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A review by ravenousbibliophile
Secret Sanction by Brian Haig
4.0
What does a boy who's recently hit puberty and been introduced to the world of reading via Harry Potter read while waiting for The Order of Phoenix to hit bookstores? Why, he picks up whatever he can lay his hands on in the old dusty house library of-course. And in my case, my hands fell upon this little bundle of conspiracy and laughter.
While the first reading of this book blew me away by tickling my conspiracy theory fancies, the second -reading brought to light some of its flaws. Not the least of which is it's depiction of Sean Drummond. For a guy who's a combat veteran, he sure does spend a lot of time acting like a wise-ass high-school jock. His only saving grace however, is the fact that he knows it and owns it. While his depiction may be a bit unseemly, it is off-set by an engaging plot and a slightly different (if not entirely predictable) ending. Another way to describe Drummond would be an infinitely more easy-going Jack Reacher. Given the fact that this book came out in 2001 and the first Reacher book came out in 1997, I would not be surprised if Sean was meant to be somewhat or entirely a parody of Jack.
While the plot, it's conclusion and characters can get a bit trope-y and predictable, the book gets top-marks for being an entertaining page-turner. With paragraphs of adolescent humor, you get bits and pieces of sophisticated and mature language which give the whole book a balance. A tenuous balance, but a balance nonetheless. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Drummond series, if not for him, then at least to find out if he's finally been acknowledged as a 'Pudley' or 'Humongo' or something in-between.
While the first reading of this book blew me away by tickling my conspiracy theory fancies, the second -reading brought to light some of its flaws. Not the least of which is it's depiction of Sean Drummond. For a guy who's a combat veteran, he sure does spend a lot of time acting like a wise-ass high-school jock. His only saving grace however, is the fact that he knows it and owns it. While his depiction may be a bit unseemly, it is off-set by an engaging plot and a slightly different (if not entirely predictable) ending. Another way to describe Drummond would be an infinitely more easy-going Jack Reacher. Given the fact that this book came out in 2001 and the first Reacher book came out in 1997, I would not be surprised if Sean was meant to be somewhat or entirely a parody of Jack.
While the plot, it's conclusion and characters can get a bit trope-y and predictable, the book gets top-marks for being an entertaining page-turner. With paragraphs of adolescent humor, you get bits and pieces of sophisticated and mature language which give the whole book a balance. A tenuous balance, but a balance nonetheless. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Drummond series, if not for him, then at least to find out if he's finally been acknowledged as a 'Pudley' or 'Humongo' or something in-between.