Duane Swierczynski's Fun & Games is exactly
as the title implies: a whacked-out, drug-induced, roller coaster that hits
speeds fast enough to rip your skin off...or at least make your lips swallow
your face.
STORY:
Charlie Hardie spends most of his time as house
security. Okay, that may be a little
strong. More like he's a house
sitter. So booze, movies, and other
people's couches have pretty much become his life. Until he steps into his latest house gig in
the Hollywood Hills and finds a drugged-up actress hiding out in a
bathroom. Before Hardie can say "I'm tired," he's wrapped up in a
situation that seems hell bent on making him dead. What's the situation? Well, Lane Madden—the drugged-up actress—may
or may not be kidding when she says the Accident People (well-funded hitmen who make deaths look like—wait for it—accidents)
are out to get her. Impaling, deadly gas, unfriendly needles, topless
sunbathers, and accidents ensue.
THOUGHTS:
From the first couple of pages you'll get the
feeling the author loves his action movies.
Scenes scream by, dialogue is kept short and humorous, and inner
monologue is almost non-existent. On top
of all that, each chapter begins with a quote from a movie. Now if you’re reading the book and happen to
know the origin of each quote, then you're the author's exact target
audience. If you see the quotes and
wonder, "Who is this Mel Gibson
character and what is this Lethal Weapon they speak of?" Then maybe you've accidentally wandered into
the wrong book category. But that's
okay, because your "War and Peace" tome is just a few aisles over.
If you're a fan of ordinary people finding
themselves thrown into extraordinary circumstances, then Fun & Games will
be your drug. Think Die Hard meets Excess
Baggage—without all the bad acting from Alicia Silverstone. Hardie just wants to get drunk and watch old
movies, but when life calls and asks him to put in a little overtime, he
exceeds better than expected. Hardie may
also have some John McClane similarities—tendencies to really piss off the bad
guys—but you'll easily accept them because one: John McClane is awesome, and
two: not many action novels grace today's shelves.
Now, this book does demand one thing: a sense
of humor. From the opening pages to the
very last paragraph an underlining humor exists in every line of dialogue and
in almost every paragraph. If you
appreciate crap like having the man in charge of the whole bad guy operation,
actually be a topless woman with perfect cans…then this novel will definitely
make you smile.
"So
what you're saying is the author really has nothing to offer, but humor?" Of course not. The book is well written, the plot is fast
and surprising, and there's also tragic moments sprinkled throughout. See, you'll come to realized that the hobo
Charlie may not be the guy you thought he was from the opening scenes. As you progress through the book a backstory
emerges that'll surprise you quite a few times.
And once it's all said and done, Charlie comes full circle, leaving him
with more depth and humanity than needed.
Then we come to Lane Madden, the Hollywood star
that Charlie's trapped inside a mansion with.
Most feminine characters are used as mere filler. Something you give the story's leading man as
a prize for taking down the bad guy. Not
here. Lane is a full-blown, flushed out
woman with problems and feelings of her own.
She also happens to be quite capable with a microphone stand, so don't
get too close. If you're looking for a
romance between the two, you might have look elsewhere, as the sprinkling of
flirtation doesn't exceed beyond Hardie having a few typical male thoughts
about his partner.
That brings us to the bad guy or bad people in
this instance. Most of the time, you'll
only see their name with maybe a few
paragraphs on how they're feeling at the moment. And some people might think of them as
cookie-cutter bad guys—which they might be at times—but that doesn't take away
from the story that's trying to be told.
See, the book isn't about some pissed off antagonist looking for
revenge, because his mommy didn't hug him enough. The book is really about Charlie trying to
work his way out of the crap he just so happened to fall into. And it's quite a lot of crap. Now with that said, some of the funniest
dialogue exchanges happen with the bad guys, or one bad girl in
particular. The same bad girl who might
prefer to be topless, and Hardie's reaction to her blasé nakedness is
perfect.
WHO'LL HATE IT:
Boring folk, of course. People that need every word to have five
hundred different meanings, so they can write a thousand page essay on what
they thought the author was trying to say.
Those people need not apply.
Also, if you place tobacco in your pipe, pick up your monocle, and then
sit in an over-sized floral chair reading novels—in a living room devoid of TV—then
you may not have the taste for this kind of word-slinging. Though, stranger crap has happened. If you're a forty-something year old
housewife that ran over a few people on their way to the bookstore to pick up
all three volumes of Fifty Shades of Slop…oops Grey, then this novel probably
won't tickle your undercarriage.
CONCLUSION:
Anyone going into a novel named Fun &
Games, expecting it to cure cancer, might have their definitions mixed up. Fun & Games is nothing more than the
title says. It's fast. It's simple.
It's fun. And it's packed with
action and unbelievable scenarios.
Everything a growing boy—or girl—needs.
If you're in the market for a quick, action thriller, peppered with
surprises, than look no further. Duane
Swierczynski's Fun & Games has you covered.
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