Ordinary Thunderstorms
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Stephen King was a hack right about now. It was on his over-the-top recommendation that I got my hands on Ordinary Thunderstorms, by William Boyd. The book tells the story of a climatologist in London who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and goes down a rabbithole of conspiracy, intrigue, danger, suspense, blah, blah, blah. Or so Stephen King said in his review.
In truth, the book certainly starts out that way. Adam Kindred is interviewing for a job in London and following a casual interaction with a man in a pub, he attempts to return the man’s forgotten briefcase to him. A murder occurs, Kindred is the primary suspect, and so Kindred goes into hiding. And with that stage set, the book just coasts to the finish (I won’t say the “end”, because frankly there wasn’t one).
I don’t know that I’ve consumed too many books that fall into the “beach read” category, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this one probably falls into that bucket. It’s harmless, fairly well-written, evenly-paced, fiction. Without any edge that I could discern. And don’t even get me started about the utter lack of engaging suspense or the total lack of denouement. I think the only “twist” that Boyd managed was to get you set up for all sorts of crazy stuff that could have happened at the end, only to trick you by not having anything happen.
If what I’ve described sounds good to you, then have at it — this one is perfect for you. But I’m bored and annoyed and I think I’ll boycott Stephen King for a while.
August 1, 2010 11:20 pm 2 Comments
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Literature News | Dark Sky Magazine — August 3, 2010 @ 5:01 am
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By Tom B., August 2, 2010 @ 11:37 am
Boyd has written some great novels (Brazzaville Beach, The New Confessions, A Good Man in Africa), but his last couple have been indifferently executed thrillers, way below the quality of the work he can do.