Genre:
Thriller
Description:
An
EPIC Award finalist for 2016, White River takes you into the pilot's
seat for a swashbuckling adventure in the skies and on the ground.
He
landed every pilot's dream job, flying a seaplane in the wilds of
Canada. It was working out pretty well, until he landed smack in the
middle of espionage, 21st century style. Bad luck finds him as every
turn of the propeller gets him deeper and deeper into trouble, until
not only his survival but the survival of the girl is at stake. Does
he have what it takes to navigate his way out of this one alive? And
dare he trust the girl?
Author:
Born
and raised in metro Detroit, Curt Larson started his professional
career as a draftsman, quickly graduating into engineering where he
was one of the pioneers of a new engineering technology, Dimensional
Management. He prides himself on having a hand in the Dodge Viper and
Ferrari F360 Modena, among other more mundane vehicles.
In
the 1990s he started writing novels and short stories when the whim
arose and found them much more interesting.
Appraisal:
I
recently read and reviewed Yukon
Audit
by Ken Baird. So this is the second novel I’ve read that features a
DHC-2 Beaver fitted with floats for water landings in the wilds of
Canada. This plane certainly has a strong emotional connection for
pilots and engineers. Apparently pilots will doff their caps at the
sight of one. If you know what I’m talking about, you can quit the
review right here and go buy the novel--you’ll enjoy the tale. Heck
buy them both.
For
this reader, the plane doesn’t have an attraction, so I found some
of the finely detailed descriptions of its working and its handling a
little long winded. I didn’t feel that way with Yukon
Audit,
but maybe I’m just “Beavered out.”
While
the action was taking place, the story moved along a decent clip and
was interesting enough, but that only covered three-quarters of the
book. The last twenty-five percent dealt with “here’s how all the
characters ended up,” and that section got really slow. It’s not
an uncommon trait in thrillers, especially when a gorgeous woman who
is totally out of the reluctant hero’s league is involved. Oddly
enough, that same scenario was present in Yukon
Audit
(both women were NYC models). Probably a coincidence and not at all
connected with the plane’s nickname, I’m sure.
Overall,
this was a fast, easy read. The main character was well drawn. Pete,
his plane’s mechanic, was a lot of fun. Pete’s dialogue was
written colloquially, and it worked well--not an easy feat to
accomplish, so kudos, Mr. Larson. The bad guys were somewhat
stereotypical and the nefarious deed they were planning was glossed
over. For a thriller, I found the story lacked tension. I never
feared for the hero or expected him to suffer serious injury or to
fail to thwart the bad guys. I expected him to rescue the gorgeous
gal. And I didn’t much care for the pages that came after the
“Thrill was gone.”
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues
Rating:
***
Three
Stars
Reviewed
by:
Pete Barber
Approximate
word count:
90-95,000 words
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