It is not only that our hopelessly overwhelmed and attractive protagonist escaped, with the help of a Lebanese blonde and starting unarmed, from an arms bazaar on a cargo freighter by blowing the entire shibang to bits with Stinger missiles in his hand. (That word was Lebanese, not lesbian. Go back and check. Shame on you.) After all, Ian Fleming pulled off mid-century equivalents in his novels, and it worked. But, to add insult to incredulity, the reader must endure multiple rooms where 'no expense has been spared', a hero whose internal catchphrase, repeated ad nauseam, is apparently It was insanity!, and... argh, forget it.
I remember when this kind of popcorn paperback was all I read, and I emulated it in my high school writing. Just seems like a 73-year-old novelist (in 2000) should do better. At least there's still Crichton. Somebody buy me State of Fear.
Periphery
Jurassic Park could happen. Hee hee.
7 comments:
That was cold. Live and let .....
good call on the Lebanese blond, cause u know seh i did read it wrong di first time round. lazy eyes.
Funny enough I saw Lebanese. Maybe the author was hoping for the word-play.
How do you get that cooment thing at the bottom? I want it too!
Great title.
Since you say this was the type of writing you emulated while in high school, it would be interesting to hear your own evaluation now of the earliest series you wrote after leaving school.
I read one of them again recently and still enjoyed it.
Is is not likely that Ludlum COULD write books with more depth and subtlety and in a different style, but chose (especially since the choice was made when he was a poor, struggling, unknown writer) to write in a style that would have brought him fame and popularity, rather than good reviews and respect?
Somebody has to satisfy the demand for pulp and get rich. Why not him, a skilled writer, he would figure.
I agree that Ludlum was likely capable of much more. My gripe is that he chose the low road, but I won't push the point because I don't know enough about him to know if he published work under other names.
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