AT LAST AN ASSASSIN I CAN IDENTIFY WITH—HE’S CALLED VICTOR
When I was a very small boy in Ireland, I thought I was the only person in the world called Victor—and was very proud of that fact.
Then one day I ran into another small boy called Victor—and was appalled. In fact I attacked him, fists flailing and called him a liar—before being told the painful truth.
Growing-up is a painful business.
In fact, I very rarely run into Victors even now and in fiction they generally tend to be either cads or villains. I’m not quite sure why. I think Victor is rather a nice name—but then I would, wouldn’t I!
The protagonist in Tom Wood’s excellent thriller is called Victor, but you can make a good case for classifying him as a villain. After all, he’s an assassin, albeit one who displays the occasional smidgeon of decency.
The great strength of this well-written book is not just the plotting, but that author Tom Wood gets right inside his character’s mind so that you can follow his each and every move in exquisite detail. Add in painstaking research and Tom Wood’s talent for credibly getting Victor out of impossible situations, and you have both a terrific read and an excellent primer for would-be assassins.
Given the unemployment problem these days, it’s worth thinking about.
No comments:
Post a Comment