The Severed Cortex

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Gun-Seller-Hugh-Laurie/dp/067102082X/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200246913&sr=8-2

I caught Hugh Laurie on a repeat of Saturday Night Live several months ago and I came away impressed. Everyone here in the States is already aware of his smart-ass acting chops from the show House so it wasn't a big surprise that he could translate that into some fine comedic timing. But the thing that impressed me most was that he also was a bit of a musician and he showed off his skills playing a humorous song on an acoustic guitar with no accompaniment. I know I stink playing guitar, but I do recognize how tough it is to play and sing at the same time. Laurie did both amazingly well. So you can imagine I was a little jealous that the guy could act, play and write music, and sing on a level that most of us will never reach. I was dark forest green with envy when I spied a book written by him in the bookstore.

So now he writes books too? Well, not really. He wrote this book back in the mid nineties, found little success with it, but has re-released it with his new found popularity. And it turns out to be a pretty decent book. Not spectacular mind you, but well written, funny, and almost enough plot intrigue to make it an outstanding book. He falls somewhat short of that in the plot, but overall this makes a nice light vacation read.

The premise is that Thomas Lang, ex-British special ops officer, gets sucked into a plot borne in and around the global military industrial complex. Your usual array of terrorists, military manufacturers, state department officials, government spies, and other assorted oddballs can be found and from my standpoint that's the biggest knock on the book. There are too many characters involved and it's tough to keep track of them all. The only thing you do know is that all of them are against Lang, but that probably has more to do with Lang owing allegiance to no one but himself. I guess if you were to sit down and read the book completely through at once, you might be able to keep track of all the characters. I seldom get time to do this and basically read a chapter a day. Or every other day. So maybe the problem is me. Or not. There are some books that I can't wait to read the next chapter and since The Gun Seller doesn't do that for me, I have to put some of the onus on it. Whether it's my fault or the author's fault, I still have to say it's a pretty good book. If for nothing else, the smart ass writing style, commonly compared to P.G. Wodehouse, is worth the price.

I still hate someone this talented.