Mick Herron: London Rules (2019, Soho Press, Incorporated)
368 pages
English language
Published Feb. 27, 2019 by Soho Press, Incorporated.
"London Rules might not be written down, but everyone knows rule one: Cover your arse. At MI5 headquarters Regent's Park, First Desk Claude Whelan is learning this the hard way. Tasked with protecting a beleaguered prime minister, he's facing attack from all directions himself: from the showboating MP who orchestrated the Brexit vote, and now has his sights set on Number Ten; from the showboat's wife, a tabloid columnist, who's crucifying Whelan in print; from the PM's favorite Muslim, who's about to be elected mayor of the West Midlands, despite the dark secret he's hiding; and especially from his own deputy, Lady Di Taverner, who's alert for Claude's every stumble. Meanwhile, the country's being rocked by an apparently random string of terror attacks. Over at Slough House, the MI5 satellite office for outcast and demoted spies, the agents are struggling with personal problems: repressed grief, various addictions, retail paralysis, and …
"London Rules might not be written down, but everyone knows rule one: Cover your arse. At MI5 headquarters Regent's Park, First Desk Claude Whelan is learning this the hard way. Tasked with protecting a beleaguered prime minister, he's facing attack from all directions himself: from the showboating MP who orchestrated the Brexit vote, and now has his sights set on Number Ten; from the showboat's wife, a tabloid columnist, who's crucifying Whelan in print; from the PM's favorite Muslim, who's about to be elected mayor of the West Midlands, despite the dark secret he's hiding; and especially from his own deputy, Lady Di Taverner, who's alert for Claude's every stumble. Meanwhile, the country's being rocked by an apparently random string of terror attacks. Over at Slough House, the MI5 satellite office for outcast and demoted spies, the agents are struggling with personal problems: repressed grief, various addictions, retail paralysis, and the nagging suspicion that their newest colleague is a psychopath. Plus someone is trying to kill Roddy Ho. But collectively, they're about to rediscover their greatest strength - that of making a bad situation much, much worse"--
A fascinating open, but the writing and subsequent plot felt a bit phoned in. The dialog (and in particular Lamb's banter) was a bit forced and predictable. Anyway, a bit of a disappointment given the strong showing of the first four books. I'm cautiously optimistic that Herron picks up again, but going to say this one should be put out to pasture.
Dobrze się czyta, chociaż intrygi stają się coraz bardziej cienkie i wydumane (Kim Dzong Un starający się zdestabilizować Wielką Brytanię za pomocą dokumentu stworzonego kilkadziesiąt lat wcześniej przez MI5 - chociaż doceniam ironię, że dokument oryginalnie dotyczył destabilizacji państw pozostających w zależności kolonialnej od Imperium). Dość pretensjonalne są też "opisy przyrody" - personifikacja budzącego się dnia i zapadającego zmierzchu. Idealna letnia lektura, trochę mniej humoru niż w poprzednich częściach, ale fajnie. Uwaga do całości - porównania z Johnem Le Carre mocno przesadzone, Herron nie może się zdecydować, czy pisze na poważnie, czy komediowo, ale ostatecznie to drugie podejście bierze górę, więc choćby w tym aspekcie oddala się od autora "Nocnego recepcjonisty".
