April 1950: The rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the deep waters of a Montana lake. Inside is all that remains of three men who died forty-four years before. But it is not the engine or its grisly contents that interest the people watching nearby. It is what is about to come next . . .
1906: For two years, the western states of America have been suffering an extraordinary crime spree: a string of bank robberies by a single man who cold- bloodedly murders any and all witnesses and then vanishes without a trace. Fed up by the depredations of the "Butcher Bandit," the U.S. government brings in the best man they can find-a tall, lean, no-nonsense detective named Isaac Bell, who has caught thieves and killers coast to coast.
But Bell has never had a challenge like this one. From Arizona to Colorado to the streets of San Francisco during its calamitous earthquake and fire, he pursues what is quickly becoming clear to him is the sharpest criminal mind he has ever encountered, and the woman who seems to hold the key to the bandit's identity. Using science, deduction, and intuition, Bell repeatedly draws near only to grasp at thin air, but at least he knows his pursuit is having an effect. Because his quarry is getting angry now, and has turned the chase back on him. The hunter has become the hunted. And soon it will take all of Isaac Bell's skills not merely to prevail . . . but to survive.
Review:
Despite the lukewarm/meh-ness of Golden Buddha, I decided to press on and try another Cussler series. The premise of the Isaac Bell series is ripe with potential - that of the historical detective thriller. While many have written in the historical fiction or mystery genres, few have tried combining the two, making this premise quite original indeed. The question is, did it live up to its potential? The answer is... sort of.
First the bad news...
This book suffers from 2 key flaws - problems with its characters and problems with it's plot.
1. Characters - Cussler always seems to make his characters unidimensional and larger than life - as if the entire world is black or white. The men are all tall, strong and handsome, and the women are always slim and beautiful; the protagonist is always infallible and the antagonist is always blackhearted, you get the picture. Together this can make a story fairly boring and limit the twists one can work into the plot. Also, Cussler seems to love his protagonists far too much - he tends to always make them wealthy and never truly makes them suffer, which lessens the emotional connection one can have with the story. The good thing about the Fargo couple in the Fargo Adventures is that they play off of one another so well and do actually suffer at times, which gives those books a major boost in that regard.
2. Plot - the plot in The Chase is so straightforward and lacking in twists that at times it's frustrating to say the least. Also, it doesn't include enough of the standard mystery novel plot points to hold true to the genre, which is also frustrating. And then there's the things that make no sense like going to haul a guy in when you have no evidence to do so, etc. which weaken the plot even more. The whole mid-century segment is interesting, but it would've been cooler to have 2 parallel and intense plotlines like Alex Scarrow tends to do and thereby amp up the intensity, instead of just using those segments as bookends.
...And then the good news...
Even so, Cussler's historical detail and description is well thought out and meticulously researched. The inclusion of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 in the plot was interesting, and a nice touch (although a disaster novel/movie all it's own could and should be dedicated to that event), and it was pity it didn't take up a larger portion of the plot. While the pacing and intensity do drag on occasion, as soon as Cussler shifts into race-against-time mode (something that happens a couple times during the book), both hit a very enjoyable and heart-pumping level (the problem is though, that neither chase/race against time ends in an incredibly satisfying way). Like in the Fargo Adventures, Cussler works himself into the story, but since the reference is only in passing it becomes more of a funny "I see what you did there" moment than an annoying gimmick. One thing that puts this book well above Golden Buddha is that things DON'T always go according to plan for Bell and co., something that shores up The Chase's somewhat poor plotting and elevates the average intensity at least somewhat.
All in all, in terms of quality, The Chase falls midway between Golden Buddha and the Fargo Adventures. Therefore, after much thought, I have decided to drop Golden Buddha's rating half a star (from 3.5-3) to make room for The Chase.
The Chase is hardly an amazing book, rather, it's one of those books you hate yourself for liking - kinda like one of those greasy popcorn movies that you like in the moment but feel disgusting after watching because then you realize that it wasn't actually that good, or healthy. Either way, I still must say that I do recommend that anyone who is fine with books that lack proper substance (like most of teen fiction today does) read The Chase, specifically those who are fans of history or adventure stories. Hopefully in one of Isaac Bell's later adventures this series will live up to its potential, because when it does, it will be one heckuva book.
3.5/5 stars
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