This story was of illegal Chinese immigrants coming to America - called Riding the Snake - and the rise in power of one man to take a major political office in Honk Kong. The characters are unlikely, as always in Cannell's books, but that's what makes his stories work. The research he put into writing this one was very obvious, and the story was well played. From the Walled City of Kowloon to Honk Kong, and all the way to California - this, like the rest of his stories, is huge. It's global. Most of his stories involve major political powers and a whole lot of the map.I didn't like Tanisha's and Wheeler's relationship very much - I found it hard to believe. She's a black cop and he's a white country club member who does nothing but drink all the time. I'm okay that they got involved and tried to solve the case, but I found a few jumps in logic that I don't think were realistic. The thought that they decided to hop on a plane to fly to Hong Kong to try and "figure out what's going on" was a little too much of a stretch for me. What do you do in a foreign city where you know nothing? Where do you begin looking? What the hell are you looking for? Since they didn't know the answer to that last question, I found it hard to believe they'd leave for Hong Kong in the first place. Aside from that, it was really well told. He, as always, finds a few key phrases he likes to use in descriptive narration and just beats the hell out of you with it. Like "inky blackness". He used that probably twenty times in the last chapter of the book. "Tromboning the slide" was another one. Aside from his writing style, which I'm always critical of, the story was well told and worthy of a read. This is probably my second favorite of his so far, next to King Con. I've now read The Plan, Final Victim, King Con, Riding the Snake, and The Devil's Workshop. One more of the standalones and I'll begin reading his Shane Sculley series, uninterrupted by any other books. I'd like to read that entire continuing character saga, which currently is seven-strong, without touching another author in between.
A thrill ride - and a joy to readAfter having slogged my way through a couple of books lately Riding the Snake was a real pleasure. Now, don't get me wrong with the 5 star rating here - it's not a life-changing book. It's just a whole lot of fun. And it should be since it comes from famed television producer and writer Stephen J. Cannell. One can tell that he has plenty of experience (what kind of experience? How about working on Adam-12 and Columbo, creating the Rockford Files, Baretta, 21 Jump Street, The A-Team , The Greatest American Hero and at least a dozen more) with creating likable, interesting characters and putting them over their heads in difficult situations...Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...
