The Warrior (Book) - 1/13/2013 2:59:25 AM
“The Warrior” by Ty Patterson is a gripping and powerful read about Zeb Carter, a mercenary who witnesses a few too many crimes on a mission in the Congo to let go of them. On a personal vendetta against a particularly nasty specimen of a ruthless and brutal killer and rapist, Carsten Holt, Carter returns to New York to take the man on with the help of his friend and family. His work gets him in conflict with federal agencies, business men, journalists and politicians. The plot is cleverly developed and intelligently thought-through, the interconnections of the various parties involved in the hunt for Holt are excellently laid out. The descriptions of the developing complications and conflicts that arise for some of the players in this game are one of the highlights of this reading experience and a welcome relieve from often too simply laid out crime fiction. Patterson is a distinguished, clever and skilled story teller.
Another strong point of the novel is the ease of language the author uses which - when portraying action in the Congo – catches the raw masculinity of the fighters perfectly, but then moves effortlessly to the world of politics and businessmen in New York. His command of English is confident and a pleasure to enjoy.
You might say that in fiction the world of corruption has been somewhat exploited enough and the surprise effect of who has what kind of interest in the mines and riches of Africa are nothing new, but neither are the still urging and unresolved issues of child labour, kidnappings, mass killings and abuse of power to name but few, in those countries. Seeing this world from a man with questionable moral values himself, a contract killer if you so will, makes the reading experience all the more interesting as it confronts us with moral relativity, which in effect we all live in.
Zeb Carter and his brothers in arms are a group of people I enjoyed watching, their camaraderie and sense of values are decently developed and avoid the trap of stereotype and worn out repetition.
I am not a great fan of thrillers, the military world and ‘Rambo/macho’ action but I must say that I found myself pleasantly surprised to find a book in this genre written with so much intelligence and depth.
