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Mike Gonzo #1
Mike Gonzo and the Almost Invisible Man
When Mike Gonzo follows a pair of sprinting shoes--with no person inside them, he discovers they're owned by an invisible man--a man who's more than a little wacko--and extremely dangerous.
144 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Bill Crider
244 books236 followersTaught English at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Tex., and went on to become the chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College in Alvin, Tex.; prolific writer of mystery, science fiction, western, horror, and children's books, not to mention short stories, articles, reviews, and blog posts; perhaps best known for his Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery series.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
November 29, 2009
A fun premise, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
The plot is pretty simple: while walking around one night, eccentric Mike Gonzo and his friends encounter an (almost) invisible man. In an effort to find out more about him, they sneak into his house, and end up having to save him from a gang that wants to steal his invisibility formula.
Unfortunately, that's most of the whole 130 page book right there. The pacing is just too slow, and as a result, not much happens. The one suspenseful part I liked was when Mike and his friends are hiding in the house of the inventor of the invisibility formula, and they came up with a nice (albeit cartoonish) way of dealing with the bad guys (part of it naturally involves Mike's use of the invisibility formula).
The characterization is exaggerated, and as such, the characters are a bit caricatured, which I actually don't really mind. The use of one of Mike's friends as a narrator, constantly describing Mike's eccentric qualities, is a nice touch. Essentially it means that we see Mike Gonzo and just how "gonzo" he is as seen through the eyes of one of his more normal friends.
It's a shame that the potential this book had was so wasted. Adventurous Mike, cowardly braggart The Big T, and more normal, relaxed Bob (the narrator) could be fun characters if only they were put in a more fun, faster-paced story. As it is, too much effort was spent on character banter and on drawing out what few events do occur in the plot, and not enough on moving the plot forward. While I do like fun dialog and character moments, and good scene setting, there's something to be said for balance. Literally 2 chapters are spent on sneaking into a house, which is not as epic an undertaking as the time spent on it would make it seem. Other events are drawn out longer than they probably should be.
I had originally first read this book over a decade ago, at my cousins' house. I remembered reading it, but didn't find it too memorable in and of itself, and now I see why. When not much happens in 130 pages, there's just something wrong with the book.
The plot is pretty simple: while walking around one night, eccentric Mike Gonzo and his friends encounter an (almost) invisible man. In an effort to find out more about him, they sneak into his house, and end up having to save him from a gang that wants to steal his invisibility formula.
Unfortunately, that's most of the whole 130 page book right there. The pacing is just too slow, and as a result, not much happens. The one suspenseful part I liked was when Mike and his friends are hiding in the house of the inventor of the invisibility formula, and they came up with a nice (albeit cartoonish) way of dealing with the bad guys (part of it naturally involves Mike's use of the invisibility formula).
The characterization is exaggerated, and as such, the characters are a bit caricatured, which I actually don't really mind. The use of one of Mike's friends as a narrator, constantly describing Mike's eccentric qualities, is a nice touch. Essentially it means that we see Mike Gonzo and just how "gonzo" he is as seen through the eyes of one of his more normal friends.
It's a shame that the potential this book had was so wasted. Adventurous Mike, cowardly braggart The Big T, and more normal, relaxed Bob (the narrator) could be fun characters if only they were put in a more fun, faster-paced story. As it is, too much effort was spent on character banter and on drawing out what few events do occur in the plot, and not enough on moving the plot forward. While I do like fun dialog and character moments, and good scene setting, there's something to be said for balance. Literally 2 chapters are spent on sneaking into a house, which is not as epic an undertaking as the time spent on it would make it seem. Other events are drawn out longer than they probably should be.
I had originally first read this book over a decade ago, at my cousins' house. I remembered reading it, but didn't find it too memorable in and of itself, and now I see why. When not much happens in 130 pages, there's just something wrong with the book.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review