Review: Marginal entertainment value
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 10 19, 2011
Just Runkept me reading, but just barely. Since the book already has three 5-star reviews, I'll primarily discuss the book's shortcomings from my viewpoint."Just Run" is a typical man+woman vs. secret conspiracy plot with a nearly continuous mix of running (traveling), chloroforming, choking, stabbing, and/or shooting. Protagonists were generally likeable and the storytelling maintained a good level of suspense. However, the extent and intent of the conspiracy were opaque through much of the book, and still not very clear by the end. I was disappointed that the damage inflicted by the hero upon the nefarious CIA activities was negligible. I consider the ending to be original, unusual, and logical, but unsatisfying.In the first version of this review, I wrote "There were a few major and minor disconnects in the plotting." The comment below by Jonas pointed out that I generated at least one of the disconnects, myself (now retracted in version 2). Here are a few comments that I think would have helped me before my first reading.The plot unfolds in a gradual way, and the underlying relationships among the organizations and characters in the book are unclear until further information is provided. As a result, it is easy to miss the significance of early events, and then to fail to reinterpret them as hindsight becomes available. This book is very detailed, the plot is quite intricate, and if you don't pay close attention, certain puzzle pieces will not fall into place. Be prepared for tricks and lies.However, some disconnects, omissions, and areas of unrealism seem to me to persist after partial re-reading. For example, the author plays a "shell game" with cell phones. If you enjoy testing your wits on a subplot, try to answer these questions. Do you think the author plays a little "fast and loose" with who calls whom on what cell phone? Also, does the author make a big deal about GPS tracking via cell phones, and then accidentally create a potential, unwanted GPS-traceable situation? My answers, after some re-reading, come up "yes" and "probably".* * * * * Spoiler alert * * * * *The most incredible, simple gaffe occurred when a bad guy/FBI agent fails to find an ankle holster worn by the heroine. Yikes!* * * * * End spoiler * * * * *Mr. Culver's descriptions are not always clear and simple. It takes a little while to unravel a statement such as, "...giant cylinders turned on their sides and cut to form archways..." Perhaps calling them "archways" would have been simpler and better? An accumulation of these and other language oddities made the writing seem a little clumsy. This is a matter of style and (of course) you may differ.The book probably makes it up to a minimal level of entertainment for readers who can get past its shortcomings. Be warned that some of the worst flaws appear towards the end of the book. Had they occurred earlier, I would have abandoned the book. It's possible that two kinds of readers will like the book better than I did: 1) those who never miss a detail and like to sort through a large haystack to find the needle, and 2) those who are willing to ignore the details and go with the flow. In my case, I plan to bypass other books by Mr. Culver.