satyajit reviewed The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
Review of 'The gun seller' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Espionage a la PG Wodehouse.
The Gun Seller (1996) is the first novel by English actor, musician, comedian, and writer Hugh Laurie. It concerns former Scots Guards officer Thomas Lang and his reluctant involvement in a conspiracy involving international arms dealers, terrorists, the CIA, the MoD, beautiful women and fast motorcycles. Wary of becoming another "celebrity author", Laurie initially submitted his manuscript under a pseudonym, only revealing his identity after it had been accepted for publication and having been persuaded by his publicist to use his real name for the sake of publicity.
Espionage a la PG Wodehouse.
It's like reading a Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently novel, but with a 007 theme, and a main character that can easily be imagined as Hugh Laurie himself.
The book is very witty and fast-paced, I couldn't put it down.
I have hard time reviewing the book, because to me there are more sides:
* witty, at times very "machine" like humour I really enjoyed
* not so witty "facts" about certain countries (Tatra taxis in Prague? :) )
* a little bit too much luck and "rambo" like features of main character
* one or two inconsistencies in the plot
* according to translator Meg Ryan is a guy...
It may sound harsh, but I actually enjoyed the book. I have a feeling it would be even better in original.
Really, I think Hugh is an amazing comic, and perhaps also a brilliant actor but writer? I think he falls a bit short, and being that his main buddy in comedic crime was Stephen Fry, it's a difficult jump to make into the writing sphere. I wouldn't bother with Hugh's work unless you are easily amused or looking for some light reading or just a massive Laurie fan because the writing just depleted every time.