Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Taken by Robert Crais

Always leaves me wanting more...Pike.

More Pike, more emotion but those two words just don't go together. I keep hoping the facade will crack and we will get a momentary glimpse inside the tortured man we have grown to love. I thought I would see more emotion with Elvis being kidnapped but in true Crais form it was understated and simple, like Pike and his relationship with Elvis, it was broken down into simple, tangible things, the Corvette and a Jiminy Cricket figurine.
Each item having meaning to a character in the story.

I understand Pike's need to keep his demons locked tightly away in a box...probably best for the world they stay there. I get to let mine come out to play in my novels. Pike's lack of trust and emotion resonates with some of us. Wanting solitude but constantly battling with that ingrained need for human contact. Elvis and Pike have a unique friendship.They are two people who never had anyone to depend on in the world until they found each other.


Stone is a nice addition and a necessity to this storyline. Stone is the Chatty Cathy to Pike's stoic, intense silence, with Elvis out of the picture someone needs to talk. I'm not sure if Stone would hold my interest as a stand alone character as Pike has, but I can see another joint adventure in their future. Pike does owe his fellow ex-merc 'one' now. I don't see any real depth to Stone, just his self-serving nature, but that can always change.


Everyone involved had an agenda and a need of some sort. Elvis needed to find his client's daughter, Pike needed to find Elvis and Stone needed to relieve his boredom. What is it about L.A. and people exercising in the nude? I must visit this place.


'Taken' was a gut wrenching look into a world of human trafficking that most of us couldn't dream up in our worst nightmares. Bandits who rob bandits and the prize is the human cargo they transport into the country. It was bloody, it was brutal but again, understated perfection! Just enough to draw us in but not enough to turn us off. Crais shows us in novel after novel the hidden worlds just outside our windows.


I happily give Elvis, The World's Greatest Detective moniker after this adventure, nothing like going into the belly of the beast for your client. Pike is the supreme predator, the hunter who keeps going until he completes his mission or dies trying. 

I'm anxiously waiting the next Robert Crais book!

Stop by for some Pike fan fiction.