It’s fall. It’s summer. It’s winter. No, wait, it’s really summer. Near-freezing temperatures late last week, high seventies today. Make up my mind for me.
I read David Morrell’s new novel, The Spy Who Came For Christmas yesterday. It’s a fairly short thriller set in Santa Fe on Christmas Eve. The main character is a Russian emigree who was recruited to spy on the Russian mob. He’s been embedded with them for a long time, but every time he asks to be let out there’s another crisis. The Russian mob don’t care who they do jobs for, including Hammas, Al Qaida and anyone else willing to pony up the money.
The book opens with the spy, Paul Kagan, negotiating Santa Fe’s busy downtown district during the pinnacle of the holiday season. He has in his possession a “package” that he was supposed to deliver to his Russian mob boss. At the last moment he had an epipheny and decided to make his long-delayed break. He’s been shot and has lost all lines of communication. The nature of his “package” is a suprise best left for Morrell to reveal. Kagan takes refuge in the house of an abused woman and her son, but he knows his three pursuers won’t give up, so he sets about preparing the house for their arrival. During some downtwon, he takes the opportunity to retell the Christmas story as a spy tale involving the three Magi as spies from Persia looking to destabilize Herrod’s government. The book is an odd combination of full-out spy thriller and inspirational tale. It’s only slightly heavy-handed in the latter regard, because of Kagan’s situation when he’s telling the Christmas spy story, but it’s a fast-paced and entertaining read that takes full advantage of Morrell’s intimate knowledge of Santa Fe and his reasearch into such diverse subjects as how to feed a baby without milk and how to turn a microwave oven into an explosive device.
Next up: The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner.
We watched and enjoyed Iron Man last night. Robert Downey, Jr. is excellent. His transformation of character is well motivated and explored. The villain is obvious but his reasons for resenting Stark are understandable. The special effects are gee-whiz, but they’re not overwhelming. Having a mute animatronic helper play the comic relief was a hilarious idea. My favorite line: “If you douse me again, and I’m not on fire, I’m donating you to a city college.” And the line has a funny payoff several minutes later, too. The character of Pepper Potts is a little thin and stereotypical, but Paltrow breathes life into her all the same. And she ends up serving a crucial part late in the story, and not by becoming a damsel in distress, either. I’m looking forward to the sequel.
This weekend I’m working on essays for a non-fiction project I was invited to participate in. I have about 5000 words to write on four different subjects. Some of them are going to take a little bit of research and rereading.
