Re: RARA-AVIS: Death of a Citizen
blumenidiot (blumenidiot@email.msn.com)
Mon, 25 Jan 1999 15:16:35 -0600
> It is a particular hallmark of the Helm stories that
Helm will allow
>himself to be captured and placed at a disadvantage in
order to overcome
>his enemy and "make the touch," as he calls it. He often
reminds the
>reader that the job is to make the kill, not come back
alive. And he
>places himself in harm's way over and over to make that
point.
>--
Granted, but he should have some kind of plan or edge or plan.
Many of the
genre's protagonists go into a situation where they know they
have little
chance of surviving, but they have some good reason to think
they will
accomplish their mission. Many times Helm does this against
another "pro"
when he should not be able to succeed. It seems to me Hamilton
could have
structured the plot as he does in The Ambushers, when Helm
again allows
himself to be captured, but he his plan to have the touch made
by another
goes awry.
Perhaps one of my problems is reading the books one after the
other. I did
that with the Travis McGee books also. I complained to someone
who really
liked the series that in many of the books the girl he is
having an affair
with is killed at the very end of the book.
My friend replied, "but you're not supposed to read them that
way."
Mark Blumenthal
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