I don't mind trashy when it's fun, but Wilbur Smith's strangely incompetent Gold Mine isn't fun. On the face of it, it looks promisingly solid if unspectacular: a South African gold mine is overseen by a square-jawed heroic manager, while seedy corporate types scheme to contrive a site disaster that will give them a large payout. Clichéd stuff, and cliché can work well enough sometimes, but this book completely fails to deliver.

At first, this was just because of the OTT meatheadedness of the book. Our protagonist is Rod Ironsides (I'm already cringing…), a hypercompetent man's man irresistible to women ("those huge eyes swept over him. This was fairly standard reaction for any woman between the ages of sixteen and sixty viewing Rodney Ironsides for the first time, and Rodney accepted it gracefully" (pg. 23)). As with every other male character in the book, you can practically smell the beef, and there is a lot of ho-yay talk about "arms as muscular and sinuous as pythons" (pg. 55) and powerful bodies glistening with sweat.

The prose and dialogue both clumsily inform us about the men's prowess: Rod Ironsides is "Piston Rod" in bed, "powered by steam" (pg. 38), and Rod is told he is lucky "that neither the quickness and heat of your temper, nor the matching speed and temperature of your genitalia have gotten you into really serious trouble" (pg. 29). Women in public have to remain seated when he merely looks at them, lest "any moisture" show on their dress (pg. 78). They feel "bruised internally" after being with him (pg. 127) and end up breathlessly thanking him for being more than enough man for them (pg. 128). And that's before we get the constant slew of bosom-gazing, leg-gazing, bottom-slapping and hip-swaying – even when a woman is fleeing during an action scene, we are told she "ran with the full-hipped sway of the mature woman" (pg. 250). This is not a Millennial reaction from me, and I have little to no problem with the dinosaur stuff when done with a bit of charm or purpose. Like I said, if it was trashy and fun it would be OK, but it is incredibly gormless and I was embarrassed to be reading it. It's low-grade Mills & Boon for men.

But the real killer for the book is its complete flavourlessness. The mining stuff is overly technical without the bonus of being interesting or educational, and the corporate stock exchange subplot is both confusing (there are no names for its characters – only descriptors like 'the fat man') and interminably dull. The main plot with Rod Ironsides always seems to be building and then you realise the book's nearly finished and then it's gone, and it doesn't intersect with the corporate conspiracy stuff in any compelling way. Rod is sort of a bystander in his own story, and gets no resolution at the end. Add to this the inexplicable decision to end the book with Hettie. She is an improbably-written harpy-like floozy who gleefully cheats on her husband with his brother, feels elated when said brother is killed, then cheats on her husband again, and then feels elated when he gets killed too. The book ends with Hettie collecting a lot of insurance money for the deaths and walking off into the sunset, unrepentant. There is no reason at all for this. In a story this crude you at least expect resolution, for it to get the basics right. But Gold Mine can't even do that. It can't even reheat the old clichés competently, and it leaves a sour taste. ( )

A typical Wilbur Smith thriller which one can read on a relaxing holiday. The world building here is not as good as his other works as the book is somewhat short.

But the unique plot of mining in the depths keep you at the edge of your seat right till the end. ( )

Մեկանգամյա օգտագործման գրականության իմ կարդացած լավագույն օրինակներից մեկը:
Ձանձրացնող առաջին 150 էջերին հաջորդող գործողությունների դինամիկ ընթացքն ուղղակի չի կարող դուր չգալ տիպիկ հոլիվուդյան ֆիլմերի տեքստային տարբերակների սիրահարներին :)

Հատկապես տպավորված եմ մահվան տեսարանների սուպեր զզվելի նկարագրություններով, որոնցից հետո սովորում ես մեռնելու, ամենաքիչը, հինգ նոր եղանակ:

Հետաքրքիր էր նաև հանքափորների կյանքի նկարագրությունն ու ֆինանսական շուկայում արվող ինտրիգները...

Մի խոսքով` կարդացեք: Արժե :) ( )

Review for the abridged audiobook.

This didn't really grab me, possibly because it was reduced down to just 3CDs, possibly because I'm starting to think that a lot of character development is lost when thrillers are abridged. It just felt a bit sparse and the mining aspect wasn't of great interest to me. Dare I say that this may be more of a man's book!

Rodney Ironsides is the main character and his rise through the ranks of the Sonder Ditch gold mine is aided by his boss, Manfred Steyner, in return for blind obedience. Manfred is, in turn being manipulated from higher up in a scam that could net a huge profit on the stock market. Rodney has a sixth sense for his job, can he thwart the big boys without really knowing the whole picture?
The last scenes are certainly very tense and atmospheric and I loved Big King, the huge, loyal African guy, with the strength of many men.

I was interested in this book because it was set in Africa, but it's an industial, scheming Africa, and rather more of an adventure than the sort of books I usually favour. I'm glad I listened to it, but I doubt I'll become a great Wilbur Smith fan as a result. Probably better to listen to the unabridged version or read the book. ( )

NIL