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Tripwire by Steve Cole and Chris Hunter (view source)
Revision as of 10:21, 1 March 2010
, 10:21, 1 March 2010no edit summary
And, by and large, I got them. I liked the near future setting for ''Tripwire'' - what would happen if terrorists levelled Heathrow? Would we really consider child soldiers? Perhaps not, but it's an interesting what if, isn't it? And it's much more credible a set-up than many similar books have. Felix, interestingly, has been radicalised, if you will, by a personal loss and so his psychology is interesting too. The plot and the writing are both smart and pacy with a goodly few red herrings to stir up the mix a bit. But the stand-out parts of ''Tripwire'' are the scenes when Felix defuses explosives. It's utterly chilling, edge-of-the-seat stuff.
I'll confess to a bit of a hover over the star rating - this book is enjoyable but standard fodder in a rather overheated genre market. This is not a criticism at all, since it's a very popular genre and children enjoy reading within it. That's a good thing. But you really do need to bring something new to the table if you're going to stand out from the crowd. In the end, I went with four stars for ''Tripwire'' as the bomb disposal sections - courtesy of Chris Hunter, one assumes - are absolutely riveting, and much more credible than many of its peers. It's also set in the near-future rather than the present, and I always think that adds an edge. Don't let that make you think the book does anything more than what it says on the tin - deliver a high-octane, page-turning thriller with a contemporary edge - although it does that very well indeed.
My thanks to the good people at Corgi for sending the book.