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81 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My new favorite action hero, February 16, 2011
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Vanessa Michael Munroe is a dangerous loner who bears emotional and physical scars, reminiscent of Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander. Like Salander, Munroe is adept at acquiring information. While Salander relies upon her skills as a computer hacker, Munroe infiltrates cultures, sometimes posing as a man, working in developing countries for private businesses and organizations like the IMF. Despite her desperate need for down time and the fact that it really isn't her line of work, she accepts an assignment to locate a wealthy businessman's daughter who was last seen in Namibia four years earlier. The businessman insists that Munroe work with Miles Bradford, a mercenary whose job is to keep her safe. The search takes Munroe to Central Africa, where she has some history that she would prefer to remain buried. Yet she remains a product of her inescapable past: fierce and determined, but tormented by the preaching voices that keep her awake at night. Munroe travels to some nasty places and encounters even nastier people who would prefer that the circumstances of the young woman's disappearance remain a mystery. She also meets up with the life she left behind, including a close friend: a gunrunner from whom she walked away nine years earlier.
If the gunrunner brings to mind Humphrey Bogart, Munroe would have to be a warped composite of Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie, Uma Thurman, and all three Charlie's Angels. She's a great character: an intuitive, intelligent action hero who speaks multiple languages, practices martial arts, and is handy with a knife; a haunted nomad with a horrific past whose understandable ferocity is barely restrained (except when it's not). She has a (largely unfulfilled) desire for romance that conflicts with her instinct for self-preservation, adding edginess to her character. Munroe has enough appeal to support a series of sequels (which is probably the author's plan). Certainly there are aspects of her persona that aren't fully developed; perhaps Stevens intends to complete the picture in future novels. The other characters have been requisitioned from central casting (Daniel Craig as the mercenary, I think) but Stevens gives them enough personality to keep them from being complete stereotypes.
The Informationist takes place in a setting that will be unfamiliar to most readers, as it was to me, but Stevens brings it alive. She paints a vivid picture of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The African locale is a welcome departure from thrillers set in Uzbekistan or Los Angeles. Munroe's writing style is straightforward; her capable prose isn't stirring (that's rare in a thriller) but it is more than adequate to tell the rapidly moving story. There are times when the narrative is a bit over the top, particularly in its description of Munroe's "blood lust" as well as her tendency to bind people with duct tape and point guns at them (when one of the characters told her she had to stop doing that to him, I had to agree). The last part of the novel turns into a guessing game (just who is betraying whom?) and the unexpected resolution is satisfying.
Sensitive readers should be aware that they might be disturbed by some of the more violent scenes in the novel, particularly those involving Munroe's memories of her teenage years: readers who would be put off by graphic descriptions of abuse involving minors should stay away from this novel. For those who can cope, however, The Informationist offers a unique thriller experience that most fans of the genre should enjoy. I would give it 4 1/2 stars if that option were available.
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98 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow! What a wonderful and amazing accomplishment., February 19, 2011
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Its not often that I can't wait to find the time to read. I looked forward to see where the story went, what new things I'd learn about African culture, what new disturbing episode the main protagonist would get involved in, and what new doublecross would present itself to be unwound.
Given that this is the authors debut novel, I was simply blown away. Its not hard to tell that she has a unique mind, and has lived through many remarkable experiences. The depth of her character exploration, the complexity of the protagonist's perspectives, and the twists and turns that deep African culture and social complexities lead to are just incredible.
The basic story is somewhat standard thriller fare. But the way its told, the way the story is constructed, and the remarkable depth of the characters is simply amazing. Layer that with how the author weaves the story, with her deep knowledge of some of Africa's more seedy cultures and the deeply lonely yet introspective characters that populate her story, and its just some of the finest fiction I have ever read.
This book is a remarkable accomplishment, by any and all measures. That is her first novel makes it even more amazing. The characters, settings, and twists are like nothing you've read, even if you're a prolific reader.
I look forward to her next novel, as I'm sure others who've read this book are. Fantastic, just fantastic
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64 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
lost me about 2/3 of the way in, March 19, 2011
This review is from: The Informationist: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel (Vanessa Michael Munroe Novels) (Kindle Edition)
I enjoyed this book at first, and the problems I had might not bother other readers at all. I found the setting and characters compelling for the first half. But it slows down 2/3 of the way through, and it was at that point when the writing finally got to me. To be honest, I don't often judge thrillers based on the writing itself. I'm not looking for flowery prose or beautiful descriptions. I just want to know what's happening and who the characters are. But there were parts of the book where the writing was just wrong. Not clunky, or awkward, but just nonsensical. Still, even that is usually okay in a thriller. You can get a sense of what they mean, and move on. What really killed the book for me were the attempts to have every chapter end on a "deep" note. I found I was rolling my eyes every other chapter. It just didn't match the rest of the book. And when the hard-ass heroine ended a chapter talking about sex as opening her soul, well, it was one eye-roll too many.
But like I said, the action is good, and the African setting was interesting. If you enjoyed the setting here, you should check out the graphic novel series "Unknown Soldier" by Joshua Dysart. The Unknown Soldier series is set during the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency of Uganda in 2002 and is amazing.
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