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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Per toeval stuitte ik op een van zijn boeken en raakte verslaafd. Parker Bilal is Arabische evenknie van Wallander. Hoewel Makana een prettige hoofdpersoon is zijn de verhalen meer dan een detective. Bilal schrijft goed en zijn verhalen laten de gespletenheid van de Egyptische samenleving zien. Je hoort t gekmakende verkeer, je ruikt de kofti en de vervuilde lucht van Caïro.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There are three story lines here surrounding a private investigator called Makana, an ex-police inspector from Sudan, now living and working in Cairo.
The first story, the main story line and catalyst for the book, is about Makana being hire by a wealthy business man, who owns a football team, to help find one of his missing players. But it's not just any player, he is national hero figure. The businessman is a former criminal, in many ways he still is.
The second story is about an English woman who's four year old daughter disappeared 17 years previously. She keeps coming back to Cairo to search for her daughter. She runs into Makana once and it changes everything.
The last story line is the story of Makana and how and why he ended up in Cairo. It's a background that runs through the entire book.
All these story lines end up intertwined in a rather convoluted way that is totally reminiscent of a TV soap opera and that is where this book is a let down. In the end none of this explains why the football player disappeared. We do find out what happened to him but it's barely related to anything that is revealed in the book previously.
For me it dragged when and just didn't grab me. I wanted to put the book down but I always force myself to finish what I start.
The first story, the main story line and catalyst for the book, is about Makana being hire by a wealthy business man, who owns a football team, to help find one of his missing players. But it's not just any player, he is national hero figure. The businessman is a former criminal, in many ways he still is.
The second story is about an English woman who's four year old daughter disappeared 17 years previously. She keeps coming back to Cairo to search for her daughter. She runs into Makana once and it changes everything.
The last story line is the story of Makana and how and why he ended up in Cairo. It's a background that runs through the entire book.
All these story lines end up intertwined in a rather convoluted way that is totally reminiscent of a TV soap opera and that is where this book is a let down. In the end none of this explains why the football player disappeared. We do find out what happened to him but it's barely related to anything that is revealed in the book previously.
For me it dragged when and just didn't grab me. I wanted to put the book down but I always force myself to finish what I start.
Being a bit of a sucker for a strong sense of place, and culture I was intrigued by the Makana series, and lucky enough to get the second book - DOGSTAR RISING for review. But this seemed to me to be a series that should begin at the very beginning, so I shouted myself the first book, THE GOLDEN SCALES.
In terms of sense of place, and the society in which the book is set, it was extremely well done. The ancient city of Cairo is not just the backdrop for the story, it inhabits the action. There's a physical feeling of the souks, and alleys, the dark corners in which the unknown lurks. Part fascinating and compelling, part frightening and threatening, THE GOLDEN SCALES paints Cairo as a place in which people could disappear. Some willingly, some not. It also paints Cairo as a place that provides some refuge for Makana, a former Sudanese policeman, who lives physically and emotionally on the outskirts of the society to which he fled when things in his homeland got very dangerous.
That idea of Makana, a refugee from violence, ex-policeman now living and working on the fringes, as the person that one of the most powerful, wealthy and dodgy men in Cairo would turn to when a player from his team goes missing sort of makes sense, just as the fact that the missing player is treated as a son of Saad Hanafi, gangster, developer, father, and man with a very chequered past, means that the choice of investigator doesn't make sense. There's obviously a reason buried deep in the mire of those who work for and against Hanafi, and somewhere in the middle of a corrupt and compromised political and policing system. In the middle of all of this an Englishwoman returns to Cairo, still searching for the daughter that has been missing now for many years.
Needless to say this is a complex plot, with Makana at the centre of the swirling current day events, dealing with his own past and an overriding sense of loss and guilt that he battles on a daily basis. His personal story is slowly revealed as is the truth about a missing Football Player who is more than he seems, an ageing Gangster who is both more and less than he seems, a daughter with secrets, and close colleagues of all who aren't as straightforward as they seem.
THE GOLDEN SCALES is a beautiful balancing act. The bleakness of the place, the society, the state of the world in which Makana operates is matched sometimes by the bleakness of his mood, and lightened frequently by a dry, acerbic observational wit which is quiet, subdued and often cutting. A thriller set in an Islamic world, the story touches on the volatility of power, religion, influence and corruption with restraint, intelligence and expertise.
What really works in THE GOLDEN SCALES is the balance between plot, character, events and place. The plot is persuasive and believable, incorporating the reality of current day scenarios where conflicts cause personal disruption and refugees who must find a way in a new world, whilst dealing with the demons from their past. The characters are compelling, human, brave, damaged, thoughtful, introspective, forceful, good, bad and the whole thing. One of the particular aspects of the characterisations that I appreciated was the idea that everyone, both the good and the bad, was nuanced. Everyone has their good and bad sides, and you could see the reasons why they took the path that they chose. The events and the place are inextricably linked, although the sense of place was all pervading. Needless to say, THE GOLDEN SCALES bodes very well for anyone who wants their thriller / crime fiction layered, thoughtful, instructive and clever, whilst not letting up on the thrills and chills.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/golden-scales-parker-bilal
In terms of sense of place, and the society in which the book is set, it was extremely well done. The ancient city of Cairo is not just the backdrop for the story, it inhabits the action. There's a physical feeling of the souks, and alleys, the dark corners in which the unknown lurks. Part fascinating and compelling, part frightening and threatening, THE GOLDEN SCALES paints Cairo as a place in which people could disappear. Some willingly, some not. It also paints Cairo as a place that provides some refuge for Makana, a former Sudanese policeman, who lives physically and emotionally on the outskirts of the society to which he fled when things in his homeland got very dangerous.
That idea of Makana, a refugee from violence, ex-policeman now living and working on the fringes, as the person that one of the most powerful, wealthy and dodgy men in Cairo would turn to when a player from his team goes missing sort of makes sense, just as the fact that the missing player is treated as a son of Saad Hanafi, gangster, developer, father, and man with a very chequered past, means that the choice of investigator doesn't make sense. There's obviously a reason buried deep in the mire of those who work for and against Hanafi, and somewhere in the middle of a corrupt and compromised political and policing system. In the middle of all of this an Englishwoman returns to Cairo, still searching for the daughter that has been missing now for many years.
Needless to say this is a complex plot, with Makana at the centre of the swirling current day events, dealing with his own past and an overriding sense of loss and guilt that he battles on a daily basis. His personal story is slowly revealed as is the truth about a missing Football Player who is more than he seems, an ageing Gangster who is both more and less than he seems, a daughter with secrets, and close colleagues of all who aren't as straightforward as they seem.
THE GOLDEN SCALES is a beautiful balancing act. The bleakness of the place, the society, the state of the world in which Makana operates is matched sometimes by the bleakness of his mood, and lightened frequently by a dry, acerbic observational wit which is quiet, subdued and often cutting. A thriller set in an Islamic world, the story touches on the volatility of power, religion, influence and corruption with restraint, intelligence and expertise.
What really works in THE GOLDEN SCALES is the balance between plot, character, events and place. The plot is persuasive and believable, incorporating the reality of current day scenarios where conflicts cause personal disruption and refugees who must find a way in a new world, whilst dealing with the demons from their past. The characters are compelling, human, brave, damaged, thoughtful, introspective, forceful, good, bad and the whole thing. One of the particular aspects of the characterisations that I appreciated was the idea that everyone, both the good and the bad, was nuanced. Everyone has their good and bad sides, and you could see the reasons why they took the path that they chose. The events and the place are inextricably linked, although the sense of place was all pervading. Needless to say, THE GOLDEN SCALES bodes very well for anyone who wants their thriller / crime fiction layered, thoughtful, instructive and clever, whilst not letting up on the thrills and chills.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/golden-scales-parker-bilal
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a good thriller every so often. Something that keeps you in its grasp, turning the pages. This was such a book.
But like the best, it's about more than the action and characters. This is about Egypt, Africa, the world. It's about dealing with the past in post-colonial countries. Written while the Gulf War raged, it's about secular countries dealing with internal fundamentalism. It's about cruelty. It's about how some families have those same pressures within, rather than without. It's about the impossibility of truth.
It's pretty good alright.
But like the best, it's about more than the action and characters. This is about Egypt, Africa, the world. It's about dealing with the past in post-colonial countries. Written while the Gulf War raged, it's about secular countries dealing with internal fundamentalism. It's about cruelty. It's about how some families have those same pressures within, rather than without. It's about the impossibility of truth.
It's pretty good alright.
Approximately twice as long as it could/should be. The author fails to take advantage of the rich environment (Cairo and other corners of Egypt) and the characters aren't strong enough to sustain the unnecessary length (or perhaps snail's pace of story development). Disappointing.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Set in an unsettled Cairo, shortly after the 1997 terrorist attacks in Luxor, this is the story of a private detective hired to find a missing football star by the team's millionaire owner. Makana is a terrific character: brave, damaged and cynical, a former policeman who fled Sudan when civil unrest made it too dangerous. The story is interwoven with a cold case about an English woman trying to find her daughter who was abducted in Cairo 16 years earlier. When the woman is murdered, Makana takes an interest in the case and investigates that along with the missing footballer.
This is an absorbing mystery, perhaps a little overcomplicated, perhaps too reliant on coincidence, but redeemed by the strong sense of place and the intriguing characters. It moves at a good pace and holds the reader's interest. It's a strong crime novel with a very interesting setting.
This is an absorbing mystery, perhaps a little overcomplicated, perhaps too reliant on coincidence, but redeemed by the strong sense of place and the intriguing characters. It moves at a good pace and holds the reader's interest. It's a strong crime novel with a very interesting setting.
In a familiar plot we have Makana being hired by a billionaire to find a missing star soccer player who is like a son to him but there are hints of thugs and gangsters as well as terrorists mingling in the background. It's a very interesting story with lots of surprises at the end. Bilal's descriptions of the surroundings and the torpor of life in Cairo are as good as any video. Makana is the most unassuming guy. He's almost like an investigator monk. He lives frugally and modestly and is often underestimated. A very likeable character who has been wronged but gets up each day and goes on living. I've read the first and third in the series so all that's left for me is the second. I hope Bilal keeps this series alive. It's a very different and fascinating look into life in Egypt.
A detective novel set in Egypt, with a Sudanese protagonist, an ex-cop who left/was thrown out of Sudan after the death of his wife and child. The backstory of what happened in Sudan gradually unfolds as the mystery in Egypt progresses. It sounds very like the rise of Nazi Germany - I guess the collapse of rule of law, the rise of the most brutal elements of society and the targeting of anyone who disagrees is much the same wherever it happens and within whatever ideology, whether Nazism, communism or extreme Islam. This is a book of humour and integrity as well as sadness. Well worth reading.
Loved this book. New author for me and he did not disappoint. Set in Cairo, a nice change of scenery. The main character Makana grew on me quickly, also a nice change from most modern angst ridden, baggage toting fictional private detectives/policemen etc.