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Rating: 
Summary: The Last Novel of Hammond Innes
Review: This is the last novel of the late Hammond Innes. I don't want to write bad things about it. But honestly, I am deeply disappointed.Paul Cartwright is an English engineer employed by a resource research company. He visits Romania on the eve of the Ceausescu regime's collapse. He kills a Secret Police officer to save his Romanian friend, and he desperately tries to get out of the country. That's the first half of the story. Not so exciting. The story goes rather awkwardly. Paul Cartwright, the protagonist, lacks attractiveness and/or individuality; he is rather a nondescript narrator than a protagonist. But there are several impressive scenes; the killing of the Secret Police officer, the lively description of the Ceausescu regime's collapse, and the wild wetland of the Danube Delta. The latter half is much worse. Immediately after Paul gets out of Romania, his company urgently dispatches him to Pakistan-Afghanistan border district. But, what the urgency is, what the company wants Paul to do, where is the final destination ... the story goes on and on about 100 pages without clearing what is all about. I feel this tantalizing situation goes on endlessly, and I quit reading the book. Terribly disappointed, but I give 2 stars, because some Romanian parts worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Novel of Hammond Innes
Review: This is the last novel of the late Hammond Innes. I don't want to write bad things about it. But honestly, I am deeply disappointed. Paul Cartwright is an English engineer employed by a resource research company. He visits Romania on the eve of the Ceausescu regime's collapse. He kills a Secret Police officer to save his Romanian friend, and he desperately tries to get out of the country. That's the first half of the story. Not so exciting. The story goes rather awkwardly. Paul Cartwright, the protagonist, lacks attractiveness and/or individuality; he is rather a nondescript narrator than a protagonist. But there are several impressive scenes; the killing of the Secret Police officer, the lively description of the Ceausescu regime's collapse, and the wild wetland of the Danube Delta. The latter half is much worse. Immediately after Paul gets out of Romania, his company urgently dispatches him to Pakistan-Afghanistan border district. But, what the urgency is, what the company wants Paul to do, where is the final destination ... the story goes on and on about 100 pages without clearing what is all about. I feel this tantalizing situation goes on endlessly, and I quit reading the book. Terribly disappointed, but I give 2 stars, because some Romanian parts worth reading.
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