Intro Welcome back to Roll For Book, the series where I let random chance decide what I’m going to read next (as always, this is inspired by Adventures in Ardia). If you are unfamiliar with the layout of my library and how I decide which dice to roll check out my last “Roll For Book” post or check out the video in the link below. Floor Roll (D6) – 1 Row Roll (D80+D10) – 66 Shelf Roll (D6) – 6 Book Roll (All the dice) – 122 The Result...Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson & Marshall Karp Plot Synopsis & Initial Thoughts When poor art student Matthew Bannon comes upon a stash of diamonds, he’s convinced his money woes are a thing of the past. Soon he whisks himself and his girlfriend out of the country hoping to sell the diamonds for a hefty sum. However those diamonds belonged to the Russian mafia, and they will do everything in their power to get them back, including sending an assassin or two Matthew’s way. This thriller story is on the surface pure escapist fun. The twists and turns of the story have me mostly empathizing with the main character and curious to see if they will survive. However with all that said I personally found a lot of problematic content with the story and some parts of the book, particularly when it comes to character deaths, feel mean spirited. Full Review Plot & Characters
The plot of this book reminds me very much of a 90’s/early 2000’s action flick, with characters dashing from one set piece to the next all while everything builds and builds to an exciting climax. Also like those movies there is a major plot twist half ways through the story that I found kind of hard to swallow. So while it can be a fun roller coaster ride at times, I left the book not necessarily feeling like the ride justified the content. And there was a lot of content I did not feel comfortable with outside of the normal cliches of rough language and violence. To start with there is a subplot that runs through the entire book about an incestuous relationship between a father and his adult daughter that so far as I can tell adds almost nothing to the story. Additionally the book feels the need to insert brief but gratuitous sex scenes ever three chapters or so, almost like the authors afraid you’ll lose interest if something provocative/titillating isn’t constantly happening. Finally is the main character themselves who the book tries to paint as heroic but comes off to me at least as a selfish jerk who makes questionable moral decisions. You also get point of view chapters from multiple villain’s perspectives throughout the book, and while they can be hammy and fun at times, they mostly feel shallow and unlikable. And then the book goes out its way to make sure each one of them get a karmic and gruesome death, which come off less as Disney villains getting their comeuppance, and more as mean spirited revenge fantasies. Themes On a positive note the book goes out of its way to show love that can change us for the better, with our main character going through a very deliberate character arc that sees him re-evaluating what he wants to do with his life, and the decisions he has made. And I do appreciate that this character growth and love is shown through the actions the character takes to rescue his beloved (granted he only had to rescue her because of his own dumb decisions, but I digress). We even get some brotherly love thrown into the mix with characters being willing to die for each other at several points in the book. The other themes of the book kind of boil down to base elements. You get protagonist centered morality stuff like, “crime is bad if you’re a bad guy doing it” (but don’t worry if you’re the good guy its only sometimes wrong). You also get stuff like “You reap what you sow” (once again, mainly if you’re a bad guy). And finally the unexpected “Isn’t the military kind of awesome!”. Final Thoughts I get why people like James Patterson and his various co-writers. His books are fast paced, exciting, and easy to read, making them ideal for a quick read while you’re sitting in the airport for instance. But I get the feeling that he focuses so much on rather or not his books sell, he takes little time to consider the impact thy will have on people. I have nothing against escapist entertainment and would even argue that it adds a lot to society, but when that entertainment feels bitter and empty, deep fried and coated in sugar though it may be, I don’t feel the desire to return to it anytime soon. Plot & Characters: 1/3 Themes 1.5/3 Overall: 1/3 Final Score: 3.5/9 Check out the video of this review in the link below!
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