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Author: Gonzalo Lira
Title: Counterparts Genre: thriller I can think of no better description for this piece of clap-trap than the title I've assigned to the review. Here's a first novel that, in my view, should also be the writer's last. The story line is simple: a world-famous assassin is trying to off Sister Marianne (a nun) and both the FBI and the CIA are on the chase. Of course the FBI agent and the CIA spook loathe each other on sight and each is constantly working in the background to get the other off the case or, better yet, killed. In spite of all the animosity, the two Counterparts find time to handily solve the mystery, catch and kill the miscreant who hired the assassin, and save the Vatican from being blown to bits. Sounds interesting, huh? Well, in a twisted way, Lira came up with an interesting plot. His skills as a writer ended there, after he created motive, means, and opportunity. The remainder of the novel is fatally flawed at every turn. There are characters in writing known as "flat characters." They exist solely to provide a plot turn -- victim, clue, whatever. I like to compare them to Star Trek cannon fodder: the people on away teams that wear green uniforms and, of course, are immediately slaughtered by an alien intelligence. A flat character has no history, no motivation, no purpose other than that particular plot point. Unfortunately, all of Lira's characters are flat: even the main characters have no history, no motivation. The FBI agent is a woman with a young son. She's also violent, cruel, and bitchy. But why? we have no clue as to why she's assertive to the point of abrasiveness except some tired saw about the "good old boy" network in the FBI. The CIA man's background is somewhat better described, but there is still no insight into his psyche -- just descriptions of his work history. The reader can't identify with these people and can't become absorbed in a book whose characters are nothing but a series of disjoint parts. With the exception of Sister Marianne, everyone else is merely an assemblage of stereotypes and caricatures. The main plot, which has potential, is ruined by Lira's insistence on labyrinthine subplots and the element of surprise. Instead of developing his characters, he appears to have devoted all his effort to trying to drop a new (and often weird) plot twist into every chapter. Worst of all, though, is Lira's reliance on gratuitous violence as his backup means of filling a blank page with text. It seems as though whenever he can't think of something to write, he just puts together another few pages of senseless violence. Character after character is introduced only to kill or be killed in a carnival of gore. As a reasonably intelligent and fairly well-read consumer, I expect more from an author than Lira gave me. Even as a freshman effort, this one falls far short of the mark. all content copyright © 2014 by scmrak
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