Mind the Gap
Tim Richards
Reviewed by Richard Saar
For many years I was a real creature of habit when buying books, once I’d picked an author I’d pretty much buy every book they wrote. You know how you always order the same thing at your favourite restaurant?
Well I used to buy my books the
same way; looking past most other authors on the shelves because I went with
what I knew and liked. Not that there was anything wrong with the other books
on the shelf, I just didn't step out of my comfort zone very often. I was basically
the dream customer for publishers reliably buying whatever my favourite author published.
However, a
strange thing has happened since I’ve been reviewing books, I’ve had the
opportunity to read many début novels by new authors… and I like it, a lot. So
much so that I now search for the new names, the new voices that can present a
different take on some well-trodden genres.
So when I was
asked to review Mind the Gap from new author Tim Richards, I jumped at the
chance. That he was also a fellow Australian piqued my interest even further.
Mind the Gap
starts in contemporary London, well below it actually, as our lead character
Darius Ibrahim commutes to work on the Tube. His normally uneventful journey to
his unremarkable job is interrupted by a madman with a knife on his train. Darius,
like we all would, tries to look like he’s not a worthy target, but when the knife
wielding man spots him, it’s as if he was actually looking for him and that can’t
be right; Darius is a nobody.
So starts a frantic
dash to safety that sees Darius end up hiding in a storage room, get kidnapped
by a strong and very mysterious woman who may well be scarier than the knife wielding
madman, and taken to the unexplored dark depths of the London Underground. Even
more shocking to Darius is his sudden ability to teleport himself to other parts
of the world and out of the reach of all his new friends. It’s this ability he
soon discovers that is exactly why everyone wants him.
Make no
mistakes here, this is a fast paced, page turning story and Richards creates an
interesting take on the alternate world’s idea. There’s a good deal of ancient
Egyptian mythology brought to life here in an interesting way, and I always
enjoy hopping between alternative worlds, however abrupt and confusing it can
sometimes be in this book.
My sense as
the reader though was that just like Darius, the main protagonist; you’re
always on the run to the next chase, there’s no real chance to explore the
worlds presented… and that’s what was a little disappointing
Just like a
good sauce needs time to develop the flavours, so too did this book needed more
time and space to develop all of its facets. There’s no doubting there’s some really
interesting ideas in there, enough to have kept my interest throughout, but I
was left with the feeling that I wanted more.
Could the characters
have had more depth, could the world’s we’re introduced to be more deeply
explored, could the plot have had a few truly unexpected twists and turns?
Yes to all of
those points, this is a light quick read and as much as I wish it was twice as
long, ultimately it’s a pretty good effort from a new author who clearly has
the imagination to create compelling stories. I’ll be looking out for his next
book and hoping to get just that bit more out of it.
Source: Supplied in e-book format via Netgalley
IBR Rating: ★★★★
Recommendation: Worth the read, it’s light and quick and it won’t
tax you too much, perfect for travelling with an must for fans of Egyptian Gods
and Dog Soldiers.
0 comments:
Post a Comment