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Amazon.co.uk Review
Few writers can lay claim to having made a genre entirely their own, but the racing thriller remains unassailably Dick Francis territory. And Shattered, as smoothly crafted a piece of entertainment as anything he has produced, is a reminder that despite various pretenders to the throne, he retains his crown--even the kafuffle regarding the authorship of his books (his wife apparently lent a hand at times) only increased his profile, with readers seemingly indifferent to this revelation. What is his secret? Primarily, of course, it's the author's finely honed narrative skills that immediately mark him out as a master entertainer--thrillers such as Rat Race, Smokescreen and Trial Run bristle with energy and momentum. The ace in the hole is that satisfying sense of insider knowledge in his plots, however implausible they are. Shattered once again conveys that the equestrian world is quite as dangerous as Colin Dexter's Groves of Academe: jockey Martin Stukely dies after a fall in a steeplechase at Cheltenham races, and his friend, artist Gerald Logan, finds that the dead man has a connection to a stolen videotape with mysterious (and highly valuable) contents. Logan is more familiar with the problems of glass-blowing than violence and extortion, but he is soon undergoing a crash course in survival techniques as some very malignant heavies target him.
The protagonist of Shattered is only peripherally connected with the racing world, and this broader palette has resulted in a signal recharging of the batteries. The lean, unfussy narrative has the customary race-to-the-tape motion, but Logan is a nicely judged semi-hero, convincingly at sea (as most of us would be) in very dangerous waters. And, as always, the prose makes its mark with a commendable directness:
The horse fell at the peak of his forward-to-win acceleration and crashed down at thirty or more miles an hour. Winded, he lay across the jockey for inert moments, then rocked back and forwards vigorously in his struggle to rise to his feet. The fall and its aftermath looked truly terrible from where I watched on the stands and the racecourse doctor, though instantly attending him from his following car, couldn't prevent the fast gathering group of paramedics and media people from realising that Martin Stukely, though semi-conscious, was dying before their eyes. They glimpsed the blood frothing out of the jockey's mouth, choking him as the sharp ends of broken ribs tore his lungs apart.--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingedient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding tight to the very end' Sunday Telegraph
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not up to the pace,
By
This review is from: Shattered (Paperback)
Like Dead Cert, the first, (and best) of Dick Francis's novels, Shattered begins with the death of a jockey in a steeple chase. There the similarity end. While I know a lot about glassblowing now, I didn't really feel I got a good story! The extreme violence was not justified by the cause: I didn't believe it, or understand what the fuss was about. I have thought that Dick Francis was winding down for some time, (though I actually quite enjoyed Field of 13)and the more of the later books I read, the more convinced I am..
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent return to previous form,
By
This review is from: Shattered (Hardcover)
After the disappointingly bad previous novel "Second Wind", Dick Francis has returned to his usual winning form with a first rate read. The plot centres around a glass blower, and Francis's interest in this fascinating skill is highly infectious. The characterisation is good, and the detail and pace are gripping. The plot is a fraction thin, and doesn't hang together quite as convincingly as it might. But that really doesn't seem to matter too much. It is a real 'page turner' in the traditional Dick Francis mould.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Transparent,
By
This review is from: Shattered (Paperback)
There is some pace to the narrative, enough to remind you that Dick Francis used to be good at what he does - straightforward, unchallenging thrillers based around horseracing.
However this is thin stuff. The characterisation is shallow and stereotyped, the plot is contrived, and the outcome predictable. More unusually still, there is some surprisingly graphic violence, and some pretty weak continuity. Early and middle period Francis is several classes above this.
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