By Denayer & Van Hamme
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781849181846
A new parcel arrived from Cinebook yesterday and the first book I grabbed was this one. Van Hamme’s no stranger to writing a decent thriller so I’ll gladly reach for anything written by him, but this new (to us reading in English) creation is still something of an enigma. With just one book prior to this we’ve not had much chance to learn quite what makes Wayne Shelton tick. He’s not your conventional contemporary action hero, to the point that he seems a throwback to the movies and TV shows of the 70s and 80s, and what with his greying temples perhaps that’s what Van Hamme was aiming at – what does that sort of man become once a couple of decades have passed?
I was grateful for the page of recap at the beginning, as the first volume hit the ground running and didn’t let up until the final panel. Shelton’s been hired to break out a French trucker from a Khalak prison, without bloodshed, to allow his employer to take advantage of a business deal. Shelton’s gathered a group of professionals around him, each an expert in a certain discipline, and with the promise of a large pay-off at the end of it. The plan is difficult and hazardous, and to make matters worse one member of the team may have abandoned them at the vital hour.
Now inside Khalakjistan, Shelton, Bojadzik and Goodness begin to infiltrate themselves into the town that neighbours the prison where their quarry is held. Fortunately their missing team member does what’s required of him – which involves getting himself thrown into that very prison – and now Shelton has a man on the inside too. But as the plan progresses aspects begin to spiral beyond their control as a hidden agenda is revealed and a betrayal uncovered. It makes for a tense climax where not every player makes it out alive.
For me this is a series that evokes a spirit of adventure that we don’t seem to see that often anymore – the high concept caper where multiple characters with certain skill sets pull together to pull off the impossible job. Yeah, Mission Impossible might still be doing it at the cinema, but not without an awful lot of high-tech gadgetry and rubber masks. Van Hamme’s treatment is a lot grittier and so feels all the more dangerous for it. He’s also not someone to dumb a book down, so you need your wits about you to keep apace of the action.
Wayne Shelton is shaping up to be a welcome addition to the Van Hamme collection.
And if you enjoyed that: Try Largo Winch
No comments yet.