Review: `It's the game, and the game is everything.'
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 30, 2011
The prisoner's dilemman. a philosophical conundrum enacted through a game with two participants which gives an insight into the behaviour of the individual in society.And the players? Martin Cormac, a man with a ruthless past in business and Janac, the man who seems to rescue him from the consequences of a poor choice in a bar in Thailand. But rescue isn't may not be the right word: Janac has plans for Cormac which could ultimately involve a choice between life and death. Can Cormac be selfless, or will his choices remain self-interested? What if Cormac's is not the only life at stake?The action in this novel moves from Thailand to Sydney, and then to the Pacific Ocean and further north as Cormac tries to escape the consequences of his choices while Janac wants to play the game to a conclusion.I enjoyed this novel: the story moves quickly and while Martin Cormac is not a particularly likeable hero he has his moments. Janac is a suitably awful villain who is committed only to `playing the game'. Much of the action takes place at sea, in circumstances that heighten the tension and the drama. Can Cormac `win' - despite the odds?`There were only consequences left.'Note: I was offered, and accepted, a copy of this book for review purposes. This novel was published in hard copy as `The Delivery'; it is now available in electronic format as `The Defector'Jennifer Cameron-Smith