The Tightrope Men, by Desmond Bagley

May 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: bestseller, book review, Desmond Bagley, Thriller 

The Tightrope Men is another of the high quality, exceptionally The Tightrope Men, by Desmond Bagley well written and very tightly plotted classic thrillers by Desmond Bagley. Bagley’s writing is among the best ever in the thriller genre.

Giles Denison has a strange experience. His life is turned upside down when he awakes to find himself in a luxurious hotel in Oslo and, peering into the bathroom mirror, discovers the face of another man!

Denison has been kidnapped from his flat in London and transformed into famous Finnish scientist, Dr Harold Feltham Meyrick. Compelled to adjust to his new persona (including meeting his daughter) and to play out the role assigned to him by his captors, he embarks on a dangerous escapade from Norway to Finland and across the border into Soviet Russia.

As many other Bagley thrillers, this too has a plot that actually twists and characters that actually develop without too much unnecessary detail. The great use of geographical description – giving you the feeling that you are there, looking, seeing the place, along with the fast pace keep the pages turning. The Tightrope Men is another great read from an author who deserves to be much better known than he is.

Links to the books by Desmond Bagley at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

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The Guineaman, by Richard Woodman

May 13, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, historical fiction, naval fiction, Richard Woodman 

Guineaman, Richard WoodmanThe Guineaman is the first book in Richard Woodman’s William Kite trilogy. It is set in the middle of the eighteenth century. The main protagonist is a young man, son of a town apothecarist, who is forced to flee the scene of a crime, and heads to the coast of England where he is offered a position as surgeon on a ship involved in the slave trade.

William Kite takes it the job and thereafter endures the perils of the slave trade and his repugnance for it; yellow fever and the rapid promotion its toll among his shipmates brings him; the terrible treatment of the slaves by the slavers; the rapes of the female slaves; and in the end falling in love with a slave girl he names Puella.

Finally he lands in the West Indies, at the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War. He has enough of the slave trade already. And now he insists on quitting his job, and goes ashore with his beloved Puella.

There he is befriended by Mr. Mulgrave, a wealthy, civilized, rather Dickensian merchant, and offered a job in his trading company as his clerk. He does his job admirably, and soon becomes a wealthy man – a merchant, ship captain, and a trader. And eventually he sets his course for England with his black bride to attempt to clear his name and start a new life.

This is a well-written and in many ways good maritime fiction book. Richard Woodman knows naval history and he obviously has studied the slave trade as well. The Guineaman is an interesting book, with an interesting protagonist. The plot is intriguing. Also, I founds it interesting to read a martime fiction book where the hero is not a navy officer. This is a book I recommend for fans of Richard Woodman and readers interested in historical maritime fiction.

Links to books by Richard Woodman at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

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