Customer Reviews

The Talisman

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John Godey, who captivated us with "The Taking of Pelham 123," stumbled in this tale of disgruntled veterans stealing the remains of the Unknown Soldier. The book seems to be a chain of 1960s stereotypes of radical lefties, coniving policians, gun-happy residents of Cape Cod (Mr. Godey was not taking gentrification into account) and militant feminists. I'm sorry, Mr. Godey, but I cannot suspend disbelief long enough to believer that Wrightstown, New Jersey is a hotbed of left-wing militancy, that a presidential adviser would take into account the opinions of the American Nazi Party when formulating a decision, or that a rogue investigator would successfully gain the necessary evidence to solve a criminal case by threatening to rape a mother in front of her son. I think Mr. Godey should have stayed on the subway.

John Godey, The Talisman (Berkley, 1976)

Way back when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I read John Godey's The Snake. Well, I read part of it. I thought the parts about the snake wandering around central park threatening people were bang-up, but the rest of it was rather boring. Now, some twenty-odd years later, I decide to give Godey another try to see if he's as good (and as inconsistent) as I remember.

At least where The Talisman is concerned, the answer is a solid "no" on both counts. Godey's tale of disenfranchised Vietnam vets kidnapping the Unknown Soldier could, in theory, be more unexciting than it is. I don't know how off the top of my head, but I'm sure if William J. Coughlin had written it, it would be worse than this.

On second thought, no, I don't think so. I guess there's a reason people still remember The Snake and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three while this book has faded into much-deserved obscurity. (zero)