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Matt Straker #2
Crash
“Toby Vintcent has succeeded like no one before him...The book is reminiscent of the best Robert Ludlum-like thrillers” THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Toby Vintcent has captured the atmosphere of F1” MAX MOSLEY
Formula One driver Remy Sabatino is leading the Drivers' Championship, in a car that is the quickest of the season by far. But that also means Sabatino's Russian teammate is the fastest too...Their rivalry couldn't be more toxic ahead of the Grand Prix in Moscow. TV viewers around the world are about to witness the most catastrophic crash in Formula One history. Was this caused by the acrimony between these drivers? Matt Straker, former Royal Marine and corporate intelligence director, is again called in to investigate and he soon finds himself confronted by a corrupted legal system and battling with powerful - and violent - vested interests. Could it be that wrapped up in the political symbolism of the Moscow Grand Prix are, perhaps, the very seeds of its undoing...
“Toby Vintcent has captured the atmosphere of F1” MAX MOSLEY
Formula One driver Remy Sabatino is leading the Drivers' Championship, in a car that is the quickest of the season by far. But that also means Sabatino's Russian teammate is the fastest too...Their rivalry couldn't be more toxic ahead of the Grand Prix in Moscow. TV viewers around the world are about to witness the most catastrophic crash in Formula One history. Was this caused by the acrimony between these drivers? Matt Straker, former Royal Marine and corporate intelligence director, is again called in to investigate and he soon finds himself confronted by a corrupted legal system and battling with powerful - and violent - vested interests. Could it be that wrapped up in the political symbolism of the Moscow Grand Prix are, perhaps, the very seeds of its undoing...
- GenresThriller
448 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2016
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 20, 2020
Lights out and away we go!
Yeah, not quite.
This was surprisingly bad, considering that the first book in this series is actually a decent thriller set in the world of Formula 1.
There isn't even a lot of racing in this book. Remy Sabatino, the female Formula 1 driver and one of the main characters of the first book, now in her second year in the championship, is again fighting for the title. This time with her rookie teammate as the main competitor. Lol. Formula 1 must have been in a really bad state if a first-year and second-year driver are fighting for the championship. But whatever. This isn't the point of the book.
We only get to see two races, because in the second race in Russia Sabatino is having a huge crash,
The way the accident unfolds seems very artificial and would never happen in such a way in a real Formula 1 race. But again, that's not the point.
Simply put, the book is not about racing.
Instead a mostly boring detective / courtroom tale ensues, and we witness Matt Straker (who's supposed to be the main character, though he shows up a little late and doesn't leave much of an impression) and the team's lawyer go up against corrupt Russian authorities and gangsters.
Since every turn of events is telegraphed to the reader, and frankly the whole thing isn't that interesting in the first place, I had quite a hard time to remain interested in the plot.
It doesn't matter though, because in the second to last chapter one character recounts the entire case and how it all unfolded, in about 18 minutes.
It would have saved me a lot of time to just listen to that one chapter and skip the remaining 13 hours of this audiobook.
Instead I had to listen to:
• An excruciating number of details about an accident that seemed like it's out of a video game.
• An excruciating number of details about current (re: Around 2016, when this book was released) F1 technology. Why use current F1 cars and regulations anyway? Sure, the modern cars are highly sophisticated machinery, perhaps unparalleled, except for a short period at the beginning of the 90s. But the early hybrid-era (2014-16) is also the most boring ever for the spectator. At least in my opinion. And it's no different with this book. I've been
simultaneously reading a nonfiction book about the old days of Formula 1. And the technical parts of that nonfiction book are considerably more thrilling to read.
• A lot of shenanigans by politicians and other criminals that are presented in an at least equally as exciting way in the daily news.
• Characters with questionable motivations and characters that frequently come to either wholly unsurprising or questionable or even laughable conclusions.
• Several turns of events that are presented to the reader by way of a character coming across a document and giving a summary of said document to the reader.
• A cringeworthy, but thankfully short, romantic episode between the main character and yet another one of his associates .
I could probably go on. But I don't really want to. I would have dnf'd this book anyway if it wasn't an audiobook and I think that I've spent more than enough time with it now.
Just one more thing. It's very unfortunate that Remy Sabatino, who - as a competitive female Formula 1 driver - has been the most interesting character of the first book, is reduced to a largely superficial secondary character here.
Ultimately, this is stuck somewhere between first and second gear. But I'm rounding down. It never really got off the line for me.
Yeah, not quite.
This was surprisingly bad, considering that the first book in this series is actually a decent thriller set in the world of Formula 1.
There isn't even a lot of racing in this book. Remy Sabatino, the female Formula 1 driver and one of the main characters of the first book, now in her second year in the championship, is again fighting for the title. This time with her rookie teammate as the main competitor. Lol. Formula 1 must have been in a really bad state if a first-year and second-year driver are fighting for the championship. But whatever. This isn't the point of the book.
We only get to see two races, because in the second race in Russia Sabatino is having a huge crash,
The way the accident unfolds seems very artificial and would never happen in such a way in a real Formula 1 race. But again, that's not the point.
Simply put, the book is not about racing.
Instead a mostly boring detective / courtroom tale ensues, and we witness Matt Straker (who's supposed to be the main character, though he shows up a little late and doesn't leave much of an impression) and the team's lawyer go up against corrupt Russian authorities and gangsters.
Since every turn of events is telegraphed to the reader, and frankly the whole thing isn't that interesting in the first place, I had quite a hard time to remain interested in the plot.
It doesn't matter though, because in the second to last chapter one character recounts the entire case and how it all unfolded, in about 18 minutes.
It would have saved me a lot of time to just listen to that one chapter and skip the remaining 13 hours of this audiobook.
Instead I had to listen to:
• An excruciating number of details about an accident that seemed like it's out of a video game.
• An excruciating number of details about current (re: Around 2016, when this book was released) F1 technology. Why use current F1 cars and regulations anyway? Sure, the modern cars are highly sophisticated machinery, perhaps unparalleled, except for a short period at the beginning of the 90s. But the early hybrid-era (2014-16) is also the most boring ever for the spectator. At least in my opinion. And it's no different with this book. I've been
simultaneously reading a nonfiction book about the old days of Formula 1. And the technical parts of that nonfiction book are considerably more thrilling to read.
• A lot of shenanigans by politicians and other criminals that are presented in an at least equally as exciting way in the daily news.
• Characters with questionable motivations and characters that frequently come to either wholly unsurprising or questionable or even laughable conclusions.
• Several turns of events that are presented to the reader by way of a character coming across a document and giving a summary of said document to the reader.
• A cringeworthy, but thankfully short, romantic episode between the main character and yet another one of his associates .
I could probably go on. But I don't really want to. I would have dnf'd this book anyway if it wasn't an audiobook and I think that I've spent more than enough time with it now.
Just one more thing. It's very unfortunate that Remy Sabatino, who - as a competitive female Formula 1 driver - has been the most interesting character of the first book, is reduced to a largely superficial secondary character here.
Ultimately, this is stuck somewhere between first and second gear. But I'm rounding down. It never really got off the line for me.
July 17, 2016
F1 thriller set in MOSCOW
This review first appeared on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/formula-on...
There is a terrible crash at the Moscow Grand Prix. 36 people are killed when Remy Sabatino’s car comes off the track and ploughs into the crowd. Remy, the pre-eminent female driver, and Tahm Nazar the team boss of the Ptarmigan team for whom she drives, are arrested – the Russian public demand retribution for Ptarmigan’s ‘negligence’, and a swift ‘show trial’ is arranged.
But the team know that the car was in perfect working order. It must in some way have been sabotaged. Buy why, and by whom? Matt Straker, the security head of Quartech – the conglomerate that owns the Ptarmigan team – is flown in to investigate. He works alongside Sandy McMahon, a Moscow based English lawyer appointed by Quartech to defend Remy and Tahm in court. They are in a rush against time to find the truth and prepare their case. The investigations take them ever further into the murky world of Russian politics, oligarchs, and widespread corruption. The stakes get forever higher.
I confess that I picked up Crash with some slight trepidation. Formula One is not really my thing… But my fears were groundless. Yes, there is a great deal of highly technical writing about the mechanics and electronics of the car that informs the investigation (and will no doubt impress many…) – but it is possible to gloss over the detail of much of this if you so choose. What matters is that you pick up the gist of the thoroughness with which Formula One cars are electronically monitored throughout a race. The onboard cameras and sensors feed back information to team control in the pits – and further afield to team headquarters wherever they may be situated. The Ptarmigan team were unable to inspect the car itself (it was impounded by the police), but they had access to a wealth of electronic and video data.
Crash is a really exciting and gripping read. I genuinely found it hard to put down (and it’s not often I say that). The final denouement is as well constructed as it is dramatic. It is also very strong on location. Moscow comes through loud and clear from the site of the fictional Grand Prix track in the Nagatinskya Poyma Park by the Moskva River to the detail of the famed Moscow underground railway system. The city is well observed.
This review first appeared on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/formula-on...
There is a terrible crash at the Moscow Grand Prix. 36 people are killed when Remy Sabatino’s car comes off the track and ploughs into the crowd. Remy, the pre-eminent female driver, and Tahm Nazar the team boss of the Ptarmigan team for whom she drives, are arrested – the Russian public demand retribution for Ptarmigan’s ‘negligence’, and a swift ‘show trial’ is arranged.
But the team know that the car was in perfect working order. It must in some way have been sabotaged. Buy why, and by whom? Matt Straker, the security head of Quartech – the conglomerate that owns the Ptarmigan team – is flown in to investigate. He works alongside Sandy McMahon, a Moscow based English lawyer appointed by Quartech to defend Remy and Tahm in court. They are in a rush against time to find the truth and prepare their case. The investigations take them ever further into the murky world of Russian politics, oligarchs, and widespread corruption. The stakes get forever higher.
I confess that I picked up Crash with some slight trepidation. Formula One is not really my thing… But my fears were groundless. Yes, there is a great deal of highly technical writing about the mechanics and electronics of the car that informs the investigation (and will no doubt impress many…) – but it is possible to gloss over the detail of much of this if you so choose. What matters is that you pick up the gist of the thoroughness with which Formula One cars are electronically monitored throughout a race. The onboard cameras and sensors feed back information to team control in the pits – and further afield to team headquarters wherever they may be situated. The Ptarmigan team were unable to inspect the car itself (it was impounded by the police), but they had access to a wealth of electronic and video data.
Crash is a really exciting and gripping read. I genuinely found it hard to put down (and it’s not often I say that). The final denouement is as well constructed as it is dramatic. It is also very strong on location. Moscow comes through loud and clear from the site of the fictional Grand Prix track in the Nagatinskya Poyma Park by the Moskva River to the detail of the famed Moscow underground railway system. The city is well observed.
February 26, 2019
Fun read but spoiler alert...
This episode is an international politico conspiracy story with very little reference to racing. While I enjoyed the cast of characters and their exploits I was bummed at how lacking it was in actual race content. I'll continue the series and hopefully the author will return to what I find to be the more engaging content of fiction set in and around F1.
This episode is an international politico conspiracy story with very little reference to racing. While I enjoyed the cast of characters and their exploits I was bummed at how lacking it was in actual race content. I'll continue the series and hopefully the author will return to what I find to be the more engaging content of fiction set in and around F1.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews