictable. I didn't finish the novel but I have a pretty good idea what will happen. It's painfully obvious, for example, that Ransom's wife faked her death on the mountain (this isn't a spoiler, because I didn't finish the novel and don't actually know what happens. I could be wrong - although I doubt it.) The predictable and uninspired plot, combined with a lack of engaging characters, results in a complete lack suspense. I can't even say the novel had its funny moments. It's humourless.
I gave up near the end of disc 7. With five more discs to go, I just couldn't stick with it. I honestly don't understand why there are so many favourable reviews for this book. Maybe the novel gets better. Maybe there are clever twists and turns in the story that I would have enjoyed. Maybe Jonathan finds a personality somewhere along the way. But I doubt it.
Rules of Deception isn't terrible - it's just devoid of entertainment value.
Book Review: So much wasted potential...
Summary: 3 Stars
Jonathan Ransom is devastated when his wife Emma is killed in an accident while they are climbing in the Swiss Alps. He has little time to mourn however, because shortly after her death he receives a mysterious package in the mail which was intended for his wife. Along with Emma's best friend Simone, he attempts to trace the origin and the meaning of the package. In the process he becomes embroiled in an international conspiracy, and in his pursuit of answers he becomes a suspect.
Though this story has a lot of potential, in some ways it is poorly executed. The pacing is inconsistent. The first half of the book contains lengthy chapters that each feature a different set of characters. I found myself confused about who everyone was and what they had to do with anything. At the halfway point of the book. Reich abruptly shifts to Patterson-style chapters of a few pages in length. Also, the plot twists get more outrageous; if not for Reich's fine writing (which is considerably elevated above others in the spy genre) some would have been laughable.
Also, there are some loose ends that never get tied up. For example, the book opens with a butterfly fluttering around what may be a nuclear test site. There are descriptions of shady butterfly-pin-wearing men whose motives are not understood. Even the cover art features a butterfly. After the first couple of pages the author's interest in butterflies apparently becomes extinct, and after finishing the book I still was not clear about what was up with the butterflies.
Usually movie adaptations of books are disappointing, but this book could make a movie that is better than its source material. The characters of Ransom and Simone are likable, and the action scenes which take place across the globe would play well on the big screen. Hopefully whoever does the screen adaptation can fix some of Reich's mistakes.
Book Review: A Thriller that Deserves to Be Called a Thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
The story opens with a grabber: Emma Ransom, while skiing with her husband Jonathan, dies in a terrible accident on a Swiss slope, and from there the story tumbles and throbs into a suspenseful spy thriller plot. How often have we seen the amateur, the ordinary guy, caught up in the frightening world of dangerous intrigue and being hunted simultaneously Hitchcockian-style by the cops and evildoers? There's plenty of conniving, conspiring, double dealing, and betraying. Rogue elements within the U.S. government are up to no good.
It's a good thing that Jonathan Ransom is a medical doctor because he has to endure and treat his numerous wounds as he pursues the bad guys.
The Ghost is a CIA trained hit man who dips his bullets in a Central American frog poison. The bad guys are involved in a scheme that involves preemptive and proactive attacks, and Dr. Ransom has to stop them.
You learn a lot as you read the book because the author has done careful research and is knowledgeable in various fields although there is some technical gibberish to add authenticity and believability.
The narration rushes at a breakneck pace, but because the book consists of alternating chapters (episodes) dealing with different sets of characters, some of the book's narrative velocity and urgency is lost, and the reader tends to read it in short spurts rather than at long sittings.
The often used device: the common man thought guilty by the cops becomes like a super hero doing deeds of derring-do beyond the ken of most mortals. He gets away in the knick of time on a number of occasions.
It's a well-written, richly layered, multi-textured book with different plot strands following various characters. In this genre don't expect too much plausibility. The ending is exciting and involves some rewriting of history.
Book Review: Is this well-crafted Christian bashing?
Summary: 4 Stars
Reading Christopher Reich's Rules of Deception, I was very impressed with how he could write such an artfully-crafted story. By far, it is the best written work of fiction that I've read in a very long time. Excellently executed. The story line was engaging -- if not captivating. The skill in the use of language could set the standard of how language should be used in fiction. It was masterful.
However, besides how skillfully Christopher Reich constructed this book, the thing that stood out to me after finishing it was that, in a book filled with assassins, terrorists and rogue spies, the only truly, thoroughly, absolutely evil character in the book -- the only person beyond redemption, in some manner -- was an evangelical Christian. This perplexes me.
Admittedly, some of the most horrendous things done since the beginning of time were done in the name of Christ. Truly awful things have been done for the sake of a twisted apocalyptic vision. But, for the life of me, I can't explain the absolute evil of this book's main bad guy except in terms of simple Christian bashing.
I am a Christian, but I can readily see why some people don't like Christians. I'm not very sensitive or thin-skinned on the subject. Whatever bad things anyone has to say about Christians, I could probably find more points of agreement than not. But, it just seems over-the-top to make "the Christian" of this story the only purely evil character. I can see how "the bad guy" had to be a Christian (can't say more without giving away the story), but did he really have to be Evil incarnate?
So, despite how skillfully this book was written, it left me with a rather sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Book Review: Long time to Get it Together - Then Fizzed
Summary: 3 Stars
This novel starts with a good hook - the main character (a doctor with Drs Without Borders) goes climbing with his wife. She dies when she falls into a crevasse. Then, the reader is switched to Swiss authorities trying to manage anti-terrorism. Then we are back with the doctor and learn that his wife is not who he thought she was. This hook kept me reading. Through it all I wanted to find out who she was.
The book takes a long time to get the several plot elements and characters together. The short chapters are devoted to the Swiss, the CIA, an assassin, the doctor, and more. Amazingly, none of the characters are very compelling. All are a bit flat.
Even the doctor is not compelling as he hunts for the truth about about his wife while staying one step in front of all the people trying to kill him. This is another one of those thrillers where the amateur out-runs, out-fights and out-smarts all the professionals. This always difficult plotline is not pulled off here.
As one would expect when the plotlines of the Israelis, Iranis, two American groups, the Swiss and the amateur are all being told in short and disparate pieces, it is difficult to keep the plotlines straight. They don't blend into a discernible pattern until about two-thirds of the book, when the book gains interest. That interest is sustained until the very unsatisfying ending. Once the plot is discerned, there is not much new to it - except the decietful wife. There are the mid-east terrorists, European intelligence, CIA, Iran and Israel all done so many times.
All in all, the book is mediocre. For great thrillers in this genre go with Silva.