Thieves Fall Out
Reviewed By Ian Banks August 10, 2015
Author Gore Vidal
Distributor:
ISBN: 9781781167922
Publisher: Titan Publishing Group
Release Date:
Website: http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au
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In his day Gore Vidal was a master of pulp fiction. In this rediscovered manuscript you can easily see why.
Set post Second World War an American, Peter Wells, wakes up in a brothel in Egypt not knowing what happened the night before and discovers he still has his passport but no money and no recollection of how he got where he was.
He meets Hastings at the Shepherds Hotel while he is trying to find out just what happened the night before. Falling into conversation he somehow finds he is offered a courier job. As the country is Egypt, when he is asked to go to Luxor to meet someone who will give him and object to take with him when he leaves the country, he has a feeling that things are looking decidedly dodgy!
Call him naïve but he falls for the scheme then finds himself being observed by the local Police force who somehow, it appears, is able to make his exit from Luxor carrying the item so much easier.
Before he knows it he is involved in a plot to smuggle forbidden artefacts out of Egypt. He meets a Frauline Muller, who he falls for in a big way, which also changes his involvement; but she is not who she seems to be and has a deeper, darker side to her character.
As in all good pulp fiction he is attacked, dogged by a corrupt policeman, falls in love with a beautiful woman with a dark heart and finds his life in jeopardy more than once.
There are riots, and plenty of action, with Peter eventually realising he has been played for a sucker! As in all good stories of this genre the hero somehow manages to survive with a dented ego and sets off on his life once again as a slightly wiser man.
Slightly implausible, but entertaining, the book treats the reader as a part of the plot and expects them to be involved in their imagination. Somehow you are and do, find yourself relating to the hero, hating the baddies and hoping all will be well.
As serious escapism that does not expect anything other than to entertain the reader, this is an absolute gem.