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Inspector Jian #2
Border Run
A fast paced, adrenaline ride of a OCyLord of the FliesOCO meets OCyThe BeachOCO Bored of the OCymango smoothieOCO trail and keen to spice up their Facebook albums, and maybe their sex lives, Jake and Will take a tour into ChinaOCOs jungle borderland with Burma. Their guide, however, has his own agenda and gradually the two gap-year students slip into a nightmarish spiral of murder and moral decay, their chance of survival determined by a game of hide and seek played out with deadly crossbows. "
- GenresFiction
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 18, 2012
Two young men are on a vacation in southeast Asia. Just a break to explore and have fun. They meet an older man who has lived in the area longer and invites them to sight see with him promising to show them some great sites and a lot of fun. Doesn't turn out that way, of course. One of the young men suspects him right away, but the other insists. From then on it is one problem after another, serious problems in which the accountability is really even more serious and scary. It's like a ball rolling and gathering speed. It's not my usual type of mystery and the focus is more on the characters and their dilemma, the story, rather than the country, the times, the peoples, etc. and how everyone relates. But it was an OK book.
June 23, 2013
A couple of guys have a really bad day in the jungle. Not bad for a quick read.
April 12, 2012
“Border Run” by Simon Lewis, published by Scribner.
Category –Mystery/Thriller
When you go on vacation don’t you sometimes want to go “Off the Beaten Path?” Go somewhere different, where you will see something different and maybe add a little excitement to your vacation.
Will and Jake are backpacking on the Burmese border and run into Howard, who gives them just that opportunity. He tells them of a place where there is a magnificent waterfall and young native girls that can get very friendly.
Of course, Will and Jake jump at the chance and are taken to a place that is everything Howard said it would be. However, Howard is using Will and Jake to get him around a security patrol. The patrol has been ordered not to stop foreigners due to a prior incident that threatened the tourist trade.
Obviously Howard is into something illegal but as long as everyone keeps their cool, everything will be fine. Will, with a crossbow, shoots a Border Patrolmen. Their world starts to unravel as they must decide whether to go to the authorities, who probably will not believe them coupled with the fact that Howard is into something illegal, or try and cover-up a murder.
The bonds of friendship are severely tested as Will and Jake struggle to do the “right” thing. Howard, who has a lot at stake, tries to convince them to cover-up the murder
A fast moving novel that will keep you turning the pages until the end, when the reader is treated to a very different and unusual ending.
Category –Mystery/Thriller
When you go on vacation don’t you sometimes want to go “Off the Beaten Path?” Go somewhere different, where you will see something different and maybe add a little excitement to your vacation.
Will and Jake are backpacking on the Burmese border and run into Howard, who gives them just that opportunity. He tells them of a place where there is a magnificent waterfall and young native girls that can get very friendly.
Of course, Will and Jake jump at the chance and are taken to a place that is everything Howard said it would be. However, Howard is using Will and Jake to get him around a security patrol. The patrol has been ordered not to stop foreigners due to a prior incident that threatened the tourist trade.
Obviously Howard is into something illegal but as long as everyone keeps their cool, everything will be fine. Will, with a crossbow, shoots a Border Patrolmen. Their world starts to unravel as they must decide whether to go to the authorities, who probably will not believe them coupled with the fact that Howard is into something illegal, or try and cover-up a murder.
The bonds of friendship are severely tested as Will and Jake struggle to do the “right” thing. Howard, who has a lot at stake, tries to convince them to cover-up the murder
A fast moving novel that will keep you turning the pages until the end, when the reader is treated to a very different and unusual ending.
May 9, 2012
Characterization is so minimal in this thriller that it's impossible for the reader to care whether or not the two backpackers at the heart of the story live or die. Two young men, Will and Jake, are trekking through Burma when Jake meets a somewhat seedy older fellow, Howard. Howard lures Jake into convincing Will to join them on a journey to a hidden waterfall where he promises they're likely to find semi-naked native women anxious to have sex with them just of the pleasure of it. Neither of the young men asks Howard any of the questions about the side trip you'd expect them to; they pretty much just agree to go. I found it impossible to believe they'd be so naive and gullible as to put their fate into the hands of a total stranger. Between their thin characterization and the glossing over of the basic questions anyone would ask in such circumstances, it was impossible to suspend disbelief. It turns out the two young men have been recruited to serve as a beard for a minor smuggling operation but an accident turns what should have been a simple trip into a coverup for a murder. I really didn't give a damn what happened to anyone, as I had no emotional investment in any of the characters. The book is just a series of hollow action sequences.
June 23, 2021
Book started off strong, and I had high hopes because I really loved Lewis' previous book, Bad Traffic: An Inspector Jian Novel. However, in the end this initially-promising story just went nowhere. Or to be more precise, went one place - an exotic jungle waterfall. Then it left, then it came back, then left again, then back...The whole story takes place in the course of one long morning/afternoon, and while it does tell an interesting story of consistently bad decisions and tragic choices, I had just expected more.
That said, this book is a very quick read - more of a novella, which I finished in one day - and so perhaps shouldn't be held to the same standard as a full-length novel. However, overall I'd rather Mr. Lewis took his time and wrote another adventure for Inspector Jian than to rush out more "extended short stories" like this.
That said, this book is a very quick read - more of a novella, which I finished in one day - and so perhaps shouldn't be held to the same standard as a full-length novel. However, overall I'd rather Mr. Lewis took his time and wrote another adventure for Inspector Jian than to rush out more "extended short stories" like this.
September 10, 2012
This is a rather slim novel that I read in one afternoon, and is a fast-paced Action piece without a lot of character development or background. The plot is simple. Two young men are on vacation near the Chinese/Myanmar border, and meet a local drifter who suggests that they come with him to a scenic area that is known only to the locals. Events rapidly spin out of control. First, there is trouble with local border authorities, and a policeman is accidentally (?) killed. Now, the three men must make an immediate plan of action, and the novel demonstrates how ethics get discarded after the first felony, and cover-ups only quicken the downward ethical spiral.
BORDER RUN is a pleasant diversion, and offers some insight into how 'normal' men change in ways that they would never imagine as they deal with situations that are far beyond their experience. This novel would make an excellent film.
BORDER RUN is a pleasant diversion, and offers some insight into how 'normal' men change in ways that they would never imagine as they deal with situations that are far beyond their experience. This novel would make an excellent film.
July 15, 2012
This book started out strong, but ended like a released balloon without being tied. Luckily, it's a very short book (probably less than 40,000 words), because if it was full-length novel, I'd have really been pissed.
The concept was interesting, but the action and dialogue seemed to repeat itself every 30 or so pages. If you want to read a good novel about crazy things happening in the jungles of Southeast Asia, pick up Alex Garland's "The Beach." Garland can flat-out write, and "The Beach" is on my Top-20 all-time list of novels. Don't let the average movie version fool you -- the book is excellent.
I really wanted to like this book, but by the half-way point I couldn't wait for it to end. I was holding out for an explosive ending, but all I got was, well, and ending.
The concept was interesting, but the action and dialogue seemed to repeat itself every 30 or so pages. If you want to read a good novel about crazy things happening in the jungles of Southeast Asia, pick up Alex Garland's "The Beach." Garland can flat-out write, and "The Beach" is on my Top-20 all-time list of novels. Don't let the average movie version fool you -- the book is excellent.
I really wanted to like this book, but by the half-way point I couldn't wait for it to end. I was holding out for an explosive ending, but all I got was, well, and ending.
March 20, 2013
The writing is pretty good. It's a very quickly paced novel.
I didn't like any of the characters. The book is about two guys who travel to Asia and end up in some dark shenanigans. I couldn't feel anything towards either of the young men. They felt hollow or one-dimensional to me. To be honest, I didn't even learn anything about the setting (I think it's where china borders Laos?) I mean, at least give me a few factual tidbits to chew on. Nada. Just two young (selfish) dudes running around the jungle doing stupid things.
But, as I originally said--the writing is decent. The character development sucked. This warrants a 2.5, but I was generous and rounded up to 3 stars. Only because the action scenes are decent and the words and sentence style kept me interested.
I didn't like any of the characters. The book is about two guys who travel to Asia and end up in some dark shenanigans. I couldn't feel anything towards either of the young men. They felt hollow or one-dimensional to me. To be honest, I didn't even learn anything about the setting (I think it's where china borders Laos?) I mean, at least give me a few factual tidbits to chew on. Nada. Just two young (selfish) dudes running around the jungle doing stupid things.
But, as I originally said--the writing is decent. The character development sucked. This warrants a 2.5, but I was generous and rounded up to 3 stars. Only because the action scenes are decent and the words and sentence style kept me interested.
July 31, 2014
You can't knock a vegan restaurant because it doesn't serve great steak. You can't knock this novel because it is not literary enough or the characters aren't developed enough. It is an action novel, and I give it five stars for being an excellent action novel. Sure, the characters are nitwits to get into this mess in the first place. But there is, as the genre implies, plenty of action with some interesting reflections on cross-cultural misunderstandings and ethical choices in dire circumstances.
March 29, 2012
Received as an ARC from the publisher. Finished it in one day. Started out like other stories: naive hikers follow the advice of someone they barely know, looking for an adventure in a foreign jungle(in this case, Burma). Before this story ends however, murder and mistrust occurs. As one morality barrier is crossed, one wonders what's the next barrier to be crossed. A much better story than I originally thought it would be.
June 13, 2012
No believable emotion here, or dialogue. I could only get a third of the way into this, because the two main characters are so two-dimensional that I couldn't bother caring what happened to either of them. I can see the virtue of writing in a "quick" style, but this book skimps too much on necessary background and points of empathy with the characters that would be necessary to keep one reading in order to find out what happens.
May 30, 2012
From the first chapter, Lewis' slim novel churns along at quite a clip, when a seemingly innocent crossing to find girls by two college-age tourists at the China-Burma border turns into a full-blown crime spree, thanks in part to their shady tour guide. It's a psychological thriller full of twists and turns and best devoured in one sitting.
May 5, 2013
OMG was this bad! I feel guilty for plowing through it. Mindless and atrocious writing. Mr. Lewis may have written some guidebooks for Rough Guides, but a novelist he isn't. This was one of the worst novels that I've read in a very long time. Don't waste your money. I got this this at the library for $2 and I feel cheated.
August 31, 2016
Le rythme est vif, l'action intrépide, mais les personnages sont affligeants de sottise et agissent constamment de manière irréfléchie. C'est usant. Le roman promettait du dépaysement, des émotions fortes... à la fin, il devenait urgent de mettre un terme à cette folie ambiante !
April 29, 2012
As usual, this is not the edition I read. I read the UK paperback edition, published by Sort Of books, and with a different cover image.
May 9, 2012
It was a good plot but not enough meat. It could have been much better. It was an interesting promise which did not live up in the book.
February 8, 2013
A decent read, although the premise has been done before.
March 2, 2013
No interesting characters. Frankly I didn't care if anyone in this story lived or died. And therein lies the problem with the entire book. Pretty much a "who cares" read. 2.5 stars really.
June 5, 2014
After one paragraph, I knew I was going to hate this. But I still "rage read" the whole thing.
August 25, 2015
Two young backpackers accept the challenge of a jungle adventure - enjoyable and easy read but unlikely to win literary awards
November 7, 2012
Short, nasty little book. But, I mean that in a good way.
November 17, 2012
Kind of a fun read, but only if you need to kill time.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews