Motorcycle High by Dave Harrold is a high-octane and fun-loving adventure that takes the reader on a long and dangerous journey, full of action and betrayals, femme fatales, mobsters and spies.
This is one of those books that are simply way too fun not to like. And Rock Pounder, the main protagonist, is one of those heroes that no matter how hard you try, you simply cannot forget; not only for his character, but also because he's quite a character. He's cool, he's fearless, he loves his bikes and his women and he has a past that still haunts and entertains him. I will let him speak for himself.
I'm really a pacifist most of the time. I don't carry a gun, and I don't like to hurt people. But there are some things I won't put up with, and beating up a defenseless priest is one of them.
Whether he likes it or not though, Rock will have to resort to violence more than once during this journey, this adventure; an adventure that will really start, not in the US, but when he reaches and travels through Siberia, and then moves on to Russia, Ukraine and Poland, sleeps in luxury hotels and out in the open, faces betrayal and finds a true friend, and then thinks, constantly thinks about his life.
Rock feels like he's blessed and cursed at the same time. He really enjoyed his ride through life, but he cannot help but think that maybe it's time for him to call it a day. What started his wanderlust was a book, Around the World in 80 Days, but if things keep going the way they do now, it's doubtful that he'll have, in the end, 80 days to live.
What do they want from him? Why can't they just let him be? he keeps wondering. Who are they? His boss, "Fat Man" Manfred, and the CIA. They are interested in a package that contains a computer program that could change the world. And so is the Russian government, and so is the Mafia who's after him. The problem is that he doesn't have the package. The problem is that, even though he doesn't know it yet, he's going to get it.
Oh well, when you think about it it's all business as usual for Rock. He'll just do what he has to do, while trying to avoid his silicon-made ex-wife, his pursuers, a woman who lusts after him and... and...
What I liked the most about this novel is not so much the action, but the interactions; the interactions between some of the main characters; the love and hate relationships, the lack of trust between them. I've also enjoyed Rock's sense of humor, his stubbornness and his lust for travel and adventure. To put it simply, Rock is here to entertain, and entertain he does.
