Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsAddictive reading but with the usual annoyances
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2022
I’ve read all the books so far in the series in spite of myself, they all have decent plots (apart from the whole mental illness aspects which are just ludicrous) and in most cases the character development is good with MOST characters being both credible and likeable) but some things continually rankle about this series by Tim Ellis.
The first is the continuous and monotonous detail about the routes the characters take on every journey they go on, complete with road numbers and junctions. I think the author must surely have an eidetic memory or have been a cartographer to know this much detail about something that I bet absolutely no-one cares about. Don’t bother with it mate, it’s an utter bore, just get on with the story.
The second gripe is with Parish himself who really is a pompous insufferable little twat at times. Some of the time he is kind and very likeable and other times I’m surprised Richards hasn’t punched him for his unnecessary high handed ways. However he is nothing in comparison to the thoroughly unpleasant Xena who is possibly the most thoroughly unpleasant character that isn’t a baddie ever invented. No-one is that relentlessly rude and ungrateful to people who are completely undeserving of such treatment. In real life people just don’t behave like that, I don’t think it’s pleasant or amusing to read when the world needs people to be kind. Behaving like that should have consequences so for everyone to just accept it is just ridiculous.
Talking of ridiculous, these books are such a perfect storm of minute real-life detail but with some of the most far fetched plot lines - but that’s what fiction is I guess so for the most part I roll my eyes but roll with it. However the instances of both Angie, and then a couple of books later Jerry, having PTSD with complete (and almost identical) mental health breakdowns is truly ludicrous, especially when they both just miraculously recover from them with it seems no ongoing issues. Either describe the breakdown as you have and write off the character for longer than a few months whilst in recovery or don’t exaggerate it quite as much otherwise you really risk denigrating actual PTSD patients who don’t have the same miraculous recoveries as an option.
This review probably comes across as unnecessarily harsh which is unfair because the books are proper page turners - and since I always buy the next one the pros definitely outweigh the gripes I have here which even if it’s not helpful has been quite cathartic to write down!