Review: Rumpled Thriller Hero?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 12, 2012
A thriller is expected to deliver exciting action sequences throughout the novel.  In The Pelican Code there was no contemporary thriller type action until the second half of the narrative.  What do we get in the first half?  There are historical flashbacks to the Elizabethan period.  These are very appealing to readers who enjoy historical content.  The contemporary sequences weren't quite so interesting to me.  We find out a great deal about the personal lives of the protagonist and antagonist which didn't seem very relevant to the plot.  In retrospect, I can now see what Tim Lea was trying to achieve through this personal focus.The author invests a great deal of space in humanizing the central character, Toby Malone.  I couldn't help comparing him to Dan Brown's academic thriller hero, Langdon.  Langdon comes from the same tradition as James Bond.  He is always well-dressed and suave.  The moment I saw the passage about Malone wearing rumpled suits, I realized that Tim Lea was setting him up as the anti-Langdon.  Readers who want to see more realism in their central characters will appreciate that, but the character Malone had larger aspirations.Malone's hero, Christopher Marlowe, might have been an Elizabethan version of James Bond himself.  It is thought that he engaged in espionage. There is only a brief reference to Marlowe being engaged in secret work for England's interests in The Pelican Code.  I would have liked to have seen something of Marlowe as a spy in a flashback since this is a thriller. Certainly Marlowe's life was a great deal more interesting than Malone's.  Some characters considered Malone's identification with Marlowe pathetic.  Identifying with an admired historical personage isn't contemptible.  It's wonderful to have a source of inspiration.  Unfortunately, Malone's relationship to Marlowe is obsessive which presents problems for him in his personal life.  In current parlance he could be considered a "fanboy".  I think that Tim Lea is dealing with the issues raised by the fan phenomenon.  Is it worthy of respect? Can someone like Toby Malone put being a fan of Christopher Marlowe in perspective?Malone believes in the theory that Marlowe wrote the works of Shakespeare.  I don't find this theory credible, but I was willing to go along for the ride.  The Pelican Code asks interesting questions.  Readers will be intrigued.