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keith_nixon 's review for:
I Am Pilgrim
by Terry Hayes
This is a beast of a book, the paperback version I read (eventually) was nearly 900 pages. It's big because it's kind of two books in one. The novel opens with an investigation into a murder; a woman is discovered floating in a bath of acid, all traces of her identity removed. The investigator, who tells the story, both first and third person, is a mysterious guy, in fact we're not told his name until quite a few chapters in. Even then, this isn't his true name. It transpires the man, Pilgrim, is a highly trained operative. The plot treks the reader through the initial investigation, then arcs off into Pilgrim's background while also telling a story of Saracen, a Muslim who wants to rain death down on the US. Which is where the 3rd person narrative comes in, Pilgrim is recounting Saracen's activities to meet his goal over many years.
Sounds complicated? It kind of is. And isn't. As the author deftly weaves these multiple strands of murder investigation, espionage, thriller and multiple back stories together very cleverly. Sometimes it slows the story down while it briefly splinters off in a new direction (for example Pilgrim goes to visit the house where he grew up), but these diversions were typically short and added to the backstory.
The reason for the 4*? Several tropes creep into the plot and on a couple of occasions Pilgrim is given a little too neat a solution on a platter. And, particularly as the book drew to a close, Pilgrim would drop in a line at the end of a chapter that he'd missed something, or events wouldn't quite work out as he'd thought.
All in all this is a very good read and well written. One of the book quotes says it's a surprisingly good debut. But if you look at the author's background he's been writing for years, just not books - he's been a journalist and a screenwriter (with some big film credits) so Hayes is no stranger to a good plot.
And it shows.
4.5 / 5.0
Sounds complicated? It kind of is. And isn't. As the author deftly weaves these multiple strands of murder investigation, espionage, thriller and multiple back stories together very cleverly. Sometimes it slows the story down while it briefly splinters off in a new direction (for example Pilgrim goes to visit the house where he grew up), but these diversions were typically short and added to the backstory.
The reason for the 4*? Several tropes creep into the plot and on a couple of occasions Pilgrim is given a little too neat a solution on a platter. And, particularly as the book drew to a close, Pilgrim would drop in a line at the end of a chapter that he'd missed something, or events wouldn't quite work out as he'd thought.
All in all this is a very good read and well written. One of the book quotes says it's a surprisingly good debut. But if you look at the author's background he's been writing for years, just not books - he's been a journalist and a screenwriter (with some big film credits) so Hayes is no stranger to a good plot.
And it shows.
4.5 / 5.0