Ivory

Ivory by Tony Park
Fiction/Adventure-Thriller/Adult/429 Pages

Based on an island off the coast of Mozambique, a band of modern day pirates carry out raids on unsuspecting ships. However, these aren't your run-of-the-mill rabble of cutthroats and murderers, but rather a well organised, well armed unit which moves with military precision and timing. They are led by ex soldier Alex Tremain.

Tremain has got problems. He wants to re-open his parents resort, but he has no financial advisor, no mechanic, lots of debt and dissent amongst his crew. Then they raid the wrong ship and suddenly everybody wants them dead; Chinese Triads; mercenaries; a ruthless shipping magnate. And just when it looks like it couldn't get any worse, Tremain falls in love.

It's not easy being a pirate.

Review

This book is somewhat of a departure in style from Tony Park's previous novels. What really stands out in his earlier books is his obvious love and knowledge of the African continent and it played a major part in the shaping of the story, at times almost stealing the show. In Ivory, it takes on more of a supporting role, allowing the reader better focus on the main characters.

I think this is a good move because Ivory moves along at a faster pace. Alex Tremain is almost James Bond-like in his escapades, jouncing from one crisis to the next and dealing with them just as inventively as Fleming's master spy. However, Tony Park hasn't just focused on the action. Without bogging down the story, he has managed to develop his major characters, giving them depth and substance. He makes Tremain a man of contradictions, forced - sometimes by circumstances and sometimes by consequences of his own actions - to act in a manner not to his liking, but resolutely prepared to do whatever is necessary to achieve the right outcome.

In February of 2008, the South African government announced, amid tremendous uproar from outraged conservation groups and animal activists, that it was going to remove the ban on culling elephants, stating that they had now reached such numbers as to be too destructive for the land to sustain, plus they were more frequently coming into conflict with humans. In Ivory, Tremain is forced to go on an elephant cull, and Tony Park pulls no punches. The reader is presented with a very graphic, stomach churning and often heart rending description. It left this reader appalled at the barbarism, but I applaud Tony for telling it like it is.

The book is titled Ivory. The main character is a pirate. The action is fast and furious. The women are beautiful and willing. The baddies are numerous and deliciously evil, including one - if I may take the Bond analogy further - who makes Blofeld look like a naughty choir boy. The scenery is breathtaking and graphic.

Clive Cussler has some serious competition.

My Rating