riteshkala

Posted on: Ritesh Kala's Book Reviews

I have to confess that I have read the second book in the series without reading the first one. This actually does not hamper my reading too much, but I do have to imagine parts of the backstory which I would have known from the first book. So, I do not really know the kind of relationship which Tom and Lorena have, or the organisation he has gotten involved with. It is actually nice to explore and find out these things for myself. This also means that I might unknowingly give out spoilers to the first book, you have been forewarned.

Tom Crayder, the protagonist of this series, is not a hero. He loves to talk and think about things such as planes, girls, sex and guns, basically all the things which would interest every guy. He is a normal guy, just like me, with all the normal problems, when life thrusts into a situation where he has to be heroic. In this book, Tom is not on a mission for the organisation, but on one of his own. His wife Jenny unknowingly gets into trouble with the mafia, and it is upto Tom and his team to save her. All the characters from the first book appear to make a comeback, and he has Lorena at his side during the entire book.

I loved the characters of the book. Each of them has their problems and none of them are clear-cut nice guys, but you end up loving them either ways. They are all friends you would like to have around in times of trouble, the kinds who would have your back no matter what. Personally, I liked Tiny the best. He is like a cute giant kid and I couldn’t help but love him. He is has an innocence to him, that is difficult to ignore. I also liked the kickass Lorena who is witty and sarcastic as well as extremely well-trained. Definitely not someone you’d want to mess with.

The author is able to provide comic relief in all the right places to release just enough tension out of a situation which would have me gasping for air if it were to last any longer. But after a point the one-liners and witty comebacks became a bit too much. I would love to see the relationship that Tom and Lorena have, to progress to a stage where they are just comfortable with each other and are not out to prove anything. I can totally see that happening as the series progresses. I could do with a little less of these in the upcoming books. Also, I felt that some of the flying sequences were extended a bit too much and could have been shorter. But these are minor shortcomings in an excellent book.

I have to say that the book’s fast pace, continuous action and wonderful characters had me breezing through the book. I actually was able to almost finish reading it in one sitting. This is not something that I can say about too many books. This is a double edged sword, as the author has now set expectations to a very high level for all his next books. I hope he can live upto this and provide the same level of entertainment in the upcoming books.

This is a gold mine that the author has hit. There are countless books in the series which can be written. I am sure he’ll have enough ideas to saturate even the die-hard fans of the series. But we are a long, long way away from that happening. Right now, I am just waiting for the next book in the series to come out!