A British minister is a pawn in a deadly game played out in one of the world's most explosive countries - Indonesia. His kidnapping does not fall under British jurisdiction and the authorities in Jakarta claim that he has been seized by a guerrilla movement. But their investigation makes no progress as horrific satellite pictures of him are released on national television. The government sends one man to rescue him - Nick Randall has served in the Far East before. He knows that nothing is as it seems in the land of masks. Greater forces are in play than even he suspects. Together with a lone woman TV reporter he penetrates a remote island, where a powder keg of armed local rebellion is threatening to explode under the repressive regime.
This was an easy read pulling the reader into the plot at warp speed. There were great characters with very interesting side plots. A well woven story.
Not a good as most Archer books. Just didn’t hold up as very convincing also too many abbreviations of the army’s and gorilla groups which got me confused. Ended a bit weird as well.
Seems all top writers have the knack of drawing you in to the story and will not let you escape. In the end you just want it to continue and not end. Excellent.
The book "Java Spider", is a "like it or hate it" book. Personally i did not like it much because the story progressed very slowly and it didn't catch my attention. the book is VERY direct and filled to the brim with easily forgettable details that, most of the time, are EXTREMELY unnecessary. For example, there was a taxi scene featuring one of the characters. It was 6 pages long, and easily forgettable. But with every detail in the book, it gives a very vivid image in your head like watching a movie. Because of this, this is not a deep novel so don't expect any hidden stories to be woven throughout the book.
The book isn't really bad, but is just one of those "film-to-book" type of books that don't really give the reader much involvement within the story's progression.
Interesting and unusual setting. Not read much about Indonesia before. This is a story that kept me very happy on a long flight to Hong Kong, all about a kidnapped politician and the mission to rescue him. I liked the good cop main character and the TV reporter girl. Plenty of tension and a few laughs. A newspaper review said it had a plot constructed with devilish cunning and I think that's about right. Really enjoyed it.
This book had a very slow start....I was halfway through it before it caught my attention. At one point I almost decided not to finish reading it. Then things picked up and was exciting up until the end.
A nice read, bit of mystery, mixed with some political intrigue - medium pace. A few cuts above airport fiction, enough action to keep you awake on a boring night.