Terrance Layhew is an author, a fan of adventure fiction (we’re acquainted through the Men’s Adventure Paperbacks of the 20th Century group on Facebook), and the host of a popular podcast called Suit Up!, which is devoted to the kind of fiction he likes to read. And write, as it turns out.
Layhew’s first adventure novel, ONE MAN’S TREASURE, is available on Amazon in e-book
and trade paperback editions, with an excellent cover, by the way. The
protagonists are two brothers from Chicago, Dixon and Sam Hastings. Dix is a
lawyer, a somewhat cold-blooded, calculating sort who lives for work and
gambling. Sam is an engineer, a more happy-go-lucky fellow who loves tinkering
with things and is recently engaged to a beautiful reporter named Amy. Dix
turns all their lives upside down when, in a high-stakes poker game, he wins
what’s reputed to be a map to a fabulous treasure buried by a famous pirate on
a Caribbean island several hundred years ago. Such a thing couldn’t actually be
real, could it? Sam, with his quixotic nature, thinks it could be, and he
persuades Dix that they should find out—an effort that leads to swordfights,
modern-day pirates, shootouts, harrowing adventures, and romance for both
brothers.
Layhew takes a big risk in the very structure of this novel: he tells his story in first-person
chapters that alternate between the Hastings brothers. I may be too much of a
traditionalist, but I’m not fond of multiple first-person POVs. However, I won’t
let that keep me from giving a book a fair try, and in this case, Layhew doesn’t
just pull it off, he makes it work very well. Dix and Sam are two very
different personalities, and that comes through effectively in the writing. I
was never thrown by it.
He also does a fine job with the pacing and action, and while there are some
serious moments, the novel also has a very appealing light-hearted tone most of
the time. ONE MAN’S TREASURE has the feel of an Eighties action movie, and I
mean that in the best possible way. I had a really good time reading it. It’s
set up for a sequel, too, and I’m looking forward to it. In the meantime, if
you’re a fan of well-written, entertaining adventure novels, ONE MAN’S TREASURE
gets a solid recommendation from me.
No comments:
Post a Comment