Potboilers 101: Is it Imitation, or Is it Just Derivative?
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Author: Christopher Reich
Title: The Patriots Club Genre: thriller It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Those who watch television, see movies, read books, or listen to music are well aware that imitation is viewed by many as the quickest way to get rich. Wanna make money in TV? copy last season's most popular show. In movies? film a knock-off of last season's box-office blockbuster. In books? write the next The da Vinci Code. In music? imitate whomever's hot, down to his trademark whine. In short, imitation isn't necessarily flattery; it's sometimes pure self-interest. Now I recently had an opportunity to read a book that carries such imitation to an extreme I'd not heretofore witnessed, and I must admit I'm impressed by the level of pure chutzpah demonstrated by the author - he combined themes from not only pre-existing books but also movies to build his "original plot." The book? Christopher Reich's The Patriots Club. The imitation? See the numbers below... Tommy Bolden seems to have it all. He rose up from poverty to a level high above his station [1] to become a powerful investment banker at one of Wall Street's most prestigious firms, yet he still remembers his humble roots. He has a seven-figure salary and a beautiful girlfriend, but still works one-on-one with the Boy's Club of Harlem. At least he does until he runs afoul of the shadowy, ultrapowerful organization of super-rich and/or powerful men that calls itself the Patriots Club [2], a club that traces its roots to the first years of the Union. Once he appears on their radar screen he's kidnapped by their secret army of former Army Rangers [3] and dangled off a building [4] to frighten him into revealing his connections with "Crown" and the mysterious Bobby Stillman. Since the leader of the Patriots Club has a back door into the systems [5] of dozens of companies he used to own, John Jacklin and his minions have instantaneous access to telephone records, credit card data, and all the information that will allow them to track Bolden as he moves through New York [6]. They're dreadfully worried because they believe that Bolden has penetrated the secrecy of their latest operation, a sinister plot that will ensure that the club retains its stranglehold on the policies of the U S Government [7]. Bolden, naturally, escapes the Club's clutches, but is framed for the murder of his boss [8]. On the run and hunted, this lone man eludes the manhunt (even though there are half a dozen highly trained professionals on the trail of the aging ex-banger) and using only his wits manages to finger the villains, foil the conspiracy, and find Bobby Stillman. And not only that, but save his pregnant girlfriend from the clutches of the megalomaniacs of the Club. Such a guy! OK, so did you recognize the "borrowed" plot points? Here's a little recipe (virtually all ingredients are interchangeable with dozens of substitutes): [1] Take any Horatio Alger story, mix in [2] any of a dozen "Star Chamber" plots, including either the 1983 Michael Douglas movie of that name or almost any Robert Ludlum thriller. [3] Stir with a huge number of plots (such as James Rollins's Sandstorm) that assume any former Ranger or SEAL will become a soulless mercenary. [4] Pour in some Ah-nuld from "Commando" (1985 - think, "I let him go.") [5] Chop Jeffery Deaver's Blue Nowhere (or the 1983 Matthew Broderick hit "War Games") and add to the mix [6] Add a large dollop of "Enemy of the State" (Gene Hackman, Will Smith, 1998) [7] Combine with a soupçon of "Conspiracy Theory" (Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, 1997) [8] and a dash of 1993's "Rising Sun" Place in a pot and boil until published. Sit back and watch the royalties roll in... I know they say that there are only N possible plots, where N ranges anywhere from five to thirteen, but Reich's act of cobbling together his latest thriller out of the bits of a passel of older movies and books strikes me as a bit disingenuous. I could forgive his lack of originality if he hadn't already shown that he's capable of at least a semblance of creativity. His most recent work before The Patriots Club (The Devil's Banker) highlighted a new breed of intelligence work, that of using business acumen to follow the money necessary to carry out terrorism. Reich's at his best when writing about the worlds of business and finance. But in The Patriots Club, Reich fails to dance with the one that brung him. Only a few paragraphs deal with high finance - a couple of stultifyingly boring descriptions of leveraged buyouts and high-end venture capitalism funds. The remainder is merely bits of other people's plots strung together with a handful of plot twists worthy of a Dean Koontz thriller (and, for all I know, already used by Koontz). Some of those plot twists are so contrived that one simply knowsthat the Coincidence Fairy apparently keeps a summer home at the Reich homestead. As a protagonist, Tommy Bolden is a near complete cipher. Though he began as a gang-banger and became a high-finance banker when he grew up, somewhere along the line he acquired exemplary acting, combat, and computer skills that would save his life as he searched for the Club. The continuous rabbit-out-of-a-hat action written by Reich is peppered with logical mistakes, such as this instance in which Bolden tossed the GPS-equipped cell phone the bad guys were using to track him under the seat of a gypsy cab: Guilfoyle allowed himself a private laugh as he watched the blue pinlight negotiate the wilds of Queens and finally disappear off the map. To his eye it was all the more proof that Bolden was headed in the opposite direction... Proof? That presupposes that Bolden knew where the cab was headed next - a most formidable opponent, then, since he's apparently prescient. With lots of fast action and plenty of familiar(!) themes, The Patriots Club is likely to garner rave reviews from casual readers. As for me, it's not exactly great literature. It's not even good literature. And will someone tell Reich and his editor that you don't hone in on a signal? Thanks. all content copyright © 2001-present by scmrak
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