Review: Pleasant summer reading
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2012
Our main character, Bill Travis, is slightly implausible at first introduction, but his personal characteristics make him endearing and likeable.Bill is a "detective by accident", who sort of stumbles into mayhem and disaster and manages to survive through personal effort and spunk, beginner's luck, and a little help from his friends...The plots are also well constructed with sometimes far-fetched events (explosions galore, people flying all over the place) without, however, actually falling into stereotype and hyperbole. The pace is fast.Bill Travis' personality remains consistent throughout the stories and the initial personal details we are fed in the beginning become less pertinent in the course of events. The narrative gives us the personal sideline as well, and the main character comes alive better as we participate in his private life and follow his and (later) his family's influence. The personal story continues in parallel throughout the adventures...The writing is good, and the supporting characters are just as well thought out and consistent as the main one throughout the stories; likewise with the peripheral characters we meet in the course of the adventures.Indeed, the absence of the usual stereotypes is refreshingly welcome and, along with the competent use of language, indicates that Wier is indeed a writer to be reckoned with... and to watch.Product-wise, this is a reasonably priced omnibus, well worth the asking price.