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Frank Delaney #2
The Burma Effect
A taut thriller set principally in Thailand and Burma featuring series character Frank Delaney, freelance journalist and sometime spy.
- GenresMystery
331 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2007
About the author
Michael E. Rose
8 books4 followersMichael Edward Rose is a Canadian writer, journalist, and broadcaster now living in Sydney, Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 6, 2009
This was not a very well written or believable book.
The main character, who has lost a loved one before (which I assume is a whole other book by the same author) because he screwed up and she got shot, vows not to put anyone else he loves into danger.
Fast forward: he has his loved driver, Ben, go wait in the car with a gun he doesn't want to use, while he searches a house with obvious signs of mercenaries living there (He and Ben had already barely subdued one out front). The mercs come home, they see Ben with his gun and shoot him. Now Frank is all torn up about killing two innocent people via his stupidity and dreams about them being gone. He vows never to put anyone he loves into danger again.
Fast Forward: Hours after barely escaping from Burma with his life and pissing off a ton of people in Burma and Thailand he calls up his Canadian girlfriend (who has a job) and tells her to come to Thailand so they can go RELAX ON A BEACH. They get run off the road and shot at by some Burmese people, she almost dies (in the SAME way his first girl died. I know this because Frank explicitly mentions it). After this occurs Frank is told to leave the country, but no, he stays and still goes to the beach with her.
Frank just seems like a bumbling douchebag who has no idea what he is doing and survives mainly based on blind luck and deus ex machina. A character much like I would imagine that a self-important journalist who has traveled the world would write about if he ever started writing books (*cough* the Author).
Flashback: Frank is saved from Burma by help from many different people, one of them being Rawson, his CSIS contact. Soon after escaping, Frank ditches Rawson without telling him where he is going (he is going to pick up his girlfriend and have sex with her). Another group who helped him get out of Burma alive was the Montreal Tribune. Something they didn't have to do because he was such a dick to them anyways (not filing his weekly articles, avoiding them, etc). How does he thank them? He writes an article about the crazy things that went on inside Burma and sold it to a different magazine without even letting the tribune bid on it. Nice guy.
The ending is laughable, it seems like the ending to a Teen Drama/Comedy, where every one of the characters gets what they've done with their lives in the past 5 years summed up into a few sentences. EX: "Mr. Johnson still teaches kids and to this day never found out who let the tires out on his car".... you get the idea.
This book is okay as a time waster, but don't expect it to make any sense.
** I just remembered: Frank is hired to find his friend who has been missing for a month. After questioning his wife, she offers to sleep with him. He heroically declines, and opts just to smoke some pot and cuddle naked with her. Good friend.
The main character, who has lost a loved one before (which I assume is a whole other book by the same author) because he screwed up and she got shot, vows not to put anyone else he loves into danger.
Fast forward: he has his loved driver, Ben, go wait in the car with a gun he doesn't want to use, while he searches a house with obvious signs of mercenaries living there (He and Ben had already barely subdued one out front). The mercs come home, they see Ben with his gun and shoot him. Now Frank is all torn up about killing two innocent people via his stupidity and dreams about them being gone. He vows never to put anyone he loves into danger again.
Fast Forward: Hours after barely escaping from Burma with his life and pissing off a ton of people in Burma and Thailand he calls up his Canadian girlfriend (who has a job) and tells her to come to Thailand so they can go RELAX ON A BEACH. They get run off the road and shot at by some Burmese people, she almost dies (in the SAME way his first girl died. I know this because Frank explicitly mentions it). After this occurs Frank is told to leave the country, but no, he stays and still goes to the beach with her.
Frank just seems like a bumbling douchebag who has no idea what he is doing and survives mainly based on blind luck and deus ex machina. A character much like I would imagine that a self-important journalist who has traveled the world would write about if he ever started writing books (*cough* the Author).
Flashback: Frank is saved from Burma by help from many different people, one of them being Rawson, his CSIS contact. Soon after escaping, Frank ditches Rawson without telling him where he is going (he is going to pick up his girlfriend and have sex with her). Another group who helped him get out of Burma alive was the Montreal Tribune. Something they didn't have to do because he was such a dick to them anyways (not filing his weekly articles, avoiding them, etc). How does he thank them? He writes an article about the crazy things that went on inside Burma and sold it to a different magazine without even letting the tribune bid on it. Nice guy.
The ending is laughable, it seems like the ending to a Teen Drama/Comedy, where every one of the characters gets what they've done with their lives in the past 5 years summed up into a few sentences. EX: "Mr. Johnson still teaches kids and to this day never found out who let the tires out on his car".... you get the idea.
This book is okay as a time waster, but don't expect it to make any sense.
** I just remembered: Frank is hired to find his friend who has been missing for a month. After questioning his wife, she offers to sleep with him. He heroically declines, and opts just to smoke some pot and cuddle naked with her. Good friend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2013
A modern, fast-paced, well-structured plot and an exotic Asian setting(underpinned by a Montreal/Ottawa sub-plot/setting ) make this book a page-turner. Yet, lack of semantic boldness, lyricism or significant character development detract from its overall impact. The author, a journalist, trades on his Interpol-derived knowledge of international networks, and his professionally-honed narrative skills. Overall -- a fairly good read.
April 14, 2013
Good little political spy thriller from the perspective of a Canadian journalist/CSIS operative. Rose employs a smooth, literary style in this espionage page turner. The last quarter of the book gets a little far-fetched, but its worth a read for its gripping pace, fine writing style, and Canadian perspective. I look forward to reading the other two books in the series.
November 13, 2012
this is a slow read, feels like it could be apart of a series. when the author gives background details about the characters it seems like they have written it many times before and is only in the book because it needs to be.
October 4, 2010
Not bad, not great. The character is interesting and we get some good Thai scenery along the way, but the plot has no big moments, no revelations or compelling twists.
July 14, 2012
A very exciting thriller chasing spies and murderers throughout Burma and the environs.
April 6, 2016
The second of the series featuring a Canadian journalist/spy. More violence than I am prone to cope with but journey was an interesting one and so once again I enjoyed Rose's story telling.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews