Seizure

Tory Brennan and her friends Hi, Shelton and Ben are, along with wolf pup Cooper, the Virals; a psychically linked 'pack' who, as a result of exposure to an experimental virus have achieved, in addition to the aforementioned psychic link, heightened senses and varying degrees of super speed, strength and agility. Unfortunately they also seem to have gained a heightened ability to get themselves mixed up in weird and dangerous situations as well.

The first book in the Virals series; called, appropriately enough, Virals; told of how the gang got their powers, and their subsequent efforts to bring down the nasty scientists and mobsters responsible, whilst simultaneously keeping said powers secret. I mean, you would, wouldn't you? No-one likes being vivisected.

Book 2, Seizure, is having no truck with that though and sets about examining what the kids will do with their new abilities. Which, it turns out, is hunt for buried pirate treasure to fund their parents lab so they don't lose their homes and have to split up. So basically, The Goonies.

Reichs doesn't attempt to disguise the similarities, even going so far as to have characters mention the movie in conversation. But acknowledging an influence doesn't relieve you of guilt if you don't live up to it; if anything, I'd say it's quite the opposite; and this book in no way lives up to the legacy of said movie. Sadly, it's The Goonies with all the wit and charm replaced by stilted dialogue and science lessons.

Reichs can tell a story, that much should never be in doubt. The problem is that she can't tell this story. Her background is in forensic anthropology, and her 'day job' of remains identification; be it for disaster relief, war zone/genocide clear up or, ore often, law enforcement; is shared by the heroine of her 'adult' novels, Temperance Brennan. As such, Reichs' technical jargon and propensity for lecturing the reader in aspects of her discipline, sits easily in the context of those books. Of course coroners and cops and the like will talk in those terms. Teenagers, however scientifically minded, will not. There isn't a single character among the 'Virals' that comes across like an actual teen.

This could have been a thrilling adventure story. And when she lets herself go, it is; she's certainly capable of writing a decent action sequence. But it's too inconsistent, and all too often she falls into the trap of having her characters explain the plot to each other in a huge chunk of techno-babble. Suspension of disbelief becomes impossible.

Of course, I'm going to keep reading regardless. Not because I'm particularly enjoying the series but because I am still enjoying the Temperance Brennan books and, on an intellectual level, I'm eager to see how the two series co-exist. Reichs is playing a little bit fast and loose with the rules of fiction lately and I'm intrigued as to how she keeps it up.

Not only does she have Tory and her father sit down to watch Bones, a TV show based on novels which, one would assume, don't exist in their world, since they feature a member of their family as a fictional character (and Tory's father has actually appeared in a couple of them himself), but we also have the fact that both the Tempe and Tory Brennan books are existing in the same world; Tempe has mentioned her niece in her books, and Tory has asked her Aunt for help in the Virals books, but the Tempe books are straight thrillers with a hard science basis and the Virals books are, by their very nature, delving into the realms of sci-fi. How closely will she allow them to interact? And will she come a cropper because of it?

I'm not wishing for her to fail. Far from it in fact; I thoroughly enjoy her adult books and genuinely hope she finds a more distinctive voice for her YA work. I just don't think she will.

206 Bones

The seconds tick away, minutes become hours, the sun rises and sets, leaves fall from the trees and then return and we all inch ever closer to the grave as all around us events on a global scale conspire to change the world we live in on a daily basis. It is, when you stop to think about it, very easy to say that there really is no such thing as the 'status quo'.

I'd like to think that some things really do never change; such as the fact that every month or two I read a Temperance Brennan book by Kathy Reichs. Sadly, even that comforting thought is no longer available to me. No, the time has come when I am almost; not quite, but almost, caught up with this authors output. At that point I will be reduced, like fans of longer standing, to the one new book a year that she releases. I don't look forward to that day, it has to be said.

First though, I have 206 Bones, the 12th book in the series. A slight change of pace for the series in this one, with the case (although still a cracker and a wee bit nasty), taking a bit of a backseat to the personal travails of our erstwhile heroine. Sadly, this can not really be called a good thing.

The, for want of a better term, 'soap-opera' element has long been one of the best aspects of these books, allowing the characters to grow and develop in a way that many long running procedural sequences do not have the space ( or inclination) to allow. Unfortunately, a couple of books ago Reichs implemented a storyline which seemed at the time to be an inoffensive contrivance to prolong the on/off nature of Tempes romantic life but has now morphed into a 'scream at the page' annoyance of the highest magnitude. It requires a particular (intelligent, mature) character to act in so ridiculous a manner as to make the character seem a) unlikeable and b) unrelatable.

It's the latter that makes this storyline so hard to read. No-one, and I do mean no-one, would ever act in the manner or make the decisions that this character does. Certainly, no-one outside of a daytime soap opera. It de-values him considerably, as a character. In fact, because at no point do any of the other characters point out to him the ridiculousness of his actions, it actually serves to make Reichs seem naive, because it seems that she thinks this is acceptable behaviour. Given the life Reichs has led, I don't believe for one second that she is, but that's the impression I got from this book.

That is one storyline among many (and one that thankfully seems to have come to a close finally in this book) so it seems churlish to judge the entire book based on it. Indeed, when the narrative focuses elsewhere, such as the aforementioned 'nasty' case, the slow disintegration of Tempes professional reputation in the face of several seemingly huge mistakes, or the incredibly claustrophobic account of a kidnap victims attempts to escape her tomb, it's actually a rollicking good read, up there with some of the best of Kathy Reichs earlier work.

Now that the one nagging irritation is gone (hopefully), the next book in the series will (hopefully, again) be able to capitalise on what Reichs (and Tempe) are so good at. Telling gripping tales of ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances to bring justice for those who can't get it for themselves, with the Soap as a side dish that doesn't overshadow the meat. We shall see.

Break No Bones

Another couple of months have gone by and it's time for another book in the Temperance Brennan series. This time around, it's Break No Bones, the 9th entry.


If you don't ask, you don't get. Last time I talked about these books I specified my biggest problem with them as being my inability to immediately grasp some of the scientific content. Which, all things considered, is a pretty hefty problem with a series based around forensic anthropology and related disciplines. This time around, the science is scaled back considerably from previous levels. Which proves beyond all doubt that Kathy Reichs wrote this one just for me.

What? She wrote it when?

Alright, yes, I am still many moons behind with these books and I'll concede that it's unlikely something I wrote (and about 3 people read) a couple of months ago affected the plot of a book released almost 5 years ago but still...

Of course, Kathy Reichs being who she is, and what she is, the technical aspects are never going to disappear altogether. And nor should they. Indeed, once I manage to get my dunce cap off and actually get my head around this stuff I invariably find it enlightening and fascinating. It's just hard work is all.

Those concerns aside, what of the plot this time out? Well, after their foray into the investigation of religious relics in the Holy Land last time out the characters are staying a little closer to home here, with a series of unidentified corpses being discovered in South Carolina. Seemingly unrelated at first their deaths are revealed to share certain unexplained characteristics. I don't suppose it's giving too much away to say that yes, the disparate cases are indeed linked, in a suitably twisty turny fashion and it's erstwhile heroine Brennan to the rescue.

I have to confess, by the midway point of this book I was starting to flag a little. Several pieces of information had been revealed that led me to be pretty certain of where the story was headed and I was, in all honesty, a little disappointed, feeling that the coming 'twists' were obvious and a far cry from Reichs best work. I felt she had let herself down.

Which would have been the case, had any of what I was so adamant about actually happened. Instead, things played out in a manner which completely took me by surprise while at the same time seeming far more logical and believable than the 'obvious' route I had predicted. So my streak of never, ever, ever figuring out these things continues unbroken. And I was back to loving it again.

As always with this series the investigative storyline is complemented by the ongoing soap opera of Tempes life. Aside from an example of that one thing that is guaranteed to wind me up big time* but is, I'll concede, probably a necessary dramatic conceit, the soap aspects continue to be a major asset here, with a couple of pretty major developments on the domestic front promising changes afoot for Brennan. A large part of the appeal of these books is that the characters - not just Tempe herself but all the supporting regulars too - manage to remain sympathetic despite flaws and all manage to interact and co-exist in the way that real people do. They may not all get along but there are no ogres here, no cliched 'bad guys'. Professional, rational adults living their lives. It's one of the ways that, no matter how convoluted the plots, these books remain real. It's a quality that Reichs' work possesses that is sadly missing in that of many of her contemporaries.

I'm yet to dislike one of these books but I have to say that the slightly toned down tech talk, developments on the home front, the sidesteping of all my expectations at the mid point and a particularly gruesome case means that I'd probably rate this as one of my personal favourites.


*A visitor arrives unexpectedly in the exact 10second window to see something compromising out of context and storms off before getting an explanation

Cross Bones

Ever felt like a total dunce? I've felt like one quite often the last couple of weeks. Why? Because I've been reading a Temperance Brennan book.




Cross Bones is the 8th novel from Kathy Reichs featuring her creation Dr Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who consults on criminal cases in both the US and Canada. The novels, much like the TV show Bones, focuses on Brennan aiding law enforcement in the solving of murders. That's pretty much all the two have in common though. While the show is a glamorous, high tech product of the post CSI TV landscape the books are a much more grounded affair, focusing on the scientific realities of murder cases requiring the specific expertise of someone of Brennans particular discipline.

Which is where the confusion, and feeling like a dunce, comes in. Now, I flatter myself that I am a reasonably intelligent bloke, sort of, but I do tend to struggle with science of any kind. For me to persevere with something that has a lot of specific technical jargon that is necessary to the plot and can not be skimmed, I need to be properly hooked on the plots and I need to enjoy spending time with the characters. That's why I long ago stopped reading Patricia Cornwells Kay Scarpetta books* but have every intention of catching up and then keeping up with Reichs' work.

Temperance Brennan, or Tempe, is a far more well rounded and interesting character than her television namesake. A more, shall we say, mature, character, she comes intact with ex-husband, college age daughter and history of alcohol abuse. The 'will they/won't they' love interest is provided early in the series by Detective Andy Ryan, an ex bad boy turned cop with an eye for the ladies. I say early in the series because by the time of Cross Bones it's a pretty definite 'yes they will', with the characters firmly ensconced in a relationship and co-habitation being discussed.

It's this aspect of the books that keep me coming back. While the crime plots are as ingenious as you could want (this one takes in a trip to the Holy Land and a skeleton that may or may not be Jesus) and the science is pretty well laid out for the layman (it must be if I can get my head around it, albeit after multiple readings of the techy passages) the real strength of these books are the characters and Reichs willingness to a) develop their personal lives from book to book, avoiding the reset button, and b) do so in a believable, realistic and relatable manner that never seems forced and allows the characters to live and breathe on the page in a way some other ciphers singularly fail to do.

As far as crime thrillers go Reichs, for me, is up there in the top 3, alongside Mark Billingham and Val McDermid, and I'll be reading for as long as she keeps them coming.

*There is a quote on the back of my Cross Bones paperback that says 'It is becoming apparent that Reichs is not just "as good as " Cornwell, she has become the finer writer'. I'm not sure at what point that review was written because I seem to remember it being used in the blurbs of the last couple I've read as well but in my opininon it was readily apparent from the time her first book hit the shelves that she was always the 'finer writer'.