Review of Tinman
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Heidi Sims
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Review of Tinman
[Following is a volunteer review of "Tinman" by Karen Black.]
TINMAN by Karen Black and Matt Walton literally starts out with a bang. The morning after receiving a mysterious summons to Alaska from his mentor, Charley Farnsworth, Gregory McGregor’s house is bombed. Greg escapes with his life and a bag of personal effects but also with a heavy sense of suspicion that the attempt on his life and his call from Charley are linked.
Greg flies out of Minnesota to rendezvous with Charley in Denver. However, before Greg gets any answers from him, Charley is murdered right before Greg’s eyes. Greg then seeks consolation and counsel from TINMAN, a prestigious engineering firm where Charley was a partner. On the surface, the company builds dams, roads, and tunnels internationally. It seems to Greg, however, that tunnels aren’t the company’s only “underground” projects. So, the mild-mannered academic decides to investigate Charley’s death and involves himself in a secret-filled, global escapade.
As if one murder isn’t enough, Greg faces several more on his journey to avenge Charley. Greg is placed in, and manages to survive, certain scenarios that would be a challenge to James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Ethan Hunt combined. It is a stretch to see the red-haired geotechnical engineer as a dashing figure pre-programmed with espionage techniques. Yet, it is even more of a challenge to accept the characters around him.
Some of them are copies. Charley, for instance, always dresses in spotless white linen and carries a Malacca cane like Jurassic’s Park’s John Hammond. Others are either cliches or stereotypes like the sexy ski bum Corky Gonzales whose curves belie her crafty intelligence.
Unfortunately, this lack of detail is evident in TINMAN's editing as well. Scattered throughout the text are many errors in punctuation, grammar, and word choice. TINMAN was copyrighted in 2020, so hearing an Asian teenager described as “Oriental” hits a sour note. The choice of writing "Mt. McKinley" rather than "Denali" does the same.
These errors take away from the parts of the work where the prose is quite well-written. Black and Walton offer a few breath-taking portraits of the Alaskan landscape and a stunning sequence describing how the levels of “white water rapids” are categorized. Their knowledge of complex engineering processes and how they are explained to a layman like the reader also should be complimented.
Because of the unsteady story line, the limited character development, and the many editing errors, I give TINMAN 2 out of 4 stars. The book reads like a graphic novel, yet there are no graphics to help readers suspend their disbelief of the dizzying events occurring in rapid-fire around the characters. Readers are left shell-shocked. They are numbed by the never-ending twists and turns instead of being enthralled by them. TINMAN is better suited to be an action-packed summer blockbuster seen on screens rather than a beach read.
******
Tinman
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
TINMAN by Karen Black and Matt Walton literally starts out with a bang. The morning after receiving a mysterious summons to Alaska from his mentor, Charley Farnsworth, Gregory McGregor’s house is bombed. Greg escapes with his life and a bag of personal effects but also with a heavy sense of suspicion that the attempt on his life and his call from Charley are linked.
Greg flies out of Minnesota to rendezvous with Charley in Denver. However, before Greg gets any answers from him, Charley is murdered right before Greg’s eyes. Greg then seeks consolation and counsel from TINMAN, a prestigious engineering firm where Charley was a partner. On the surface, the company builds dams, roads, and tunnels internationally. It seems to Greg, however, that tunnels aren’t the company’s only “underground” projects. So, the mild-mannered academic decides to investigate Charley’s death and involves himself in a secret-filled, global escapade.
As if one murder isn’t enough, Greg faces several more on his journey to avenge Charley. Greg is placed in, and manages to survive, certain scenarios that would be a challenge to James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Ethan Hunt combined. It is a stretch to see the red-haired geotechnical engineer as a dashing figure pre-programmed with espionage techniques. Yet, it is even more of a challenge to accept the characters around him.
Some of them are copies. Charley, for instance, always dresses in spotless white linen and carries a Malacca cane like Jurassic’s Park’s John Hammond. Others are either cliches or stereotypes like the sexy ski bum Corky Gonzales whose curves belie her crafty intelligence.
Unfortunately, this lack of detail is evident in TINMAN's editing as well. Scattered throughout the text are many errors in punctuation, grammar, and word choice. TINMAN was copyrighted in 2020, so hearing an Asian teenager described as “Oriental” hits a sour note. The choice of writing "Mt. McKinley" rather than "Denali" does the same.
These errors take away from the parts of the work where the prose is quite well-written. Black and Walton offer a few breath-taking portraits of the Alaskan landscape and a stunning sequence describing how the levels of “white water rapids” are categorized. Their knowledge of complex engineering processes and how they are explained to a layman like the reader also should be complimented.
Because of the unsteady story line, the limited character development, and the many editing errors, I give TINMAN 2 out of 4 stars. The book reads like a graphic novel, yet there are no graphics to help readers suspend their disbelief of the dizzying events occurring in rapid-fire around the characters. Readers are left shell-shocked. They are numbed by the never-ending twists and turns instead of being enthralled by them. TINMAN is better suited to be an action-packed summer blockbuster seen on screens rather than a beach read.
******
Tinman
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Randy the Irresistible by S M Goodier
