I never read anything by John Banville until recently, when I picked up a remaindered copy of "The Untouchable". The simplest way to express my reaction to this book is to say that, after finishing it, I promptly went out and bought several more of Banville's novels, realizing that he is one of a small handful of truly outstanding contemporary English writers.

"The Untouchable" is the first person narrative of Victor Maskell, Royalist and Marxist, art curator for the English monarchy and spy for the Soviet Union. Maskell's narrative begins in the 1980s, when he is in his seventies, sick with cancer. It is then that his past is suddenly and unexpectedly made public, the prominent, seemingly conservative intellectual revealed to be a man leading a double life, a traitor to his country. The reality, of course, is much more complex, for Maskell's motives, beliefs and actions, like those of all humans, are uncertain, clouded by conflicting memories, versions and perspectives. Married and the father of two children, Maskell is a homosexual. Ostensibly a Marxist and supporter of the great Soviet experiment, he is deeply attached to England and, in very personal ways, to the Royal family. Presumably acting for many years as a spy for the Soviets, the practical value of his activities is largely confined to being a symbolic trophy for his spymasters in the Kremlin, someone who rubs elbows with the highest levels of the British government while providing little in the way of truly useful information.

Drawing on the historical facts surrounding the Cambridge spies, "The Untouchable" is a brilliantly imagined, vividly realistic fictional memoir of the complex and often perplexing life of such a spy. Banville's prose is flawless, his narrative voice is always at perfect pitch, and his characters and story are a masterpiece of verisimilitude.

I never read anything by John Banville until about a year ago, when I picked up a remaindered copy of "The Untouchable". The simplest way to express my reaction to this book is to say that, after finishing it, I promptly went out and bought several more of Banville's novels, realizing that he is one of a small handful of truly outstanding contemporary English writers.

"The Untouchable" is the first person narrative of Victor Maskell, Royalist and Marxist, art curator for the English monarchy and spy for the Soviet Union. Maskell's narrative begins in the 1980s, when he is in his seventies, sick with cancer. It is then that his past is suddenly and unexpectedly made public, the prominent, seemingly conservative intellectual revealed to be a man leading a double life, a traitor to his country. The reality, of course, is much more complex, for Maskell's motives, beliefs and actions, like those of all humans, are uncertain, clouded by conflicting memories, versions and perspectives. Married and the father of two children, Maskell is a homosexual. Ostensibly a Marxist and supporter of the great Soviet experiment, he is deeply attached to England and, in very personal ways, to the Royal family. Presumably acting for many years as a spy for the Soviets, the practical value of his activities is largely confined to being a symbolic trophy for his spymasters in the Kremlin, someone who rubs elbows with the highest levels of the British government while providing little in the way of truly useful information.

Drawing on the historical facts surrounding the Cambridge spies, "The Untouchable" is a brilliantly imagined, vividly realistic fictional memoir of the complex and often perplexing life of such a spy. Banville's prose is flawless, his narrative voice is always at perfect pitch, and his characters and story are a masterpiece of verisimilitude.

John Banville, the Dublin author whose fiction is at once literary and accessible, funny and mordant, informed by history but rooted in subjective reality, is one of best writers in English today. "The Untouchable," his 1997 novel based on the life of Sir Anthony Blount, the Fourth Man in the Cambridge Spy Scandal, is extraordinarily good.

"Who am I?" art historian Victor Maskell asks himself in this first-person narrative, crafted ostensibly for the benefit of an ersatz amanuensis in a leather skirt. "What do I know? What matters?"

Maskell, an essential outsider, has spent a lifetime using his studied charm, suppressed emotions, closeted homosexuality, and distant family connections to winnow a place for himself in the English establishment. It matters not that his marriage is a failure, that he is estranged from his children. Art, he concludes at one point - even the prized painting, attributed to Poussin, which has hung on his wall for 50 years - has no meaning; it simply is. The same, in his view, might be said of existence itself.

This passive and unexamined life comes apart after Maskell, once an amateur intelligence operative, is publicly disgraced for having passed information of questionable value ("state secrets," the press calls it) to wartime ally the Soviet Union (the "enemy"). Why did he do it? Certainly not for money. Was it for the cause of worldwide socialism? For personal amusement? To put on the mask of a man of action? To avenge the underclass? Or was it simply another form of casual duplicity, no different is substance from the duplicity of proper gentlemen who take mistresses or of friendly governments which destroy villages in order to save them?

Nothing is as it seems in this ambiguous, allusion-stocked, politically savvy, richly imagined life of Victor Maskell and his times. Robert E. Olsen

This is an very readable book about the marriage of one of the most famous US President's and his glamorous wife. The book opens with a short story about Jackie and details her early life very throughly. The book continues on telling how Jack and Jackie met, courted, and their marriage, ending with the death of President Kennedy. The book tells about the birth of the Kennedy's second son, Patrick who only lived a few days, how the Cuban missle crisis helped to define JFK, and JFK's hidden illness. The book is written in very easily understood prose which makes the book pleasurable reading. On that note, I do not think this book would be considered a piece of scholarly work. This is a good book for those looking for an easy read about the John and Jackie Kennedy.

I love biographies, and have read several on the Kennedy's. This is one of my favorites. It gives you a very in depth look at the real relationship between Jack and Jackie, which is, as the title says, "All Too Human". The book, which reads almost like a novel, starts with the first meeting of Jackie and Jack, and carries you all the way through until Jack was assassinated in November of 1963. Edward Klein was a personal friend of Jackie's for a number of years, which made him privy to alot of information. Some points of interest include Jack's affairs and womanizing, Jackie's feelings on being a politician's wife, Joe Kennedy's role in their relationship, how the death of their son, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, brought Jack and Jackie closer than they'd ever been before, only to have it taken away on that fateful day in Dallas, and Jackie's relationship with her parents. Of course, there is a ton of other information in this book, but these are just a few. After reading this book, I read "Just Jackie: Her Private Years", which is also by Edward Klein. It picks up where "All Too Human" leaves off (shortly after the assassination of JFK). I highly recommend both books to anyone interested in reading about the Kennedys and Jackie O.

I like to think of myself as a Kennedy expert- I know almost every little detail about the life of this amazing family. Actually, it's become a major fascination over the last few years. I wrote an extensive report on the family and did a great deal of research and came across this book, which I just reread. Again, I was completely mesmerized by this wonderful book by Edward Klein. He was really lucky to have know the family and have such an intimate relationship with these very tortured people. Many seem to forget that they were human like everyone else and had their share of problems and upsets in life. Klein, as a friend of both Jack and Jackie's, makes the story come alive with word for word converstaions from those who were closest to the Kennedy's. I was especially touched by the end of the book where Jack is shot on that fateful day in November of 1963. I cry everytime I read it and think how horrible it must have been for Jackie to not only witness her husband's death, but move on after the tragedy with grace and dignity. I highly recommend this book and if there is anyone who has a similar interest in the Kennedys, please e-mail me. This book is really worth the read.

I have read a couple of books by Connie Mason, and usually I like most of her books, especially the older ones. This book was not very interesting, some of the love scenes were pretty good, but her trademark sensuality seems to be missing from her books now a days. I did not find anything remarkable about the novel.....though I finished reading it pretty fast.

Now here's another Connie Mason book that'll definitely keep u on your toes. It's fast and absorbing. The characters were desirable even the secondary ones. Dominic and Rose are both pridefull in their own rights. They're confident, tough, spunky and arrogant. Yet both are also loving, patient and gentle. They always find themselves in the battle of wills, they clash many times but unconsciously both were looking forward to the challenge of taming each other and the process was an enjoyable read. Some of Roses antics and stubbornness were a bit off but the consequences were exciting which made this book even more compelling. There is definitely lots of challenge in their relationship, aside from the nervy political dilemma of loyalty vs. righteousness, Dominic's conniving ex-mistress, Veronica is one of my favorite parts. Her character was well done. She's the added heart wretching spice in this book. Oh, as always in all of Ms. Mason's work, the lovemaking scenes sizzles!

I also enjoyed the political conflicts of this book concerning the MAGNA CARTA & King John Lackland. He's so overbearing, false-hearted & devious. His betraying ways is so unpredictable that it scares the heck out of me! He is capable of almost anything and have the power to achieve it too. This is the added thrill to the story.

I notice a slight anachronism in terms of the dialogue but it's not excessive to distract me. I manage to by pass that flaw only because overall, this book is both sugar and spice. It's fast, funny, exciting & heart warming. One you shouldn't miss. Thank you, Ambrangel for suggesting this book to me.

This is the first book I have ever read by Connie Mason, and after reading this novel, it certainly won't be the last! The storyline was certainly not boring. It kept you reading. Dominic is a sexy, gallant and arrogant man. Rose is a spitfire who learns temperance through her love for the "Dragon Lord". I loved the book and reccomend it to everyone who like historical romance.

Cliff Janeway is an ex-cop and current used bookstore owner. When one of his old cronys from the Denver PD offer him a quick $5000 for picking up a bail jumper in Seattle Cliff takes the job, mainly because it also involves a rare copy of Poe's "The Raven." But all is not as it seems as Cliff gets drawn deeper and deeper into a forty year old mystery that finds him being hunted by the Seattle police for murder.

John Dunning is a good writer. His characters are excellently drawn, his dialogue is crisp, and the plotting is tight. Cliff Janeway has a good "voice" and the book moves along well, never dull or boring. This is the first Bookman mystery I've read but I'll be looking for the others. This book stands way above the average run-of-the-mill books that pass for mysteries these days. I recommend it highly.

Having plowed through hundreds of murder mysteries that almost seem "by the book" (no pun intended), it was a delight to read "The Bookman's Wake," and be introduced to Cliff Janeway. I learned more about the field of rare books and small house printing than I knew at the beginning, and was completely entertained throughout. Intelligence in writing seems to be missing in many of today's "churn 'em out" murder mysteries; Dunning brings wit, education, and humanity to bear and it comes out just wonderfully. I literally could not put this book down until I reached the last page...and now I'm hungry for more from this author. The next time I go into a used book store, I'll be looking with a much more educated "eye" than heretofore. Kudoes to John Dunning!

If your one of those people like me that loves the smell of a new book, are picky about what you read, and find yourself organizing your books with your own little system, here is something special for you. Like Walter Mosley and Ross MacDonald, John Dunning's work is much more than a mere detective novel.It is a novel of intrigue and murder amidst the book world, or more to the point, those who love books and spend much of their time looking for that first edition copy of....

Cliff Janeway is the Denver bookman and part time detective who gets involved looking for a girl who may have in her possession a rare, and unheard of, Grayson Press edition of Poe's "The Raven", a book worth a fortune. Things are not always what they seem and as Janeway tries to help the young and frightened Eleanor the story becomes more complex and dangerous. This mystery is exiting and compelling, peppered with insights and observations about books from a writer who loves and respects them as much as we do.

This is a book you will love and respect after finishing it. It is a wonderful and exiting read and Cliff Janeway can stand side by side with Easy Rawlins and Lew Archer in American detective fiction. We are treated to keen observations about humanity during this twisty tale of books and murder. Dunning uses the rain in Seattle and the snow in Denver for atmosphere and there is almost a wistful feel to the ending.

Written in '95 this was the second Cliff Janeway novel. "Booked to Die" was the first and is also highly recommended. We can only hope Dunning will give us a third one day. This is a smart read that will be enjoyed by anyone who loves books. If you like an intelligent mystery with sharply drawn characters, and observations on our society as well, then this book is a must have for your library. A treasured find.

A top international lawyer is hired by the Peruvian president to arrest the former president-for tortures committed in Peru-when the plane arrives in Athens. The captain of the European carrier that is carrying the ex-president has different ideas and will do what ever is possible to keep this from happening. While flying all over Europe to evade this legitimate warrant for arrest, the reader is treated to some suspenseful reading and some interesting cat and mouse ploys. This is a fast paced action thriller with some political overtones. Most of the action and descriptions seem to come from a knowledgeable pilot/author, but I truly must question one glaring error I noticed in the book that a pilot would never make. Squawk 266.....9? A nine? In a squawk? Not likely Mr. Nance.

Overall great entertainment.

Headwind is impossible to put down after the first page. The suspense never lets up as the story unfolds quickly. Ex-president John Harris, his assistant, and a secret service agent are about to land in Athens Greece. The police are waiting for his 737 to land in order to arrest Harris for violating the Treaty Against Torture. Peru is claiming that a CIA operation resulted in the murder of hundreds of innocent civilians and was santioned by then President Harris. The pilot, Craig Dayton, is a U.S. Airforce reserve military who backs the plane out and takes off in a daring escape.

The plane makes its way to Italy and on to Ireland before trying to get back to the United States. In the meantime while onboard, John Harris hires an old friend, Jay,an attorney who has been teaching international law in Laramie, Wyoming to represent him. The legal battle is finally fought in Ireland with a wonderful series of legal manuevers [...]

Read the book for the rest of the story. The characters are well developed, the dialogue is believable, and the landings are incredibly suspenseful.

After giving a speech on world hunger, retired President John Harris flies from Istanbul to Rome with a stop in Athens. However, at the airport, the Greek police try to serve an international warrant filed by the head of Peru against the former President insisting he violated the Treaty Against Torture while in office by sanctioning CIA acts of violence against innocent people. Pilot Craig Dayton realizes the former President is in danger and makes a daring unauthorized take-off before the police arrest Harris.

International lawyer, Sir William Stuart Campbell represents the Peruvian government in the World Court. William has a personal grudge against John and goes all out to nail the former world leader. The pilot, the president, and his attorney seek a nation that will provide a safe and fair hearing, not yet realizing the drama that will unfold when they select that country.

As action thrillers go, John J. Nance typically writes some of the genre's best works. His setting of an airplane for his story line produces chills even for those readers who enjoy flying. For those who fear the air the background provides tremors. The characters including the President, are three dimensional and complex adding to the feel of a thriller. HEADWIND is top gun material and sure to place Mr. Nance on all the best-selling lists.

Harriet Klausner

everything about this book felt "written." I never felt as if i'd lost track of time and where i was or who i was while i read this book. everything felt like a scene as opposed to life. it felt like i had the author standing in my face telling me over and over again "these people are sad! do you hear me, sad!" but the sadness wasn't palpable to me. it was a hollywood producer's version of what sadness does (see: emma breaking the violin, dwight's guilt and descent into violence). the way schwarz draws the plot together was too neat, too tidy (again, a hollywood producer's version of solving a crime) for my taste. and was i the only one who knew the moment that grace's father's pistol was mentioned way, way back at the front of the book that it was going to be central to the resolution? judging from all the 5 star reviews, i was. i don't think that schwarz is a bad craftsman which should not be confused with being a good writer. in the end, i didn't care about the characters as much as i cared about the resolution which, ultimately, was a wet firecracker. if anyone's interested in what i would call great writing and great writing about a child's death please read frederick busch's "girls." the sadness is on every page but busch doesn't resort to easy, emotional "scenes" .

Schwartz weaves one of the most interesting tales I've read in a long time. An educated family are returning home from a concert when, while stopped at a rest area, their son is killed in a hit and run. Driver of the car is a divorced dad just getting his life back together. His own son is asleep in the car. The author switches from chapter to chapter who the narrator is (between the boy's mother, father, and the driver of the car) and does so with unparalleled skill. Usually this tactic annoys me, but here it works well. We get to see how the death affects all involved, as well as the relationships in the family and beyond. Tension mounts as the case goes unsolved with the police. Finally Dad takes matters into his own hands. He discovers who did it too, but here's where everything falls apart. Schwartz, for all of his skill until this point, just doesn't know how to end the book and the way he ends up going with is wholly unsatisfying.

There's an inherent problem in writing (and reading) novels which devote themselves entirely to unexpected death and its aftermath, entirely aside from the fact that it's a subject matter which has been done, and re-done, and overdone since the dawn of fiction, and is therefore very difficult to make fresh, interesting or insightful. The major problem is that the author runs the very real risk of dousing the reader with such unrelenting dreariness that finishing the book is almost a chore. As far as novels about death go, Reservation Road is far better than most. It's thought-provoking, sincere, and, for the most part, avoids melodrama. But there's not much new for Schwartz to explore-if grief is a universal language, the theme of personal loss is a literary staple. The ending of the book (I won't spoil it) is somewhat surprising, and emotionally fulfilling at first-until one gives it serious thought and wonders if the author sacrificed reality for the sake of making "a point" about human nature.

Two things save Reservation Road, however, and make it worth reading. The first is the character of Dwight, whose anguish and self-loathing in the wake of the accident he caused is arresting, complex, and unique. The second is Schwartz's prose, which is lucid and engaging-on occasion, it's even downright eloquent. In the end, the novel is an almost perfect hybrid of Jacqueline Mitchard's far inferior "The Deep End of the Ocean" and James Agee's superior "A Death in the Family." It may not be a lasting work of literature, but it's a good piece of contemporary fiction. I would consider sampling Schwartz's work again.

For those who are faithful readers of John Lescroart and have developed a "reader relationship" with his two primary characters, Abe Glitsky and Dismas Hardy, THE OATH is a stunner!

As usual, Lescroart's plotting, characterization, and dialogue are excellent. However, what sets this book apart from his previous work, is the emotional reactions it creates. Reading THE OATH is very similar to watching two best friends fight and not being able to do anything about it. Glitsky, San Francisco Chief of Homocide, and Hardy, ex-District Attorney turned brilliant defense counsel, are at odds over the guilt or innocence of Dr. Eric Kensing, the prime suspect in the murder of the CEO of a high profile but financially troubled physicians' medical group.

Throughout the book, the reader can only passively stand by while Glitsky and Hardy present their points of view and reveal their own personality traits and unique perspectives. Lescroart masterfully introduces and develops several suspects and motives in this complex, multi-layered legal puzzle. However, the concern for both Hardy and Glitsky is never far away. As the suspense and interest build toward the story's climax I was stunned and begging for answers in the final pages. Thankfully Lescroart provided satisfaction, but you'll have to read this highly recommended thriller to find out how.

For all the readers who like their old friends back in stories, The Oath is a must read. Abe Glistky, the homicide cop, and Dismas Hardy, the one time DA who is now a defense lawyer begin by talking about hit and run homicides not being murder. A moving vehicle is just not a good murder weapon. Tim Markham, the CEO of an HMO in trouble, is hit by a hit and run driver with injuries so severe that no one thinks he will survive. The cause of his death in the intensive care unit of his own hospital appears to be fairly obvious until it comes to light that the death rate is unsually high.

Eric Kensing, Markham's attending physician, is the chief suspect when an autopsy reveals that Markham died of an overdose of Potassiam. Kensing's wife had been involved with Markham; the head of the hospital had been intent on cutting costs at any price and everyone seemed unhappy with the care patients were receiving within the HMO. Lescroart has taken a popular current topic and brought to light some of the shortcomings of managed health care. He and Abe work the case from different angles but eventually get together with some suprises along the way.

It's medical ethics vs. cost intensive care and the frailities of human personalities from page to page. It's a good read with Lescroart from start to finish....and there is a heartbreaker at the end with a final surprise.

Oh yes, for Dismas Hardy fans, you will find that he is getting a little bored once again with Frannie and her needs, his kids and their needs, and still trying to figure out where his priorities should be. The death of his first son is still tormenting him and he goes to visit the grave on the day of his son's 28th birthday. The boy was a baby when we started reading the Dismas Hardy stories. They are still good.

Who Killed Tim Markham is a questioned that gets answered finally at the very end of a page turner.

THE OATH By John Lescroart

To the readers who know his work this may be as good as a writer gets. For John Lescroart, that is five stars and superior. His family of characters led by Dismas Hardy, the very human attorney, with characters that include everyone that we have met in his previous books and a lot of new characters good and bad. This takes on a subject that interests all of us, insurance and medical care with a several murders being investigated by Dismas Hardy and Detective Abe Glitsky and team topping it of to keep it interesting. I cannot remember anyone else writing so knowingly about the health circle; HMO Insurance, medical service personal and subcontractors, hospital, and drugs (medicine) both brand name and generic. It's a vicious circle. John Lescroart's research work must have been a tremendous job for this book.

He keeps a very large variety of very human characters, by first and last names, police detectives, doctors, managers or directors, nurses, attorney, district attorneys and their office personnel busy--all with the normal frailties of humans.

Investigating directors who were negotiating for money and medicine, and controlling a busy group doctors and nurses keeps the book moving at a fast pace. After reading this book you will understand a lot better egotistic doctors, (who were only interested in saving lives, and believed that people should this) when they have time from their rough schedules to stop and answer police's question.
Roger Lee

The strength of this book is its historical background, but compared to giants like Noah Gordon who provide tons of historical information, McCarver is a lightweight. However, I did really enjoy the way the author wove his "who-done-it" around the enigmatic figures and grand details of the Titanic disaster. Mostly McCarver needs to flesh out his characters as real people though. The villain seemed wooden, even melodramatic, his motivations for murder sketchy and unrealistic, until the book's end when the author finally summed them up in a several, weak paragraphs. Though Darnell is British, nonetheless he seemed two-dimensional and emotionless, despite the fact that he was supposedly so overcome by his love for Penny that he got distracted from the task of unraveling the mysterious Cabin 13 suicides. The first two thirds of the book were the best as far as plot line. After the Titanic went down the plot got tedious while Darnell hunted down the murderous villain. This portion of the book should have been more concise and less predictable. I will read McCarver's next book, though, just to see if he has improved his skill in drawing rich, engaging characters. If he does, I'll probably be entertained by a reasonable plot, a richer Orient Express tapestry, and characters I can sink my teeth into.

I can not recommend this book. I had expected a good period piece with plenty of Titanic atmosphere and a somewhat supernatural mystery. I don't think either was delivered. The hero could have been on the Titanic or the Queen Mary, just because a ship hits an iceberg doesn't bring the Titanic scene to life.

Ther are other, much better mysteries set on the Titanic. Two that come to mind that I enjoyed are Max Allan Collins "The Titanic Murders" and Jack Finneys' "From Time to Time"

The Titanic is an often-discussed subject. Our memories are reverent, painful and even romantic. Sam McCarver was able to blend in just one possible story among thousands, which I am sure were occurring on ship. He puts his protagonist in the middle of the trouble and the reader gets a birds eye view of the crew and the Titanic before and after she goes down.

Professor John Darnell is hired to find out why passengers are dying in cabin 13 on three different ships belonging to the White Star Line. It seems when those who meet the professor hear he is a paranormal detective their first thought is abnormal happenings with ghost and demons. Actually the Professor is a detective who is out to debunk the myth of ghosts or demons being the killer. And he believes the one behind the cabin 13 deaths is very much alive. I considered it an interesting reading. The mystery of whodunit was over a little too quick for me. Mr. McCarver is well versed in the history of the Titanic, as the reader will discover should he/she decide to read it.

Muriel Spark's new novel interweaves the story of Lord Lucan, a dissolute English Earl who murdered his children's nanny and tried to kill his wife in 1974, then disappeared, with the story of Hildegard Wolf, a psychiatrist with an unconventional method of treating patients and a secret past of her own.

Rumours of Lord Lucan's whereabouts continue to pop up: noone knows if he is still alive or not. In this book, Spark has two separate "Lord Lucan"'s visit Dr. Wolf for treatment. Before long Wolf is wondering how much they know about her, how much they know about each other, and which if either of them is the real Lord Lucan. Several other people are drawn into the search for Lord Lucan, including an old friend of his, and the daughter of another old friend of his, and Hildegard's long-time lover. The resolution is amusing and unexpected.

Spark considers the complicity of accomplices in crime, and the morality of the "upper classes", and the persistence of guilt. Her writing is as always extremely clever -- dare I say it sparkles? -- and the book is slantingly funny and morally insistent and a thoroughgoing joy to read. At 82, Muriel Spark remains a truly brilliant writer. (Like another reviewer, I can't quite bring myself to rate this 5 stars -- but only because the book is so short. It's better than the average 4 star book, at any rate.)

Muriel Sparks' latest novel "Aiding & Abetting" doesn't take up much shelf space but sure proves the adage that less may be more ! This psychological thriller, based on the unsolved Lord Lucan murder mystery, is so cleverly constructed and seamlessly meshed with the subject of another true story - that of the fake stigmatic Beate Pappenheim - I found myself unable to stop until I finished it in one sitting. Sparks' ingenious plotting is once again evident in the way the pulsating narrative takes unexpected twists and turns that keeps you in total suspense with the unyielding promise of a surprise ending. I felt my heart thumping and my mind racing just watching the two Lucans and Hildegarde and their aiders connive and plot to outwit each other. The novel may have taken class as its starting point but it is blood that binds their fate. Nobody writes like Sparks these days. Her dry wit and rare economy with words make for an eloquence that is both unique and unparalleled. It is also a hallmark of great writing. "Aiding & Abetting" may be her best work in recent times. This slim novel sure packs a wallop. It comes highly recommended.

Muriel Spark hasn't lost her touch. AIDING AND ABETTING isn't one of her very best novels (of her more recent books I prefer REALITY AND DREAMS, although AIDING AND ABETTING is far superior to SYMPOSIUM), but it's still a very good book.

As one reviewer below notes, a curious doubling is one of the tropes of this book--mistaken and overlapping identities mask, I suspect, a concern with lack of identity. Spark handles her various themes with her usual grace, wit, and, most importantly, economy. This book is 166 pages, and Spark uses every one of them well (even when she tells us something twice, we can be sure it is for a good reason).

One final note: AIDING AND ABETTING and DECLARE make for interesting comparison. I have no idea whether Muriel Spark and Tim Powers have much overlap in audience, but perhaps they should. They write very different books, but these two show an interesting coincidence of subject matter. Powers and Spark investigate the possibilities of infamous British aristocrats, in Powers' case Kim Philby, and in Spark's Lord Lucan. The Burgess and Maclean case comes up in both books, and the idea of the decaying English aristocracy as letting them and Lucan escape in a fit of apathy, disbelief, class loyalty, and moral paralysis is important to both writers' aims. Spark conjures up a future for Lucan while Powers' fantasy of history "explains" Philby and indeed the entire Cold War. Doubling, noted above as key to Spark's book, is equally important to Powers, on a more fantastic level. In the end, they take different approaches: Powers' Philby is fascinating, complex, sad and deservedly damned; Spark's Lucan is a study in the banality and triviality of evil. There is mystery, but Lucan is too small to be of great interest to his own story.

Well I'm absolutely disapointed ! I like to read books with airplanes and am ready to forgive a lot of wrong plots, impossible survivals and so on.
But this book is very strange. Leaders of major organisations are playing dumb - just an example : CIA tells the President, that a jumbo pilot may have been blinded by crashing into a smaller jet, because the explosion of the smaller jet before his cockpit was so bright - and still its known, that the jumbo was absolutely free of damage - and the President is buying that explanation ...
Well, most of the people in the book are unrealistic and unpleasant. Women in the wrong footwear drag ablebodied man that try to resist through the forrest of Vietnam ... and so on. Just buy another book. This one is just plain bad.

I picked this book up at Dallas-Ft. Worth airport just before leaving for Geneva via Brussels this week. I finished the book by the time I got to Geneva. Few books have kept me turning pages like this. Tom Clancy's books (the real ones, not the Op-Center and Net-whatever balony) have gripped me like this as well, but they are much longer.

I guess it helps that John Nance is a pilot, and that I am an aviation nut. He goes into a lot of detail on how to fly a 747 in the first half of the book, and I don't remember spotting a single technical error, which is very unusual.

The plot is quite plausable, and there is enough information withheld (and fed to you bit by bit) to keep you guessing right up to the final chapters as to who are the bad guys and who isn't, unlike certain books which give the reader all the info and you have to read how the characters discover what you already know. So good marks to John Nance for that.

The only reason I give 4 instead of 5 stars is that the book COULD have been a lot more. Just imagine if John Nance had given the manuscript to Tom Clancy for a bit of reworking. The book would have come back with a LOT more character development, and more artfully crafted descriptions of scenes and action. The book may have ended up being twice as long, but the story and characters are easily interesting enough to keep your attention for a good, long round-the-world trip.

Charles

The Book Blackout, by author John Nance, was a very exciting book. Having this be the first book of his I've read, I found this book interesting at all times leaving me wondering, "what happens now. The story evolves around 2 characters running from an terrorist group out to keep them from taking. Kat Bronsky a very well know FBI hostage negotiator is out to save the survivors of a plane crash over Vietnam jungle and also find out what keeps bringing down al these jumbo jets. One of the survivors that she is trying to keep alive is Robert McCabe a polister prize winning writer thinks he knows the answers, but his contact is dead and the only person who can tell him what is going on is lost somewhere in the U.S. This is the only book I've read that I have found interesting enough to keep my attention. I am only 15 years old and don't really like to read all that much. The readers who enjoy fast pace interesting books would really enjoy reading this book. The only thing I really found in this book that I didn't like was the ending of it. I guess John Nance leave the ending of the book for the reader to decide.