“The Tournament,” Matthew Reilly

9781742612393

Photo Courtesy of Pan Macmillan Publishers

This is a very different Matthew Reilly novel. There’s no Scarecrow, nor Jack West. There is also no hero saving the world with moments to spare from some global calamity.

But don’t let that stop you from reading it as this is Matthew Reilly at his story telling best.

We meet Bess, the young 13 year old daughter of Anne Boleyn & Henry VIII, who goes to Constantinople with her teacher, Roger Ascham, to witness the inaugural World Chess Tournament hosted by the Sultan. Soon after arriving, a prominent Cardinal from the Catholic entourage is found murdered. The Sultan engages Ascham to investigate the murder. In the process of the investigation, conducted in the background to the tournament, further murders are perpetrated to add to the intrigue.

Meanwhile, Bess’s friendly older companion Elsie seeks to win herself a Prince, the son of the Sultan. She spends her nights on various nocturnal exploits which she regales in full detail to Bess the following morning. Yes, this novel features sex, which to his credit, Reilly points out at in his “Author Note” at the beginning of the book stating it to be for mature readers only.

The tournament, the investigation and Elsie’s ambition are all drawn together at the end. There was a degree of predictability which is not typical in a Reilly novel, however, the power of the novel is in Bess’s coming of age story line.

Bess, of course, matures into Elizabeth I, and one of the wonderful aspects of the novel was the fictionalising elements of real people. Fundamentally, this is a story about Bess, and Reilly courageously explores how the experiences in her youth (namely this fictional one) helped mould her into becoming one of Britain’s greatest monarchs. Not to mention that she never married.

Told from Bess’s first person voice, this is a rollicking tale that will delight Reilly’s passionate reader-base as well as introduce new readers to the great story teller that he is.

“The Counselor: A Screenplay”, Cormac McCarthy

9781447227632

Photo courtesy of Pan Macmillan

It’s been a few years since I read a screenplay. It’s obvious from the first page this was written for the screen.

The Counselor is classic McCarthy with his magnificent spartan use of language and ability to take his reader into the heart of every scene.

While I enjoyed reading McCarthy’s narrative and frugal but a times brutal dialogue, the story didn’t grab me. I think I’ll enjoy the story more when I see the visual representation of it on the screen. The story moves at great pace skipping from one scene to another then to another very quickly which I believe will be better portrayed on screen. There’s a wonderful cast assembled for the movie making it even more appealing. How the director captures the fear and tension that pervades the screenplay will be particularly interesting.

As with many McCarthy works there are some severe violent episodes that I actually found a little distracting but I expect is necessary to demonstrate the destructive essence of the drug trade.

This is one that is perhaps better to watch than to read.

“The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

I found this both charming and terribly sad.

Fitzgerald’s elegant craftsmanship with attention to detail using such economy of words was extraordinary. It was such a delight to drift off into another time as he captured the soul of Gatsby’s world in the 20s. It was an interesting use of the 1st person as Nick Carraway narrated the story.

But there was such sadness with the apparent meaningless of these characters lives. All fluff and bubble without any soul. I found I felt sorry for Gatsby, unlucky in love and seemingly wealthy from dubious commercial activities that never got fully explained. Daisy, I felt nothing for, as she came across as the most callous selfish individual, blessed with beauty and good upbringing.

I can understand why the novel is held in such esteem by the literary world. In less than 200 pages, Fitzgerald was able to describe the folly of the hedonistic life that has even greatest prevalence today, making the novel very relatable to a modern readership.