The Bones Of Odin (Matt Drake Book 1)

Leadbetter's book, `The Bones of Odin', is a well written and fast-paced British action thriller, that sees Matt Drake, ex-SAS, drawn back into his old profession from his faltering attempts at living a civvy life. He and his younger lodger, Ben, are at a fashion show - where Matt's the photographer -when a newly discovered Viking shield, then being used as the centrepiece, is suddenly stolen from under the very noses of the world's press, in a paramilitary operation that sets the tone and pace for the rest of the book.We start off in York before soon following Matt and Ben, as they flee pursuit for the photographic evidence they've accidentally captured. They follow clues that Ben gathers from his internet research along the way, first to Paris and then on to sites further afield around the world, in their quest to discover the whereabouts and significance of Odin's Shield and its place in an ancient, elaborate and convoluted trap that threatens to bring the world to an end. They find themselves in a race with a number of different paramilitary and national interests, but largely driven by the maniacal fervour of a mystery billionaire collector.Steadily, they gather together a posse of disparate characters from different policing and military operations, as they race through a series of encounters along the scattered path formed by Odin's treasures. Each encounter is packed with indiscriminate carnage, bloodshed and mayhem, with the race inevitably drawing to a tense conclusion as the competing elements finally battle it out to the death. Will the world be saved, will the various love interests be consummated, will the baddies die and the goodies live?I found Leadbetter's story fun and easy to read, with characters that were both sufficiently three-dimensional and described sympathetically enough that I could empathise with them. There are some nice mundane touches that balance the incessant weight of action, such as Ben's familial concerns that see him reassuring family members by phone whilst amidst the action. What this device did also do, though, was to bring out the largely unreal nature of the story. This is not a criticism as such, more a comment on the nature of the genre, where the action bias draws parallels with D&D type computer games. This parallel was even commented on by Drake's character: `Level up? He thought. Christ, he'd been `retro-ing' it too much with Sonic the damn Hedgehog.'Yes, certainly more so towards the end, but the scenarios seemed to mimic episodes or levels in a computer game narrative. This aspect was also reinforced by the ease with which access seemed to be gained to various long-hidden locations, and the introduction of features that appeared to have no significance to the story, such as the plethora of disparate gods' tombs that make an appearance late in the story, or the oblique reference to what was in the last tomb, thereafter never answered.Don't get me wrong, this was a good action thriller with plenty of energy to keep you turning the pages, laced with some well researched and supportive Viking lore that lent weight, fabric and enough intrigue to the tale. It was all carried along quite nicely by a broad cast of archetypal characters, each with hints of some individual colour. Commendably, the writing style and standard was high, making it an easy story to get into quickly and a joy to follow, with many descriptive allusions that were a pleasure to read.If action, adventure and wholesale carnage is your thing, with an interest in Viking mysteries and admiration for such military elites as the SAS, then this is the book for you. It's one you can dip into at any time, be it on the bus or train, or during a break at work, and lose nothing of the story, the pace or the impact which Leadbetter's so obviously adept at maintaining.

Brief Summary - Matt Drake, former SAS man, now working as a freelance photographer gets caught up in a plan to find the nine pieces of Odin, assembling a puzzle which may well lead to the end of the world. His old talents are tried to the limits as he fights to save his friends, find the pieces of Odin, and save the day.The Bones of Odin is not without some charm - the lead characters are fairly likeable, and dialogue is comfortable. However, that's pretty much the only real positive I can find. The basic story is a low-quality version of the recently-popular genre brought into prominence by The Da Vinci Code. I'll admit to some guilty pleasures in similar books (Preston and Child are favourites of mine), but this is definitely one of the poorer versions. Most of these books run along the lines of: hero stumbles across ancient conspiracy/prophecy, rushes to save the world, gets chased by shadowy conspiracy group, goes from A to B to C to D to collect various pieces/clues (usually just too late, or just ahead of the bad guys), eventually finds the last piece in time to make sense of the whole thing, realises it's a bit of a misunderstanding, saves the day, goes home. Usually gets the girl.So it is with The Bones of Odin. Only, it's pretty poorly done. Getting Drake into the story is poorly handled coincidence of the highest order. The bad guys are phenomenally rubbish. The introduction of the love interest, the shocking plot holes, and the whole chase are disappointing. The McGuffins (the 9 pieces of Odin) which are meant to be assembled to point to something or other are actually nothing, and have no bearing on any of the prophecy or clues. Coincidence works in with the most appalling timing (Classic example, a team of crack SAS-types are exploring a cavern, and have been for a while. The moment they realise that the floor they're standing on is a trap, it goes off. The very moment. Twaddle.) Inconsistencies litter the book. To list all the flaws would fill pages here (but I do have to highlight that I'm pretty sure the SAS would do psych tests of some description - especially an elite branch of the SAS).However, the most grating thing about the whole exercise is Leadbeater's obsession with simile and analogy. Most of which are utterly painful, but manage to crop up on almost every page. It swiftly degenerates into parody in the same way that Cat did in the later series of Red Dwarf (when he was reduced to doing nothing more than comparing situations to out-of-date clothing styles and such). If, however, you find phrases like "It was colder than a polar bear's scrotum" to be the height of quality, you may well enjoy this.I do try to find something positive in every book, and I would re-emphasise that the trio of lead characters are well-defined (ignoring the shockingly poor way they're brought into the story), and actually pretty likeable. However, I would remind Leadbeater that you don't have to attack the reader with the backstory of a character immediately upon introduction. Some things can be hinted at, and introduced slowly. The dialogue is, surprisingly smooth.Overall, a clumsy piece, that's not without charm.