Terry Hayes can write a killer set piece. I Am Pilgrim starts with an excellent description of a murder scene in a seedy New York hotel, and Part II vividly evokes the city of Jeddah as it recounts the formative event in the villain's childhood (the public beheading of his father). He also writes exciting action sequences, at both large and small scales. But you know what?
I've lost interest in stories that pit a master detective against a master criminal. In this genre, the characters invariably have nearly magical powers that make them the best in the world at their craft. The subsidiary characters stare at them in disbelief and admiration, while I share only the first reaction. Hayes' dialogue scenes also feature the ridiculous tonal shifts that are typical in the genre.
In I Am Pilgrim, not only are Pilgrim and the Saracen the greatest hero and villain respectively, but the supporting cast includes a New York cop/9-11 hero who is able to track down the "best intelligence agent there's ever been," a colorful and infallible hacker, "the best case officer of his generation," and even the "highly intelligent, personable, and modest" businessman who became the reluctant dream President of the United States. It seems like everyone does their job perfectly, after overcoming some trauma that they tell you about in detail when they first meet you in the midst of a crisis.
I Am Pilgrim is 600 pages long. That's because it contains enough story for a whole series of Pilgrim novels: a perfect murder in New York, a terrorist's coming-of-age story, several episodes from Pilgrim's spy past, a plot to release weaponized smallpox in the United States, both 9-11 and the Holocaust, a billionaire plunging to his death in Turkey, and backstories for many of the characters. Of course they all turn out to be related, and the book ends with chapter that brings together all of the characters Pilgrim has bonded with for a triumphantly sappy conclusion. But not before hinting about his nemesis in the sequel!
I've lost interest in stories that pit a master detective against a master criminal. In this genre, the characters invariably have nearly magical powers that make them the best in the world at their craft. The subsidiary characters stare at them in disbelief and admiration, while I share only the first reaction. Hayes' dialogue scenes also feature the ridiculous tonal shifts that are typical in the genre.
In I Am Pilgrim, not only are Pilgrim and the Saracen the greatest hero and villain respectively, but the supporting cast includes a New York cop/9-11 hero who is able to track down the "best intelligence agent there's ever been," a colorful and infallible hacker, "the best case officer of his generation," and even the "highly intelligent, personable, and modest" businessman who became the reluctant dream President of the United States. It seems like everyone does their job perfectly, after overcoming some trauma that they tell you about in detail when they first meet you in the midst of a crisis.
I Am Pilgrim is 600 pages long. That's because it contains enough story for a whole series of Pilgrim novels: a perfect murder in New York, a terrorist's coming-of-age story, several episodes from Pilgrim's spy past, a plot to release weaponized smallpox in the United States, both 9-11 and the Holocaust, a billionaire plunging to his death in Turkey, and backstories for many of the characters. Of course they all turn out to be related, and the book ends with chapter that brings together all of the characters Pilgrim has bonded with for a triumphantly sappy conclusion. But not before hinting about his nemesis in the sequel!
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