What do you think?
The Capablanca Variation: The End Game
Quinn, Douglas
296 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 17, 2010
Douglas Quinn’s The Capablanca Variation is third in a series of books that begins with The Spanish Game and The Catalan gambit. If you’re not a chess-player, those titles (not quite chess terms) might not mean the same to you as to me. But I’m married to a chess-player and, for my sins, taught chess to elementary students for many years. (It was one of those “Daddy plays, so Mommy can help” moments…) I was curious to see how a novel would relate to a game of chess, and so I was eager to read this.
In practice, I suppose it might be hard to plot a novel like a game, though a good chess game does read like a well-formed tale. This novel is steered by a behind-the-scenes master maneuvering his pieces across the board of the world; he’s often referred to as a great chess-player and he knows the importance of having all your pieces in the right place at the right time, planning and seeing several moves ahead, and maintaining flexibility. But for the most part, The Capablanca Variation is an action adventure vaguely reminiscent of Charlie’s Angels crossed with James Bond working with the CIA; no previous chess required.
The story has plenty of twists and turns, and some very topical themes, from ecological logging to Madrid commuter-train bombings to the twisted politics of the FBI and CIA. If the characters are chess-pieces—they sometimes ask if they’re pawns—they must represent the whole set, though I wondered sometimes how their values were assigned; lost pawns but no startling sacrifices leading to inevitable victory here.
There are twists in all the backstories too, often a problem when reading the third instead of the first in a series. But the author provides lengthy synopses of earlier events as he describes scenes and characters. By the end-game, almost everyone’s known; all the pieces are in place—some far from the action holding back the defense while others stand close by and closing in.
My biggest concern with this novel, as a lover of chess, was the feeling that despite all the planning, luck still played its part, right up to the end. Capablanca wouldn’t leave anything to chance, but I guess fiction must, to keep the story twisting and the reader ever-intrigued. While the master always had an answer, I wanted more of a feel that he’d already foreseen the plan, and that all options would still have gone his way—more Karpov, less Kasparov maybe, though Kasparov is undeniably more exciting to watch. But Capablanca was indeed a master of the end-game, as well as a master of chess; pieces gather; last defender pays the price; the king falls down.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Donna Higgins Colson, Douglas Quinn’s Publicist, in exchange for an unbiased review.
In practice, I suppose it might be hard to plot a novel like a game, though a good chess game does read like a well-formed tale. This novel is steered by a behind-the-scenes master maneuvering his pieces across the board of the world; he’s often referred to as a great chess-player and he knows the importance of having all your pieces in the right place at the right time, planning and seeing several moves ahead, and maintaining flexibility. But for the most part, The Capablanca Variation is an action adventure vaguely reminiscent of Charlie’s Angels crossed with James Bond working with the CIA; no previous chess required.
The story has plenty of twists and turns, and some very topical themes, from ecological logging to Madrid commuter-train bombings to the twisted politics of the FBI and CIA. If the characters are chess-pieces—they sometimes ask if they’re pawns—they must represent the whole set, though I wondered sometimes how their values were assigned; lost pawns but no startling sacrifices leading to inevitable victory here.
There are twists in all the backstories too, often a problem when reading the third instead of the first in a series. But the author provides lengthy synopses of earlier events as he describes scenes and characters. By the end-game, almost everyone’s known; all the pieces are in place—some far from the action holding back the defense while others stand close by and closing in.
My biggest concern with this novel, as a lover of chess, was the feeling that despite all the planning, luck still played its part, right up to the end. Capablanca wouldn’t leave anything to chance, but I guess fiction must, to keep the story twisting and the reader ever-intrigued. While the master always had an answer, I wanted more of a feel that he’d already foreseen the plan, and that all options would still have gone his way—more Karpov, less Kasparov maybe, though Kasparov is undeniably more exciting to watch. But Capablanca was indeed a master of the end-game, as well as a master of chess; pieces gather; last defender pays the price; the king falls down.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Donna Higgins Colson, Douglas Quinn’s Publicist, in exchange for an unbiased review.
November 12, 2010
Jennifer Ellis’ twin brother Theo is arrested and held on suspicions of terrorism. She can secure his release IF she helps the U. S. catch the man who masterminded the Madrid commuter train bombings. Jennifer agrees and flies to Barcelona. A special team of FBI operative is assigned to watch her, protect her, and seize Tariq ibn Ziyad when he is lured out of hiding.
Jennifer isn’t a raw, innocent civilian. At sixteen, she was aboard a hijacked plane. Her contact back home is the elusive Dr. Nash, founder of a Washington think tank who has aided her in the past. It’s evident from the story’s beginning that this is not a stand-alone thriller. It turns out that this is the third book in a series. The lengthy synopsis of stories from the other books gets in the way of the story for those who have read the first two adventures; it also distances readers who have not read the other two as Quinn has to stop the action to explain the backstory.
As she proceeds through Spain, the plan goes wrong. When it appears that Jennifer will be sacrificed, two character from the other books arrive, FBI agents Remei Savali and Blair Fontaine. Most of the lesbian affair between Remei and Blair is lost until near the end of the book when readers learn that Blair is a female. Not having read the first two books, I was sure that Blair was male.
Also lost on this reader was the chess game. The Capablanca Variation is a move. I think. This isn’t explained to non-chess players until almost the end of the book. Since all thrillers are like chess games, the significance was lost on me. I think I would have enjoyed the novel better had I been aware.
Jennifer isn’t a raw, innocent civilian. At sixteen, she was aboard a hijacked plane. Her contact back home is the elusive Dr. Nash, founder of a Washington think tank who has aided her in the past. It’s evident from the story’s beginning that this is not a stand-alone thriller. It turns out that this is the third book in a series. The lengthy synopsis of stories from the other books gets in the way of the story for those who have read the first two adventures; it also distances readers who have not read the other two as Quinn has to stop the action to explain the backstory.
As she proceeds through Spain, the plan goes wrong. When it appears that Jennifer will be sacrificed, two character from the other books arrive, FBI agents Remei Savali and Blair Fontaine. Most of the lesbian affair between Remei and Blair is lost until near the end of the book when readers learn that Blair is a female. Not having read the first two books, I was sure that Blair was male.
Also lost on this reader was the chess game. The Capablanca Variation is a move. I think. This isn’t explained to non-chess players until almost the end of the book. Since all thrillers are like chess games, the significance was lost on me. I think I would have enjoyed the novel better had I been aware.
March 1, 2011
The Capablanca Variation: The End Game, by Douglas Quinn, is fast paced and varied. Jennifer Ellis has a twin brother, Theo, who seems to always be in trouble. When Theo gets into a bind with the FBI, Jennifer is strong armed into working with the CIA and FBI to capture a known terrorist in order to secure her brother's freedom.
The hunt leads us through several venues of Morocco with a big showdown fit for a Western. Extremes between Morocco's Muslim culture and Western tourism are intertwined with the intrigue. Throw in a few bumbling operatives and you have yourself a good tale!
This book continues on themes from Douglas Quinn's book The Spanish Game, but is a good stand alone read. The storyline is well paced, the characters are interesting, and the flow is good. There were a few minor mechanical errors, but they did not impact the enjoyability of the story.
The only thing I feel was missing was resolution regarding Theo. I was left wondering what happened to him and the situation he had gotten himself into, with only my assumptions to close the matter for me. A page or two extra would have been sufficient enough to address this area. Other than that, an overall good read.
On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3.5. Good pace and great characters, but in need of a tied loose end.
This book was published by iUniverse.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-5886-9
Thank you to Douglas Quinn, via his publicist Donna Higgins Colson, for the gift of this book.
The hunt leads us through several venues of Morocco with a big showdown fit for a Western. Extremes between Morocco's Muslim culture and Western tourism are intertwined with the intrigue. Throw in a few bumbling operatives and you have yourself a good tale!
This book continues on themes from Douglas Quinn's book The Spanish Game, but is a good stand alone read. The storyline is well paced, the characters are interesting, and the flow is good. There were a few minor mechanical errors, but they did not impact the enjoyability of the story.
The only thing I feel was missing was resolution regarding Theo. I was left wondering what happened to him and the situation he had gotten himself into, with only my assumptions to close the matter for me. A page or two extra would have been sufficient enough to address this area. Other than that, an overall good read.
On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3.5. Good pace and great characters, but in need of a tied loose end.
This book was published by iUniverse.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-5886-9
Thank you to Douglas Quinn, via his publicist Donna Higgins Colson, for the gift of this book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews