Novels. No. 38 (LL356)

Alex Michaelides. The Fury. USA: Celadon/Macmillan, 2023.

The fierce, battering wind in the Greek islands is known as the Fury. Legend would have it that it can drive people mad. Did that happen on Aura, the tiny island owned by fabled film star Lana Farrar? (Closed-circle crime novels demand a limited crowd in exotic/romantic territory.) Lana's arrogant businessman husband Jason joins her for a long weekend holiday, along with Elliot, her trusted friend and confidante (and failed playwright), and Kate the stage actress friend who creates drama wherever she goes. Forever housekeeper Agitha is with them, of course. And we have Nikos, living a permanent, secluded, lonely life on the island. Lana's teenage son Leo by her first husband also accompanies them. We the readers, are often addressed, as an intimate audience.

Narrator Elliot will dig deep into these relationships to explain a murder that occurs fairly early on—after some stormy scenes and a hair-raising sea crossing for a luxe dinner on the next island. Time returns us to Lana's London home and the reasons for the last-minute holiday; then we are led further back to how each friendship with Lana began. First-person narration always has its merits, but can't include any information generated when the narrator isn't present. So the author switches to third-person observings where Elliot does not take part. I found the changes unsettling, as if first-person Elliot is inefficient for the job. As if he by himself is unable to deliver the whole story he insists he's giving us. The personage not on the island is Barbara West, a well-known novelist, now deceased, with whom Elliot lived for years. Clearly her malign influence polished up the new image he created for himself, and probably the plot direction as well.

In spite of my small kvetch, the plot is irresistible, not at all turning out as Elliot expected. For someone who grew up idolizing the gorgeous, magnetic Lana, he sometimes loses sight of the actor element. Oh, dear reader, such clever theatre!

First Person

▪ If anything, it's a whydunit—a character study, an examination of who we are; and why we do the things we do. (6)

▪ He should have waited until she'd had a few drinks—then slid the papers in front of her and got her to sign them. (53)

▪ Once I saw the kid in me, I started seeing kids in other people—all dressed as adults, playacting at being grown-up. But I saw through the performances now, to the frightened children beneath. (62)

▪ To my surprise, I realized Kate was directing this at me. Her voice was sarcastic. When I looked into her eyes, I saw burning anger. (85)

▪ Both theater and reality, said Mr. Levy, came down to just three words—motivation; intention; and goal. (128)

▪ Kate's anger had betrayed her: this whole charade was for Jason's benefit, not mine or Lana's. (146)

▪ Are you slightly charmed, even beguiled, as Lana used to be? Or like Kate, do you find me irritating, self-dramatizing, self-indulgent? (169)

▪ I didn't want to reveal the extent of my—my what" Let's be kind; let's not call it obsession. Let's call it love—for that's what it was. (191)

▪ "If all this is true," she cried, "how can you bear to live with him in the same house?" (202)

Third Person

▪ Nikos couldn't remember the last time he had been touched. Let alone kissed. (47)

▪ The thought of this, being caged like a bird, made Jason's heart thump in his chest. He'd do anything to prevent it. (77)

▪ Agathi silently shut the door. She stood there for a moment, feeling uneasy. Her instinct was to pull on her dressing gown and go in search of Lana. (95)

▪ This was a shock. Not just the words that came out of Leo's mouth—which she hadn't anticipated—but also her reaction, which was instantly, violently hostile. (105)

▪ She stared at the earring in her hand. It wasn't hers, she could tell that at a glance. (115)

Self-analysis

I had longed for love, whatever that means, all my life. I longed for another human being to see me, accept me—care for me. But when I was a young man, I was so invested in this fake person I wanted to be, this false self. I simply wasn't capable of engaging in a relationship with another human being—I never let anyone get close enough. I was always acting, and any affection I received felt curiously unsatisfying. It was for a performance, not for me.

These are the mad hoops damaged people jump through: so desperate to receive love—but when it is given to us, it can't be felt. This is because we don't need love for an artificial creation, a mask. What we need, what we desperately long for, is love for the only thing we will never show anyone: the ugly, scared kid inside. (192-3)

Douglas Preston. Extinction. USA: A Forge Book/Tom Doherty Associates, 2024.

Not my usual genre, but this is a dilly of a trip begging for movie rights. The Erebus Valley in the Colorado mountains is home to a unique nature park: home of "de-extinct" prehistoric creatures where visitors can thrill at seeing them in the wilderness, such as woolly mammoths and other giant species. Yes, science had succeeded in "cloning" them from bits of bone and hair. The animals are enormous but gentle. It's the hugely expensive project of billionaire scientist Maitland Barrow; his compound includes a lodge cum luxury hotel, hiking trails, camping areas, and—deep in an old mine—the massive laboratories. But one night, honeymoon campers Mark and Olivia are abducted without a trace. Experienced CBI agent, Frankie Cash, is in charge of the case; local sheriff Jim Colcord proves to be a useful and intelligent assistant. It's imperative to find the missing couple asap, although blood at the scene indicates they—wherever their bodies disappeared to—are dead.

Head of Erebus security, Andrew Maximilian, has search parties already combing the dense, rocky forests, helicopters assisting, tracking dogs at work; Romanski, CBI's best crime scene detective is on the job. Not a trace of the killers has been found. Rumours and panic ensue. Cash's boss McFaul makes inept decisions, the media are swarming at the compound gates, guests are leaving, everyone is frantic. While Cash and Colcord interview employees, Mark's wealthy father, Gunnerson, arrives to add to the chaos; even founder Barrow makes an appearance to support his CEO Karla Raimundo. Soon the searchers begin to find themselves targeted in terrifying attacks while accumulating evidence of an utterly bizarre, dangerous cult. Pity the unsuspecting movie crew who rented filming time in the valley! Cannibalism is being whispered. You know what's coming, right?

Trust me, the suspense is real. Scary and a bit gory. Normally I shy away from novels smacking of sci-fi, but with AI pervading our lives, it only takes a master writer like Douglas Preston to make such a story believable ‒ thanks to true-to-life characters and the detailed mountain locale, balancing the excitement. Extinction is an ingenious adventure from the first chokehold!

Bits

▪ "So you're saying that it's impossible for an animal to have done this?" She gestured at the two pools of blood near the tent. (24)

▪ With all the people out there and three choppers no less, he wondered how at least four killers, burdened with two corpses, could get away without leaving a trail—and then stay hidden. (30)

▪ "We shared a vision for creating a park and populating it with de-extincted megafauna from the Pleistocene age—a safari-style park modeled on the great game parks of Africa, with no fences, where visitors could experience the rewilded animals in their natural habitat." (57)

▪ "Nothing like Jurassic Park," Karman reacted harshly. "Jurassic Park was bad fiction and bad science. Do not talk to me about Jurassic Park!" He almost spit out the name. "What we do here is real." (58)

▪ She could definitely see forms moving swiftly through the trees, still shrinking the circle—and again, she had the sense they were animals. They were too silent, too fleet, too ... feral. (110-1)

▪ "Can't you see the man's crazy with grief? You had no business bringing that man in, threatening my life." (133)

▪ "The attackers are taking advantage of the mammoths' great fear of fire," said Maximilian. (167)

▪ "Acosta and his dogs are being deliberately lured up there. This feels planned." (174)

▪ "We found his mutilated remains," she said. "At the bottom of a shaft." (204)

▪ "I'm gonna bypass McFaul. I'm still AIC, and normally, the CBI director doesn't get involved in subpoenas and warrants. We'll take it directly to a judge." (205)

▪ "No way is that a day care," he whispered. He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Those children aren't normal. They're ... strange." (258)

▪ He backed away from them, calling Cash on the emergency channels, and then he tried Maximilian and Graves again, but all the channels were either jammed with traffic or were down, just static. Where was everybody? Where had Maximilian taken the guards? Where were his three SWAT guys? (283)